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Topics - agriffinjd

Pages: [1] 2
1
For Sale / Grouser Cross bar tracks for sale
« on: April 14, 2019, 05:45:40 PM »
https://up.craigslist.org/hvo/d/marquette-grouser-skidsteer-tracks/6866507166.html

Figured it's easiest to link to the craigslist ad.  I'm in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  I can drive them within 4-7 hours of here, so lower Michigan or the Green Bay/Appleton or Northern Wisconsin areas.

Andy

2
Plumbing / Badger Circulation Pump
« on: October 30, 2018, 12:26:52 PM »
So I found a pic I took of my main pump after it was installed.  It is moving water through 1.25" lines 225' from the stove.  It's a Badger Circulation Pump Type GPD 25-10SFC No. 13110813.  Finding the pic reminded me that I should buy a new one to have on hand (should have done it while building the house) in case something were to happen and it'd need a quick replace.  However, I can't find where to buy this model pump.  When I go to the badger-pipe.com website and look at their pumps, I don't see it.  I see a whole bunch of model 14113362s but no 13110813s.  Anyone know how to find the 13110813 model?  I guess a call into the business would be appropriate.  I didn't buy the pump so I'm only googling to try to find where they're from.

Thanks.

3
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Left the boiler for five days...
« on: January 03, 2017, 06:54:13 AM »
Third year with an OWB, first time I've left while it's running.  We left town Thursday morning.  I shut off the blower/thermostat and left the two circulation pumps running.  When I left, water was a 190.

Got back last night around 8 PM.  Water was at 109 and the propane heat was just about to kick on.  By the time the furnace in the house shut off, water was at 119.  I've got a forced air setup in the house with an aquastat so the propane kicked on once the water temp dropped below 130.  The propane heat was keeping the water quite warm.  Temps while we were gone were only in the 30s or 20s, though lows were down in the low teens.  So not sure if it would work better in sub-zero weather (where the propane furnace kicks on more often) or worse (if the lines lose heat more quickly). 

Feels good not being tied to the boiler if we need to leave town for a few days.  The past two years I was worried about freezing lines if I left.  All for nought. 

BTW, when I got back, the stack was still smoldering.  Fire lit back up in about 30 or 40 seconds after I opened the door.


4
Portage & Main / Things I've learned from my BL3444
« on: March 16, 2016, 08:12:29 AM »
Approaching the end of my second season with the stove (2nd season with any outdoor stove actually).  Last winter was much more severe with many days failing to reach above zero, and many lows in the -30s and -20s.  This year we've had occasional lows into the -20s (twice maybe?) but many mild days, including 50s and 60s this month.  These are the things I've learned through two years now of working with the stove.

1.  Smaller, dry pieces of wood, loaded to the same volume as large wet pieces of wood, burns much more efficiently.  I was stoked (no pun intended) to be able to load it full with big rounds last year and then reload it 24+ hours later.  That led to a lot of smoke.  I get the same burn times now with splits or smaller rounds that are dry.

2.  Keep the ashes low to keep the firebrick exposed.  I have the non-shaker version.  Last year it seemed the stove lasted longer between loads if I had ash/coal bed piled up almost to the door.  This year, I've shoveled out 20 gallons of ash every one or two weeks, to the point that it looks almost like the fire won't relight because there's so few coals in there that I'm throwing logs onto.  It burns way better this way.  The firebrick help keep it hotter and the fire can relight easier.  I make sure to rake it enough so the ashes keep falling into the cleanout chute, which leads to the third thing I've learned...

3.  Keep the ash cleanout chute cleared at least every week.  This allows the airflow to be much more efficient to get the fire going again, and to burn it hotter once it's going as the air is flying in from two directions with maximum speed.  When it's burning efficiently, I see only heat coming out of the stove.  When the coal bed is small and the ashes are not in the firebox, I get a blowtorch of flames shooting up from the chute when it's burning with the blower on.  I'm assuming it's from small coals falling into the chute that are getting completely burned up to ash.  That really helps in the efficiency department.

4.  Keep the diff longer instead of shorter.  Last year I had it at 7 degrees.  This year, 12 degrees (190 set point, fan kicks on at 178).  I've thought about trying to lower it further, but it's been working so well this way I don't want to mess with it.  Even in the warm 50s and 60s weather we've had this month, I still leave it set there.  I thought I'd have to lower it so the fan kicked on at about 183 for the warm weather, but I haven't had to.  Probably because:

5.  Don't overload it.  Load just enough to get to the next fill.  I aim for 12 hours.  98% of the time, my aimed-for-12-hours-fills would last about 16 hours or more.  Less fresh wood allows it to burn more of the coals completely to ash, which aids in raking the ash into the chute, which aids in keeping the ashes low, which keeps the coal bed low, which keeps the firebrick exposed, which makes my life easier!

Bottom line, I'm really liking this stove.  It's heating 5200 square feet between a house and a detached garage, and DHW, and working wonderfully.




5
Equipment / Skidsteer Grapples
« on: February 21, 2016, 03:21:28 PM »
I'm trying to decide what kind of grapple to buy for my skidsteer.  Is a grapple bucket better than a set of forks with a grapple on it?  Or is a simple grapple (like a Frostbite brand grapple) the best way to go?  I want to be able to fall a tree and haul it out of the woods then buck it with the chainsaw near the stove.  Seems like forks with a grapple would work well, but I don't know how tightly it can hold some 8' logs and think maybe a Frostbite type grapple would be best.

Thoughts?

6
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Why no electric heating elements?
« on: March 08, 2015, 09:38:39 AM »
Why has no owb company not put in an element or two inside the water jacket to be a backup in case the fire dies?  Seems they could kick on at 120 or something and it would keep the water from freezing.  Put them at bottom of water jacket to avoid having evaporation bare them. 

7
Portage & Main / Bl4044 -> bl3848 name change
« on: February 26, 2015, 06:41:04 PM »
Why the name change?  They shrink the firebox, if so why?

8
Fire Wood / Atv with tracks?
« on: February 24, 2015, 06:24:05 PM »
Anyone use tracks on their atv instead of the tires?  If so how's it work in deep snow pulling a trailer of firewood?

9
Fire Wood / Burning junk wood
« on: January 30, 2015, 11:01:12 AM »
By junk wood, I mean big tooth aspen (most call it poplar) and pine (white, red, jack).

I've been burning hardwood almost exclusively (hard maple and oak).  Even with sub zero temps, I can load a small amount compared to the size of the firebox (with a good bed of coals) and get 12 hours burn time.  I sometimes throw in a couple junk wood pieces on top of the hardwoods, but when I do, it's only about 20% of the total amount I put in.

My question is this.  If I were to be burning just junk wood, would I have to basically stuff the firebox full of it to get a 12 hour burn time?  Seems like if I put just junkwood in and used the same quantity that I use for hardwoods, I'd have to load it about every 4-6 hours.

Thoughts?

10
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Most efficient setup
« on: January 24, 2015, 10:25:29 AM »
What is the most efficient setup as far as wood consumption goes?  This is just in reference to heating the house and any buildings. It seems like forced air is more efficient than in floor radiant as you seems to have to waste btus by mixing down the hot water.  Is baseboard heat even more efficient or am I missing something? 

11
Portage & Main / New Install Working Well
« on: January 03, 2015, 06:53:43 AM »
Thought I'd post to say my install is working well.  We built a new house including a detached garage.  I bought the BL3444 (no shaker grate) to heat both.  I have about 200' of z-supply 5-wrap from the boiler to the house, and about 30 feet to the detached garage.  Line is buried about 3 feet deep, but for the run to the garage it comes out of the ground and into the side of the garage.  I'm getting no snow melt on the exposed line.  I planned on doing logstor but the nearest supplier didn't have it in stock when I needed it, and I found a supplier on the z-supply 5 wrap for half the price of logstor.  When we've checked the run to the house, it's lost at most 1 degree from the aquastat on the boiler to the in-line thermometer on the copper pipe in the basement.  So for $6.35 per foot, I'm impressed with the z-supply.  I honestly thought it wouldn't perform this well.

I've got the SP at 187 with a 10 degree diff right now.  It's been hitting 189-190 at times after a blower burn.  Burn times have been great.  When we've had sub-zero temps (-7 at night, wake up to -10), I'm getting 12-14 hour burn times (I go outside to load every 12 hours and there's always a couple logs or more that are still 3-6" in diameter, so I'm guessing it could've lasted another couple hours before hitting a critical point).  Burning hardwoods when this cold.  I add in junk wood (lots of big tooth aspen here) when it's warming, such as in the 20s.

Have a forced air furnace with an in-line heat exchanger.  The plumber set up an aquastat near the plenum so that if the water temp drops to 130 or less, the furnace burns propane.  Over 130 and the blower only kicks on when the thermostat calls for heat.  We're heating 4000 square feet in the house and keep the thermostat at 73 24/7.  20 plate exchange for the DHW, and the 80 gallon water heater is set to kick on and use its electric elements if the water temp in it falls to a specific temp (can't remember what it's set at).  Have a mixing valve coming off the water heater tank and it's all performing well.  The detached garage has a hanging blower to heat it.  Haven't wired in a thermostat yet, so I just plug it in and unplug it once it's in the 70s. 

All in all, it's performing quite well.  The only bad part is I didn't have time to cut up all the wood before the blizzard hit on November 11, so I've been shoveling snow and ice off the logs and cutting them as I go.  Next year I'll be better ready as I plan on doing a metal carport for shelter.

Thanks to those of you who've answered questions I've had, especially slimjim.  Also been very helpful just to read what others have been posting.

Happy 2015!  :thumbup:

12
Electronics / ERV/HRV Question
« on: December 15, 2014, 10:32:53 AM »
Almost set to move into a new house.  Forced air heat with a plenum for the wood boiler water.  Have an HRV that works by kicking on the furnace blower to circulate the fresh air once it's exchanged.  Since the circulating pump runs 24/7, it'll blow heat from the boiler along with the new air.  Anyone have issues with having too much heat with an HRV?  My hvac guy is wondering about it, and will be showing me how to turn off the HRV if necessary.  Since I didn't see anything on here about it, I'm guessing it's not much of an issue.

13
If you are doing only in-floor radiant heat, do you set the OWB to only heat the water to like 130 degrees instead of the 180 degrees for a force air setup?  I don't have my OWB yet, and I'm planning on forced air, so this is just a question for my curiosity. 

14
Fire Wood / Anyone try Ecobrick or something similar?
« on: February 15, 2014, 06:41:50 AM »
Not thinking I'd want to use them, but am curious how they'd work in an OWB.  Anyone use these or some other brand like them?

http://www.fairbairnenterprises.com/ECOBRICK_PRICING.php

15
Plumbing / Logstor vs. Thermopex, and how to find dealer
« on: January 29, 2014, 02:07:53 PM »
Which is better?  Why?  I've heard some say Logstor pex flex is better than Thermopex but with no explanation as to why.

Also, anyone know who is a dealer for Logstor?  The phone number 866-PEX-COIL listed on the Logstor website "has been disconnected."  I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and am trying to find dealers in Michigan and Wisconsin to get price quotes on the Logstor.

Thanks.

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