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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Anyone make their own water treatment?
« on: August 31, 2017, 09:30:09 AM »
It sounds like you guys are all a bunch of sticks in the mud. 
My furnace doesn't have a warranty so I'm not worried about that. I also found that companies put in potassium hydroxide (a very strong base) to control pH. I've added that and some pH test strips to my list of needed items.
I've collected more MSDS sheets and all of them list pretty much the same ingredients. None of them say exactly how much but I've got enough to go on.
For one gallon of water I'll add 5-10% by weight sodium nitrite (nitrite, not nitrate as I said earlier, oops). After that has time to circulate I'll use the same method to add sodium hydroxide as needed, 1-5% to a gallon of water.
Some companies have die that just makes their product pretty. It's not an accurate representation of when the chemicals lose potency.
And so you all know, a gallon of this stuff costs about $5 to make, on the high side. It's probably less. The chemical companies and the boiler companies are both making huge markups. I understand that you're maintaining your warranty and stuff but most of those are worthless anyway, especially after the initial coverage period.
Cheers.
My furnace doesn't have a warranty so I'm not worried about that. I also found that companies put in potassium hydroxide (a very strong base) to control pH. I've added that and some pH test strips to my list of needed items.
I've collected more MSDS sheets and all of them list pretty much the same ingredients. None of them say exactly how much but I've got enough to go on.
For one gallon of water I'll add 5-10% by weight sodium nitrite (nitrite, not nitrate as I said earlier, oops). After that has time to circulate I'll use the same method to add sodium hydroxide as needed, 1-5% to a gallon of water.
Some companies have die that just makes their product pretty. It's not an accurate representation of when the chemicals lose potency.
And so you all know, a gallon of this stuff costs about $5 to make, on the high side. It's probably less. The chemical companies and the boiler companies are both making huge markups. I understand that you're maintaining your warranty and stuff but most of those are worthless anyway, especially after the initial coverage period.
Cheers.
2
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Anyone make their own water treatment?
« on: August 30, 2017, 11:47:41 AM »
From my research (the last hour or so only), it seems that most corrosion inhibitors sold for $40 to $80 per gallon are just sodium nitrite in water. Some of them have other chemicals or coloring but that's all. I even confirmed this against some MSDS sheets I requested.
I found that I can buy a pound of sodium nitrate for about $10 and a test kit of 1000 strips for $30. It seems pretty easy.
I'm not a chemist though so I'm hesitant to start pouring chemicals into my furnace. Hence this post.
My plan is to dilute some sodium nitrite powder into some water, pour it into the furnace with the pump running, then check my levels the next day. What do you all think?
I found that I can buy a pound of sodium nitrate for about $10 and a test kit of 1000 strips for $30. It seems pretty easy.
I'm not a chemist though so I'm hesitant to start pouring chemicals into my furnace. Hence this post.
My plan is to dilute some sodium nitrite powder into some water, pour it into the furnace with the pump running, then check my levels the next day. What do you all think?
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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Bringing an OWB to Japan
« on: October 08, 2013, 08:08:36 AM »
The picture didn't show up in my last post. Here's the rusted out lower section of my profab200. The top part has already been repaired.
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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Bringing an OWB to Japan
« on: October 08, 2013, 08:02:45 AM »
I read this site a lot but I rarely post. I do have to let you know, Michaelriffel, that a Pro Fab shipping all the way to Japan is just asking for trouble.
My neighbor had a profab 200 before he moved. He had troubles starting the first year when the box connecting to the blower rotted out from creosote. He's in Florida now but he gave the unit to me. He felt it would detract from his resale value. I've been slowly working through the repair in my spare time but it's been a long process. Every corner of the firebox has needed to be rebuilt. Most of the steel is just 1/8" thick. I would be embarrassed to try and sell this thing with my house too.
Not only did the firebox need to be rebuilt, I'm also going to have to rebuild the lower part of the structure that held the brick in place. I'll try to put a picture below.
I don't know about the Hawken you're looking at but my neighbor has one of their units and he loves it. When I showed him my profab project he laughed. If I had to pay for this thing I would have laughed too.
![](http://<a href="http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/uksmoker/media/2013-10-08093226_zps8b1083b4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y412/uksmoker/2013-10-08093226_zps8b1083b4.jpg" border="0" alt="ProFab 200 partially repaired photo 2013-10-08093226_zps8b1083b4.jpg"/></a>)
My neighbor had a profab 200 before he moved. He had troubles starting the first year when the box connecting to the blower rotted out from creosote. He's in Florida now but he gave the unit to me. He felt it would detract from his resale value. I've been slowly working through the repair in my spare time but it's been a long process. Every corner of the firebox has needed to be rebuilt. Most of the steel is just 1/8" thick. I would be embarrassed to try and sell this thing with my house too.
Not only did the firebox need to be rebuilt, I'm also going to have to rebuild the lower part of the structure that held the brick in place. I'll try to put a picture below.
I don't know about the Hawken you're looking at but my neighbor has one of their units and he loves it. When I showed him my profab project he laughed. If I had to pay for this thing I would have laughed too.
5
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Wood Fired Hydronic Grain Dryer
« on: September 04, 2013, 11:31:58 AM »
Does anyone have any experience drying grain with their outdoor wood furnace? A friend and myself have been toying with this idea for a while and we're about ready to invest some time and money into pipe, heat exchangers, etc. Before we do that I thought I'd try finding info one last time but I haven't had any luck. Maybe I'm not using the right keywords?
If anyone has any sources of info or tips/experience I'd love to hear from you.
Our grain dryer pushes 18,000 CFM. Our target air temperature is only 80°F to 100°F. The port is 30"
We have different ideas so far. I'm leaning towards a large water to air exchanger, maybe 20" x 20" built into a box that would allow heated air and ambient air to mix together. My friend also just mentioned that a plate exchanger and separate pump might help to reduce the draw on his OWF and keep the heating water more even as it feeds to the water to air exchanger.
Thanks in advance.
PS. I know I don't have many posts here (if any, I don't remember). I've been lurking for a long time but love the info and the community feel here. Keep up the great work.
If anyone has any sources of info or tips/experience I'd love to hear from you.
Our grain dryer pushes 18,000 CFM. Our target air temperature is only 80°F to 100°F. The port is 30"
We have different ideas so far. I'm leaning towards a large water to air exchanger, maybe 20" x 20" built into a box that would allow heated air and ambient air to mix together. My friend also just mentioned that a plate exchanger and separate pump might help to reduce the draw on his OWF and keep the heating water more even as it feeds to the water to air exchanger.
Thanks in advance.
PS. I know I don't have many posts here (if any, I don't remember). I've been lurking for a long time but love the info and the community feel here. Keep up the great work.
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