Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers with NON EPA-Certified Models Only => RidgeWood Stoves, defunct, support only => Topic started by: intensedrive on March 14, 2015, 10:08:56 PM
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Getting Close to shutdown. A friend that has a Ridgewood said last year he found paint chips in his water. Might be best if everyone who owns a Ridgewood, especially if its your first year or you never drained a few gallons off to take precautions. Drain a few gallons in a clear vessel, and check for paint. He said the first symptom he had was white showing up in the site glass.
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Where is the paint chips coming from?
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Propane tank
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Yep, that makes sense. Do they sand blast them first?
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Not sure, but I cleaned my site glass off good today and I see white stuff floating around. Hopefully its just calcium
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intensedrive
How old is your buddy's stove?
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Last year was his first year.
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should we be worried about paint plugging up our exchangers?
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I would only worry if you find paint. Yes it would cause a nightmare. Trying to flush the paint out of the boilers, lines, and exchanger
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Has anybody thought about putting a filter inline to keep the junk out of heat exchangers?
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Hi Chicken Farmer,
I do believe after reading some of the threads some owners are placing filters inline, which makes perfect sense if your running hard water, or for just ease of mind. Like I said I have noticed a milky white substance in the site glass dancing around. This weekend I'm going to pull a few gallons from the back and see. From their website it looks like they sand blast the paint off. My buddy told me Craig said some propane tanks are painted by the owner of the home, probably paint bought from home depot. Why was this not checked before build? Secondly begs the question, I don't think they sand blast the paint at all or he would have not has this issue. Most Ridgewood Owners know they reuse propane tanks. The fact paint was in his water tells me they do not sandblast. I'm sure its because of time and hassle. I don't know the painting term on how they paint new propane tanks but its a different process of using latex paint. I believe like cars its somehow fired? To make a long story short he filled and flushed his system like 20 times, and at the end of each flush a crap ton of paint flakes poured out. If you were to take one of these flakes in your hand it just mushes up in your hand. My best guess, the odds of a homeowner painting his propane tank is rather low. They did replace his boiler at no cost and always offered him superior support. My question how many owners of Ridgewood have never sampled their water from the back and even took a look on what might be hiding? Throwing wood all season and wondering where the heat went? Well your exchanger could be plugged up by paint.. So yes! your burning more wood you have no good flow through your exchanger.
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Just talked to Craig. The tanks are sandblasted. They have been doing this for two years now. Mine is two years old and no problems. If anyone has a paint sediment problem, please give them a call.
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I would think the impeller on the pump would chew up any paint flakes before they could plug an water to air exchanger, I could definitely see this being a problem with a flat plate.
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Thanks for the heads up. I hope this is a isolated incident. His unit was purchased in October of 2013 I would guess.
Just talked to Craig. The tanks are sandblasted. They have been doing this for two years now. Mine is two years old and no problems. If anyone has a paint sediment problem, please give them a call.
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I have some milky white stuff in my site glass. Hope its not paint
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Same here. Got some stuff floating. I would have thought if it was going to plug it would have by now though?
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me too. craig sent me a strainer to install after I shut down.
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Have you tried running a few gallons out the back into a clear vessel to evaluate further?
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everything clear on your check? No Paint?
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Last year my water looked milky. I had some plumbing work to do so I drained the system and reinstalled my water treatment. This year my water is clear. :thumbup:
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Cleaned the inside of my stove yesterday I'll spray the inside with lube this weekend. I'm gonna drain mine and refill. Also gonna pour a slab for it this summer.
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Anybody gonna run all summer and heat your dhw?
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If you flush your tank, be sure to keep tabs on the water after refill. Keep taking samples in clear vessel out the back drain port... Several gallons at a time to make sure everything is clear. One flush and refill might not be all you need. Always check the water quality out of the drain port. If you drain a few gallons off and its clear, I think your good.
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I had to drain off 40 gallons or so and refill because my water treatment PPM was a little on the high side, and my water looked clear..... other than a little dirty water right at first.
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[Anybody gonna run all summer and heat your dhw?]
Hey James, I'm going to try and run all summer. I have for the last 8 years with a CB 6048, but its the first year with PM 250. Also planning to change temperature in our pool, the main reason for that is to keep the teenager home and create a cool place for her and friends to hang out. Sorry I can't remember what name pipe, or the shell Heat exchanger. I'm still sitting back trying to lay low from my 5th Neck surgury, NEVER Give Up
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Speaking of shutting down, we are continuing to heat our DHW with our Ridgewood 7500 but are leaving for a few days. Our plan is to let the fire go out ( rebuild when we get home in 3 days ). Now the dumb question, should I shut my pump off or continue to let it circulate? As always, thanks for your time to respond...............Vincent Paul Meyers
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Let it run, it will be fine.
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Thank you SlimJim, I knew if anyone would answer it would be you. Haven't been on here for awhile, ranching and farming ( and working a 12 hour/day job ) have consumed my time. I always appreciate your help greatly. vpm