Outdoor Wood Furnace Info

All-Purpose OWF Discussions => General Outdoor Furnace Discussion => Topic started by: american-pacemaker on April 01, 2015, 05:13:02 AM

Title: When to shut down
Post by: american-pacemaker on April 01, 2015, 05:13:02 AM
Hey guys this was my first year with my boiler and I was wondering when most of you decide to shut yours down for the season ?
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: CountryBoyJohn on April 01, 2015, 05:32:07 AM
I decided it was time to shut down when I went out in shorts and a tshirt to fill it.   :bag:
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: Banna on April 01, 2015, 05:43:48 AM
I started shutting down yesterday
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: kommandokenny on April 01, 2015, 05:45:23 AM
-15c.,,, 2 f.,,,  this morning,,,,early June for me  :D
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: kommandokenny on April 01, 2015, 05:48:17 AM
Seriously ... Shut it down when it starts making more creosote,, than heat .
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: mlappin on April 01, 2015, 06:02:23 AM
What KK said.

When a few pieces of wood gets you a 12 burn or more, that or when the fire tries to go out because the idle times have gotten so long.

If the long term forecast holds true here I'll be running for a few more weeks here.
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: kommandokenny on April 01, 2015, 06:41:36 AM
Wonder where A-P lives ;)
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: Roger2561 on April 01, 2015, 06:51:55 AM
Still a bit too chilly for me to shut her down now.  This morning the temps were in the teens with daytime highs in the mid thirties.  Going to warm up a bit tomorrow and Friday but back to the 30's for daytime highs through the weekend.  We may have 40's next week.  I hope we get a least one day in the 50's plus so I can jump on my motorcycle for a short ride around town.  The itch to ride is killing me.  Roger 
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: AirForcePOL on April 01, 2015, 08:10:04 AM
I usually shut down around the 1st of May depending on the weather.  When it is constantly above 50 at night is when I will shut down.  It's hard to let go of all that free hot water!
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: Bondo on April 01, 2015, 08:15:47 AM
Ayuh,....    I pulled domestic hot water off mine, almost the entire 1st summer I ran it,.....

Now, bein' a Subject of King Cuomo, Governor of NYC, he says I gotta shut it down from sometime in May, to sometime in September,....
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: american-pacemaker on April 01, 2015, 11:34:43 AM
kommandokenny im in upstate NY
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: kommandokenny on April 01, 2015, 12:15:56 PM
10-4 A.P. :thumbup:
We will all forget ,by your next post,,, though.
Open your profile and add your location to your signature.
Then when were talkin climate situations,,, everyone will know,,,, and adjust there input around that :thumbup:

Guy in Atlanta is gonna shut down before ATV for instance. :thumbup:



Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: Trint on April 01, 2015, 08:17:14 PM
When it gets in the 50's or I run out of wood  :o
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: kommandokenny on April 01, 2015, 08:26:54 PM
Ayuh,....    I pulled domestic hot water off mine, almost the entire 1st summer I ran it,.....



Unless you use lottsa hot water ,,,,i worked it out,, to a wash for me.
Running the pump and fan on the OWB = hot water electricity for us.
Gotta get the wife to shower more,,,,, to break even,,, no savings(http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e212/kommandokenny/GreenGuy_1.gif)(http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e212/kommandokenny/GreenGuy_1.gif)
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: yotehunter66 on April 02, 2015, 03:50:19 AM
May 1st here for me unless we get some unusually warm weather at the end of April.
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: Bondo on April 02, 2015, 05:12:13 AM
Ayuh,....    I pulled domestic hot water off mine, almost the entire 1st summer I ran it,.....



Unless you use lottsa hot water ,,,,i worked it out,, to a wash for me.
Running the pump and fan on the OWB = hot water electricity for us.
Gotta get the wife to shower more,,,,, to break even,,, no savings(http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e212/kommandokenny/GreenGuy_1.gif)(http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e212/kommandokenny/GreenGuy_1.gif)

Ayuh,...    Agreed, sorta,....      1st summer, I'd throw in 3 or 5 blocks a day for hot water,....

2nd year, I went back to the water heater in my oil boiler,....
275 gallons of oil, for that summer,...  back when oil was "Only" $2.50 or so a gallon,....
Never again,.....   

An electric water heater, adds nearly $100, a month, so that ain't comin' back into this house either,....

I settled on a propane fired on-demand unit, cheap chinese junk, but works, 'n burns very little gas,....
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: Jwood on April 02, 2015, 05:53:31 AM
My electric water heater costs me $50 per month.
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: kommandokenny on April 02, 2015, 06:24:20 AM
We don't use much hot water ..
That's the difference.
My bill is roughly the same when shut down ,no pump, or fan, running.

Our water is heated electrically when boiler is shut down

We do run an air exchanger in the winter also .

Total Electric bill is $179 September and $172 February,,and pretty much 170'$$ all year.
We don't use the A/C,, it almost always cools down at night
I got the bills in front of me .

The short and long is....... Electric energy for OWB pump ,fan, and the house, fresh air, exchanger = Electric energy to heat the hot water.
or real close.......
Still wouldn't change a thing 8)

Everyone's savings will be different.

kk
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: mlappin on April 02, 2015, 09:01:02 AM
Before going on a budget plan with our provider I never really could tell a difference in the electric bill from the boiler, have nat gas for backup heat and hot water, pretty much runs the minimum thru the winter for gas. My electric usage is also somewhat skewed as the farm also runs off the same meter as the house, lights in the barns, electric fencer, block heaters on tractors or straight trucks or semi's.  The big stuff is all on the three phase like the air compressor, grain dryer, aeration fans on the bins, all the augers, grain leg, pneumatic grain mover, in the shop the big wire welder, plasma cutter, bridgeport and lathe are also three phase.

Pay about $270 a month year round for single phase electric. Starting to change out lights in the shop for LED 48" fixtures.
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: kommandokenny on April 02, 2015, 09:59:42 AM
How much a kwh do you pay ??

We got peak$$ $ mid peak $$ and off peak$
Stupid,, smart metre.
We got all kinds a goofy charges on our bills,,,, gotta be an accountant to figure it out :bash:
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: mlappin on April 02, 2015, 10:08:01 AM
Last time I checked was around 11 or 12 cents a kilowatt.
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: AirForcePOL on April 02, 2015, 12:35:11 PM
My electric water heater costs me $50 per month.

Mine too.  It's not worth running the boiler all summer to save $50 a month.  I sure do love all the free hot water when the boiler is going!  If I decide to hook my hot tub up to the boiler it might be a different story.  I don't have it going yet so I don't know what it costs to run in the summer. 
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: GCTerpfan on April 02, 2015, 01:02:14 PM
Heating my DHW saves me about $75 a month on my electric bill. A wife, two teenage kids, and a 5 year old that likes his bathtub full so he can play in it, uses a lot of hot water. 

I have most of my wood delivered split for $100 dollars a dump trailer load.  A load comes out to just shy of a full cord. The way I look at it, heating my DHW with the boiler (@12 months x $75 = $900) almost pays for enough wood to heat my house all winter for free.
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: Roscoe on April 02, 2015, 03:51:35 PM
I don't pay for wood so I don't shut down. I just bypass the furnace coil. Love the hot water.
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: caper on May 26, 2015, 05:21:16 AM
finally ,done for the year, furnace still 120 degree's tho, maybe by tonight the ole girl will be almost done....did my card board burn as well....see ya in five months ole girl...





Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: CountryBoyJohn on May 26, 2015, 11:01:21 AM
It took my stove almost a week to get down to ambient temp.  These suckers are very well insulated!
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: Goat Herder on June 02, 2015, 12:48:46 PM
Started a fire in mine last night, temp cold and damp in southern Illinois.
Title: Re: When to shut down
Post by: caper on June 02, 2015, 03:43:17 PM
dam weather, I could start mine as well, 6 degrees last few nights, last week it was 20 plus, basement showing 65 degrees,eekkk coldest ever....I holdn fast tho, no more fires for me till nov...