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Author Topic: Summer Burning  (Read 6842 times)

CountryBoyJohn

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Summer Burning
« on: May 01, 2018, 06:14:20 AM »

I'm starting my first summer burning in my 10k.  I just finished my 5th season of heating the house (finally.)  I'll be gaining 3 foster boys this summer making us a family of 8 and 6 of the 8 are boys.  Boys that will probably be taking a shower every night!!  I figured it was a good time to start burning over the summer and see how it goes.  My wife has been begging me to hook the pool up to an exchanger also.  I just don't want to spend the $500 on that project yet. 

I've already started cutting up smaller stuff and splitting into much smaller pieces.  I figure it's easier for that stuff to coal up and re-light with the longer idle periods.  I've also dropped my set temps down with a tighter differential.  I'm probably going to make it tighter.  I've been running 170 top with an 8 degree swing.  I went out to a dead fire this morning.   :bash:

This is a good example of why I dump into my hot water tank after my heat exchanger.  Even though my fire is out, the stove is off, and the pump is off, I still have 40 gallons of somewhat hot water for dishes, washing hands, and maybe even a load of laundry.   I have upstairs plumbed immediately from the heat exchanger.  There will be no hot water upstairs until I get home tonight and get the fire going again. 
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E Yoder

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2018, 06:44:56 AM »

A couple of things I've found helpful-
A tight differential. Even down to 2°.
Small wood. Shavings, sawdust mixed in smolders well.
A small hole drilled below the flap in the back can create enough air leakage to keep it lit.

Another option would be to just do a match burn every evening during showers.
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CountryBoyJohn

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2018, 07:30:32 AM »

Good tips!  I essentially did a batch burn last night.  I was out of wood so I tossed in a bunch of small stuff to get it going again and got it back up to temp.  I'll have to do the same thing tonight for showers because after it batched, it didn't relight.  So, I've got a bunch of wood I'll have to pull out to relight and re-establish my coal bed.

One thing I figured out as well, is how much heat my furnace water to air exchanger seeps.  I flipped my bypass for the first time so it just goes to my water to water exchanger, bypasses the furnace, and goes right back out to the stove.  My house is staying cooler and I'm not burning near as much wood.  I might consider installing a 3 way valve that is connected to my thermostat.  I'm sure that standard installation for a lot of you guys. 

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E Yoder

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2018, 08:40:03 AM »

Usually it convects hot air off the coil if it has a sloped duct (low cold air return or coill is in the return).  Becomes a chimney.
We pump a secondary loop off the main loop that starts and stops with the tstat. A 3 way zone valve works too, costs a smidge more.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2018, 08:49:10 AM by E Yoder »
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mlappin

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2018, 09:34:52 AM »

Usually it convects hot air off the coil if it has a sloped duct (low cold air return or coill is in the return).  Becomes a chimney.
We pump a secondary loop off the main loop that starts and stops with the tstat. A 3 way zone valve works too, costs a smidge more.

Costs a bit more and adds restriction to the line. Pumps are cheap and a lot more reliable way to go.
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CountryBoyJohn

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2018, 11:50:31 AM »

So, I'm still burning for hot water and I've got things figured out so far.  It's going much better with the smaller pieces and a 3 degree differential. 

I have a pool in the back yard.  It's an in-ground 18'x36' and holds nearly 25,000 gallons.  I developed a hole in the cover this winter, and didn't really know it.  I went to pump off the water on the cover and unplugged it for the night.  Well, it continued to siphon through the pump over night.  Since I had a hole in the cover, it apparently drained my pool down nearly 2' of depth.  So, for the last 2 nights, I've been running straight hot water from the "hot" side of my washing machine hookup to fill it back up.  I figured this way, we can get in it sooner if I had 8,000 gallons of 110 degree water through my 20 plate.

I loaded the stove at 4:30 p.m. with 10-12 large pieces of healthy locust and turned the water on.  That's really enough for me to get 12 hours during a day in the 30's.  By 9:00 p.m., I had to add more wood!  I think I've got another 4 or 5 hours of running the hose before it's filled enough to get the skimmers submerged.  I'll let you know what temperature I end up in the pool.  I'm hoping to crack 80 degrees, but we'll see. 
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mlappin

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2018, 02:08:01 PM »

People ask about heating their pools, most don’t believe me when I tell em it will take as much or more than your winter heat load depending on how soon you start warming the pool up.
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E Yoder

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2018, 04:33:59 PM »

Yup, just got a call from a customer who started heating his pool. Pulled 10 degrees overnight in pool temp. Eating wood like January. :)
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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2018, 04:16:13 PM »

Heating a pool is a quick way to make your wood boiler system pay for itself in half the estimated recovery period. BUT be warned ,when your wife experiences 90*f pool water it will never get used again without 85*f minimum  :o . Happy wife ,happy life lmao  ;D
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shepherd boy

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2018, 05:21:09 PM »

 Got that right. Had one Grandma tell me "It makes my grand children come see me". Had one dad tell me" I get up sat. morning steppin' over kids in my basement, sleeping kids all around the pool, but guess what? I know where my two girls are at."
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CountryBoyJohn

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #10 on: May 21, 2018, 08:34:24 AM »

Well, I got her opened up (after a long battle with ammonia) she came up 78 degrees!  I didn't get an exact temp before, but I guarantee it was less than 70 degrees and it would've been at least another 2 weeks before we could have gotten in.  Now, I wait for my water bill!!   :o
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E Yoder

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #11 on: May 21, 2018, 08:47:21 AM »

The pool came up 78 degrees? Or up to 78 degrees I guess ? The boys will love it I bet!
I didn't follow you on the ammonia thing either.
I've used a small flat plate and submersible pump and garden hoses to pull a pool up to temp, then flush with fresh water to protect the flat plate from chemicals. Works great and is cheap.
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mlappin

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #12 on: May 21, 2018, 09:16:25 AM »

Technically in Indiana a OWB can only be used from Sept 15th till May 15th.

Long as you ain’t got no nosey neighbors I ain’t gonna tell.


If you were up here you would have to worry about your water bill, pool would probably be over filled by now. 
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CountryBoyJohn

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #13 on: May 21, 2018, 09:40:01 AM »

I get ammonia contamination in my pool about once a year as a reaction to field spraying.  In this instance, ammonia consumes chlorine that keeps the pool sanitary.  The only way to kill ammonia in the pool is to completely overwhelm it with chlorine.  It's a pain and usually costs $100 in chlorine shock every time it happens. 

I've considered the cheap way too, with a hose and a small pump.  The heat exchanger I have on my list is nearly $400, plus all the new plumbing I would have to do.  I'm on county water, so i don't have to pay septic rates.  It'll probably be a $150-$200 water bill this month.  Normally I'm at $35-$40 a month.

It's also illegal to burn coal in an outdoor wood stove in Indiana.  I won't say if I have or have not done that either.   >:D 

My closest neighbor is 0.15 miles away through thick woods.  We're good and he doesn't mind.  My next closest neighbor is over 1/4 mile away.  I've been burning for 5 years and no one has said anything. 
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E Yoder

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Re: Summer Burning
« Reply #14 on: May 21, 2018, 10:23:09 AM »

Makes sense on the ammonia. I've never messed with pool chemicals.

A 3x8" 30 plate ($100 or less on eBay) can heat a good sized pool pretty quickly.
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