Basement Too Hot with Outdoor Woodburner

[cantoo]

Just insulate the lines. I also have an outdoor burner and the only heat source in the basement is the furnace with air handler in it, the 60' of pex and the tube heater for hot water none of which are insulated. I ended up cutting a floor grille in the ceiling so I could cool down the basement. My son uses a plate exchanger for his hot water and we had to insulate it because of the heat it gave off. Start with the cheapest and easiest thing to do, insulate the piping.

 

[oldachh]

Just insulate the lines. I also have an outdoor burner and the only heat source in the basement is the furnace with air handler in it, the 60' of pex and the tube heater for hot water none of which are insulated. I ended up cutting a floor grille in the ceiling so I could cool down the basement. My son uses a plate exchanger for his hot water and we had to insulate it because of the heat it gave off. Start with the cheapest and easiest thing to do, insulate the piping.

I insulated some tonight what a pain in the ass it was because they were ran above the cold air returns and ducts. I will get the rest tomorrow.

 

[pdqdl]

Where did you come up with that? First off it is a outdoor wood boiler. They are not designed to be placed inside a home. You say the Central Boiler brand are not known as being the most insulated. What makes you say that? What is your experience with them. How long have you owned one?

I've seen more indoor wood boilers than outdoors. In the absence of the OP's explanation, I think the boiler as an indoor heat source was a likely guess. Providing the makeup air was properly managed, an indoor boiler is absolutely more efficient. A lot easier to feed at 3am on a cold night, too.

 

[Bill G]

I've seen more indoor wood boilers than outdoors. In the absence of the OP's explanation, I think the boiler as an indoor heat source was a likely guess.

No need to guess, all that is required is reading the second sentence of the first post. It was clear from that first post. Take a look below

Hello all,
I built my house in 2017 it’s a 2800 sqft 2 story. I installed an older central boiler 6048 when I built and it has been running amazing since I have installed it

 

[Bill G]

A lot easier to feed at 3am on a cold night, too.

If someone has to get up at 3am to feed a Central Boiler 6048 they have a major problem.

 

[oldachh]

If someone has to get up at 3am to feed a Central Boiler 6048 they have a major problem.

I load mine once every two days right now and when it is cold once a day!

 

[oldachh]

So I insulated the feed and return line in part of the basement which was a chore as they were all above HVAC components. I still have more to go but as of right now the basement has dropped 2 degrees. I am hoping that doing the rest of the lines will help and then once I thermal image the basement I am sure it will sure I am getting heat from my furnace room/closet which I could easily insulate.

 

[Bill G]

I load mine once every two days right now and when it is cold once a day!

Unlike what some want to try to claim they are pretty darn good units. A lot of the keys to long burn times is the quality of the wood and how a person loads it. You can put a lot of wood in a 6048

 

[oldachh]

Unlike what some want to try to claim they are pretty darn good units. A lot of the keys to long burn times is the quality of the wood and how a person loads it. You can put a lot of wood in a 6048

Very true, I burn mostly beech and a lot of times it’s not fully seasoned so still a bit wet but I get long enough burn times for me. I love the OWB and wouldn’t go to an inside unit because all of the mess is outside but that’s just me, everyone’s different!

 

[Bill G]

I would prefer not to but I burn a lot of green wood. Many times just drop them and grab them with the grapple skidder and drop the logs of right at the stove. Other times drop the tree buck it up and load it in the dump truck with the excavator then dump it next to the stove. Obviously I would prefer to burn dry wood but I never seem to get enough cut ahead.

 

[oldachh]

I agree completely, I would love to burn dry wood but I’m in the same boat. I have half the wood shed dry and the other half fresh.

 

[cantoo]

I've seen more indoor wood boilers than outdoors. In the absence of the OP's explanation, I think the boiler as an indoor heat source was a likely guess. Providing the makeup air was properly managed, an indoor boiler is absolutely more efficient. A lot easier to feed at 3am on a cold night, too.

Most of us that have OWB units know that Central Boiler doesn't make an indoor unit. Not everyone would know that.
My OWB can fit 54" long pieces. Even in the cold of winter we usually only put splits in once a day. I heat 2 houses and a shop with mine. We never "fill" the unit either, that just seems to eat wood. On weekends when I'm home we sometimes burn softwood cut offs so I will put wood in twice a day but just to get rid of the softwood off my band mill or use up 48" branches from my firewood selling side gig. I burn mostly ash and it's dry.

 

[husqvarna257]

I love my Central Boiler 1450 It's a gasser so it's interesting when it gets up to *1000 burning in the reaction chamber, no smoke at that temp. It is a small unit but more than enough for the house. I insulated the Pex lines in the basement last year. But the basement is still warm from the 24/7 circulation of water. I pulled down all the insulation in the ceiling and insulated the walls instead. Poor mans radiant heat system, love the warm floors.