Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers WITH EPA-Certified Models => Central Boiler => Topic started by: dirtryder on January 09, 2012, 06:59:30 AM
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I was wondering if anyone is using the fan on their CB to speed up recovery and if it is working out. Does it happen to lessen the time it smokes? Who know's, maybe I am the only one not using one.
I'm tossing around the idea of trying one.
I have the 6048
Thanks
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Just checking in to report I am not using the fan.
Do they have a fan unit that connects to the door? Just curious.
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Just checking in to report I am not using the fan.
Do they have a fan unit that connects to the door? Just curious.
Yeh, mounts over the air intake.
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I thought they only offered that on the dual fuel units, but your right. I found it in the accessories manual. "draft Inducer".
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I am very interested in this too. My heat load can be huge and I have had a couple issues with the temp dipping too low. If you get it let us know how it works.
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My brother in-law has recently got a neighbor that is complaining about his smoke. They (the neighbor) burn wood in a woodstove in the house which can smoke quite a bit too....but......it's a long story as to why 2 years later they complained to the township.
He is picking one up and going to try it to see if it helps with shortening the smoke time in his 6048. After talking with him, It sounds like it would help with getting the fire going quicker and reduce the time it takes to get to a full burn.
The only thing is, I would like to have the fan to get the fire going, but not necessarily keep "blowing" the whole burn cycle. As it stands now, once my fire "gets" going it rips right along and a fan blowing then to me would not be needed. Something tells me they do not work that way ::)
BTW, my 6048 works fantastic as is but if better could be better.......
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What kind of burn times do you get? (How long does it take to come up to temp?)
I average 20 minutes with the 5036.
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What kind of burn times do you get? (How long does it take to come up to temp?)
I average 20 minutes with the 5036.
I have no idea Ridge. Never grabbed some beers and sat there and timed it..........maybe I will one day ;)
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I have a cb 6048 this is my 2nd winter, the first winter i did not have a fan( draft inducer) and it work great, but over the summer i hook my pool up to the wb and my dealer talk me in to a fan because of the load on the wb. So far this winter i havent real notice much of a differance with the fan . A good tip for a jealous neighbor is to load your wb at night so that by morning it burning hot and there is very little or no smoke! you cant even tell mine is running during the day unless you see the heat waves coming out of the stack.
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My brother in-law has recently got a neighbor that is complaining about his smoke. They (the neighbor) burn wood in a woodstove in the house which can smoke quite a bit too....but......it's a long story as to why 2 years later they complained to the township.
He is picking one up and going to try it to see if it helps with shortening the smoke time in his 6048. After talking with him, It sounds like it would help with getting the fire going quicker and reduce the time it takes to get to a full burn.
The only thing is, I would like to have the fan to get the fire going, but not necessarily keep "blowing" the whole burn cycle. As it stands now, once my fire "gets" going it rips right along and a fan blowing then to me would not be needed. Something tells me they do not work that way ::)
BTW, my 6048 works fantastic as is but if better could be better.......
Have him make sure and not load it all at once-in other words, put a few pieces in it many times/day if at all possible, and even if he has to buy wood, make sure it is not over 25% moisture. I know many people who own the 5648 and the 6048, and that's what they do(multiple loads) during the daylight hours if unfriendly neighbors are an issue. One of my relatives has his stack just over 30' high, and that really made his winy (or maybe it's weenie) neighbor happy.
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I have 4 stacks on my unit { i realy need to name it) = 16' , but as everyone knows some days that smoke comes streight down and stays around
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I have a cb 6048 this is my 2nd winter, the first winter i did not have a fan( draft inducer) and it work great, but over the summer i hook my pool up to the wb and my dealer talk me in to a fan because of the load on the wb. So far this winter i havent real notice much of a differance with the fan . A good tip for a jealous neighbor is to load your wb at night so that by morning it burning hot and there is very little or no smoke! you cant even tell mine is running during the day unless you see the heat waves coming out of the stack.
Fireboss,
I also will be heating my pool this spring. Got a taste of it last fall and thinking that the inducer will help. Also, I was thinking that when I burn that "not so perfectly dry" wood, it would help with getting it going.
OK, to my question, do you think that if your damper opens and your fan was "not" running (like if the motor burned up or something) , there is still enough air flow for the boiler to operate like normal? I'm thinking that if I put one on, I would like to wire it through a switch so it would only come on when I want it to when the damper opens. This way, under heavy or "wet" loads I can turn on the switch for inducer to run when damper opens, but with dry loads in warm weather I would not have it run.
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sure its easy just put the switch after the solenoid so you can turn it on and off when you want .
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sure its easy just put the switch after the solenoid so you can turn it on and off when you want .
So, your confirming that the air draft will be sufficient if the fan doesn't run when installed?
Thanks
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Just ordered a draft inducer. I'll let you all know if it improves my performace. With the pool seems it really drags it down low before it recovers so hopefully this will fix that.
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Just ordered a draft inducer. I'll let you all know if it improves my performace. With the pool seems it really drags it down low before it recovers so hopefully this will fix that.
Yep,
just ordered mine too. I'm going to add a switch so I can control when I want to use it.
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You know you two just volunteered to provide full reports with pics right?
Since my heat load is not that big I opted not to perform this upgrade. I would be interested in adding it when (and if) I ever finish my detached garage. one of these years..... :bash:
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muffin, you also need a thermostat between your pool and owb some of the newer cb have them on them from the factory
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muffin, you also need a thermostat between your pool and owb some of the newer cb have them on them from the factory
I have one. I got this really cool thermostate off ebay, all digital, 240VAC input option so I can tie it right to the pump power(never operate without flow). I just installed a dry well in the pump plumbing and stuck its sensor down in there. Used some of that blue wall putty to seal it in. Seems to work really well. This activates a zone valve to start heating. Only bad thing is it is only in celsius so it is hard for me to interprete real-time.
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no they make a in line thermostat, its works like the one in your car. it takes the load off your wb. it opens when your water temp is 150 + and cloes when it goes below and alows your wb to catch up
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I have one. I got this really cool thermostate off ebay, all digital, 240VAC input option so I can tie it right to the pump power(never operate without flow). I just installed a dry well in the pump plumbing and stuck its sensor down in there. Used some of that blue wall putty to seal it in. Seems to work really well. This activates a zone valve to start heating. Only bad thing is it is only in celsius so it is hard for me to interprete real-time.
[/quote]
C=F
double it and add 30
Ex. 20*C 20*2+30=70*F
Not perfect but close enough
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yep pretty close...
20C x9/5 +32 = F
20x9=180( /5= 36) +32 = 68 F
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no they make a in line thermostat, its works like the one in your car. it takes the load off your wb. it opens when your water temp is 150 + and cloes when it goes below and alows your wb to catch up
Are you talking about the thermostatc valve? I have that in the main line to protect the boiler. It came with the unit.
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yes thats what i was trying to say!
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got my blower last night. Will get it installed tonight. Let you all know how it does.
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got my blower last night. Will get it installed tonight. Let you all know how it does.
I'm still waiting.........
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got my blower last night. Will get it installed tonight. Let you all know how it does.
OK, so thee install was pretty easy but a bit hooky. The new electrical connection where oversized for the transformer and the piggy back spades were too big for the old hookups. The instructions actually had you cut off the old connectors and apply the new ones. I thought that was retarded to I ground down the spades so they would fit. A little crush on the new conenctors and they hold on nice and tight to the old spades. Seems someone didn't do thier homework in the design department. the rest went pretty smooth and it is running now. I have it opened full bore right now and boy do the coals get HOT. It is a bit noisyer then I expected but not bad. I did note that it was holding temperature with just coals remaining. It did not use to do that. Today will be its first real test so we will see how it does. I do not have a good way to really know though so I'm not sure how to really attest to it performance. I can see the cycle time and peaks a bit on my pool system monitor (derived) so I am hoping something will jump out from that data.
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Can you post some pictures? :pic:
thanks
Clyde
got my blower last night. Will get it installed tonight. Let you all know how it does.
OK, so thee install was pretty easy but a bit hooky. The new electrical connection where oversized for the transformer and the piggy back spades were too big for the old hookups. The instructions actually had you cut off the old connectors and apply the new ones. I thought that was retarded to I ground down the spades so they would fit. A little crush on the new conenctors and they hold on nice and tight to the old spades. Seems someone didn't do thier homework in the design department. the rest went pretty smooth and it is running now. I have it opened full bore right now and boy do the coals get HOT. It is a bit noisyer then I expected but not bad. I did note that it was holding temperature with just coals remaining. It did not use to do that. Today will be its first real test so we will see how it does. I do not have a good way to really know though so I'm not sure how to really attest to it performance. I can see the cycle time and peaks a bit on my pool system monitor (derived) so I am hoping something will jump out from that data.
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Got mine yesterday. I installed a switch and indicator light in the hot feed to the motor so I can use it only when I want. Gonna put it on this weekend. My first test will be to leave the fan switch "off" so I can see if my boiler runs the same....like it's not there. Hopefully enough air will still be drawn in for natural draft. If not, I already see where I can modify it to give it more air when I want.
Yes, pics will be a comin'
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OK, I installed my fan. First I left the switch I installed off so when the damper opened the fan did not run. Worked Ok but I felt that it took too long to come up to temp due to much less natural air flow. So, I modified the fan housing to let more air in. I also made a cover so when I turn the fan on, it works as designed. With the fan operating, I agree that my boiler recovers much faster. Haven't noticed needing more wood, but haven't run it long enough to know. I purposely put in a load of "wet" wood with some very large pieces that I had to roll in from my skid steer as a test for the fan. Stuff burned great with no problem. The smoke seems to be the same while burning but shorter burn cycles makes for less smoke in the end. I did notice that my water temp goes a few degrees higher after it shuts off than it does with no fan. Not really a problem unless you are set at a high shut down temp. I think it will help out a lot when I get back to heating my pool.
I think having this fan and the option to use it when I want will just make a good boiler better.
Here's some pics, the holes you see in the fan housing I put there for more natural draft. They are NOT there originally.
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OK, I installed my fan. First I left the switch I installed off so when the damper opened the fan did not run. Worked Ok but I felt that it took too long to come up to temp due to much less natural air flow. So, I modified the fan housing to let more air in. I also made a cover so when I turn the fan on, it works as designed. With the fan operating, I agree that my boiler recovers much faster. Haven't noticed needing more wood, but haven't run it long enough to know. I purposely put in a load of "wet" wood with some very large pieces that I had to roll in from my skid steer as a test for the fan. Stuff burned great with no problem. The smoke seems to be the same while burning but shorter burn cycles makes for less smoke in the end. I did notice that my water temp goes a few degrees higher after it shuts off than it does with no fan. Not really a problem unless you are set at a high shut down temp. I think it will help out a lot when I get back to heating my pool.
I think having this fan and the option to use it when I want will just make a good boiler better.
Here's some pics, the holes you see in the fan housing I put there for more natural draft. They are NOT there originally.
Agree. Mine too seems to overshoot a little now, but no big deal. With the pool, I always need the fan, but the switch idea is cool.
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I'm curious, what was the cost of the blower unit? I don't have a CB dealer near by and I would like to get the best deal when I buy one.
thanks
Clyde
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I paid 140 for mine this past summer
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I'm curious, what was the cost of the blower unit? I don't have a CB dealer near by and I would like to get the best deal when I buy one.
thanks
Clyde
I paid just under $150 delivered to my door.
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Where did you buy it?
thanks
Clyde
I'm curious, what was the cost of the blower unit? I don't have a CB dealer near by and I would like to get the best deal when I buy one.
thanks
Clyde
I paid just under $150 delivered to my door.
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Where did you buy it?
thanks
Clyde
I'm curious, what was the cost of the blower unit? I don't have a CB dealer near by and I would like to get the best deal when I buy one.
thanks
Clyde
I paid just under $150 delivered to my door.
From my dealer. I can't say what it may cost for anyone else. I would like to "think" I got a good deal because I purchased my boiler from them. Contact any CB dealer and get a price with shipping. I'm sure any will sell to you.
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Agree. Mine too seems to overshoot a little now, but no big deal. With the pool, I always need the fan, but the switch idea is cool.
Muffin, I noticed that when my fan turns on to do a heat cycle, especially at night when air is colder, that my temp actually "drops" almost 5 degrees before it starts to heat back up. With natural draft I don't notice this.
Did you notice that?
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Agree. Mine too seems to overshoot a little now, but no big deal. With the pool, I always need the fan, but the switch idea is cool.
Muffin, I noticed that when my fan turns on to do a heat cycle, especially at night when air is colder, that my temp actually "drops" almost 5 degrees before it starts to heat back up. With natural draft I don't notice this.
Did you notice that?
I have not noticed that, but I have not really stared at it either. Mine is not in a good spot to look at so it may. That seems odd though, I cannot imagine the water temp changing very fast. Is your heat load really light right now? Maybe the coals have gotten really cool and it is taking awhile to get any heat flowing. I also keep the ash pretty high; cause i'm lazy. It is always an inch or two above the door level so when the air blows in it hits the coals in front immeadiately and they light up instantly. Mostly, I never clean the ash out to be honest. I have cleaned it out twice since november and I am thinking that was a waste of time. I swear it returns to the same level in a day and just stays there forever. The blower is actually helping with that now as I can run it on coals alone on the weekends and keep raking it to get it to burn down almost level with the door.
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I have been thinking about adding a blower (draft inducer) wired in tandem to my 5036 draft solenoid. This would speed the recovery time and I believe the damper would stay open less and use less electricity overall. My concern is with the x-300 which I use to tell me when to load the boiler "I let it burn down to coals as much as possible depending on outdoor temp". If I add a blower I would like to switch it from a relay triggered on/off by the x-300 on a low temp alarm so if I don't catch the time to load it it don't burn out all the coals. The solenoid would not be isolated and would open as usual for a natural draft when the x-300 cuts off the blower.
I am just looking for others opinions on this setup.
thanks
Clyde
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How about an update
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How about an update
Well, I like the fan for fast recovery if needed and when I put in some "not so perfectly seasoned" wood that is just lying around when I'm cleaning up my wood area. For the most part, I have been using my boiler without the fan.
Oh yeh, I found out that I do not need to cover the holes I drilled in the fan housing when using the fan. My thought was that the forced air would "leak out" the holes and not go into the firebox. This turned out not to happen, which is good because now I don't have to take the cover on and off.
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I love the blower. I do not have a switch on it so it runs anytime the boiler turns on. I do not notice any incerase in wood consuption, but it really burns down much better while still holding heat. Only downside is that it is a bit loud, but not terrible.
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I got a fan from my dealer that was returned and installed today. The connection are cheese and I replaced them. The connections to the seleniod were loose so I replaced those. I'm thinking that needs a separate thread to have all CB owners to check there connections.
I'll report how the boiler works with the fan but I feel it's an awesome tool to have if your burning poor quality wood.