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[Ridgekid]

I think your right. I love this thing already!

Here's some pics:  http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=6

[yamanoborisan]

This is really a response to your now oft-commented-upon quote, MTJAG;
thanks for putting that up there.  I am familiar with the quote via a man
named Jim Elliott who popularized it in the middle of last century.  One of
the many books written about that great man is called "Through Gates
of Splendor" if anyone is looking for inspiration along the lines of that
quote...

[MTJAG]

This is really a response to your now oft-commented-upon quote, MTJAG;
thanks for putting that up there.  I am familiar with the quote via a man
named Jim Elliott who popularized it in the middle of last century.  One of
the many books written about that great man is called "Through Gates
of Splendor" if anyone is looking for inspiration along the lines of that
quote...

thanks much for that information.  I've not read that particular book, but I have heard of Jim Elliott.  Is that the same account the "End of the Spear" movie was about?

[Ridgekid]

Before going to bed,  I added 8 pieces of firewood. Stacked like a small hill inside. I turned the thermostat down in the house to 70F.

Woke up this morning and turned the thermostat back up to 73F. It's 32F outside.

Checked the OWB. Water temp 179F. Opened the door and my small hill was still there. Just a little lower as the wood underneath was almost gone. The wood almost gone was put in there yesterday during the initial start. About 1.5 hours later the damper opened as the water temp had dropped to 174F. It took less than 20 minutes before the damper closed again.

At the inital fill my PH was 7.0. (Thats well water) Per my installers instructions, we circulated and heated the water before adding the rust inhibitor. Around noon today I'll check the PH again.

As mentioned on this site. It's better to open the door when it's close to the time the damper is going to open. I would like to add to step back and away from the door to allow the smoke to clear. This is a good time to walk over to the woodstack and get some wood ready to load.

So far, everything is working well.

One more thing. I checked the air temp coming out of our ducts. We are pushing 125F air into the house this morning.

[dirtryder]

Sounds great Ridgekid,
It didn't take long for my wife and daughters to figure out that we were not buying propane and "Dad" does all the wood stuff so keeping the thermostat @ 76...24/7 all winter is "cozy"
Now my inlaws....bless them.....on their side (seperate heater) like it about 80

Me, I love to see them all happy......

[yamanoborisan]

Indeed, MTJAG, same Jim Elliott.

[Ridgekid]

Water Chemistry Report

I performed the first 24hr water test and the result was satisfactory. This after putting in the rust inhibitor yesterday.
PH 9.0 (Normal-8.0-9.5)
Nitrate 23 drops. (Normal 20-30 drops)

For the record Normal PH level before adding Rust inhibitor is 6.5-8.0. I was a 7.0.

I also started a Journal to keep track of Water Chemistry. I'll also use it to record start-up/Shutdown dates. I'll also record wood usage.

[MTJAG]

Ridgekid,
Sounds like you are well underway and everybody's happy.  Good to hear.  Nice photos on the install by the way.  Good to hear that your wood consumption wasn't all that much at 32 degrees overnight.

[MTJAG]

Indeed, MTJAG, same Jim Elliott.

the "End of the Spear" is an amazing story! 

[Ridgekid]

Morning all-

Woke up this morning and house is still warm. Your probably thinking why wouldn't it? I had my doubt because I have not put any more wood in the OWB since Wednesday night. Yesterday it was a little warm during the day and I did not want to introduce new wood since I still had some left.

It was 36F this morning and I checked the water temp. 175F. 15 Minutes later the damper opened and it took 10 minutes to heat it up to 185F. Took a walk to see how much wood was left. I could still idenitify 4 of the 8 pieces I put in Wednesday night.

It going to be warm today, but then the temps will be falling into the 50's for highs. I'll go stir the ashes later today and then restock. With the current forecast (70's by Monday) it will probably be the last fire for the season.

Once the unit is cold, I'll be modifying the piping in the basement. The installer was supposed to run the pipe to the ceiling and keep it between the floor joist to the HTX. We have plans to finish our basement sometime in the future.

BTW- (for Mtjag) Our limited Warranty does not start until Dec 2011. Per my Dealer CB does not start a warranty at the end of a season.

[MTJAG]

Morning all-

Woke up this morning and house is still warm. Your probably thinking why wouldn't it? I had my doubt because I have not put any more wood in the OWB since Wednesday night. Yesterday it was a little warm during the day and I did not want to introduce new wood since I still had some left.

It was 36F this morning and I checked the water temp. 175F. 15 Minutes later the damper opened and it took 10 minutes to heat it up to 185F. Took a walk to see how much wood was left. I could still idenitify 4 of the 8 pieces I put in Wednesday night.

It going to be warm today, but then the temps will be falling into the 50's for highs. I'll go stir the ashes later today and then restock. With the current forecast (70's by Monday) it will probably be the last fire for the season.

Once the unit is cold, I'll be modifying the piping in the basement. The installer was supposed to run the pipe to the ceiling and keep it between the floor joist to the HTX. We have plans to finish our basement sometime in the future.

BTW- (for Mtjag) Our limited Warranty does not start until Dec 2011. Per my Dealer CB does not start a warranty at the end of a season.

That is GREAT news!  I have been concerned about that and had just written off this year for a late in the season install.  Man, that is really good to hear.  CB is starting this relationship out right, that is for sure.

[Ridgekid]

Today could be the last day to operate the OWB. Temps will be going up next week. Thankfully I left it going this weekend. We had snowflakes this morning.

Whats happened since my last post?

1. Raking ashes: In foresight, I don't think I really needed to remove any. I removed what would be eqivulant to 4 gallons (in a 5 gallon metal bucket). They were still hot. In fact as soon as they were exposed to air they ignited. There were cinders in the ash. Although I have 74 SQ ft of space to burn in, I have only been stocking to the front. Really hasn't been cold enough for a FULL load of wood. The eight pieces I put in Friday night were almost gone Saturday morning. I added 8 more pieces and 3 were still there this morning. So the key is not to remove too many (if any) hot ashes.

2. Adding heat to the basement: We have a heatpump. When the house was built 18 years ago, the builder never intended to heat the basement. We have 6" exterior walls, well insulated, and last fall I added 14" of insulation to the attic. This brought the R value to the attic to R40.  When we added the woodstove, we tied it into the duct work. It worked very well. Now it's gone and the basement is cold again. I had the orginal 2x9 register trying to heat 350 sq ft. (Half the basement). But when we pulled the woodstove, we had no return. So I added a 6x9 return register low, and close to the air handler, to pull in the cold air and added a 2nd 2x9 supply to the other end of the duct work. Both supply registers are near the ceiling. I wanted to be careful not to steal too much heat from the rest of the house. (2000 sq ft) So far it has had no effect on the additional heatload. The basement is about 68F vs the rest of the house at 75F. As soon as we finsih the basement and get the blocks covered and a floor covering,  I think it will be perfect.

3. Water Temperture-After reading numerous sites about remote temp monitoring I added a Maverick Redi-Chek Remote cooking thermometer (ET-72)  to what was supposed to be the inlet side of my HTX. Come to find out the dealer has my supply and return backwards. Something I can switch after I secure the OWB for the season. (in addition to getting the pipe to the ceiling and between the joist).

4. Aquastat- It works! We lost power for 5 hours yesterday due to high winds. When the electric came back on the water temp in the house was only 70F. This was because no water was circulating. As soon the circulation pump came on and the Aquastat saw 150F, it kicked the heatpump off, but the furnace fan stayed on.

Although not an expert, I feel alot more comfortabe on how the system works.  Hopefully someone will find this post useful.

Here's a picture of the orginal Woodstove: http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php?action=media;sa=media;in=34;preview  I paid $700 for it. I sold it for $200. I got my monies worth.

[MTJAG]

Spoke with my CB dealer yersterday and he is suppose to deliver my boiler on Saturday.  He didn't know if we would complete the hook up on Saturday and he might have to return on Monday.  We had a little snow here on Wednesday and the propane was burning, so I am ready to get off of that.
I found an 18"dbh pondersoa pine tree (beetle kill) that had blown over the fence up near Medano Pass and put my new Husky to work.  Got at least a cord out of that tree, so I now have roughly four cords ready to go.   

[Ridgekid]

Your installer must really be busy. At least the wood cutting is keeping you busy.

I restarted mine yesterday, Low temps in the 30's again.

Going to add the DHWX to the system. I have Good Friday off and going to run up to the dealer and pick up the parts. As soon as the OWB is secured I'll install. He wanted $800 to install a sidearm. I'm doing it for under $300 and installing a 20 plate. Unless It gets cold again, I may not get to test that part of the system until next fall.

Keep us posted!

[MTJAG]

Looks like we are suppose to get snow tomorrow afternoon...the day my dealer is coming with delivery.  If we do get snow, he will not make it up my driveway.  We have two 30% grades and a switchback, so it is a little dicey until it is cleared.  He also told me his boom truck is only 2WD, so no chance if it is snowing.  Hopefully, he will get here early and have it unloaded before the snow starts. 

Looks like the hardest decisions will be when to keep it fired and when to shut it down for the summer.

Hope your sidearm stall goes well.  Will post tomorrow.