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16

Central Boiler / FALL OPENER CLEAN OUT, READY TO START UP

« on: September 10, 2018, 06:57:11 AM »

I did my seasonal complete clean out again. I pull out everything including the fire brick, clean out all the air vents and the solenoid tube. Tested the solenoids to make sure they were all pulling 20 ohms. The only thing that I replaced were a few fire bricks. Lowes sells them but they had a heck of a time finding them. I even dug a 5' deep dry well that i stuffed a left over drain pipe in and back filled with some trap rock. I dug out a hill for a spot for my boiler pad and water always collected in the back where the clean out door is on a 1450. This year we have a 10-20 lean to filled with mainly oak split into small pieces. I think I'm ready for the heating season.

17

Fire Wood / 10' -20' METAL ROOF LEAN TO

« on: August 26, 2018, 04:08:19 PM »

Finally built  a real lean to for my boiler wood to season and store. Got real sick of tarps and skids. Now I have 9.3 cord of mainly oak with more to split and toss up top. The wood is a scrounge from a neighbor who had his land logged. They left lots of good stuff behind. Tops and the not pretty stuff that processors don't like.

18

Central Boiler / Re: Shutdown for the summer season

« on: May 30, 2018, 04:49:07 PM »

I was close to buying a "log load" for $800, this is 7-8 cord of wood.  This wood I am getting is all along the side of dirt roads so it will be fun-getting it.Tractor with forks and loading up my truck. My next red neck idea is to take a broken down 16' camper and rig  it up to haul wood around. But I want to still have the back hoe on the tractor for ballast and pulling me out of trouble. Didn't say it was sane but what fun is sane?

19

Central Boiler / Re: Shutdown for the summer season

« on: May 29, 2018, 03:27:43 AM »

Roger have fun with the new toy. We shut down early this year, ran out of wood. I had some low reaction chamber temps this year that I blamed on the pine wood I was burning. Turns out I had a solenoid not pulling well, replaced it and it was night and day. Now I will add a solenoid check to every monthly checks. If I am not pulling at least 15 ohms I will change it. I built a 10-20 lean to for wood storage, got sick of tarps and ripped tent covers and stepping on skids all winter. Dry wood for sure this year. I am getting my wood from a guy down my dirt road who was logged out last year. Logging company left lots of good wood and he is giving most of it for free and selling some at $20 per cord.

20

Central Boiler / Re: temp reading from fire box

« on: January 28, 2018, 02:49:10 PM »

Thankfully I forgot to empty the metal garbage can that's full of ash yet, I needed most of it to spread on the yard.  It's been a few years since I last saw so much ice covering everything.  Roger

WE are having a bad ice year as well. An underground spring has popped up putting  water all over the driveway  just in front of the boiler, ice city. Cleats on spare boots work well.

21

Central Boiler / Re: e classic 1400 has trickle of smoke

« on: January 28, 2018, 02:43:45 PM »

We just had the boiler smoking all week. Burned more wood than we should have  and yesterday it got up to  200* with no real demand. New door seal so that was out and the bypass had a good seal and the reaction chamber door was fine. Even though the two solenoids were closing I played with them and watched the smoke go away. The secondary was clean and not a problem so I took the primary one off even though I had scrapped it out last week. I took it apart and cleaned it with a wire wheel and cleaned the solenoid damper door, it had some creosote on it but not to bad. Now no more smoke at idle, it was open enough to keep a low smolder going. Lots of creosote in the fire box. Once again I am paying for running pine that wasn't aged well. Next season I will have better fuel. I am aiming to have 20 cord so I can age some for 2 years

22

Central Boiler / Re: E1450 clogged heat exchanger tubes - creosote

« on: January 15, 2018, 08:23:23 AM »

Duramax - You pull it up the tube?  How does that work?  I can't get the chain to climb up the inside of the tube so I can grab it at the top -    gravity always wins.  Unless you disconnect the chain, hang it down the inside, connect the tool at the bottom, and pull up?
I replaced those stupid keychain rings they used to attach the chain to the tool with some 3/16" chain links; now I can pull as hard as I want, they're not going to deform, come apart, and leave the tool in the furnace.  Also, now I can pull it down without doing the up-down jiggity jig. It works, though I worry that if I ever get it jammed yanking it that hard, I'll have a devil of a time getting it out, up or down.  Next winter, better wood, I swear.

B

I actually started from the top this time and pulled down and  it worked. I had to work the tool at the top and let it settle in and go down. Last time I had to send a electrical fish tape down from the top and opened the metal tape so it could pull up.  As you are saying it's the crap wood. White pine seasoned a few months and some oak/ maple also aged a few months.

23

Central Boiler / Re: E1450 clogged heat exchanger tubes - creosote

« on: January 14, 2018, 12:17:26 PM »

Cleaned out my 1450 yesterday , weather was supposed to get in the 50's but it never broke above 31* but even that was still warm. The heat exchanger  tubes were easy this time, I just used the factory tool and chain. I just pull it up and let it fall to clear out the tubes. Better wood and more demand must have helped keep it cleaner. I did get sick of using an ash vac, takes lots of time so I got out the shop vac and put water in the bottom for any hot coals. I vacuum it from the top and suck out the reaction chamber.

24

General Discussion / Re: Older bro was lucky this AM

« on: January 06, 2018, 06:51:15 AM »

We're all glad he's okay.  I guess when driving down the road to where ever, you never give a thought that a telephone pole, tree, etc... could fall.  As the saying goes, gravity sucks.  I guess when the good Lord calls you home, you go, but when it's not your turn, you tell people about it.  Roger

When people say God never performs any miracles now days I have to sigh. How often do we pray for something and when it happens it gets written off as luck. Gravity will win eventually or quickly. Glad he was ok. This cold weather sucks but they are saying a warm up for this week.

25

General Discussion / Re: INSULATING A BASEMENT KNEE WALL IN WINTER

« on: January 01, 2018, 09:01:03 AM »

If you have enough snow try banking the snow around house.

Not a bad idea. I also have a kerosene blast heater that was given to me. I have never used it yet, Helped a friend pack up to move down south and he had no room or use for the heater. My only worry is carbon monoxide. I used a propane bullet heater to get some heat as I wired the house years ago in winter. I had a day I was pulling wire in a small bedroom and I realized I was really tired all the sudden, ran out side and never used that heater again.

26

General Discussion / Re: INSULATING A BASEMENT KNEE WALL IN WINTER

« on: December 31, 2017, 03:12:17 PM »

What kind of emitters upstairs? Baseboard?
What temp is the gas boiler?

Yep it is  base board hot water. The water going into the house boiler system comes in around 170*. I do plan to add a simple air system, no need for duct or more baseboard  like yo are saying My sills are all r13 batting.

I think when they put in the baseboard they did not size it correctly , we ran a wood stove upstairs so it was never an issue.

27

General Discussion / Re: INSULATING A BASEMENT KNEE WALL IN WINTER

« on: December 30, 2017, 12:32:10 PM »

My heating system is a Central boiler E 1450 . I have the water temp around 185 with a 10* drop to 175*. I used therrmopex buried around 18" to go to the house. I ran 1" pex in the house to a heat exchanger just before the indoor gas boiler. I had to separate the two systems, if the outdoor boiler went out the thermostat would cut off the water from the OWB and air lock the house because the OWB is an open system not  close loop like the house. Last week I insulated where a spigot went out the basement with spray foam and most of the air is blocked but still some gets in there so I wrapped it with old insulation. I have a can leftover from that I might as well try I guess. It couldn't make it colder thats for sure. Not sure of the basement temp right now but the upstairs never gets over 60* in the cold weather we have. In warmer 40 * weather the basement acted like radiant heat and warmed the floor.

28

General Discussion / INSULATING A BASEMENT KNEE WALL IN WINTER

« on: December 29, 2017, 04:21:55 PM »

I have a walk out basement with a knee wall along the front . I can feel the cold air coming in. The  construction is 2-4 framing with T 111 exterior, the inside has  r 13 kraft faced insulation with 2" of foam insulation board with the rest of the basement with 1" foam board on the walls. Air is still coming in and cooling the basement down. I have an outdoor wood boiler and the water comes in the house around 180* and cools down to 172 at the heat exchanger. The water then goes into the indoor boiler system at 162 and comes back at 150*.  The pex pipe runs the length of the basement, 30 feet.  The heat off the pex lines used to make the basement the warmest place in the house. The rest of the house is  well insulated with newer windows. Now in 15* days and 2* nights the heat can't get above 60*  and that's with the circulator  pump running 24/7.

I want to spray foam insulation in all the knee walls but it is too cold for that. Any other thoughts for now? I hate to tear down the insulation board that's there now but I may have no choice.  Any thoughts on getting a kit to spray it on my own or is it just as well to hire it out. I used to work with 2 part spray insulation, I know the part a stuff is a mess and that it needs to have the tanks at or above 70* to spray well.

29

Central Boiler / Re: leak on pri air intack e 2400

« on: December 24, 2017, 07:36:48 AM »

I just cleaned out my E1450 last week and the tube had a good layer of creosote and some moisture. Burning soft wood and I needed to clean out my reaction chamber, it was full so it had low burn temps. I think you will be fine.

30

Central Boiler / Re: E1450 clogged heat exchanger tubes - creosote

« on: December 18, 2017, 04:20:11 PM »

Well I just finished with  clogged heat exchanger tubes. I was doing an ash clean out after 6 weeks plus, it was full to the top with ashes. So while I was at it I cleaned the heat exchanger tubes and the primary air tube. The exchanger tubes were clogged enough that the chain and clean out tool laughed at me. I finally ran a wire  snake down from the top and pulled the clean out tool up to clean them.  Long and the short is that I am burning some bad wood this year. It's mainly white  pine and not aged as well as it could be.  I never had this before now. Next year I am getting wood sooner and plan to get mainly hardwood like the 2 years past. I hate all the smoke from the idle time . Smithbr I know your pain . Rodger2651 the heat exchange tubes are in back on the side from the chimney pipe, the problem is that there is no straight shot at them but they are easy to get at. Now for the ironic part  of this is I had embers still burning well after the fire died out over 12 hours before I cleaned it,   now I have a smoke show going on starting it up.
On the only plus side I had the coal stove rocking in the basement, something had to work.