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.

16

Central Boiler / Shutting down

« on: April 14, 2019, 08:28:53 AM »

I have a couple of days off from work later this week so I'll take a moment to shutdown my Edge 550 HD for the season.  While she's still hot I'll scrape as much of the creosote goo from the walls and roof of the firebox making sure I pay special attention to the corners.  With the warmer temps she's been depositing quite a bit of creosote on the walls and ceiling of the firebox.  Once I'm satisfied that all metal surfaces are clean I'll spray the firebox with NEW motor oil, put a bucket of the chimney and wait for the next heating season.   

17

General DIY remodeling without Hydronics / Bathroom remodel question

« on: March 17, 2019, 07:46:36 AM »

Hi all - My brother and I have begun remodeling the master bathroom in my house.  I've been putting off remodeling it due to having to replace part of the sub-floor due to rot.  When I install the new closet flange for the toilet, is the top of the flange flush with the sub-floor or the finish product that I haven't settled on yet?  Thanks in advance for the help.  Roger

18

Central Boiler / 1st hiccup of heating season

« on: February 08, 2019, 02:15:05 AM »

Last evening just before retiring to bed for the night I received text alarm from the CB Titanium Edge 550 HD stating Low Water Level.  I went outside to have look and the water is at the full mark in the site glass.  I either have corrosion (doubt it) on the sensor or it's faulty for some reason.  Do any of you folks regardless if you're CB operators or other manufacturer's know if there is a way to by-pass the sensor until I have time to get another one and replace it?  I have to rely on my oil boiler to heat my house which isn't bad thing to exercise the thing but I like having it quiet in my home.  Thanks, Roger     

19

General Discussion / Sucks getting older

« on: February 05, 2019, 02:32:52 PM »

For the past couple of days I've been home from work recuperating from the flu. This afternoon I was feeling a whole lot better, so seeing it's such a beautiful day outside (in the mid 50's) I thought I would take the opportunity to inspect and possibly clean the air channels and elbows on my CB Edge 550 HD. I learned a few thing from the exercise; 1) After nearly 2 months since the last inspection there was very little to no creosote build up to be cleaned in channels. 2) The elbows were nice and clean also. The main thing I learned is, I'm no longer the teenager who when he got sick he was able to bounce right back to doing work after a day or so convalescing. It don't work that way when 60 right is right around the corner. Man, I had to stop a few times to rest to keep from passing out. What should have taken perhaps 20 to 30 minutes, took an hour and half to disassemble, clean and reassemble everything. Sitting here typing this out feels like I've been chopping wood all day.  Roger

20

Central Boiler / Pleased I made the move

« on: February 02, 2019, 04:42:31 AM »

This morning was -15 in my corner of NH, but thankfully no wind.  The weather forecast for last night said lows of -2, -15 is a far cry colder than they forecasted!  Aside from that, I'm happy I made the move to the new Titanium Edge 550 HD.  At 6:00pm last evening I had put 10 pieces in her for the night thinking -2 ain't too bad, not thinking that the weather forecasters had been wrong for most of the week regarding the weather, so why did I expect them to be right this time?  It must have been a moment of weakness.    I went outside at 6:00am this morning thinking there would be little to no coals left.  I was pleasantly surprised to see I had perhaps another hours' worth of burn time to go.  I took the time to clear the reaction chamber and the chimney "T" of fly ash.  I did a quick inspection of the vertical heat exchanger and it was only a fine fly ash on it so I brushed it, I then added 10 pieces to the firebox for the day then I went inside to enjoy another cup of coffee where it's 74 degrees.  Roger     

21

Central Boiler / Happy New Year!

« on: January 01, 2019, 02:57:04 AM »

Wishing all a Happy New Year!  Wishing for your entire burning year goes well.  Roger

22

Central Boiler / 1st Month Operation

« on: December 02, 2018, 03:07:06 AM »

Hi all - I fired up my CB Edge 550 HD at the end of October.  During that time I have cleaned the reaction chamber once every 2 weeks and that appears to be schedule I'll use throughout the heating season.  I don't want the ash to get too deep.  Every 2 weeks I'd been removing the removable air channels to inspect for creosote buildup.  I haven't seen any measurable creosote in them, anything observed has been removed, so I think I'll check them monthly and clean if necessary.  Now all we need to do is wait for cold weather to show it's ugly face and see how the OWB does.  Roger

23

Central Boiler / OPerating my CB Edge 550 HD

« on: November 20, 2018, 03:59:22 AM »

Okay, it's been 3 weeks plus operating my CB Edge 550 HD and I've learned a couple of things.

1.  The Edge 550 HD operates entirely different than my E-Classic 1400.  It's much simpler and less time consuming, instead of taking 10 minutes to service it every 12 hours, it only takes 5 minutes from start to finish.

2.  The 550 takes less wood per 12 hours than my 1400.

3.  The air channels and Hx clean far easier on the 550

4.  The most important thing is the coal depth.  The 1400 didn't require a very deep coal bed, the 550 needs moderately deep coal bed to for the reaction chamber temps to stay up.  After 3 or 4 days of trying things, I found that to get best out of the reaction chamber is for the coal bed to be to the level of the bottom of the air channel but no higher, you run the risk of obscuring the air holes. 

5.  The Firestar is an incredible tool to assist in the operation of the Edge 550.  It gives an idea of how deep the coal bed is.  If it's too shallow, the reaction chamber temps begin to fall below 1000 degrees but if it's deep enough it'll show reaction chamber range anywhere from 1100 degrees to a typical 1450 and at time around 1600 degrees. 

I hope this helps those who have the Edge units and are struggling with the coal bed staying against the charge tube.

Roger

24

Central Boiler / stepper motor pics and a couple of others

« on: November 13, 2018, 10:31:46 AM »

Here are a couple of pics of the stepper motors that open the primary and secondary air to my CB Edge 550.  Also, I've include a couple of pics of the Heat exchanger access door and with it open.   

25

Central Boiler / She's up and running

« on: October 27, 2018, 02:00:24 PM »

Well, I finally did it, the CB Classic Edge 550 HD has been providing heat to my house since around 9:00am this morning.  This beast is so different than the E-Classic 1400 that it'll take a bit to learn how to operate it.  I'll keep everyone updated regarding operation, pro or con.  It is so nice to be able to turn up the thermostat to 70 degrees and not hear the oil burner turning on.  This past spring I had a professional contractor spray foam (closed cell) all of the walls in my basement, I got tired of providing heat to the outdoors.  With only the oil burner running at times the temp in my basement never got colder than 70.  Now that I've fired up the OWB and the pipes coming in from the OWB not being insulated and temperature of the water coming into the house at 180, the basement is a nice cozy 77 degrees.  I've spent all of my 57 years living in this old house and it's never been that warm in the basement.  I'm thinking of installing some floor grates so that the upstairs area can benefit from all this warmth especially when the temps will dip below zero this winter, perhaps it'll be bit more comfortable while watching TV.    Roger

26

The Wall Of Shame / Do you know what happens when...

« on: October 14, 2018, 04:39:33 AM »

you have a 4 pound mallet, a locked door to the house and no keys for the lock?  You get in!     I pulled a bonehead move yesterday evening.  I went out for a while and when I got home I quickly realized I had forgotten my house key.  Luckily the workshop door was unlocked (bonehead move #2) and I found my 4 pound mallet.  I was able to get through the backdoor of the house, made my way through the attic (thank God for cell phones with built-in flashlights) to the main living quarters.  Tomorrow evening I need to fix the jam on the backdoor.  I have 8 siblings and none of them have a key to my house.  Perhaps I need to revisit my thinking on that.  Roger

27

General Discussion / Mud room construction

« on: August 19, 2018, 06:15:35 PM »

Hi all - I'm in the process of moving my entrance to the house so I can build a mud room.  Where the entrance door now hangs I want to replace with a window.  How does one usually measure the size of the window to match the rest of the house so I can rough frame the opening?  There must be an easy way, I just need to know what it is before I do any window shopping.  Thank - Roger

28

General Discussion / Motorcycle valve clearance

« on: July 14, 2018, 05:23:05 PM »

So, I own a 2007 Kawasaki VN900 Classic LT motorcycle, she's approaching 26,000 miles.  I generally use it as a commuter when it's dry and/or warm, to work and back home.  The only service I've done is replace the stator a couple of years ago when the original went belly up, tires when needed and the usual yearly oil and oil filter changes at the end of the riding season.  The one thing I never gave any thought to was the valve clearance so I decided to check to see what the service manual says; they should be checked at the 600 mile interval, done; should be checked and adjustments made at the 15,000 mile interval - oops, never did that or any checks since the 600 mile check.  So, I'm nearly done tearing her down to check the valve clearance.  The great thing about this is if they need adjustment, simply remove the shims that are problematic and replace with the one that will put her back in spec.  The service manual has an easy to follow chart to show you which one that's needed.  Oh, I need to change the Air switching Valve, the one in there is rattling like the dickins.  It's nothing that's going to hurt the motor if I don't change it, it's just the rattling is driving me up the wall.  Roger

29

Plumbing / Pressure tank

« on: July 06, 2018, 11:01:56 AM »

Hi all - I'll replacing the old taco circ with a grundfos alfa on the pressurized system inside the house.  This has nothing to do with the OWB side of things.  The problem I have is the flanges are a different configuration than the taco, they're turned 90 degrees.  If I try to put the alfa in same place as the taco the alfa hits the bottom of the pressure tank making it impossible to install the alfa.  I'm wondering if it's okay to remove the pressure tank, thread a 90 degree elbow into the air scoop, thread a 3 inch nipple into the 90 and then to another 90 to which I would then hang the pressure tank.  Would this be acceptable?  Anything wrong with this approach?  Thanks.  Roger   

30

Plumbing / Leaky sweat joint

« on: May 24, 2018, 02:41:53 PM »

Does anyone know if there is a compound available that will stop a leaky sweat joint on a copper pipe?  It's on the domestic water line coming into the house.  My sweat skills have a lot to be desired so I'm a bit reluctant to try but I will if there is no compound that I can simply apply to stop the leak.