Outdoor Wood Furnace Info

Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers with NON EPA-Certified Models Only => Heatsource1 => Topic started by: tulenutn2o on August 31, 2010, 05:06:59 PM

Title: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on August 31, 2010, 05:06:59 PM
Will pick up my furnace next week. Can't wait!
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on October 21, 2010, 06:09:57 AM
Well, I am within 1 week of firing my stove. Ran into snafu with fish tape while getting ready to pull wire..................Fish tape 20' short! :bash: Anyhow, just to let would be buyers know, customer service on this unit is somewhat questionable. Said ti fill with softened and filtered water( manual said filter supplied). Sales guy said manufacturer quit making the filter and they didn't send with units anymore and it was ok to fill with garden hose. Talked with nother buyer, and low and behold, they shipped a filter right to him. So, I sent my e-mails back and forth between myself and company.......... They sent me one too with the notice that unit MUST be filled with soft/filtered water. So much for strait answers from sales manager.Talked at length with sales manager at the manufacturer's place of business and several other times trying to get dealer info to no avail. They really could care less, I guess. Shady answers on questions about unit at best. Manual leaves alot to be desired. Several discrepancies. Warranty looks to be good kindling. Best product in the world will fail without good customer service. I only hope I never have any warranty issues. I definately will not be recommending them to any customers. I think they lost interest in dealership for me when I told them I wanted to try their product first before I put my reputation on the line. They would have been happy selling me 3 or more for a few hundred off, I am sure. I love that "dealership opportunities in your area" crud.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: yoderheating on October 21, 2010, 06:58:57 AM
 Be careful of water softeners that use salt. I hear any salt in the water is hard on the furnace.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: shawbran on October 26, 2010, 01:37:18 AM
Well Tulenutn20,

Go our up and running short of having a fire burning!!  Also figured out a better wiring for the high limit!!  I will be emailing it to you and posting it for other members!
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on October 26, 2010, 05:52:03 AM
Thanks for the update. Got mine burning a couple of nights ago to heat the DHW. WOW! HOT and plenty of it. Still toying with firebox , fire size, temp settings, etc. Also gonna reconfigure a couple of lines if I get time. Definately a huge difference in smoke when burning in by-pass versus gasification. Just need to figure out a medium setting for the finicky night light. Later.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: shawbran on November 15, 2010, 06:04:07 PM
Had our wood stove running for little under a month.  The morning I went to put wood in it and draft fan was not burning.  Guess what the control panel had already went out of it.  They agreed to send a new one but my stove will be down for a couple of days!!! Hope it doesn't get too cold!!
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on November 16, 2010, 06:05:04 AM
Yeh, my controller is flaky too, Still works, but am wondering for how long. Up arrow barely works, sometimes doesn't. I think they would do well to use a standard mechanical control. We'll see, I guess.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: jackel440 on November 16, 2010, 10:34:04 AM
What kind of controller is on the furnace from the factory?I have heard good things about the Ranco controllers,but have no experiance with them
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on November 16, 2010, 06:45:53 PM
They are LOVE( DWYER)  electronic TSWB(Temperature Switch Wood Burner).
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: shawbran on November 26, 2010, 10:36:34 PM
Tul

Does your fire keep smoldering out?  Ours seems to have problems keeping big logs of hedge going.  What is your temp range?  We also seem to be using lots of wood, but we are use to a indoor stove also with a small fire box.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on November 30, 2010, 06:33:23 AM
Under low demand, I quit throwing huge rounds in because they do not burn good. Better to use smaller pieces under low demand and go for good burn. I reset temp up to 170 since it is getting colder.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: Alan on November 30, 2010, 11:36:24 AM
Tul

Does your fire keep smoldering out?  Ours seems to have problems keeping big logs of hedge going.  What is your temp range?  We also seem to be using lots of wood, but we are use to a indoor stove also with a small fire box.
welli have central boiler 5036 and it hink i use less wood
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on November 30, 2010, 06:54:10 PM
Tul

Does your fire keep smoldering out?  Ours seems to have problems keeping big logs of hedge going.  What is your temp range?  We also seem to be using lots of wood, but we are use to a indoor stove also with a small fire box.
welli have central boiler 5036 and it hink i use less wood
And you know this, WHY?
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: Alan on November 30, 2010, 08:28:46 PM
I use 8 or 10 pieces of 20" wood in the boiler in 24 hours i used 20 pieces in the wood stove in 8 hours
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on December 01, 2010, 08:44:59 AM
I use 8 or 10 pieces of 20" wood in the boiler in 24 hours i used 20 pieces in the wood stove in 8 hours
Ok Alan, I see what you were meaning. I thought it was a case of "mine is better than yours". I too burned in a airtight stove, but I can't say really which way was more efficient as I couldn't heat whole house with stove. But you are correct, 2-3 logs for overnight so far. They are, however, bigger pieces. By the way, welcome!
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: Alan on December 01, 2010, 04:26:17 PM
i use the same size wood in boiler as i did the stove because we cant handle the big wood that could go in the boiler  And i can heat the whole house  with boiler and two water heaters
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on December 01, 2010, 05:34:06 PM
Me 2, as time between feeding is alot longer than stove was. Today was teens up to high 20's and windy here. Didn't feed at all from last nights fire until this afternoon at 5, and only because I wanted to get a big chunk of pine goin good before dark. I am not planning on firing indoor stove, except for atmosphere in January or so.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: Alan on December 01, 2010, 08:10:20 PM
here is link of pic http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=121429&d=1263353393 (http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=121429&d=1263353393)
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: shawbran on December 13, 2010, 04:32:03 AM
Tul

How did it perform with the snow storm this weekend and negative temperatures.  Our's did decent seems like the fan was always running!
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on December 13, 2010, 08:59:36 AM
I had a slight hick-up sunday afternoon. I have yet to get my permanent line to supply ac to stove(bathroom remodel and other wiring) Anyway, wife unplugs furnace. I was in shop and immediately sensed a problem. Anyway, last night went out and checked stove, 155 and calling for heat on a 167 set pt. Went to add wood and 2 large pieces in there burning away with a healthy bed of coals. Checked gasifier chamber and doing well. I had the shop heater on 60 so I decided to shut in down to 35 or so( this is trial and error method using a very inacturate line voltage stat for my salamander heater- I still need to finish my solar set-up for this). I surmise that shop heater developed or had an air bubble or two and that 2 logs burning just wasn't putting off enough heat for both heaters to draw from at once. I filled firebox to top of door and waited for gasification to get going good and went in the house. That was at 11:45 pm and -3. -5 this am when went out and checked and all was well. Temp 172 and wood left(2 pieces and plenty of coals). Shop at 35 and house at 67. I like it a bit cooler. Give me a holler Shawbran when you get a minute.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on December 28, 2010, 05:58:50 PM
Just an update. Stove is performing flawlessly. Figure it's not unlike the little lady. I gots to figure out the wants and needs to keep it happy. And here's the answer.....................................................................GOOD WOOD!!!!!>>>LOL!! Seriously, I had a few issues with fire going out when I tried to burn some crap softwood and wood wasn't neatly stacked in to form a coal bed.( do not have to worry about position of wood with quality, seasoned hardwood. I am loving it even more, now that oil companies feel the need to gouge us even more.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on January 10, 2011, 07:15:36 AM
Just an update on my furnace. Performing well.No issues.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: Scott7m on January 10, 2011, 09:30:47 AM
thats great.  hope it continues to to perform well for you!
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on January 23, 2011, 12:15:56 PM
Well, it's been below zero overnight with highs  single digits to teens if lucky, this A.M. was 7, went out to fil stove, temp at 179 on 175 set temp., a couple of small peices left-13 hr burn on probabbly 1/2 load( I don't cram in and only load toward rear of firebox mostly so I get max travel through lower refractory chambers). Wood was all splits for indoor stove, 18" lengths. Anyway, filled probably 1/3 cap.reset so unit would call for burn up to 5 deg dif. and went and got paper. Noticed neighbors standard unit putting off mass amounts of steam vs mine with just a trail. Also noticed his wood pile gets considerably smaller( much faster than mine). My very unscientific observation is this, I use a heck of a lot less wood than he. That really doesn't matter as he has tree service drop him wood too- for free. I went gasifier to lessen my workload-feeding and splitting, etc. This next summer, I plan to tweek system a bit with some extra bypass capability and to clean up install a bit. Overall, I would have to recomend the gasifiers to anyone looking for a new OWB. Whether you build or buy is your preference, but I feel the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. This is my $.02 for what it's really worth.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on January 29, 2011, 08:33:15 PM
Proofs in the puddin'...Be nice, it's my first u-tube vid....Clean burning Outdoor Furnace (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEROcNyCsfk&feature=player_detailpage#ws)
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: jackel440 on February 01, 2011, 02:49:38 PM
Proofs in the puddin'...Be nice, it's my first u-tube vid....Clean burning Outdoor Furnace (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEROcNyCsfk&feature=player_detailpage#ws)
Very nice! Gotta love gasification! :thumbup:
I am getting 24 hr burns in my homemade gasifier with the temps in the 20 and lows in the teens.
When it is running you will see what I believe is water vapor leaving the stack.The benefits of these type of stoves are great.they burn clean,use less wood,more efficiant.Glad you like yours :thumbup:
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 02, 2011, 09:55:57 AM
Jackel,I really enjoyed your build and believe you did it right by combining  ideas from different units. I have found when I load up for a long term burn, turns to charcoal nice and very hot, I just don't have the guts to wait it out to get a total burn time(afraid it may go out in the dark 3am hours) So I have my schedule set to 12-14 hr fill times.Thanks for the compliment. You figure how much you got in yours yet Jackel?
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: jackel440 on February 05, 2011, 07:16:16 PM
Jackel,I really enjoyed your build and believe you did it right by combining  ideas from different units. I have found when I load up for a long term burn, turns to charcoal nice and very hot, I just don't have the guts to wait it out to get a total burn time(afraid it may go out in the dark 3am hours) So I have my schedule set to 12-14 hr fill times.Thanks for the compliment. You figure how much you got in yours yet Jackel?
Thanks for the compliments.I just wanted to build what I thought was best for me.There are alot of good ideas out there.
It's amazing how much heat that charcoal will hold.
Now I was experimenting with mine,and I decided to shovel probably half of a 5 gallon bucket of ash on the ground.It looked like just plain ash,real fine and such.Well I got that pile on the ground and was raking stuff around the burn chamber.My leg started getting warm.Now i placed this ash on frozen ground with some snow covering.The lite breeze made them coals glow fire engine red it seemed.Here is what is crazy.I covered them with snow,and the next day 24 hrs later.I swiped my boot through them ,and they were still glowing red as soon as the air hit them! :o
I couldn't believe that they were still hot!It was amazing.24 hrs covered over with snow in the frigid cold.this was high in the teens and single digit lows.So don't fret over the coals.Many times my fire is out and just a few partial pieces of wood in the firebox when I load.Stove still up to temp.I load it up ,and then when it fires up those hot coal come back to lofe with the fresh oxygen and it lights right off. :thumbup:
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 06, 2011, 11:57:26 AM
Jackel, I noticed the same thing. I have gotten in the habit of cleaning ashes out of lower chamber every 4-5 days and then I load wood, and if ashes I removed are bigger chunks and hot, they go in on top of fresh wood. This next week when in the deep freeze, I am going to start burning some rounds instead of splits. We'll see how that goes.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: jackel440 on February 07, 2011, 08:12:02 PM
temp is supposed to drop here for us as well.I loaded it full of splits to the top.I have mostly been burning rounds with good success but sure is a pain to load sometimes.Having to throw them all the way to the back of the burn chamber.I want to see how the splits burn during this cold snap.My stuff is all green so not sure if its very scientific or not.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 08, 2011, 11:10:04 AM
Splits definately burn faster. I have a mix of 2-3 year and last year cuts that I mix together. I now throw a couple splits in to keep good coal bed and load with rounds about 2/3 full. I have yet to stuff firebox though. I like the 2 times a day load rate for me. Easy schedule and I don't worry at all. Realistic burn times, I could probably get 18 -24 hrs. Lower #hrs at 2/3 fill, higher=stuffed. It was -12 here overnight and maybe -4 last I checked hour ago, but I noticed an interesting thing this morning.(wish I could have gotten pic but was gettin out of shower and unit kicked on before camera ready). Chimney cap was all frosty from the cold and moisture/steam from stove. ( of course that was in idle mode). It was a really unique effect.(I hate all the critics out there who want OWB banned. They seem to believe that steam trail is smoke and pollution. Stay warm and keep us posted.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: jackel440 on February 08, 2011, 05:00:26 PM
Well I just went out and filled mine up,and i had some pieces left over from just a few of the ones i threw in this morning at 5:30.I was quite surprised to have anything left in the fire box.I went ahead and filled it again.I know our temps are supposed to drop to the negatives tonigh and High of tomorrow around 10 I think.Splits do seem to burn quicker,but sure our easier to load :thumbup:
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 09, 2011, 06:52:17 AM
One observation I have made(100% unscientific) is that it seems that the colder it is, the better the furnace works(longer burns  I'm sure) and not as much ash to clean out of refractory tunnel. Low last night -3 high today supposed to reach dbl digits(10-15). The rounds that I have been burning are fairly small 8-12" dia. I did cut 30" pieces last year that are split down to manageable size but still big. Haven't burned on those yet. Trying to stick with a mix of small splits with the occasional  couple pieces that aren't seasoned the best. Got a call into the trimmers to bring wood at will so I can get a start on next years wood and beyond. If I get ambitious, I'll have to post more video sometime.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 19, 2011, 08:05:34 AM
Been lazy the last week or so, so I have been stretching my burn times out to as much as 18 hours just to see how long I can go. Keep in mind I haven't yet crammed firebox full, so I feel 24 hr would be possible. My schedule likes the 2 load schedule the best. If I don't make it right out in a.m. some days, I just load a lighter load to get me to next load cycle. Works for me.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: jackel440 on February 19, 2011, 07:09:18 PM
Sounds like you are figuring out what she likes.I have been getting 24 hour burns for the last week and a half.So I am extremely happy with that.I just split and stacked 2 more pallets of wood tonight.Some of it has been laying in a pile on the ground for over 3yrs.Getting punky on a lot of it.I  split the rounds and stacked it up.Plan to see how long that lasts.It was stil wet from all the snow we have had.
I have been shoveling ash out of the burn chamber about once a week my self.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 21, 2011, 06:34:54 AM
Sounds like you are figuring out what she likes.I have been getting 24 hour burns for the last week and a half.So I am extremely happy with that.I just split and stacked 2 more pallets of wood tonight.Some of it has been laying in a pile on the ground for over 3yrs.Getting punky on a lot of it.I  split the rounds and stacked it up.Plan to see how long that lasts.It was stil wet from all the snow we have had.
I have been shoveling ash out of the burn chamber about once a week my self.
Yeh, I burnt some punky wood when I first fired up, figure better to get some use out of it. I never throw anything to waste. I hope to get a nice concrete pad poured this year around boiler to put a wood shed around(lean to-not decided 100%). I like to take up the bark and twigs and burn that too. Threw in some very large oak splits yesterday, definately could get the longer burns out of those. I don't get a lot of that right now. I am not choosy since tree guy drops me wood. He did tell me a lot of burr oak is dying off due to fungus and should get a boat load of that wood this summer. I am licking chops over that notion.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: jackel440 on February 21, 2011, 07:49:09 PM
I was throwing the punky wood in too.I see no reason in not burning it.Hate to see it rot and not produce any heat.I have been digging into that old pile pretty good.Boy is it getting bad too.
I found a few oak rounds and split them up.Your right they sure do burn good.I too am not picky on what I get.Cut it,split it,and burn it.Any wood is better than no wood right?lol
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 22, 2011, 09:17:53 AM
Roger that! I am at 15 hr burn right now with overnight cold snap, full of good coals, gonna see how long she goes today/Coal bed about12" deep.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 23, 2011, 11:36:41 AM
22hrs on that burn. Still learning.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: jackel440 on February 23, 2011, 02:30:24 PM
My coal bed is probably 12" deep also.I like to keep the ash from piling up in the back near my gas chamber ports.I had it try to plug up on me when I pushed a load of wood back there(which was my fault not the stoves).I ended up making me me a rake tool to reach back and clean my tunnels out.This soft punky wood is burning up faster than I thought it would.I did find that it likes to have a nice coal bed in it.
Title: Re: Earth Energy190
Post by: tulenutn2o on February 23, 2011, 06:06:52 PM
I got in the habit of laying the bottom layer of logs and then loading at will. I can't always see the ports, but it doesn't seem to matter. As long as I don't slide the bottom layer,I don't see too much coals or ash getting knocked into refractory tunnel. I picked up some more (2 s.b.ranger loads)punky wood today and figure it'll give me another 3-4 days of burn time, maybe more, depending on the forecast. I will load up the furnace a little fuller when burner this stuff. It does tend to "ash out" more(my terminology for big fluffy ash). After last weeks 68 deg weather, I have got spring fever BAD!!! Trying to get plants started for garden. Told the "little man" (all 5'9 at 12 yrs.) that we'll be puttin the vw back together to drive since $4-5 fuel is probably sooner than later. Busy summer.