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[husky 555]

I have been using an OWF for 5 years.  My house always seemed to come up to temp within a half hour.  For example house temp is set at 65 degrees through the night.  Then around 6 a.m. I have it set at 70 usually by 6:30 a.m. it is at set temp and the house is no longer calling for heat.  Now with the cold spell my house did not even reach 70 degrees by 7:40 a.m..  I had this issue at the beginning of the heating season and the heating guy purged a small amount of air from the inside system.  He also checked out the inside pump and found it to be ok.   To me it seems to be taking too long to get the house up to temp.  Could this be a symptom of a hx going bad?  My home is new construction and well isulated.  OWF set to 185 degrees and I am loosing about 7 degrees underground according to my heat gun.  Any thoughts?

[Scott7m]

We spoke yesterday I beleive

To check with heat gun you must put it on the same surface outside and inside, so hit the pex outside and inside, that should be fairly accurate, you should also see your return temp raise from where it exits the house until it reaches the back of the stove.  The return tends to steal some heat from the supply on the way back.

Pull your exchanger out, try pushing water through it backwards as to how it normal flows with a garden hose.  Do that a few times, go get you some CLR and try pouring it in there and pushing it through, let it set in it a bit, then refresh..  Unless it's some really nasty hard scale that "could" work

[husky 555]

Pulling the hx off will be a huge job as the installer (now out of business) did me no favors.  He did not install any shut offs, so to pull off the hx requirers me to drain the inside system and cut copper to all four ports.  A job that may have to wait until heating season is over when I can take the time to do it right. 

[Scott7m]

4 ports???   Your hx has 4 pipes?

[husky 555]

Yes four ports.  In port for owf; out port for owf; in port for oil furnance; out port for oil furnace. Size of hx is 5x12 most likely 70 plate.

[Scott7m]

Wait, your not the guy I talked to yesterday lol


Shewww...

I follow you now...  But yes you are very likely dealing with a clog.  It's going to get worse faster now that it's plugging up, and we have a lot of weather left

I'd cut it out, wouldn't take no time.  If it's copper you could cut it out, then when your ready to hook it back up just use shark bite couplings, nothing to solder, you'd be done in a couple hours...   Other than dealing with the water mess

[horse62049]

need some help guys noticed my furnace was running alot more than before and air was not as hot checked heat ex and the half on the inlet side is hot but the side on return is ice cold felt the copper loops on back side of heat ex can half of it be plugged can i just flush it out with garden hose or air.

[Scott7m]

It's plugged up with something, u sure there is no air in it?

But yea, water hose and CLR

[horse62049]

can air cause it to do that i got valve before return goes back into wood stove can i open close that and get air out

[Scott7m]

Yea air could cause it, not sure how it suddenly would get in there, but it is possible

That method can work sometimes

[horse62049]

forgot to say drain valve on wood stove left on while back water got below pump  shut valve and added water would that cause air to get in it now i think about it that was about same time problem started can i just open close drain valve on return line and get air out

[Scott7m]

Drain is in the bottom, when air comes back to the stove it will go up and out

Just try closing return, opening it fast, repeat until you hear air come through

You should hear your pump build up when u close it, then snap it open

[horse62049]

thanks just got back in opened drain on return line and opened and closed valve couple times it spit some air out and alot of crap let it run till it was clear water checked ex hot all over thanks that was it. 

[Scott7m]

thanks just got back in opened drain on return line and opened and closed valve couple times it spit some air out and alot of crap let it run till it was clear water checked ex hot all over thanks that was it.

Sounds good!!!   Glad to have helped

Your welcome

[chillyhiker]

You know scott, your really a stand up guy..ive been reading this forum for a  while  as im saving for an OWB and want to be educated and i cant count how many times youve helped people...I know when I get to the point I can purchase one I will drive the 4 1/2 hours from where I live to buy one from you....chilly