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[mlappin]

Could some foreign material found it’s way into one of the flat plate HX?

Does the manufacturer suggest a minimum flow rate anywhere?

Still sounds to me like you have some kind of restriction in one of the late plates.

[mlappin]

I don't know. I always thought you pulled from the bottom and returned at the top to help with circulation.

Depends on the manufacturers preference.

My G series pulls from the bottom and returns to the top.

I did the same on the waste oil boiler I built in the fall of 2014. Water exciting the bottom is always within a degree or two of what the Ranco claims the water is in the top.

[Jared43758]

How much wood are you using?  If ur using tons then ur loosing heat somewhere, if your not using craZy amount of wood then you may have troubles at the stove

[woodman]

I still don't see how a flow issue could cause heat loss. Put a inline thermometer in the supply line at the boiler and I bet it is the same reading he is getting at the house. That statement his manufacture gave is complete crap. It sound like they already know there is a circulation problem within the boiler.

[ralphxj]

Not sure on the wood use, I don't really have a good baseline to say how the usage has been. I'm getting 12hr burns over night, but have been home most every day since it's been running so I've been running smaller loads and haven't kept track of use.

Should I pull the check valve in the pump and see if that makes a diffrence?

Everything seems to be working, just at a lose for why my temps in the house are low!

[Smokeless]

I could not find a good definition of parallel flow for two heat exchangers. But here is a very basic sketch

[Smokeless]

Heat master g series pulls from the bottom. That is the hottest area where the gasification happens. Not sure on your model.

[Smokeless]

Ralph how r the hxs hooked in compared to my sketch??

[shepherd boy]

Hawken, Heatmaster, you want to pull from bottom and return top. Top return line goes to front so you git a front to back circulation.Not all are that way. depends how it's plumed on the inside. Ran into someone had a unit that had no return tube to front of the boiler and he could never get decent hot water out of the unit. only circulated between the ports. Follow instructions.

[ralphxj]

Mine is setup like the right side. Goes through the 20 plate first then the 50 and then back out to the boiler.

[shepherd boy]

That is the way I would do it.

[shepherd boy]

Smokeless, The greatest heat exchange on your gasser takes place on the tubes at the rear of the furnace, your top return has a tube internally to pour return water on the exchange tubes.

[RSI]

A 20 plate should be fine in series with a 50 plate. If you do parallel or mono flow tees will probably have issues getting enough hot water.
If the restriction was a problem, a 30 plate or a secondary loop with it's own pump will work better.

[RSI]

I just quickly read through the replies so I may have missed it but have you checked the temperature of the pipes at the back of the boiler compared to inside the house? When you turn on a hot faucet in the house, how much does the boiler line out of the 20 plate drop? If it is still hot then I doubt you have a flow problem.

If it isn't too hard to do, I would move one of the connections so supply and return are on opposite sides. Also, if you can put a pump between the other two ports, that would tell you pretty quick if the problem was related to flow inside the OWB.

Does the manufacturer recommend connecting the supply pipe to the top port? If not, I would connect so the return is at the top. You may want to just try it anyway if you can easily change it over. The reason most brands pump this way is to mix the water in the tank. Returning the colder water at the top mixes much better. when pulling out of the top, the water may only be 180 at the very top and cold at the bottom.

[ralphxj]

I just quickly read through the replies so I may have missed it but have you checked the temperature of the pipes at the back of the boiler compared to inside the house? When you turn on a hot faucet in the house, how much does the boiler line out of the 20 plate drop? If it is still hot then I doubt you have a flow problem.

If it isn't too hard to do, I would move one of the connections so supply and return are on opposite sides. Also, if you can put a pump between the other two ports, that would tell you pretty quick if the problem was related to flow inside the OWB.

Does the manufacturer recommend connecting the supply pipe to the top port? If not, I would connect so the return is at the top. You may want to just try it anyway if you can easily change it over. The reason most brands pump this way is to mix the water in the tank. Returning the colder water at the top mixes much better. when pulling out of the top, the water may only be 180 at the very top and cold at the bottom.

Temp at the back of the boiler is within 1-2* of the line into the house at all times. The temps in and out of the house with the HX's open are always close, until someone is using the hot water and the house is calling for heat at the same time, then it drops 10-15 or so.

I was thinking about swapping the return at the boiler to the other side. Mfg recommends the return at the bottom, which is how I have it. I can always flip the pump direction, which would reverse the flow and return to the top to test it?

The other thought I had was to extend the top port farther into the boiler (closer to the front) by sliding a slightly smaller pipe inside the 1in line.

I have until Friday before I can really do much as I have to return to work tomorrow!