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Author Topic: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype  (Read 20334 times)

coolidge

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #60 on: December 23, 2016, 11:15:32 AM »

I couldn't find any pictures of the topside nozzle, the one in the middle was supposed to be standing up right behind where the flame hit to try and keep ash toward the front more.
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hondaracer2oo4

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #61 on: December 27, 2016, 09:54:05 AM »

Any more progress on this? Can anyone else with a 250 post the nozzle dimensions and the dimensions of the secondary nozzle size?
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Bender

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #62 on: December 27, 2016, 12:12:52 PM »

Any more progress on this? Can anyone else with a 250 post the nozzle dimensions and the dimensions of the secondary nozzle size?

Yep, did some more work to make it breathe better through the nozzle as SlimJim suggested. By itself, that helped a fair amount. I also added a couple of steel pipes along the side of the firebox to help keep wood from blocking the primary air supplies.

In looking online at the new O 250 design and other gassers, I noticed that they all had firebrick very close to the secondary burn area, within inches of it in most cases. I built a C-Channel with 2" firebrick around the sides of the area where the blowtorch fires and added a 1" firebrick directly below it. My thinking here is that the firebrick getting hot and holding the heat should help ignite the gasses. This helped immensely, coupled with the more free breathing nozzle.

The last thing I tried was this morning. I removed the discs limiting the primary air flow completely. It still seemed to me that the fire in the firebox still needed more air. I played with the secondary air supply (to the nozzle area) and found that it runs best with a very small amount of air flowing there (around 1/8" of the disc open).

With all that, the results were outstanding today! I ran a mixture of cedar and elm (definitely not the best wood) and started with just a few coals around 11:00am, stove was at 179 degrees. By 12:15 it hit the set point of 195. That is the fastest I have ever had it make temp, AND - it did this with both zones in the house calling for heat the entire time! Outside temp is about 20 degrees. I checked the reaction chamber two or three times during the burn time and the blow torch was going steadily.

HUGE thanks to you, Coolidge, SlimJim and RSI for all of the suggestions and sharing your knowledge!  :thumbup:

Here are the pics of the re-revised steel nozzle. SlimJim, I didn't have time to line the bottom of the firebox as you suggested yet, but opening up the nozzle as you recommended was key. I will get around to lining the firebox with the 1" brick in the next month or so, but for now, life with the boiler is good. :) 




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hondaracer2oo4

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #63 on: December 27, 2016, 04:13:35 PM »

Awesome! I'm sure you are really excited. How many gallons in it? I know my g200 when it has a good coal bed and a good wood load in it can run 160-180 in about 20 mins  and sometimes faster heating up 200 gallons. When it is gassing so so because of either end of wood load or wood load not sitting down well on coal bed it sometimes can take 30-40 mins to make that same run.
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Bender

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #64 on: December 27, 2016, 04:37:49 PM »

Awesome! I'm sure you are really excited. How many gallons in it? I know my g200 when it has a good coal bed and a good wood load in it can run 160-180 in about 20 mins  and sometimes faster heating up 200 gallons. When it is gassing so so because of either end of wood load or wood load not sitting down well on coal bed it sometimes can take 30-40 mins to make that same run.

Yeah, very excited! Seems to be much less ash and I think the creosote collecting in the upper tubes burned out today. Pretty sure mine is 240 gallons. The G 200 looks like a really nice stove.
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hondaracer2oo4

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #65 on: December 27, 2016, 06:44:59 PM »

I think your going to really like the pm when you dial it in the way it is suppose to be.
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Bender

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #66 on: December 28, 2016, 11:42:57 AM »

I think your going to really like the pm when you dial it in the way it is suppose to be.

Just had a 16 hour burn time! Loaded it about half full last night with a mixture of elm and cedar. That same wood would have yielded 8 or 9 hours before and a lot more ash. It's a completely different stove now.
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coolidge

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #67 on: December 28, 2016, 06:22:53 PM »

Let er rip
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hondaracer2oo4

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #68 on: December 28, 2016, 06:43:29 PM »

 :post:
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hondaracer2oo4

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #69 on: January 01, 2017, 05:02:53 PM »

Still gassing well I assume?
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Bender

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #70 on: January 03, 2017, 12:00:05 PM »

Still gassing well I assume?

Crazy well, yeah. Not having to babysit the wood boiler is a new concept...  Last year I hooked up a 120V blue LED inline with the fan wiring and mounted it on the front of the stove, so I could look out at night to see if it was running. Before this last round of mods, it seemed like that was on 75% of the time, now it's about 10%.  Might have to get a second job with all this extra time on my hands. :)

Actually, with the spare time, I've been working with a friend in building a microprocessor, wifi-based boiler monitor. It monitors supply water temp, fan on/off time, ambient outdoor temp and and return water temp. If the supply water temp goes below a certain value, it will send a text alert, and it will chart the temps, running times, wood load times, wood quality, etc. via a webpage. Should be a nice tool for evaluating how well things are running. If anyone's interested, I can post some more info on it when we get the prototype finished.
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MISHOOTER

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #71 on: January 03, 2017, 04:26:43 PM »

That would be great.  I would like to hook something like that up to my bl 34-44
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hondaracer2oo4

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #72 on: January 03, 2017, 08:42:50 PM »

I would also be interested
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Bender

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #73 on: January 05, 2017, 12:52:22 PM »

I would also be interested

It'll probably be around a month before I have the prototype running, but I'll definitely post an update when I do.
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aarmga

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Re: Year 2 with an early Optimizer 250 prototype
« Reply #74 on: February 06, 2017, 10:08:33 PM »

In for prototype details
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