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1

General Discussion / Re: propane prices

« on: January 27, 2012, 07:39:45 AM »

wow where you live? $1.67 LP? How you getting that price!?

Iowa...........Ten years ago when I moved to my house I was paying .67 cents a gallon. Current price is $1.89.........I was complaining until I saw this post and hear how much some of you guys are having to pay.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: pictures

« on: January 27, 2012, 07:32:50 AM »

critter,

it is so simple for you guys to do, but i don`t have a clue what you said.

cm

CM.........you sound like my father  ........it's easier than it sounds, but you'll probably need someone to visually walk you through it the first time. Pretty much any kid over the age of 10 can probably show you how its done.......nieces, nephews, kids, grandkids?

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General Discussion / Re: propane prices

« on: January 26, 2012, 07:05:39 PM »

Wow, some of you guys are really having to pay alot for LP. I live in the midwest and my last contract price was $1.67. Why the huge difference in pricing due to location?

4

General Discussion / Re: Getting to know one another

« on: January 26, 2012, 07:04:02 PM »

First name? Jamie
Age? 38
What I do/did? Powerplant foreman
Hobbies? Hunting, Fishing
Trucks? 1995 Tacoma 4x4 2009 Subaru Forester ( wife )
Saws? Stihl/Huskvarna
Married/Kids? Married 16 years, Daugher is 14 and my boy is 11 ( 3 cats, 1 dog, and five chickens )
Furnace? Homemade (first year and love it)

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: pictures

« on: January 26, 2012, 06:43:57 PM »

To post a picture, do as you normally do by inserting your card and viewing them. When you find the picture you want to upload, click on it and hold down the mouse while dragging the picture off of the screen and onto your desktop. (start-up screen with all your icons.) You may have to shrink your screen so that some of your desktop is showing in order to have a place to drag it to. When you create a post, click on the attachments and other options at the bottom of your posting page. Click on the browse button and then select desktop from the dropdown list. Once you select desktop you'll have another dropdown listing of the items on your desktop.......your photo will be in that listing. Click on the photo link and then select open. Once you get back to your posting page click post on the bottom and it should begin to upload your photo. If your photo is too large you'll have to resize it and then save it. Hope this helps.
Critter

6

General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Running under pressure

« on: January 25, 2012, 08:03:16 PM »

I'm probably not thinking of this correctly, but unless you raise the temperature of your OWB tank, how would you maintain 5-10 psi? If you filled your OWB completely and removed any air from the system your pump(s) would create a supply pressure as well as a return pressure back at your boiler, but without maintaining a void of space at the top of your OWB tank I'm not sure how you'd allow for any expansion or contraction of your water level when your boiler cycles in temperature.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Running under pressure

« on: January 25, 2012, 07:35:04 PM »

I'm no expert by any means, but I do work at a powerplant and have a fair amount of experience with pressurized systems. I'd have to look at the temperature curve in regards to the kind of pressure you're talking about, but if I had to guess I'd say that many of a non-pressurized systems components may not be rated for that kind of temperature. I would also find it hard to believe that a pressurized system wouldn't have to be treated.........the extra temperature and pressure have affects on components that you wouldn't normally see on a non-pressurized system. Normal PEX tubing may not be rated for those temperatures, although that is just a guess. In essence, your non-pressurized system is in fact pressurized to a point. Your pump discharge creates a certain amount of PSI since it has to flow through a constricted passage ( i.e. HX and tubing ). There would be many things to look at in regards to the amount of PSI the components were desinged for. Five to ten PSI doesnt' sound like much, but in order to achieve that much pressure your water temperature would probably be running in the neighborhood of 220-230 degrees ( just a guess ) maybe more. Have the wrong piece of equipment fail, or loosen the wrong clamp and you'll be in for a serious instant burn. I'm not saying the system wouldn't or doesn't work, but I think there would be a-lot more safety issues involved with them compared to a NP system.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / My setup...

« on: January 24, 2012, 05:53:27 PM »

Im new at this whole OWB thing, but I gotta say, Im having a lot of fun with it and learning alot as I go. I started about two months ago without anything outside of the house as far as outdoor boilers go and have managed in that time to get my system set up and functioning as it should. Its not perfect or high tech, but its ten times better than the wood furnace I had in my basement for the past ten years.
I went the cheaper route and found a used boiler about five miles from my house......long story short, I ended up knowing the guy and he answered any question I had about it and was honest. I couldn't swallow the $11.50 a foot price for the Thermopex so I made my own run out of 4" sewer PVC wrapped in Prodex insulation. No snow melting on it so far. I'm not sure I'd go that route again though.....Talk about a major pain in the butt wrestling a 300' coil of pex in 30 degree weather, although I would say that getting the PVC slipped over it and the elbows added in were probably the most difficult, especially when doing it yourself. I bought a HX for the furnace as well as a seperate thermostat to run the LP furnace fan and then added a sidearm exchanger for my water heater on the return side of the pex. I built a 12X16 shed to cover the boiler and to use as storage for wood so I didn't have to deal with tarps or snow anymore. So far I'm happy with everything and really enjoy not having the mess or the worry of having the fire in the basement. Hopefully everything continues to work the way it has been, although I do expect a few hicups along the way.........nothing runs forever.
BTW.........thanks to everyone who contributes to this site. I learn something new everyday I'm on here!

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Electronics / Re: Thermostat wiring question ( sorry fellas )

« on: December 20, 2011, 02:55:32 AM »

Yes, you need to leave that wire off. The original thermostat backfeeds to the Y connection for some reason when you leave it connected.

Ok.....thanks RSI for the help. Everything seems to be working great now.

10

Electronics / Re: Thermostat wiring question ( sorry fellas )

« on: December 19, 2011, 07:26:26 PM »

Ok, here's what I did. I ran a new two wire lead from the new thermostat down to the furnace. I hooked the R on the thermostat to the R on the furnace block. I then hooked the second wire from the W on the thermostat to the G on the furnace block. Fan came on as expected, but my A/C compressor started up. I disconnected the blue wire on my old thermostat that was attached to the G block on my furnace and the compressor stopped. Not sure why my A/C kicked on? My old thermostat was set to heat. For now I'll leave the blue wire off until I or any of you can correct what I did. Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it.

11

Electronics / Thermostat wiring question ( sorry fellas )

« on: December 18, 2011, 08:43:33 PM »

 I know there are alot of these posts, but it seems that there are so many different variables regarding wiring thermostats correctly. I think mine is fairly simple, but I haven't been able to figure it out yet.

Just installed my OWB and exchanger in the existing plenum of my LP furnace. I need the fan to run based off my temperature setting on my thermostat without the LP furnace trying to start up itself.

The wiring block in my furnace is R, W, Y, G, C, from left to right.
The four wires from my thermostat are Red to R, White to W, Yellow to Y, and Blue to G.
There are also two lines running from the Y and C blocks out to my A/C unit. Those colors are White to Y, and Red to C.

Once again, sorry for a post that the information is probably listed somewhere in this forum....I just can't find it.
Thanks ladies and gents.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Newbie to OWB and the site

« on: December 02, 2011, 03:54:10 AM »

I'm hard headed and stubborn........and usually have to learn the hard way, but I went ahead and ordered the Prodex and my pex line to wrap and place in PVC. Are there any "tricks to the trade" as far as wrapping it goes? I've got a 100' run so I ordered the 4' X 175' roll of Prodex......any that's left over I can use in different areas around the house.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Newbie to OWB and the site

« on: November 29, 2011, 08:16:18 PM »

I could use 4" PVC instead of the drain tile but I figured the tile would be more "water proof", but maybe I'm better off using the PVC and ensuring the connections are sealed well?

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Newbie to OWB and the site

« on: November 29, 2011, 07:54:15 PM »

Hey all,
I'll start off by saying that you've got a great site and forum here. I've been snooping around the past week or so and have found some really great information just about everywhere I've looked. I won't pretend to know much about outdoor boilers, because I don't. I have worked at a coal fired power plant the last 15 years of my life so I do have some genereal knowledge when it comes to heating water. I came across a used "homeade" version of a Wood Doctor boiler from a gentlemen not far from my home and decided to buy it. I currently burn wood in an add-on furnace in the basement and have decided that I don't want to deal with the mess or the threat of a fire in the house anymore. I'm not rich by any means, so my invenstments will not be top of the line, or even new for that matter. I've got about a 100' from the area where I want the boiler to the house. I would like to use corrugated plastic drain tile as the sheath, and then wrap the two 1" OB pex lines with Prodex. I plan on trenching at least 3 foot. I know it's not going to be the most efficient route, but I think I can get it done for around $400 dollars. I'm not sure about the H/X yet.......I'm actually wondering if I should just build an additional plenum onto the existing ductwork and install the H/X there with a different fan. Cutting into my current LP furnace seems like a pain and there isn't much room to work with. I'd also like to heat my water heater, but I haven't really researched it much on here yet. My plan is to get the pipe in the ground before it freezes and go from there. Anyway, once again this is a great site and I'm glad it's available to knuckleheads like myself. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome.
Critter