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1
Home Made / 400 gallon tank inside 1000 gallon tank wood boiler?
« on: July 29, 2012, 05:35:53 PM »
Hi I love this site, I was on here a few years ago and had planned to build one when we moved but got busy with so many other things and ended up tearing out old brick chimney installing new double wall stainless from basement to top of two story house and put a old wood furnace in basement along with a pellet/corn stove in living room for last winter. It didn't work too bad but we don't have as much hardwood in our area as where I used to live so I found myself going down to the basement a lot more than usual. I am thinking of starting a boiler project with what I have on hand now and can always upgrade at a later point.
I have a 38" diameter tank 7' long I figure its about 400 gallons, one fitting on front bottom for a fuel hose and a larger screw on lid on top. Other than that its all sealed up and doesn't leak. I found a guy with a tank that he says is 4.5' diameter and 10' long approx, probably about 1000 gallons. It has a handful of misc. fittings, etc. I figure I might be able to use some of them since this tank will be the water tank. I don't know the thickness of the 400 gallon tank, maybe 1/4" not as thick as a lot of you use but I think it will hold up for quite awhile. This would give me about 600 gallons of hot water if I don't shorten anything.
Do any of you see a problem with this large of a firebox? I love the idea of doing less splitting and keeping logs longer, plus I can burn up branches, etc. I would love to put this in a garage to catch any wasted heat but for now I think I will just frame it out and insulate, might be safer that way anyways. Is there anything I can do to eliminate smoking? I remember a few people where we used to live and they were pretty smoky at times. I live on the outskirts of town but if the wind was right I suppose it could bother people. In our house it burns so good that most people around here thought I was selling all my firewood and not burning it because they never saw smoke! I tried to tell them that's because I had dry firewood and burned it hot but most don't believe it. I don't know if it will work that way on the boiler because it will sit closer to the ground and won't always be burning wide open.
I'm gonna have to do this whole project on a budget and might just get the tank inside the tank and door part all welded up and tested for leaks and have to stop until spring. I will keep the basement wood furnace no matter what for backup. If any of this seems to be a bad idea let me know, I'm all ears.
I have a 38" diameter tank 7' long I figure its about 400 gallons, one fitting on front bottom for a fuel hose and a larger screw on lid on top. Other than that its all sealed up and doesn't leak. I found a guy with a tank that he says is 4.5' diameter and 10' long approx, probably about 1000 gallons. It has a handful of misc. fittings, etc. I figure I might be able to use some of them since this tank will be the water tank. I don't know the thickness of the 400 gallon tank, maybe 1/4" not as thick as a lot of you use but I think it will hold up for quite awhile. This would give me about 600 gallons of hot water if I don't shorten anything.
Do any of you see a problem with this large of a firebox? I love the idea of doing less splitting and keeping logs longer, plus I can burn up branches, etc. I would love to put this in a garage to catch any wasted heat but for now I think I will just frame it out and insulate, might be safer that way anyways. Is there anything I can do to eliminate smoking? I remember a few people where we used to live and they were pretty smoky at times. I live on the outskirts of town but if the wind was right I suppose it could bother people. In our house it burns so good that most people around here thought I was selling all my firewood and not burning it because they never saw smoke! I tried to tell them that's because I had dry firewood and burned it hot but most don't believe it. I don't know if it will work that way on the boiler because it will sit closer to the ground and won't always be burning wide open.
I'm gonna have to do this whole project on a budget and might just get the tank inside the tank and door part all welded up and tested for leaks and have to stop until spring. I will keep the basement wood furnace no matter what for backup. If any of this seems to be a bad idea let me know, I'm all ears.
2
Home Made / Re: Gasification wood boiler build
« on: January 21, 2011, 10:23:29 PM »
Nice video Jackel. This has been a awesome write up and I believe if someone was wanting to build this they could get alot of their information off this thread.
3
Home Made / Re: Gasification wood boiler build
« on: January 19, 2011, 08:50:09 PM »
Man this isn't even my stove and I am excited hearing your story. Glad everyone is warm and healthy. When your warm because of your own work its a good feeling. Especially when there is such a difference in temperature from outside to inside, makes you appreciate it alot.
4
Home Made / Re: Looking for some help on controls, etc. for a future OWB build.
« on: January 17, 2011, 05:48:11 PM »
Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it. I even had a member pm me with alot of help. The greenhouse I was thinking something pretty small, I just want to be able to get a head start eventually on growing stuff, thats not in the works right now but in the future. I have plenty of research ahead of me before I begin but this seems to be a good place to throw ideas at to get opinions on how well it will work. I was thinking there was some off the shelf automatic draft control but if not that is okay. I like the idea of using a draft inducer. Anyways I hope to be buying a welder next month sometime and it will be awhile before I start on building because I won't be moving to the house until April or May and need to work on it before the boiler. This will probably be a summer time project. I am excited to think of all the positive things to come from building this after burning wood inside forever.
5
Home Made / Looking for some help on controls, etc. for a future OWB build.
« on: January 16, 2011, 06:36:11 PM »
Hello I have decided that I want to build an OWB and have been doing alot of research. I have looked at some factory models in person and saw a Central Boiler 5036 and was quite impressed but I will be trying to copy the 6048 as much as possible. I am even going to copy the rippled roof design if anyone has looked at theses. The dealer I talked to said a draft blower was an available option but he didn't recommend it because it blows some heat out the stack which kind of makes sense. I understand basically how I want to build the firebox, insulation, water jacket, etc.
Where I am slowly trying to grasp everything is the controls etc. I have a plan drawn up of how I want to hook it all up and what I expect to use but when it comes to pumps, controls, etc. I don't know which is best to use. I am planning to use either cast iron radiators and/or baseboard heaters. I had thought about under floor heating but the way I was going to install only shows 18 btu's per sq. foot and my area shows I might need 50-55 btu's per sq. foot. I would rather have more heating capacity than freeze all the time like I currently do. I don't live where I will be installing all of this yet but its an older 2 story square house, not sure on sq. feet but I will be adding a shop down the road, greenhouse, hopefully retrofit a gas dryer also, as well as hot water. Here is a list and maybe some of you can comment with your opinions:
1. Pump? Do I need more than one, which size, etc. Does it install at the boiler?
2. Automatic draft control? I have seen these on alot of stoves but can't find them anywhere. I need to be able to shut air flow off to the stove to maintain a water temperature.
3. Filling with water/purging air?
4. Zoning the heaters? Should they just be plumbed one right after another in a loop or should I install a manifold with individual shutoffs? I don't need seperate pumps for each zone do I? I was thinking the water flowing in from the boiler could go to a manifold with individual 1/2" shutoffs for each zone. This way I could shut off rooms I don't use when its really cold out.
5. Regulating temperature in each zone? Do I just install a shutoff valve at each baseboard heater/radiator and adjust the water flow to where were comfortable or is there some type of thermostat you can put on the wall that can control the flow on its own? I don't want to make the system too complicated and expensive, I am on a budget.
Sorry for such newbie questions but I have been looking everywhere and the generic statement I keep finding is consult a professional. I am pretty handy and hardly ever hire someone to do my own stuff. I do construction and alot of mechanical stuff. I also took some welding classes for about 6 months. I will have to buy a welder, not sure if I want to buy a plasma cutter or not but it would help and I would use it again but I might just get the metal cut to sizes that I need for the bigger stuff.
Anyways I am looking forward to some guidance because I am not familiar with hydronic heating.
Where I am slowly trying to grasp everything is the controls etc. I have a plan drawn up of how I want to hook it all up and what I expect to use but when it comes to pumps, controls, etc. I don't know which is best to use. I am planning to use either cast iron radiators and/or baseboard heaters. I had thought about under floor heating but the way I was going to install only shows 18 btu's per sq. foot and my area shows I might need 50-55 btu's per sq. foot. I would rather have more heating capacity than freeze all the time like I currently do. I don't live where I will be installing all of this yet but its an older 2 story square house, not sure on sq. feet but I will be adding a shop down the road, greenhouse, hopefully retrofit a gas dryer also, as well as hot water. Here is a list and maybe some of you can comment with your opinions:
1. Pump? Do I need more than one, which size, etc. Does it install at the boiler?
2. Automatic draft control? I have seen these on alot of stoves but can't find them anywhere. I need to be able to shut air flow off to the stove to maintain a water temperature.
3. Filling with water/purging air?
4. Zoning the heaters? Should they just be plumbed one right after another in a loop or should I install a manifold with individual shutoffs? I don't need seperate pumps for each zone do I? I was thinking the water flowing in from the boiler could go to a manifold with individual 1/2" shutoffs for each zone. This way I could shut off rooms I don't use when its really cold out.
5. Regulating temperature in each zone? Do I just install a shutoff valve at each baseboard heater/radiator and adjust the water flow to where were comfortable or is there some type of thermostat you can put on the wall that can control the flow on its own? I don't want to make the system too complicated and expensive, I am on a budget.
Sorry for such newbie questions but I have been looking everywhere and the generic statement I keep finding is consult a professional. I am pretty handy and hardly ever hire someone to do my own stuff. I do construction and alot of mechanical stuff. I also took some welding classes for about 6 months. I will have to buy a welder, not sure if I want to buy a plasma cutter or not but it would help and I would use it again but I might just get the metal cut to sizes that I need for the bigger stuff.
Anyways I am looking forward to some guidance because I am not familiar with hydronic heating.
6
Home Made / Re: Gasification wood boiler build
« on: January 16, 2011, 06:12:59 PM »
Looking pretty good.
7
Home Made / Re: Gasification wood boiler build
« on: January 08, 2011, 05:57:22 PM »
I just joined the site because I am interested in possibly building a owb but read through your entire post and anxious to see the results. You are doing a good job of putting your family first and keeping a balance between your job and this project which is alot of work. Keep up the good work.
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