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[Trint]

Ok so the way I see it is my first SAFE option is to set L=140 H=160 and see if I can effectively heat the house that way. If that doesn't work then I should try a break on rise aquastat.

I'm assuming that my house may not heat too well with the 160f water temp due to the fact that my house was built in 1860, is not insulated well and is 3300 sq ft. (Probably too much sq ft for my boiler but thats what they sold me). Also, my supply and return lines are 160' (110' of thermopex and 50' of white indoor pex with pipe insulation on it).

I will also make sure I keep a close eye on my water testing since I have an open system.

Gregg

Hope your dealer didn't sell you a 007 Taco to boot!?

What pump do you run, seems most central installs I've seen had 007 no matter what the job was

Not sure what the specs on an 009 are off the top of my head, but that might be part of the problem.  I have a near identical house but only a 40ft run and run an taco OOR which I think is close to an 009, an 007 wasn't quite enough.  You plan for the aquastat temps seams to be right now. 

[kayakerski]

Thanks Trint!

[MattyNH]

Ok so the way I see it is my first SAFE option is to set L=140 H=160 and see if I can effectively heat the house that way. If that doesn't work then I should try a break on rise aquastat.

I'm assuming that my house may not heat too well with the 160f water temp due to the fact that my house was built in 1860, is not insulated well and is 3300 sq ft. (Probably too much sq ft for my boiler but thats what they sold me). Also, my supply and return lines are 160' (110' of thermopex and 50' of white indoor pex with pipe insulation on it).

I will also make sure I keep a close eye on my water testing since I have an open system.

Gregg

I dont think you understand the setting on your oil boiler with the high and low setting... Your not heating your house with 160F..Your heating your house with whatever temp you have your OWB water set at..The high/ low settings are for when you burn oil...The OWB "tricks" the oil boiler by not coming on cause your already have heated water being pumped in.. If you had your high setting at 200F and your low at 180F,and if you had your OWB set at 170..Yes the oil will come on till its satisfied. If you have the high set @ 160 for example..And you run your OWB at 180..Your oil will never kick on..

[Roger2561]

Gregg,

I too have the e-classic 1400 out door wood fired boiler (OWB).  I'm starting my 3rd season heating my 3000sqft home plus domestic hot water (DHW).  Your and my homes are nearly the same age.  I'm rather confident that mine was built in the 1840's due to some of the construction techniques that were used as well as the type of nail that was used.  I have no problem whatsoever heating my home at a comfortable 72/73 degrees.  Once I fire her up and turn on the thermostats I don't touch them.  Some folks turn theirs down at night or during the daylight hours when they are not home but I leave mine alone.  It's great to get out of bed in the middle of the night to use the john and not shiver while sitting there waiting for nature to takes it's course and to arrive home from work on a cold winter late afternoon to nice warm house.  For the past 2 seasons I burned around 5 and 1/2 to 6 cord of wood. 

Take it from me, be sure that you keep open the air holes that they mention in the owners manual.  It is imperative that they remain clear of any obstruction if you don't want the to fire to snuff out in the middle of the night when it's 15 degrees with a 15 MPH north wind (don't ask me how I know).  Also, every couple of weeks I scape those out to clear them of any creosote build up that may occur simply due to the idle time between cycles.  I have a special tool that I made to clear them; it's a screw driver bent to not quite 90 degrees that wasn't worth anything.  It works great to scrape them.  It goes without saying that you'll have to remove any hot coals or unburned firewood from the fire box.  I put the hot coals in a metal bucket to reuse when I'm done cleaning the firebox and ready to rekindle the fire.  It saves time not having to get a bed of coals re-established.  Also, keep an eye on the elbows in the air box in the rear (well that's where it is located on mine) to clear it of any creosote build up.  Some will collect in there and I clear mine once a month.  It only takes a few minutes.  Also, don't forget the reaction chamber.  I clear mine every Saturday morning.  Again, less than a five minute job.  Be watchful of the temperature probe that hangs down.  You don't want to break it. 

Over all I think you'll enjoy the unit and how little wood it uses to heat so much space.  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to post them on here or PM me, I'll be happy to do what I can for a fellow OWB owner.  And, last but not least, enjoy NOT hearing the oil furnace running.  It took me about 5...minutes to get used to it.   Roger   

[kayakerski]

Matty, I understand what you mean. I was referring to what slimjim said but I got it wrong. I believe he meant that in the event that the owb temp goes below 160 and the oil burner kicks on, it may not be enough to properly heat my home.

Gregg

[kayakerski]

Roger,

Thanks for the tips. This is my second season so I've already learned most of them (some the hard way). My biggest issues last year were due to bridging and a bypass door issue.

The bridging issue was very frustating but I learned from it so it's all good.

The bypass door was a different story. I loaded the boiler up with wood at 5pm on a -20f night and when I pulled the lever to shut the door, nothing happened!! The fire was already roaring by that time. Luckily I ran down to the CB dealer and they provided me with an exploded view of that side of the boiler so I could take it apart. They didnt have anyone available to help me until morning.

Long story short, there is only one nut that holds the two threaded rods together that operate the door and it had unthreaded itself. It was a 15 minute fix once I got going.

So far I'm very happy with the boiler....happier than burning 1500 gallons of fuel oil! I used about 14 cords last year but it was on the stump in July so it wasn't nearly seasoned enough.

Oh yeah, My owners manual didn't mention cleaning the primary air elbow either. I didn't know I needed to maintain it until last week when I was going through my paperwork and found the info on an additional paper. My primary air elbow was over 2/3 blocked with creasote! Although I'm sure it affected performance, the stove seemed to work fine up until shutdown last spring.

Gregg

[kayakerski]

Ok, the L=140, H=160 isn't helping me.

This morning I heard the oil burner kick on so I went downstairs and the temp gage read 170 and the burner was still on. It went up to about 188 and then dropped down to 160 (call for heat I assume). The burner ran the whole time (maybe 15 minutes- longer than ever before to my knowledge). The owb temp was at 180 when I went outside a few minutes later.

Any ideas? Will a break on rise aquastat help? Do I need to look at my owb circulator pump size? Why is the oil burner on even after the temp rises above the high setpoint?

WillieG, I still need to get my btu info for you.

Thanks all!

Gregg

[slimjim]

You have it right.

[Trint]

The break on rise aquastat should fix that,  I wonder it your boiler one is working right though? If its set for 160 high the burner shouldn't run above that temp unless the thermometer is wrong.

[kayakerski]

That's what I'm wondering. I already know that when it was set to L=120, H=220 the temp gage on the oil furnace never came close to 220 . It went up to around 190.

(I still cant figure out why the owb install guy had me use those settings!?! Maybe I transposed them? Would L set to highest and H set to lowest effectively keep the burner from working?)

Gregg

[slimjim]

No on the settings, yes on the strap on aquastat, I believe that your aquastat sensor is not reading properly because it is in an air pocket, the boiler and all heat zones will need to be purged of air, this is exactly why the system should stay as a closed loop and pressurized.

[Tree_Killer]

I have a related question that was brought up in this thread, as far as hook up.   I had no part in installing my owb and connections to the oil boiler, and I am still trying to figure everything out. I am getting ready to light up for my second season...other then a few mistakes first season went ok.

My OWB is hooked directly into the oil boiler. It appears though, they at one time had it hooked via a exchange plate...since there is one mounted to the wall 6' from boiler.  I dont mind the direct hook up, but I want to make sure it is installed properly

Unfortunately I cant remember which was hot temp gauge from running it last year. So I am assuming which pipe is which. I just find it weird the one pipe (assuming hot from OWB) never really enters the boiler. It appears to me the should have piped it into the other connection on top of the boiler.

[slimjim]

Typically from what I see is the supply from the oil boiler is coming into the supply port or tee on the top and the return is coming from the bottom, find out which is which and then we can go from there.

[Tree_Killer]

from diagrams I've seen , yes that is how it is supposed to be. And I am pretty sure that is how it is here.  My main question was whether the T above my boiler ok? Or should the water from the OWB be going into the boiler, and then back out to house elements?

[MattyNH]

I have a related question that was brought up in this thread, as far as hook up.   I had no part in installing my owb and connections to the oil boiler, and I am still trying to figure everything out. I am getting ready to light up for my second season...other then a few mistakes first season went ok.

My OWB is hooked directly into the oil boiler. It appears though, they at one time had it hooked via a exchange plate...since there is one mounted to the wall 6' from boiler.  I dont mind the direct hook up, but I want to make sure it is installed properly

Unfortunately I cant remember which was hot temp gauge from running it last year. So I am assuming which pipe is which. I just find it weird the one pipe (assuming hot from OWB) never really enters the boiler. It appears to me the should have piped it into the other connection on top of the boiler.

Ive never seen a tee hook up like that for the supply..Anyway of posting pics of the whole boiler itself?...Im directly hooked up as well..Hot water should be the top inlet and cold/return to owb, the bottom..