going on vacation

[woodyman666]

Im on my 2cnd year of heating with a cb5346(no glycol) and have learned alot.... Mainly thru this site. So last years florida trip was after any threat of my boiler freezing. This years however is not. Any great ideas out there that may help me. I would really rather not have to ask my neighbors to mess with it. I guess my propane original furnace can burn some propane... I hate those words.. I can turn it down not to come on until the water is 140 degrees. With a forty plate heat xchanger I can reverse heat the outdoor boiler w/my furnace right? If anyone out there has done this how much propane did you go thru. Im in western ny just outside of rochester but the temp could be anywhere when the time comes...

 

[November Wolf]

I will be in the same situation next month. I was told you can back feed and let your propane furnace heat your OWB. Once the OWB heats up that heat will be coming right back into the house. But how much propane will it use is beyond me.

 

[woodyman666]

Im so woorried about how much propane im gonna go thru cause the propane company doesnt like me anymore....lol.... Its there 500 gallon inground tank and they want me to go thru so much a year or they will take the tank...... I know where they can put it.... They have left me alone awhile but i think its cause no one is using propane in new construction? But I hate to open pandoras box (my file) at the propane co. I believe there is 100 gal in it but who wants to chance that, I run out at thirty eight gallons to go on my corvette readout (thanks Chevy). Having to call the wife to bring me gas after hockey night and some beers. (ouch)...

 

[jdboy9]

I don't have one but it sounds what you are talking about should work. What about draining the owb? I really think heating the owb with your indoor furnace is not going to be very efficient.

 

[ericjeeper]

do a practice week

Before you go.. Just to make sure it is going to work.. Put an old alarm clock wired into your gas valve,. Start it at 12:00 and watch it for a day to see how many hours it runs. (It will only log time when the gas valve is energized.). Cant be the new led type has to have hands and a motor.

 

[wkpoor]

I know a guy who has heated with wood his whole life and in act that is his only heat. And he drives truck over the road. I asked him what he does while he is gone for a week at a time. He claims the house never goes below 40 degrees and has never froze the pipes. When he gets home he has to build a fire right away to get warm. Ain't to many that tough still around.

 

[November Wolf]

Before you go.. Just to make sure it is going to work.. Put an old alarm clock wired into your gas valve,. Start it at 12:00 and watch it for a day to see how many hours it runs. (It will only log time when the gas valve is energized.). Cant be the new led type has to have hands and a motor.

That's what I plan on doing. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[woodyman666]

Really like the over the road trucker idea. I will probably ask the neighbor to peak at the water temp once a day or so and monitor. We are gone ten days. I f he needs be I can leave him some dry easy 2X4's and some small logs to start a quicky fire get up to temp and then abandon for another day or so ? No propane turned on in house unless he really has to..... So if I starting praying tonight maybe we will get a nice warm front.

 

[showrguy]

why dontcha offer the neighbor or some local trustworthy person saaaayyy $200.00 or so to add wood while your gone ?? they'll probably decline the money anyway, and do it for free, especially if they don't have an OWB (it's like a new toy to non OWB owners)..... even if they take the money it's probably a wash anyway, and you'll have piece of mind while your away !!!

 

[Techstuf]

So if I starting praying tonight maybe we will get a nice warm front.

I'll be prayin for you too, Woody.


TS

 

[Wet1]

When are you going? If it's past the middle of Feb., I'd just stoke it up, drop the temp down, and let her go. If you leave the shades/blinds on the southern side(s) of the house open, you should be fine. The chances of it hitting below 32° in there is pretty slim under these conditions.

 

[hawken08]

how about a pool timer on your OWB to go off 4 times a day for half hour at a time? something that i have consider doing. Anybody out there using something like this?

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Here is what I would do:

The day before you leave crank up the heat and get the house as warm as you can stand....this will get you some reserve built up in the house and keep the OWB from working for the first day or two hopefully. Pick out your largest best seasoned and straightest logs...and a bunch of smaller stuff that is straight. Just before you leave keep the OWB up as high as possible with a small fire, then shovel out most of the ashes and load the OWB with as much of the big pieces as you can fit in, then tak the smaller stuff and fill in all the voids. Go back into the house and turn the OWB thermostat down to 55, and turn the back-up heat (Propane, Heat Pump, Oil, whatever) thermostat to 50 so that it will only come on when the OWB can't provide any more heat. (Using this system I have been gone 4 days and when I got home I still had a fire in the OWB). If you have a neighbor or someone that can load the OWB, they will probably only have to load it a few times...and if you don't your back up will only have to heat for a portion of the time.

 

[Johnny Ringo]

A friend of mine who took a Vegas Vacation says all he did was flip the breakers on his hot water tank and it kept his 5036 from freezing no problem. He said the side arm exchanger worked both ways and he didn't give it a second thought. Just kept his pump on and let the hot water tank go to work on his owb........sounds good but I'd definetly try it first..keep us posted on your test please, someday I'd like to go. Even if I don't it would be nice to know I at least could if a wanted to. LOL

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I have a valve to keep my sidearm from circulating when I don't run the OWB. My OWB water first goes to a plate exchanger for the inlet to the water heater, then to a sidearm, then to the exchanger in the furnace. I don't want the water heater using electric resistance heat to keep the OWB warm - when the heat pump can do it more efficiently.

 

[Scootermsp]

5 days

I was in Phoenix last week. The wife and a friend of mine tended to the 5036. I loaded it up last Sat AM before leaving and got home last Wed late. Granted it was cold but they managed to burn almost a full cord in 4 1/2 days. The coal bed was about 8" from the top of the firebox......if 'ya want shat done right....dammit 'ya just have to do it yourself. In below zero weather I might use a half cord in that time period. If the wood is put in, it will burn. The trick is to only load what you NEED. Teach your neighbor to rake the fire out forward before reloading.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I was in Phoenix last week. The wife and a friend of mine tended to the 5036. I loaded it up last Sat AM before leaving and got home last Wed late. Granted it was cold but they managed to burn almost a full cord in 4 1/2 days. The coal bed was about 8" from the top of the firebox......if 'ya want shat done right....dammit 'ya just have to do it yourself. In below zero weather I might use a half cord in that time period. If the wood is put in, it will burn. The trick is to only load what you NEED. Teach your neighbor to rake the fire out forward before reloading.

I agree......my wife and neighbors don't build the fire the way I would....but they haven't been intimately involved with what it takes to keep my OWB happy. My OWB and I spend a little bit of time together each morning and night and we have an understanding on how to get along. I am grateful however to get help on those occasions when I am away.....and I can just spend some extra time on Saturday and Sunday raking out the coals to get them burned up and out of the way.

 

[Scootermsp]

Bonding

I agree......my wife and neighbors don't build the fire the way I would....but they haven't been intimately involved with what it takes to keep my OWB happy. My OWB and I spend a little bit of time together each morning and night and we have an understanding on how to get along. I am grateful however to get help on those occasions when I am away.....and I can just spend some extra time on Saturday and Sunday raking out the coals to get them burned up and out of the way.

Never looked at it that way...but sometimes unfortunately I spend more time with the OWB than the kids.

 

[woodyman666]

broke down and had 250 gallons of propane delivered today... I hate that. Should last me like 5 years tho..... Lots of good ideas here. Not sure if its easy to change out but can I change my thermostat on the propane boiler so its lower temp that starts my furnace? Its only adjustable to 140 degrees at the lowest. Would be nice if I could do like 100 or so?

 

[oneoldbanjo]

OK.....Here is what we need to do. Somebody needs to invent some kind of a commercially available log substitute....something like the sawdust and wax logs that you buy for your fireplace that can be used in the OWB while you are away. The logs could be very slow burning and made to keep the OWB and pipes from freezing - but not necessarily burn hot or fast enough to heat your buildings. It would give great peace of mind to those worrying about their OWB freezing while they are away if they had a load of wood that would burn slowly and keep things from freezing for a week!