Hello I have purchased a brand new outdoor wood furnace. It is rated at 4,000 square foot heating capacity. I am heating a 2,200 sq ft house 35 feet from the furnace, And a 700 sq ft house 50 ft from the furnace. I am having trouble keeping the water hot enough to heat the 2,200 sq ft house. The one further away is fine. It has a forced air fan to help with the burn. But the fan seems to stay on all the time in cold weather. I have checked the thermostat, and its seems to be ok. When its below 20 it just can't keep up. It uses a lot of wood and the main house stays cold. Chimney has been so hot it caught the insulation on the top of the burner on fire. We have been using a mix of wood. From all seasoned to all green and everything in between and nothing works. Any help or ideas would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.
Need help on an outdoor furnace.
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drmiller100
ArboristSite Guru
what does the exchanger look like in the big house? what kind, etc....
how is the hot water split between the big house and little house? is there an adjustment to send more hot water to the big house?
what is the water temps going and coming from each house?
how is the hot water split between the big house and little house? is there an adjustment to send more hot water to the big house?
what is the water temps going and coming from each house?
There are two seperate outlets from the holding tank one for each house. Each house also has it's own pump and return to the bottom of the tank. No adjustments that I am aware of. I don't really have any way of telling what the temps would be. The chimney is about 5 foot. With a new load of wood and the fan kicks on you can see a flame out of the top of the chimney. Thanks.
No that water in the tank does not seem like it is getting hot enough. The thermistat doesn't get to temp to shut off when it is below 20 outside.
There is no labels on the burner. But the auction said it was a Shaver Outdoor Burner. I had bought it off ebay from North Carolina.
I have called the dealer and they said to use all green wood. Tried that didn't help. He also said to not run the fan and let the water get to temp. Didn't help. This is the guy I had bought it from its Ebay Item number: 200077745668. Or try this link Click here: eBay: Best Outdoor Wood Burning Furnace Boiler- Outside Stove (item 200077745668 end time Feb-18-07 17:23:35 PST) . Thanks for any help
drmiller100
ArboristSite Guru
go buy a temperature gauge.
measure the temp of the two pipes going to the cold house.
dry wood will make a lot more heat then green wood.
measure the temp of the two pipes going to the cold house.
dry wood will make a lot more heat then green wood.
windthrown
361 Junkie
No can help much...
Not familiar with that boiler make. Cannot say how it works, or is supposed to work. Or what the rating is (or is supposed to be) on the unit that you bought. Most OWB units have an aquastat and a controller that opens a damper or turns on a fan to let in air and feed the fire in the boiler until the water reaches set temp, then it shuts off, closing the damper door or turning off the fan. Then it will sit idle until the water temp drops and the aquastat triggers the controller to turn on again. They cycle like this basically forever until you shut them off.
Burning green wood will not help. Green wood has more water in it and that will rob available heat from the wood in the boiler just to vaporize off the water as steam. If the unit is cooking that hot it may be boiling over... or vapor locking. I do not know if your system is pressurized or an open system. Also circulation... I would check for any air pockets in the circulation loops from the boiler to the houses. Did you bleed the lines after it was hooked up? Also, are the heat exchangers getting hot in the houses? Just touch them to see. Also are the house heating systems circulating the heat in the houses? Or rather, what type of heating exchange do you have from the boiler to the houses, if you have any, or are they direct loop heating?
Heat exchangers, y/n?
Pressurized boiler system, y/n?
What type of heat exchangers, if yes above?
What type of house heating system? Water? Air?
Buried and insulated lines from the boiler to houses? y/n
What type lines from boiler?
What is the temp setting on the thermostat controller?
Not familiar with that boiler make. Cannot say how it works, or is supposed to work. Or what the rating is (or is supposed to be) on the unit that you bought. Most OWB units have an aquastat and a controller that opens a damper or turns on a fan to let in air and feed the fire in the boiler until the water reaches set temp, then it shuts off, closing the damper door or turning off the fan. Then it will sit idle until the water temp drops and the aquastat triggers the controller to turn on again. They cycle like this basically forever until you shut them off.
Burning green wood will not help. Green wood has more water in it and that will rob available heat from the wood in the boiler just to vaporize off the water as steam. If the unit is cooking that hot it may be boiling over... or vapor locking. I do not know if your system is pressurized or an open system. Also circulation... I would check for any air pockets in the circulation loops from the boiler to the houses. Did you bleed the lines after it was hooked up? Also, are the heat exchangers getting hot in the houses? Just touch them to see. Also are the house heating systems circulating the heat in the houses? Or rather, what type of heating exchange do you have from the boiler to the houses, if you have any, or are they direct loop heating?
Heat exchangers, y/n?
Pressurized boiler system, y/n?
What type of heat exchangers, if yes above?
What type of house heating system? Water? Air?
Buried and insulated lines from the boiler to houses? y/n
What type lines from boiler?
What is the temp setting on the thermostat controller?
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