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[E Yoder]

What dimensions and how many plates?

And you said somewhere you thought you knew where the crud was coming from? You don't want to plug a new one.

[wreckit87]

I'm still having trouble visualizing how the oil burner and heat loads are piped... I'd sure like to see that before I go ahead and recommend you buy a new HX. My feeble mind can't process things without seeing them sometimes, haha. If you do decide to replace it though, you're most likely going to get bent over a log at the local plumbing store if they're anything like they are here. Check with Badger Insulated Pipe before you buy, or at least surf eBay. I would sure think a 60 plate would be great plenty for your application but "too big" is impossible. What is it that you have now? I feel like this was discussed but can't find it

[Roger2561]

Wreckit, I think he means the 26-99 is pumping out of a tee on the drain through the fphx and into a tee on the relief valve.
Roger- it sure sounds to me like a clogged-coated flat plate. If it worked before I'd guess going back with something similar would be fine. But I've had quite a few flat plates clog with lime water we have in some valleys around here that vinegar won't do much for but 'the works' cleans out nice.
But a new one would be a surer route.

Yoder, thanks for the reply and Happy New Year!  Would it be craz to try a larger flat plate, lets say a 70 or 80 plate?  One thing I need to admit to is, this is first really cold, subzero temps lasting more than a day or two that I've tried heating my house with the OWB.  The past few years have been rather mild (not complaining) so I'm unsure if the 50 Plate is indeed large enough for the load on this old house.  Roger

[E Yoder]

Yeah, Badger is great. Buying local will hurt.
A bigger plate won't hurt at all. Extra plates usually don't add to the cost that much.

[Roger2561]

The plate I have now is a 50 plate 12x5, made by Brazetek.  I'll see what Badger has to offer.

Thanks to the both of you for all of your expert help. 

Roger

[fireboss]

I am having the same problem and I went from a 40 to a 100 Fphx and it didn’t make a difference, i am convinced that i need a faster pump going to the oil burner and the EX. I have a taco 007 running 27/7 . I have a taco 14 running from wood burner to HX i am only loosing 1 or two degrees its a very short run . And that hot water is flying it’s 195 degrees.my water in my oil burner is only 170 max with these cold temperatures and then i have another 007 that pushes it up when there is a call for heat up stairs ( 3 zones) i am convinced that the 007 running across the EX is not going fast enough for it to keep up with the cool water coming back down from the baseboards . What do you guys think ?

[wreckit87]

I am having the same problem and I went from a 40 to a 100 Fphx and it didn’t make a difference, i am convinced that i need a faster pump going to the oil burner and the EX. I have a taco 007 running 27/7 . I have a taco 14 running from wood burner to HX i am only loosing 1 or two degrees its a very short run . And that hot water is flying it’s 195 degrees.my water in my oil burner is only 170 max with these cold temperatures and then i have another 007 that pushes it up when there is a call for heat up stairs ( 3 zones) i am convinced that the 007 running across the EX is not going fast enough for it to keep up with the cool water coming back down from the baseboards . What do you guys think ?

Your oil burner water temps are not high enough at 170? What are your return temps to the OWB after the HX? Are you counterflowed across the plate? Putting a faster pump in between the oil burner and plate is only going to reduce temp further, as the water can't stay in the plate long enough to heat up. Less flow equals more heat on the load side. If anything a faster load pump would be helpful to keep return temps from the baseboard higher

[fireboss]

My return temperature back to wood burner after the exchanger is 190 192 or 3 , i am hardly loosing anything. I tried closing the ball valves to slow the flow down from the oil burner to the exchanger and that didn’t do anything . When I switch to oil the oil burner can keep up. It runs a lot but the temperature is like 180 185

[fireboss]

And yes I have them counter flowing. I did shut that pump of for awhile and when it drop 5 degrees i turn it back on ant it came up 5 and it stays there . Last year i swap out the 40 EX to the 100 I didn’t gain anything so i had a 007 from the wood burner to the exchanger i was loosing probably 10 degrees, and when i put the 14 in ( I ordered the wrong pump I meant to get a 11) I tried it and it didn’t loose anything so I kept it so that’s why i am convinced that if I put a faster one on the other side it will go through the exchanger faster it will make the water in the oil burner hotter and then it would be warmer in the house

[wreckit87]

Hmmm.... Well only losing 2-5 degrees on the boiler loop is all but unheard of. I don't think you're getting any flow at all through that oil burner/HX loop unless the load pump is turning. If throttling the ball valve there did nothing, there is nothing to change- meaning you have no flow. Have you opened up that pump ever? Going through the exchanger faster is not going to raise temp any higher than it is. Faster flow means less time spent in the exchanger, thus less heat gained from the exchanger. Do the temps between the plate and oil burner change between no load and full load? Nothing about this makes sense

[fireboss]

I know for sure my gauge is working Because my Woodburner is set for 185 and 195 and when the wood burner opens the damper at 184 the return gauge it’ pretty darn close so it’s with in a Degree or to, and when t throttled bak the valves i can here it slow down. Maybe i am not giving it enough time to raise the temperature? But when I turned it off ( unplugged I have it plugged in a out let to run 24/7) it didn’t take long to bring it up the 5 degrees i let it drop, when the temperature outside is not as cold as it is now say 20 degrees everything is fine everything gets satisfied. I only have a problem when we get these cold snaps. And I know It is unheard of but that Taco 14 is way over kill my Woodburner is only 14 feet away from the house and Maybe the HX is another 10 feet away in the basement so maybe 40’ round trip, and that water is flying i can here it flowing  and i go long times between cycles

[E Yoder]

I would think that more flow from the indoor boiler through the flat plate while heating it less on the first pass would make the loop the second time before it goes out to the zones. It's a really short loop, much shorter than the zones. So more flow would be better with more temp gain. Thoughts?
You might have an emitter issue though. They're probably sized for 180+,℉, adding a few would make a huge difference, otherwise slinging more water doesn't help much. Cleaning lint off could help a bit too.

[wreckit87]

I guess I hadn't thought of it passing through the plate twice, my bad. Good call. I had assumed there was quite a bit of water in the oil burner that would take a minute or two to displace. Do you have any idea what the return temps are from the baseboard, before it hits the plate or oil burner or however you have it piped? I'm not familiar with this method of piping between the drain and relief like you had mentioned earlier Eldon, must be like a P/S setup to keep the oil burner hot all the time via the plate? And then the load pump drawing from that loop? Seems odd that even without a load the oil burner can't get higher than 170 even though the pump runs constantly and plate is 195 degrees

[fireboss]

I am sorry for the misunderstanding when no load it WILL reach 185 or better, in the shoulder months i have it set up where the oil burner to HE pump gets plugged in to the aquastat,so when it’s reaches temperature it shuts off . Like I said when it’s just cold everything is fine, but when it’s wicked cold it can’t keep up. So right now its 6 degrees but i am on oil and wood I have the oil burner itself on a plug that i plug it in to the aquastat

[wreckit87]

No return temps from the house? I'm just wondering if the load is simply too great and it can't recover. Seems odd that there was no difference from the 40 plate to 100 though, something is goofy