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Author Topic: More water line discussion  (Read 10877 times)

maine owb

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Re: More water line discussion
« Reply #15 on: February 24, 2010, 04:31:32 PM »

Sorry if people have read my thoughts on other pages but i want people to spend as little as possible. I buried my pex lines 30-36" deep. Each  1&1/4 pex line is in its own 4" sched 35 pvc pipe. The pex is covered in closed cell insulation with one layer of bubble wrap(type) insulation and feed into the 4" pvc. This is covered with an 18" wide sheet of rigid insualtion and covered with the soil taken out to dig the ditch. I live in maine and snow is on the ground here from december to march or april and i have not noticed any snow that has melted where my pipe is. I also have 6 temperature sensors and i only loose 1 degree on my system when the house is not using any heat. In fact one problem i have had(not a real problem) is that when my house does not need heat the OWB slowly get warmer even with no draft and because i have no heat loss my dump zone will come on every once in awhile under certain situations. I am convinced that this is a very effective and economical way of installing pipe. My system is 1&1/4 pex and it was much cheaper than anything I could buy. 1" pipe would be really cheap. I bought my insulation at "grainger" www.grainger.com a large company that sells all sorts of things, i found the insulation very cheap, stay away from the box stores. I also found insulation with a much thicker wall than the box store stuff. when buying insulation just measure the actual outside diameter of the pex and order accordingly, 1/16 bigger if anything. Buy the unsplit type rather than the split type. Tape all butt joints. With 1" pex you could wrap 2 layers of the bubble wrap around the insulation and fit it in 4" pvc. Schedule 35 is a bell end type pvc not glued, but i glued mine. This system will perform very well for you.
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willieG

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Re: More water line discussion
« Reply #16 on: February 24, 2010, 04:42:38 PM »

i never intended for my point of "do not ceap out" as meaning cost. i meant that remark to mean "don't think that any old insulation will do"
maine, it sounds as though you did some research and did your lines "cheaper" (in cost) but no cheaper (in quality) good luck with your home made lines. I too just want people to realize that the underground lines you use could (likely)  have a great impact on your OWB's overall performance
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home made OWB (2012)
Ontario Canada

MarkP

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Re: More water line discussion
« Reply #17 on: February 26, 2010, 07:41:26 AM »

Hey Guys,,, good input from everyone.  Kinda' gets me thinking.

As for what is filled around my drain pipe, I filled it with sand, then 2" of high density foamboard on top, then dirt.  No rocks to eat through the casing.  My wood consumption has been about the same this year, if not better than last year, and we have had more snow and colder weather DAILY here in WV.  Rough winter so far.  (My cousin just moved here from Alaska,,, she said she is ready to move back to Alaska, where the weather is nice,,,,lol.)  I have had consistent 12-14 hour burns all year.  I think last year, I was loading the stove too heavy each time.  Now, once the wood is gone, it can go another 2 - 4 hours before it needs wood, just heating on the 12" pile of coals.  I have noticed no difference in the performance of my stove, and if anything,, it is doing better this year than last.  Maybe a learning curve on my part.

One thing I did think about as far as difference from last year to this year.  I had a low spot along the ditch in my yard, and I decided to fill it in with loose dirt and let it settle before I seeded it.  It seems that afew other spots that I filled seem to melt off first as well.  Not sure the reason, unless like Willie's ditch filled with rock for drainage, maybe the air passage  through the porosity of the "new" dirt might be causing some of the melt.  It only does it when the weather is right at freezing or above.  Maybe I'm worrying over nothing.

I'm already making plans for a new stove for next season, just to make some changes that I think would make a better stove.  I will keep ya posted as it progresses.  Lots of information on here.  Need to take advantage of it.

LOVE MY OWB!
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rosewood

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Re: More water line discussion
« Reply #18 on: February 27, 2010, 06:39:42 PM »

 i agree on useing sand around piping ,but i wouldnt recommend putting stone around it .  stone provides the path of least resistence for water and thats the last thing  you want your pipe in. if someone has a high water table i would say to bite the bullet and buy the best or the most waterproof.
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willieG

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Re: More water line discussion
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2010, 06:49:14 PM »

i agree on useing sand around piping ,but i wouldnt recommend putting stone around it .  stone provides the path of least resistence for water and thats the last thing  you want your pipe in. if someone has a high water table i would say to bite the bullet and buy the best or the most waterproof.
my pipes run right down my lane so i put a drain tile in beside my OWB pipes. there is not much water lays in the lane for long so i presume it is working. But are the OWB pipes wet? i don't know really, but my wood consumption is always about the same, so i think my "wasted wood" what ever that is, has been the same since year 1

what i have in the ground is not near as good as what is available today. but my stove is 250 feet away  from the house so for the expense of replacing it, i will just keep cutting the extra wood (that i believe is not more than 2 cords)
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rosewood

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Re: More water line discussion
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2010, 07:00:54 PM »

willie ,i quess the only way to know if the homeade piping we all made is effiecent or not is to install the big $$$ stuff...let me know how you make out..ha ha
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willieG

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Re: More water line discussion
« Reply #21 on: February 27, 2010, 07:18:28 PM »

if my lines were under 100 feet...maybe. but for 250 plus the mess of my lane again....i'll make a couple more trips to the bush!

hell i would have more in the underground pipe than i got in the stove!! :bash:
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home made OWB (2012)
Ontario Canada
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