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16
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Burning a little coal
« on: January 27, 2014, 08:01:05 PM »
Can you burn coal in a gassifier? I've read differing opinions on this.
17
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Burning wood chips?
« on: January 12, 2014, 11:19:51 PM »
What is the best way to prepare, dry, and store the wood chips? Also, can these be just from the tree tops that were cut down, or need to be special parts?
18
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Burning wood chips?
« on: January 11, 2014, 10:12:24 PM »
Looking through craigslist I am seeing many ads for chipper/shredders, which got me to thinking... With the tree tops that I am not using, just basically putting them in a burn pile and burning right there, what about chipping them and burning them in the boiler? Has anyone tried doing this? It seems they would dry out pretty quickly, but it would also be harder keeping them dry. Almost need to store them in a large barrel/trough. Transport to the burner would also be a pain, but it would add a bunch of extra wood that I am currently wasting.....Any thoughts?
19
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: replacing rope seal...silicone?
« on: January 07, 2014, 10:22:56 AM »
Thanks a ton. This sounds like it will help with those little air leaks when the blower is not going strong. How long do you let the silicone cure if you put a bead on yourself? Debating on if I can do that this winter yet, or if I'll have to wait until spring.
20
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / replacing rope seal...silicone?
« on: January 07, 2014, 07:04:15 AM »
Have read many things about replacing the rope seal with a silicone seal. When doing this, do you still put the rope seal in the groove and place the high temp silicone over the top of that, or skip the rope seal completely? Also, what temp rating of silicone do I use? "High temp" has ranged anywhere from 400-5000 from some of the sites I have been looking at.
21
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Perfect storm
« on: January 04, 2014, 05:18:08 PM »
Hit the perfect storm the last 3 days with the boiler. It was below 10 for the last few days with pretty strong winds was strike #1. #2 came when my wife had a few friends over for "crafts" and we turned the garage heat from 50 to 70 to keep them all warm. #3 was hitting a spot in my wood pile that was cottonwood and didn't burn worth a crap. It was free wood a friend cut this summer and brought over, so I couldn't refuse it, but also can't wait til this spot in the pile is burnt. So instead of having 14-18 hr burns, I hit the 8 hour mark and the temps started falling. Luckily I was here all day to feed the beast and now am back to my oak to burn.
22
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: fire brick
« on: December 31, 2013, 12:44:18 PM »
I have a Heiss heater gassifier. The firebox is a cement box made from refractory cement, similar tonfirebricks. The water jacket actually in pipes running through it. There is no creosote that sticks to the firebox, but it does stick to the metal door. The fire is very hot when blower is on, and the cement holds the heat for a long time after the fire is out. The cement is a refractory cement, so temps can go very high. I would definitely go with the firebricks.
23
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Opinions on insulating exposed pex in a basement?
« on: December 29, 2013, 09:11:10 PM »
I have my lines in my basement and garage insulated. Before I insulated them, my floors were very warm above them, but it wasn't in a good spot to be warm. The lines run right below my thermostat, and it would radiate through the floors and the hallway where the thermostat was running about 3 degrees above rest of the house. Not a huge difference, but enough to make my kitchen not pleasant on the very cold days. I also insulated the lines in my garage that runs to my garage hanging heater to reduce heat loss. I gained about 2 degrees on my return temps after insulating them. Once again, not a huge difference, but enough that it might help just that little bit.
24
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Loving my new boiler
« on: December 13, 2013, 07:34:43 PM »
Not a greenwood unit. This is a Heiss Heater gassier, not a pressurized unit, and designed for outside installation.
25
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Loving my new boiler
« on: December 11, 2013, 06:18:57 AM »
To answer the nozzel question, they are replaceable, but it does take some work to get to. I just did a full clean on it last week when we got back after having it turned off for a week, and was able to find where there were, and they do look like you can replace them.....but I don't think it would be an easy task. Also for the exterior insulation, we got dumped on by mother nature the last few days, snow stays on top of this for a few hours after falling. The two links on top of the burner which was used for transport and getting it off their trailer do get warm, but not hot, so it does melt after a few hours. Here is a pic of it.
[attachment deleted by admin for space issues]
[attachment deleted by admin for space issues]
26
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Burning time?
« on: November 12, 2013, 01:04:51 PM »
How long does your burner actively burn at a time? Just wondering what everyone else gets with the different burners out there? If you could put what type of burner you have, what water temp you run at, and how long it typically takes for it to burn to keep it at that temp. I know each burner is going to vary widely, based on heat draw, what type of wood you are burning, and many other factors. This isn't a exact survey, just for $h!+$ and giggles.
I am running a Heiss Heater gasifier at 185 degrees. I have aquastat set to kick blower on when the water coming back in is +\- 2 degrees, then usually takes 25-30 minutes of blower time to get it up to point it shuts off. Thats burning oak that is seasoned only since spring. (Just got burner and this season's wood is not as seasoned as future will be).
I am running a Heiss Heater gasifier at 185 degrees. I have aquastat set to kick blower on when the water coming back in is +\- 2 degrees, then usually takes 25-30 minutes of blower time to get it up to point it shuts off. Thats burning oak that is seasoned only since spring. (Just got burner and this season's wood is not as seasoned as future will be).
27
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Loving my new boiler
« on: November 10, 2013, 08:03:24 PM »
I was told the nozzles are replaceable. I haven't checked on how accessible they are though, so I can't confirm/deny that yet. I am going away for a few days soon and burner will sit not burning, when I get back before I relight it, I will check on the nozzle accessibility.
28
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Loving my new boiler
« on: November 10, 2013, 10:21:23 AM »
The outside of the boiler does not get hot at all. There is a cement then stucco exterior with an insulation layer below that. There is a spot one inch between the upper and lower doors on the front that is warm, but no where near hot. In my research of this boiler, there were quite a few complaints about the exterior getting hot, and seems they changed their design and put the insulation on it. There were a few other complaints, mainly about the doors, which also were fixed. My top door is warm to touch, but not uncomfortable at all. I can place my hand on it without feeling uncomfortable at all. The bottom door is cool to touch, there is insulation all throughout the lower door, so it doesn't even get warm. I think their product a few years ago was not a good boiler, and if it were the same I would not have went with them. I know it stinks to use customers as guinea pigs, but things in their product have really changed for the good.
29
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Loving my new boiler
« on: November 09, 2013, 02:12:54 PM »
First year with a new boiler and so far I am loving it. Granted we haven't had any very low temps that are consistant, but the nights where it has been in the 30s have been toasty.
First a little back story. Moved to a new place last year in December. It is propane only and when we got there the tank was at <10%, so there was one fill. From December until April we had 3 more fills for almost close to 750 gallons of use. Paying these bills got me looking for alternative heating, and decided on a wood boiler. Main thing bringing me to this choice is we bought acreage that the previous owners had started to let people log, and there are lots of trees down, but off the ground. Then the research into the different boilers started. I wanted to stay local if possible, and there were a few dealers in our area. I also wanted a gassifier, mainly because my in-laws had a non-gasser, and all I heard was him complaining about the smoke from it. (Don't know specifics, but looking back likely burning too green of wood). This ultimately led me to the Heiss Heater. I chose this one mainly because I liked the idea behind it, having the thermal mass in the refractory cement, the gassification, and the price. Put a down payment on it and finally got it paid for, then set up installation. All was going smooth until then. The company had some major personel issues and installation was delayed and put off for quite some time. If I hadn't had it paid for, I may have went somewhere else. Ultimately after many trips out to our place, it was installed, and have it heating our dhw, house of about 2000 sq ft, and garage with a hanging blower. I never got a jump on cutting the wood, but got about 5 cords that was already down, but still somewhat green, cut by early September. Since then I also have been getting pallet scraps and burning them in addition to my regular wood.
So far I am loving the boiler. Our house is warm, and on days that it is nice outside can get a little toasty inside. I think our blower has came on 3 times since I started burning. The rest of the time it heats by convection coming out of the duct work. I can get a 24 hour burn easily out of it, and have went a few times not filling it for about 48 hours. It is gassifying almost every thing I am putting in it, even some wood thats a little greener than I want to burn. There is some creosote build up inside, but usually only collects around the door, not inside the firebox, and it is pretty easy to clean it off. There is some dripping down the front and staining the paint, but that is usually my fault for the way I have been cleaning it.
So over all, pros of the Heiss heater that I have: Good gassifier, solid construction, good idea behind the unit, simple use. The cons I have so far: installation and customer service, little more difficult to clean than other units I have seen. I'll post more as the year goes on as I know this has been a controversial company/heater. If anyone has any questions feel free to put it on here or PM me. I am in no way a agent of thier company, and will give and honest answer to your questions.
[attachment deleted by admin for space issues]
First a little back story. Moved to a new place last year in December. It is propane only and when we got there the tank was at <10%, so there was one fill. From December until April we had 3 more fills for almost close to 750 gallons of use. Paying these bills got me looking for alternative heating, and decided on a wood boiler. Main thing bringing me to this choice is we bought acreage that the previous owners had started to let people log, and there are lots of trees down, but off the ground. Then the research into the different boilers started. I wanted to stay local if possible, and there were a few dealers in our area. I also wanted a gassifier, mainly because my in-laws had a non-gasser, and all I heard was him complaining about the smoke from it. (Don't know specifics, but looking back likely burning too green of wood). This ultimately led me to the Heiss Heater. I chose this one mainly because I liked the idea behind it, having the thermal mass in the refractory cement, the gassification, and the price. Put a down payment on it and finally got it paid for, then set up installation. All was going smooth until then. The company had some major personel issues and installation was delayed and put off for quite some time. If I hadn't had it paid for, I may have went somewhere else. Ultimately after many trips out to our place, it was installed, and have it heating our dhw, house of about 2000 sq ft, and garage with a hanging blower. I never got a jump on cutting the wood, but got about 5 cords that was already down, but still somewhat green, cut by early September. Since then I also have been getting pallet scraps and burning them in addition to my regular wood.
So far I am loving the boiler. Our house is warm, and on days that it is nice outside can get a little toasty inside. I think our blower has came on 3 times since I started burning. The rest of the time it heats by convection coming out of the duct work. I can get a 24 hour burn easily out of it, and have went a few times not filling it for about 48 hours. It is gassifying almost every thing I am putting in it, even some wood thats a little greener than I want to burn. There is some creosote build up inside, but usually only collects around the door, not inside the firebox, and it is pretty easy to clean it off. There is some dripping down the front and staining the paint, but that is usually my fault for the way I have been cleaning it.
So over all, pros of the Heiss heater that I have: Good gassifier, solid construction, good idea behind the unit, simple use. The cons I have so far: installation and customer service, little more difficult to clean than other units I have seen. I'll post more as the year goes on as I know this has been a controversial company/heater. If anyone has any questions feel free to put it on here or PM me. I am in no way a agent of thier company, and will give and honest answer to your questions.
[attachment deleted by admin for space issues]
30
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Stove mishaps
« on: November 09, 2013, 01:27:57 PM »
Andy, was actually just about to. Check the main board here in about 15 minutes.