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Author Topic: Woodmaster Update  (Read 14929 times)

mingom

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Woodmaster Update
« on: January 22, 2012, 04:21:08 PM »

Hey guys,
I got the work done on the boiler, added a 40 plate hx, and redid the plumbing.  I'm still using some propane, but its much better.  My boiler temps are running down pretty low so I think that the house is getting much better heat transfer (from 180 ive seen down to 145) Im lookign for some advice on what else to look for to stop using gas, and to keep the boiler temps up to 170 at least.
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pintopaul

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2012, 04:40:57 PM »

what wood master stove did you get?
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mingom

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2012, 05:31:38 PM »

I have a woodmaster 4400
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RSI

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2012, 10:07:26 PM »

The OWB temperature it dropping to 145 across the plate but the temperature at the OWB is holding 180?
If that is what is happening you need a bigger pump.
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mingom

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2012, 05:16:48 AM »

No sorry, at the OWB temp sensor its dropping to 145 (at times)
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mingom

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2012, 12:44:40 PM »

for those of you with OWB's particularly the 4400, how do you keep your temps up? I have my OWB set at 180 degrees with a 5 degree differential for kick on temp. Since the install of the new HX, i see temps that dip down to 150ish pretty consistently, which to me signifies a significant heat draw from the house (before i would hit 170- sometimes) It seems to be burning pretty decently, its been eating up some wood this past week with temps below zero most nights. I'd like to be able to keep the temps up to a more consistent level, and not have the blower run pretty much 24/7.

Any ideas?
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RSI

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2012, 12:49:28 PM »

Does the temperature of the OWB recover once it gets burning or does it stay down till the heat load from the house drops?
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mingom

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2012, 07:39:21 AM »

It doesn't seem to recover even without the lack of load from the house.  I'm beginning to think I have an airflow issue in the boiler,  I believe I should be getting a.) more burn time out of my wood, b.) more ashes than bigger coal-y pieces, c.) better temps from the ETC ( ie set at 180 with 175 kick on... maybe dropping to 170, not down to 150-145).   I'm just not seeing what other people say their stoves are capable of in terms of output, burn times, and how their stove ashes up.
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newmanab

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2012, 10:12:57 AM »

What's your return line temp to owb?? What type of pex did you use underground?  Sounds like you could be losing some heat there if your boiler won't come up to temp with no demand.
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mingom

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2012, 01:18:48 PM »

I believe I am losing some heat in the ground, but not that much... I wasn't having this issue as noticeably before i had the hx installed.  I had my boiler guy check the pex, he said it wasn't the best, but it didn't look like any water penetration, as he said i would see it in my basement where the pex comes in.  I have a good 3-4 ft depth where it penetrates the wall.
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RSI

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2012, 02:43:26 PM »

How long does it take till it gets back up to 180?
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mingom

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2012, 04:12:01 AM »

I haven't had the time to go out and sit and watch, but i'd estimate easily over 45 minutes, depending on how low it drops.
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mingom

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2012, 07:40:57 AM »

Just wanted to post some thoughts I got from another website:

I haven't really tried seeing if leaving the door open brings the temp up fast, usually its way down by the time I see it and I'd have to leave the door open for a long time, which cause the boiler to boil out some water and some good sized flames and smoke to pour out the door. I believe the fan/damper is operating fairly well, if I shut the door almost all the way, I can watch the fan stoke the fire really well. Is burning a crosote log okay for the OWB's? I thought I had heard they're not great on the system. I'm going to look into getting a brush system so I can sweep it this weekend, do I have to completely shut down the fire to do this, or can it be swept while operating?


Regarding the water side of the system. I don't have a definitive answer regarding whether or not the OWB temp stablizes when the home isn't drawing a load. Temps have been on the warmer side (40 ish degrees) the past few days but the boiler still falls to 150-155 degree levels, I can't believe my house is calling for the same load as it was when temps were -7 last week. I'm not trying to say that there isn't an issue with the home side, but I just don't know what would have changed that drastically. The guy I had perform the service on my system a few weeks ago said my system is very similar to ones he's installed, and a very common setup. I have a hard time believing that the past two owners were completely fooled by the system and lied outright to me about how it performed.


Quote Originally Posted by ...... View Post
I finally went back through all the prior posts to understand the details. Not sure I understand it all correctly. Below are a few thoughts based on what I think has been described.

First, I am commenting only on the air flow here. Correct me if I'm wrong. Damper opens at 175 boiler water temp, then boiler water temp proceeds to drop to the 150 range and take a long time to increase to the 180 closure set point. If you leave the boiler door open a crack then it heats fine, fire cranks up and boiler water temp doesn't fall into the 150's? You can crack boiler door, get fire cranking, maintain good boiler water temp, then close the boiler door and have the boiler water temp fall significantly despite the damper open/fan running? If these scenarios are correct, then you have an air intake issue. The damper open and fan running should not allow the boiler water temp to drop off like that if you have good coals and good wood in the fire box. When the damper is open and fan is running you should have high output from your chimney. Check it. Open the boiler door a crack and check to see if there is a difference in chimney output. This will isolate airflow to intake only and let you know if that is an issue. If opening the door does not make much difference in chimney output, then you need to determine if the chimney out put is adequate/proper. How much smoke is coming out the door versus exiting via the chimney? Its possible you have something in the chimney. Burn a creosote log and clean it out. Use a chimney cleaning brush and make sure there isn't blockage.

Second, I am commenting only on the home system heat draw. If I understand your diagram and descriptions, your owb-side water flow has been checked and is now fine. The owb-side water is running in a continuous loop and passes its heat to the in-home system loop through heat exchanger. Your in-home loop is not running continuously and while its idle the owb water temps are fine. Its only when the in-home is activated and running that the owb water temps drop significantly. Is this all correct? If so, the in-home system water temp running through the heat exchanger is cooling the owb water temp, so the in-home system is dominating the owb system. If true, it seems you have a design flaw in the system.
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mingom

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2012, 10:11:47 AM »

Sorry to be a bother, but any ideas anyone?  I hate being stumped like this
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RSI

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Re: Woodmaster Update
« Reply #14 on: January 26, 2012, 10:20:40 AM »

Not being there and actually looking at it, it is hard to say.
It sounds like when the zone pumps kick on they dump a lot of cold water into the boiler and pull the temperature way down. Then as it is trying to re-heat it has the heat load on the house making it take a lot longer to recover the temperature.

If this is what is happening, I think the best fix would be to put a storage tank in the basement(if you have room)
If you run the return water into it, it will keep the boiler from getting hit all of the sudden with a lot of cold water.

A 275 gallon fuel oil tank works pretty well stood on end as a storage tank.
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