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Author Topic: New BL 28-40 owner, way too many questions...  (Read 3978 times)

wdingus

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New BL 28-40 owner, way too many questions...
« on: December 09, 2015, 11:42:48 AM »

I ordered a BL 28-40 from the factory (no local dealer) and it was delivered on Saturday. With the help of a rented Genie 5519 telescoping forklift, we had it off the truck and on the pad in probably 30 minutes. Terrifying and exhilerating at the same time! Now the fun begins.. What components do I need.. How do I make this thing go..

I have a few (heh) questions, if any of you would be so kind to assist me with them.

1) Pump - I have 110' of Logstor and there's probably 15' or so of elevation difference from the lowest point water will be in the house, to the supply lines on the back of the OWB. Any suggestions on what might be appropriate for that?

2) Pump Location - Why would I want the pump mounted at the OWB itself, as opposed to in my basement? Or vice versa? Noise?

3) Pump Direction - If it's mounted at the OWB, would it be configured water supply line to pump which then pushes towards the house (downhill but not relevant I presume) and ultimately back (up) to the OWB? If it's in the house, would it be installed on the "return" line to the OWB, pushing what's already came through heat exchangers back to the OWB? Or in a closed system does it not really matter all that much?

4) DHW - A plate heat exchanger is typically used to heat the water coming into the HW heater isn't it? A sidearm is used to keep water already inside of it hot? With ~180F water coming from the OWB, the HW heater would come up to pretty close this temperature as well wouldn't it? That's too hot to go to a faucet/tub so I assume that's where a mixing valve comes in? Sum in a bit of cold water to bring it back down to ~130F. Our tap water is ultra cold in the winter, probably because the pipe goes through a creek. I'm inclined to install both a plate and sidearm heater, thoughts?

5) Home - It's 1700sqft with a single heat pump. Which survived the last two winters with a moderate amount of "emergency heat" usage. The full basement is not heated and falls to the low 40's at least, we've sealed it off from upstairs entirely these last 2 winters. The upstairs we've completely remodeled, insulation is pretty good, very little leakage/drafts or similar. I plan to put an air handler only in the basement and water-to-air heat exchanger. Floor joists are insulated but that could be removed, basement ceiling is not finished. I hope to heat the basement, and not have to have a second heat exchanger for the upstairs air handler. If that becomes necessary though, shouldn't be too difficult to add. The basement stairs come out very close to the upstairs air return, plus just what tends to rise over the entire ceiling/floor area.

That covers some of my more pressing questions on the basics. As an electronics tinkerer though, I can't help but ponder improvements, additions, etc.. I've not looked closely at the supplied aquastat yet, nor have I looked at any technical documentation for it. Does it by chance have the ability to act as a remote thermostat, providing current temperature information along a cable to a remote receiver? Or would I need to purchase an additional sensor for that? I'm thinking of putting some direct burial ethernet in the trench so that I can monitor some aspects of the system from inside the home, provide alerting, etc.. I read on here about a mod to cut off the fan when temps drop below a certain point, I think that sounds like a very good idea as well. Always interested in additional mods like this, and especially anything related to monitoring or better automation.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
« Last Edit: December 11, 2015, 10:49:58 AM by wdingus »
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Strawbale Builder

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Re: New BL 28-40 owner, way too many questions...
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2016, 10:08:45 AM »

Did your questions ever get answered? How is your 2840 doing?
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patvetzal

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Re: New BL 28-40 owner, way too many questions...
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2016, 07:50:41 PM »

I just installed a used P&M last fall.
Can't see any reason why you would want a pump out in the cold, or why you would not heat a basement.
In my instance I just installed a sidearm heater. Going to need a mixing valve even by restricting the flow thru the sidearm.
Just set the aquastat at about 180, leave the circ pump running continuously and blow air thru your air handler when the house is below the set point (use a line voltage t'stat to control the fan)
I have a system that reduces the flow thru the sidearm heater and directs more to the air handler when the dom water is too hot. Use the P&M to supply most of your heat downstairs and let it raise to the main floor. Top it off with your heat pump if needed ....or just let the HP fan circulate the heat
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80 acres of Bancroft bush and Ontario rock, a sweet wife, a few chickens, fishing rod, most everything I need....Most of it made by John Deere, Polaris, Stihl, Ruger, Jeep or me...

wdingus

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Re: New BL 28-40 owner, way too many questions...
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2016, 07:34:00 AM »

It was too late in the season to get everything done last year so the stove was idle.. I'm trying to get it fired up this year though, and it's already late October!

https://goo.gl/photos/SjuNR9CBmGZYv1mWA

There's a picture of the wiring, plumbing, and some modifications I've made at the stove.

P&M documentation appeared to indicate that drawing water from the top port and returning to the bottom was the way to go. Now of course I've read more, and understand that isn't the preferred way. Figures...

Has anyone else used this type of flexible connector? http://holdrite.com/product/qfc-7515/ They're only rated for 190F which I'm a bit concerned about. If it becomes a problem I'll get some high-temp rubber hose like what most everyone else appears to be using.

The factory-mounted fan took up a lot of room. I rotated it clockwise 90 degrees so that the duct came straight down from it. Do you see a problem with that, or has anyone else done similar? This gave more room to get a switch for the pump and outlet installed. As well as future 2nd pump and plumbing...

So, any specific suggestions or general observations on this so far?

Thanks.
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Range91

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Re: New BL 28-40 owner, way too many questions...
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2016, 06:30:41 AM »

Your draft stop will not work the way you have fan mounted. Must be mounted horizontal for that setup. I had some boil over issues last year with drawing off the top if I were just hooking up I would return water to top and draw from bottom to alleviate this from being a problem
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wdingus

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Re: New BL 28-40 owner, way too many questions...
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2016, 04:51:55 PM »

How I missed the drawing of the fan assembly in the manual is beyond me.. Sigh.. That change is now undone. And since the inside work isn't done yet either, I'm gonna move the pump to there. Easier to work on (in the cold) if it has a problem and easier to change water "direction". I plan to have it draw from the bottom and return to the top as has been suggested. Thanks.

https://goo.gl/photos/GhQ2bWyWuYrtTUPF6
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Revx1000

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Re: New BL 28-40 owner, way too many questions...
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2016, 07:28:49 PM »

I too drawn the water from the bottom and return to the top , 3 years ago when I first hooked it up I found that I was over shooting after a burn so I reverse it to the bottom out , top in and stopped the problem . My pump is inside and I put a fill tap below the check valve at the pump .makes top ups so much easier.  I added a side arm and a small second pump with filter to the hot water heater . I do not have a zone valve on it so the hot water tank is at 180 . we do not have kids at home any more so we watch how far the hot taps are turned on !  Great for washing dishes !,,  going into my 4 th season with the P.M heater with no problems . Dealing with Brian from p m has been great from the sale to all the dumb question I had , he has been very professional 5 star service . I picked mine up right from the factory in Manitoba ,very large facility ,pretty cool to see the heaters being made .
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