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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Need everyone's opinion, homemade OWB

« on: January 06, 2015, 04:53:51 PM »

That's a great looking design!  I like the small footprint it appears to make.  Care to share the dimensions?  What size house are you heating with it? 

Mine is a homemade job, but it is two oil tanks all done up like yours there sort of.  I think the water take is far to large and the firebox as well.  It is about 5 years old and at that time I thought the bigger the tank/firebox the better... I now realize that is not the case.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 06, 2013, 06:31:05 PM »

^ I would say it was more after a lot of use, but am not 100% sure on that.  I tried the air lock thing and it just shot water out the relief valve, so obviously it isn't air locked.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 06, 2013, 05:33:46 PM »

It's funny you suggest that... That is exactly what I did on Sunday around 2pm.  By Monday evening there was no hot water after taking showers... Tuesday morning it was nothing but cold water.  So, it is obviously doing nothing at all.  I will try the air lock thing now.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 06, 2013, 10:32:51 AM »

^ I was over at the local hardware store today and they sell Heat Master (I believe) stoves.  He (as do I) believe 100% of my problem is the side arm exchanger for the hot water heater.  He and I both are in agreement that it is basically doing nothing at all in the way of heating my water.  If that is indeed the case that would explain the electric bill not being down closer to the $100 range.  Without the $15 yard light and all the fees my fee for electric usage is probably around $150.  He gave me some suggestions on reworking the side arm or just buying a plate exchanger and redoing it for next winter.  So, with that said, I will be trying his suggestions come summer.

Thanks again Scott for being so helpful!

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 06, 2013, 10:20:44 AM »

^ Okay I turned the Heat Pump thermostat up to like 80 and it kicks the fan on and blows out air, but the emergency heat light never comes on.  I then went out and turned off the pumps and came back in and turned it on Emergency Heat and it again kicks the fan on and blows out air, but it doesn't appear to be warm air in the least. 

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 06, 2013, 06:05:18 AM »

^ How would you know if they were coming on?

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 04, 2013, 07:33:16 AM »

^ Good information.  I just contacted my electric company and spoke with them about this.  They are going "check into" my account and call me back and then send someone out to see what is going on.

Thanks for all the information guys!

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 04, 2013, 06:58:04 AM »

Your breaker to the heat pump may be off but that don't mean those heat strips aren't coming on. 

That would explain all of it..

At this point I think it may be more to do with something you said earlier than anything... the heating of the water.  I have a side arm exchanger... and I don't feel it is very efficient, if efficient at all in heating the water.  I turned the breaker off to the hot water heater yesterday at 2... we will see today if I still have hot water after showers and what not.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 03, 2013, 05:03:49 PM »

WOW i jsut found another site that say ouside heat pumps can make four times the energy as a resitive heater....SELL THE STOVE...i give up

In all seriousness, I truly don't believe the electric bill would be much if at all higher with just using the electric heat pump.  The wife says shut it down for the month of march and see, but what if I am wrong and the electric bill goes up to $500?  lol

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 03, 2013, 11:38:41 AM »

Apparently... just not sure what it could be at this point.  Like I said, the breakers to the heat pump are all even off and have been for the last couple of months now.  At this point, I am at a loss. 

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 03, 2013, 11:08:26 AM »

This was taken from my electric companies website and we have a 400 Watt yard light that accounts for $14.27 of the bill each month.


My Electric Rate

Schedule A-1

Farm and Home

Energy Charge                                       .09083

Off Peak Energy Charge                          .05441

So, as you can see the rates aren't terribly high either. 

 

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 03, 2013, 06:52:32 AM »

anyone payinig 8.2 cents a kilowatt hour and spending less than 100 dollars a month is a hermit that live in the dark!

average clothes dryer and washing machine 7  average computer 4 average dish washer 3
average freezer 5  average furnace blower 6 average lighting 11 average cook stove 7 average fridge 6 average TV 3 average deep well pump 5 average hot water heater (family of 4) 70 total of 127 not counting the little things like moms hair dryer,curling iron or dads electric shaver ,all those electric tools in "the man cave"or the microwave..or stereo..or vacume cleaner or humidifier or kids lap tops or yard light if you have one..ect.

it does appear by the numbers you quote that you in fact are paying (last month) 23 % less than your brother in law. (could your brother in law be on "average billing"?

he only used (according to your mumbers) 415 KW more than you..that  would (in heating) equate to about 16 btu per square foot and that is a little low ( i think more like it should be at least 20)

then again, perhaps you are just an electricity hog? you leave lights on...yougot some stuff the brother in law dont?

is your brothe in laws heat pump...geothermal?

low bills can be had, my eldest son has some under 100. he (occasionally) works 12 hour shifts 7 days a week and lives alone. eveything is electric but his heat. his lights are rarley on when he works these shifts. hot water for one is about 40 a month

Well, I wouldn't say we are energy hogs, as it is just the wife and one child.  We never leave the lights on and all that we rarely have more than one television on at a time, wash/dry clothes no more than one day a week, etc...etc... etc...   

What I don't understand is that when I initially got this owb the talk of sub-one hundred dollar electric bills seemed to be the norm and now suddenly it seems to be quite the opposite... almost as if that is unrealistic. 

As for my brother, he is not on the "average billing" or anything like that, this was his actual usage.  Also, it's not like he is the only example I could offer... I have people all around me with electric bills that are $20-50 more than mine and I am the one out in the cold loading a stove while they stay warm inside the house.   

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 03, 2013, 06:43:47 AM »

Are you not heating your water with the stove?

Yep, sure am.

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 02, 2013, 09:19:59 PM »

I have newly constructed house that is very well insulated.  We do indeed have a electric dryer, electric stove and electric hot water heater, electric televisions and all that electric stuff.  lol 

My fan does not run anywhere remotely close to 24/7.  I realize that $173 is not an overly expensive electric bill, but when people are going on how it shouldn't be more than $80-85 a month it seems really high too me.  At this point, I would have been better off to just install a fireplace insert, it sure would've cost a TON less and required a whole lot less work.  Heck, my brother has a 3000+ sq ft house and heats solely with electric heat pump and his bill was $224... and he sat on the couch and played xBox as I split wood and loaded my owb. 

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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Actual Electric Savings...

« on: March 02, 2013, 12:05:38 PM »

1421 kwh used.   This is the first winter in this home period as we just completed construction of it in October and I installed the stove in November.

I leave the actual thermostat for the Heat Pump set to off and the thermostat I installed for the owb set to 68 at all times and never touch it.  With the owb thermostat set to 68 this keeps the heat pump thermostat showing 70, which is how we like it.