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WoodMaster / Woodmaster 4400 Problems resolved - lessons learned
« on: January 11, 2011, 10:21:36 PM »
I'm the one that had problems with my stove over-heating and boiling the water out which ended up being a wind leak from my front door because of the fire rope which I ended up replacing. I will do that annually from now on.
My other problem once I got the air leak figured out was that I no longer had any heat nor hot water.
Here is what all I had to do.
I had a huge amount of calcium build up which clogged my lines, my plate exchanger and my radiator. I took them all lose, cleaned them, blew them out with a water hose and air. My radiator above my plenum was still clogged and I ended up taking it to a company that services industrial boliers. I had tried taking it to a radiator place that does cars/ That was a waste of my time and gas money. The guy that owned the boiler service place knew exactly what was going on. He hooked up my radiator to some hoses and a pump that he cycled his chemical through it with. He cleaned it right up and then he gave me some advice as follows:
Fill up your wood stove water with soft water only - never hard.
Pour some white vinegar in it from time to time - a couple of gallons as well as your annual treatment(corequest or whatever you use)
I had to buy a new pump for my wood stove which was a Taco 011. Note: Don't waste your time or money buying a used one off of someone on ebay as I did. I ended up getting a new bigger 013 taco pump brand new and it is working great. Make sure you pay attention to the size of the pump you need and how long your pex lines are and how far the pum has to push the water. This is important.
Good news is that I have a very warm log cabin once again and I am burning wood again which makes me, my wife and daughter very happy. I won't ever run out of salt in my water softener and I will pay close attention to my stove maintenance from now on. My electric bill for the month I have been without my stove working was $477. With my stove running correctly, it averages just over $200 in the winter and I am ALL electric here in Indiana.
I hope this advice and my experience helps anyone else on here.
Thanks for all that posted replies for me
My other problem once I got the air leak figured out was that I no longer had any heat nor hot water.
Here is what all I had to do.
I had a huge amount of calcium build up which clogged my lines, my plate exchanger and my radiator. I took them all lose, cleaned them, blew them out with a water hose and air. My radiator above my plenum was still clogged and I ended up taking it to a company that services industrial boliers. I had tried taking it to a radiator place that does cars/ That was a waste of my time and gas money. The guy that owned the boiler service place knew exactly what was going on. He hooked up my radiator to some hoses and a pump that he cycled his chemical through it with. He cleaned it right up and then he gave me some advice as follows:
Fill up your wood stove water with soft water only - never hard.
Pour some white vinegar in it from time to time - a couple of gallons as well as your annual treatment(corequest or whatever you use)
I had to buy a new pump for my wood stove which was a Taco 011. Note: Don't waste your time or money buying a used one off of someone on ebay as I did. I ended up getting a new bigger 013 taco pump brand new and it is working great. Make sure you pay attention to the size of the pump you need and how long your pex lines are and how far the pum has to push the water. This is important.
Good news is that I have a very warm log cabin once again and I am burning wood again which makes me, my wife and daughter very happy. I won't ever run out of salt in my water softener and I will pay close attention to my stove maintenance from now on. My electric bill for the month I have been without my stove working was $477. With my stove running correctly, it averages just over $200 in the winter and I am ALL electric here in Indiana.
I hope this advice and my experience helps anyone else on here.
Thanks for all that posted replies for me
2
WoodMaster / WM 4400 Problem with hot weater and heat
« on: December 03, 2010, 07:15:16 PM »
Boy Im thinking I must be cursed or something.
I fixed my air leak problem which was causing my stove to over-heat and boil out the water. Everything has been working just fine until Thanksgiving.
Now, I have hardly any warm heat. My fan stays on my furnace all the time just trying to get my inside temperature in my house up to 70 degrees. My stove use to run us out of the house. I live in a big log cabin that is well insulated.
Here is what I noticed: The bottom of my heat exchanger where the hot water comes in is very hot, but the radiator and the lines coming out of the top of my heat exchanger are luke warm at best. IF I turn off my furnace fan, the top lines and radiator start getting hot again but the minute my fan turns on, it gets luke quick. I also have NO hot water in my house without turning on my hot water heater. The exchanger to my hot water heater has the same deal - incoming lines are too hot to touch, outgoing you can lick with your bare tongue.
The head of maintenance where I work thought maybe I had a calcium buildup that plugged up my line somehow, but I have 3/4 inch copper and 3/4 inch pex lines everywhere.
I have not put in any boiler treatment this season because I ran out from filling it up because it boiled out so often. Would that make any difference? I cranked my stove temp up to 180 thinking that I would see if it would help, but to no avail. I am at my wits end with this one other than starting to replace exchangers and then lines, but this is only my 3rd year with my stove running. I can't imagine that I would need to do either. I took great care with my pex lines when I installed them. I put them inside that black corrugated pipe with lots of insulation and was careful when covering them back up. I checked my stove's water and opened up the drain valves, etc...
Any clues on any of this beyond what I have tried??
Thanks for any advice.
I fixed my air leak problem which was causing my stove to over-heat and boil out the water. Everything has been working just fine until Thanksgiving.
Now, I have hardly any warm heat. My fan stays on my furnace all the time just trying to get my inside temperature in my house up to 70 degrees. My stove use to run us out of the house. I live in a big log cabin that is well insulated.
Here is what I noticed: The bottom of my heat exchanger where the hot water comes in is very hot, but the radiator and the lines coming out of the top of my heat exchanger are luke warm at best. IF I turn off my furnace fan, the top lines and radiator start getting hot again but the minute my fan turns on, it gets luke quick. I also have NO hot water in my house without turning on my hot water heater. The exchanger to my hot water heater has the same deal - incoming lines are too hot to touch, outgoing you can lick with your bare tongue.
The head of maintenance where I work thought maybe I had a calcium buildup that plugged up my line somehow, but I have 3/4 inch copper and 3/4 inch pex lines everywhere.
I have not put in any boiler treatment this season because I ran out from filling it up because it boiled out so often. Would that make any difference? I cranked my stove temp up to 180 thinking that I would see if it would help, but to no avail. I am at my wits end with this one other than starting to replace exchangers and then lines, but this is only my 3rd year with my stove running. I can't imagine that I would need to do either. I took great care with my pex lines when I installed them. I put them inside that black corrugated pipe with lots of insulation and was careful when covering them back up. I checked my stove's water and opened up the drain valves, etc...
Any clues on any of this beyond what I have tried??
Thanks for any advice.
3
WoodMaster / WM 4400 2nd Pump - Radiant Heater with blower
« on: November 16, 2010, 08:05:49 AM »
I'd like to start using my 2nd pump on my 4400. What I want to do is heat the underneath of my house (big crawl space)
I am looking for is a radiant heater with a blower and thermostat that I can hook up to my hot water/pex line to use to heat with.
Do any of you know where I can find a product like this?
I am looking for is a radiant heater with a blower and thermostat that I can hook up to my hot water/pex line to use to heat with.
Do any of you know where I can find a product like this?
4
WoodMaster / WOODMASTER 4400 OVER BOILING & USING WATER
« on: November 04, 2010, 08:03:14 PM »
This is the beginning of my 3rd season with my 4400. Late last winter it began over heating and now this season it is even worse and consistently. It's boiling the water out the top constantly and I have to constantly re-fill it. I do not see water coming out anywhere else. I have my stove set on 160 but it is running over 200 (212) ALL the time.
I replaced the fire rope and checked the flapper above the fan as my dealer suggested.
I'm not happy at all with the stove and the guys at work that burn Hardy Stainless steel stoves all claim they have never had ANY trouble. My dealer says I have an air leak somewhere but I can't find it.
Anyone else have this trouble?
I replaced the fire rope and checked the flapper above the fan as my dealer suggested.
I'm not happy at all with the stove and the guys at work that burn Hardy Stainless steel stoves all claim they have never had ANY trouble. My dealer says I have an air leak somewhere but I can't find it.
Anyone else have this trouble?
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