Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Pages: [1]
1
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / TSWB Digital Switch by LOVE Controls
« on: January 04, 2016, 03:41:19 PM »
I ran across the TSWB Digital Temperature/Water Level Switch by LOVE Controls while searching to replace the original TS2-010 Digital temperature switch in my heater. It looks like it would be a good upgrade to the original. Does anyone know what it is actually capable of and how to wire and set it up?
I would like to add some smarts to my heater setup, for example:
1. Fire out notification. If heater temperature goes below temp, shut off blower motor and turn on alarm indicator. Would also need reset/bypass for startup.
2. Over heat protection. If heater temp goes above temp, turn on dump zone.
3. Low water level detector with auto refill would be nice.
4. Freeze protection. Heat the wood heater from my oil heater to prevent freeze up during prolonged down time.
I think the TSWB will do 1 2 & 3 but not 4. How would I do 4?
Does anyone have their heater controls set up to do this - with or without the LOVE TSWB?
Would you be willing to share the info on your setup?
I would like to add some smarts to my heater setup, for example:
1. Fire out notification. If heater temperature goes below temp, shut off blower motor and turn on alarm indicator. Would also need reset/bypass for startup.
2. Over heat protection. If heater temp goes above temp, turn on dump zone.
3. Low water level detector with auto refill would be nice.
4. Freeze protection. Heat the wood heater from my oil heater to prevent freeze up during prolonged down time.
I think the TSWB will do 1 2 & 3 but not 4. How would I do 4?
Does anyone have their heater controls set up to do this - with or without the LOVE TSWB?
Would you be willing to share the info on your setup?
2
Site Suggestions / Where did the photo albums go?
« on: November 04, 2015, 01:34:48 PM »
Was the photo album for this board discontinued or am I doing something wrong?
I had made a couple of albums of my Aspen 175 but I can't find them now. I was contacted by a member today looking for the information.
I had made a couple of albums of my Aspen 175 but I can't find them now. I was contacted by a member today looking for the information.
3
Empyre / On the Wood Again!
« on: January 03, 2015, 08:57:08 AM »
Finally, after 23 months since shutting down my Aspen 175 I have it up and running again! It took a while to find a welder to do the job and once I found one it took him a while to get the job done. We ended up doing a complete overhaul of the fire box and replaced all of the heat exchanger tubes as well as all internal plumbing. I redid external plumbing to include a 3 way thermic valve to prevent low boiler temp. I also split the return line so the return water is distributed to both heat zones instead of just the one. 
I have pictures of the project and will post them as soon as I get a chance.
I have pictures of the project and will post them as soon as I get a chance.
4
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / What would you get and why?
« on: January 26, 2013, 11:28:54 AM »
If you had to replace your heater today what would you get and why?
Mine is dead. See the thread "Quick fix for leaky Aspen 175" in the Empyre section.
Mine is dead. See the thread "Quick fix for leaky Aspen 175" in the Empyre section.
5
Empyre / Quick fix for leaky Aspen 175
« on: January 18, 2013, 09:57:13 AM »
To make a long story short:
I was able to use sheet metal screws and metal epoxy to do a quick fix to my leaking Aspen 175 last evening – so far so good.
Or to make a short story long:
My Aspen started to leak the Friday before Christmas. I shut the boiler down, drained it and switched over to oil. I didn’t have time to deal with it during the Christmas & New Year holidays. Luckily I have a friend with welding skills who was able to bring his welder over and fix the leak. However, do to constraints on both of our schedules we weren’t able to fix the leak until Saturday January 12th.
When I did the repair I expected to find ¼ inch boiler plate but I soon found out the water jacket and primary firebox is made of sheet metal 14 or maybe 12 gauge – not exactly sure and it doesn’t matter. Also during inspection via the overflow I could see rust spots in other wise clean metal. The hole was directly under the overflow.
Yes I was diligent with the water treatment but I did not get it documented. Like I said what I could see of the interior of the water jacket was nice and clean except for the ‘rust pox’. It looked to me like the material used had impurities imbedded within it – it was not appropriate for the application.
Then on Tuesday January 15th the unit sprung another leak during the evening. Not good!!
I had a brainstorm during the day yesterday to use sheet metal screws and metal epoxy to repair the boiler.
So last night I picked up a small package of the shortest #8 and #10 sheet metal screws I could find. I also picked up some QuickSteel epoxy made by Bluemagic – I found this in the auto parts store. I mixed the epoxy as per instructions and put it on the screw threads. I used an end brush in my drill to clean the area. This worked great as the angle of the brush on the metal was such that it did not fling debris into my face or on me at all. The epoxy is supposed to set in 5 minutes, set under water and is suitable for use in 500 degree F. The repair was done last evening around 7:30 while water was dripping from the leak. I re-lit the boiler 5 minutes after completing the repair – so far the repair has held up.
I don’t think the epoxy really contributed to the repair the way I used it here. The idea was the epoxy would help build a seal around the threads similar to pipe dope but most, if not all of the epoxy fell off while I drove the screw in with my impact driver.
The beauty is that you don’t have to shut down and drain the boiler to do the repair, depending on the location of the leak that is. In my case it was close to the loading door on top of the fire box. It took longer to get dressed in work clothing than it did to fix the leak!
The next time I have to do a repair I will brush the area then apply epoxy to stop the water. This should prevent the hot water from dripping on my hands thus making it easier to set a screw. I’ll keep you posted.
I was able to use sheet metal screws and metal epoxy to do a quick fix to my leaking Aspen 175 last evening – so far so good.
Or to make a short story long:
My Aspen started to leak the Friday before Christmas. I shut the boiler down, drained it and switched over to oil. I didn’t have time to deal with it during the Christmas & New Year holidays. Luckily I have a friend with welding skills who was able to bring his welder over and fix the leak. However, do to constraints on both of our schedules we weren’t able to fix the leak until Saturday January 12th.
When I did the repair I expected to find ¼ inch boiler plate but I soon found out the water jacket and primary firebox is made of sheet metal 14 or maybe 12 gauge – not exactly sure and it doesn’t matter. Also during inspection via the overflow I could see rust spots in other wise clean metal. The hole was directly under the overflow.
Yes I was diligent with the water treatment but I did not get it documented. Like I said what I could see of the interior of the water jacket was nice and clean except for the ‘rust pox’. It looked to me like the material used had impurities imbedded within it – it was not appropriate for the application.
Then on Tuesday January 15th the unit sprung another leak during the evening. Not good!!
I had a brainstorm during the day yesterday to use sheet metal screws and metal epoxy to repair the boiler.
So last night I picked up a small package of the shortest #8 and #10 sheet metal screws I could find. I also picked up some QuickSteel epoxy made by Bluemagic – I found this in the auto parts store. I mixed the epoxy as per instructions and put it on the screw threads. I used an end brush in my drill to clean the area. This worked great as the angle of the brush on the metal was such that it did not fling debris into my face or on me at all. The epoxy is supposed to set in 5 minutes, set under water and is suitable for use in 500 degree F. The repair was done last evening around 7:30 while water was dripping from the leak. I re-lit the boiler 5 minutes after completing the repair – so far the repair has held up.
I don’t think the epoxy really contributed to the repair the way I used it here. The idea was the epoxy would help build a seal around the threads similar to pipe dope but most, if not all of the epoxy fell off while I drove the screw in with my impact driver.
The beauty is that you don’t have to shut down and drain the boiler to do the repair, depending on the location of the leak that is. In my case it was close to the loading door on top of the fire box. It took longer to get dressed in work clothing than it did to fix the leak!
The next time I have to do a repair I will brush the area then apply epoxy to stop the water. This should prevent the hot water from dripping on my hands thus making it easier to set a screw. I’ll keep you posted.
6
Empyre / Aspen 175 vs Empyre Pro Series
« on: October 13, 2011, 08:47:16 AM »
Does any one know what upgrades/enhancements were made to the Aspen 175 when it was reincarnated as the Empyre Pro Series?
I know the blower motor configuration was changed from solenoid operated damper and vertical motor mount to a weighted flapper and horizontal motor mount. I have this installed on my Aspen and it is performing nicely.
I still have two problems with my Aspen:
1. The openings in the floor of the primary firebox clog up and prevent/restrict air flow to the secondary combustion chamber.
2. There is creosote buildup on the loading door which collects on the door gasket causing it to become stiff which prevents it from getting a good seal.
I would expect that Empyre would have resolved these problems before they remarketed this unit.
Any input on this would be appreciated.
I know the blower motor configuration was changed from solenoid operated damper and vertical motor mount to a weighted flapper and horizontal motor mount. I have this installed on my Aspen and it is performing nicely.
I still have two problems with my Aspen:
1. The openings in the floor of the primary firebox clog up and prevent/restrict air flow to the secondary combustion chamber.
2. There is creosote buildup on the loading door which collects on the door gasket causing it to become stiff which prevents it from getting a good seal.
I would expect that Empyre would have resolved these problems before they remarketed this unit.
Any input on this would be appreciated.
7
Electronics / Aspen 175 Failover & Freeze Protection
« on: December 18, 2010, 09:36:26 PM »
I read in one of these threads where a member had an Aspen 175 that was wired such the heating system would failover to the oil fired heater when the Aspen would go “cold”. They also had controls that prevented the Aspen from freezing by using heat from the oil fired heater. I am interested in doing the same with my Aspen.
Unfortunately I did not bookmark the thread or write the user’s name down to contact them. If any of you have your unit set up like this and is willing to share the setup information – wiring diagrams, parts list etc. I would appreciate it.
This is the biggest short coming on this unit – it doesn’t have a low temperature shutdown – so the blower motor runs for naught when the fuel supply is consumed. I have ruined three blower motors so far this year – over heated and then contaminated with creosote.
Unfortunately I did not bookmark the thread or write the user’s name down to contact them. If any of you have your unit set up like this and is willing to share the setup information – wiring diagrams, parts list etc. I would appreciate it.
This is the biggest short coming on this unit – it doesn’t have a low temperature shutdown – so the blower motor runs for naught when the fuel supply is consumed. I have ruined three blower motors so far this year – over heated and then contaminated with creosote.
8
Testing / Aspen 175 Failover & Freeze Protection
« on: December 18, 2010, 09:33:30 PM »
I read in one of these threads where a member had an Aspen 175 that was wired such the heating system would failover to the oil fired heater when the Aspen would go “cold”. They also had controls that prevented the Aspen from freezing by using heat from the oil fired heater. I am interested in doing the same with my Aspen.
Unfortunately I did not bookmark the thread or write the user’s name down to contact them. If any of you have your unit set up like this and is willing to share the setup information – wiring diagrams, parts list etc. I would appreciate hearing from you.
This is the biggest short coming on this unit – it doesn’t have a low temperature shutdown – so the blower motor runs for naught when the fuel supply is consumed. I have ruined three blower motors so far this year – over heated and then contaminated with creosote.
Unfortunately I did not bookmark the thread or write the user’s name down to contact them. If any of you have your unit set up like this and is willing to share the setup information – wiring diagrams, parts list etc. I would appreciate hearing from you.
This is the biggest short coming on this unit – it doesn’t have a low temperature shutdown – so the blower motor runs for naught when the fuel supply is consumed. I have ruined three blower motors so far this year – over heated and then contaminated with creosote.
Pages: [1]