Just curious to see what kind of lifespans there are out there on OWB. I want to say I have six or better years on my CB 5036 with no issues (knock on wood).
Who here has the oldest OWB in service still...?
- Thread starter Circle B MN
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Butch(OH)
Addicted to ArboristSite
I'm sure that there are many older than mine but i can beat you by a year, LOL
4400 Woodmaster in on heating season 7 . Until this year total parts was a buck for a light bulb. Have a short in the wiring that developed back in Dec. Have it by-passed for now but it cost me a blower motor before I figured out where the problem was.
4400 Woodmaster in on heating season 7 . Until this year total parts was a buck for a light bulb. Have a short in the wiring that developed back in Dec. Have it by-passed for now but it cost me a blower motor before I figured out where the problem was.
blakey
ArboristSite Operative
CB 5648 on its 13th season, few problems except a couple damper solenoids and fuses. Also had the door replaced under warranty for cracking but that may have been my fault for improper loading. My taco 009 needed a cartridge at 10yrs and my 007 is original.
Jakers
Owner - Arbor Jake's Tree Service, LLC
my neighbor has one that hes been using for as long as i can remember. im almost 30 now so id say its at least 25 years old. had to weld the fire box a couple times and fix minor things along the way. other than that, its been pretty well trouble free. hes almost 90 now and still cuts his own wood with help from his son, my closest neighbor
ford tech
ArboristSite Lurker
HARDY H2 FOR 10 YEARS - 1 BLOWER MOTOR AND 1 VACUUM VALVE - NEIGHBORS H2 AT LEAST 20 YEARS OLD STILL GOING -
Backus
ArboristSite Lurker
Best friend has a Heatmor with 20 years on it. Never been a problem along the way.
Iska3
Addicted to ArboristSite
My friend has what would be the CB6048 that is over 20 years old and still going strong. We moved his stove two years ago to put in insulated pipes and placed the stove on blocks because the door was too low for him. He heats a 4 bedroom house and a 2 1/2 car garage. When I was looking for an OWB I talked to him last; I saw how he abused his OWB and figured they must be good so I purchased my CB a few years ago and we thik it's paid for itself by now... So far so good....
Canton
ArboristSite Member
New to this, only on my 2nd year with a new OWB. I did a bit of research before I decided to go with an OWB, and am curious if the guys that have had them operating for a long time - 10+ years, have run them year round or shut them down for the summer. I have this theory that if you keep them hot year round they'll be less susceptible to rust and failures. Only a theory, but liked to hear from some people that have more experience than me.
Iska3
Addicted to ArboristSite
My friend shuts his down for the summer. He had this thing about burning green wood he liked the longer burn time so needless to say the summer burning was out becauce of the smoke. He never did any water treatment and never uses garden or barn lime to neutralize his ashes. Every now and then he'll burn with the door open to clean out the creosote. I'm talking pure abuse for 20 years and he only change out one pump last fall and a coil on the damper... He now splits and dries his wood for 2 years so now he cut his wood usage in half.
Johnny Yooper
ArboristSite Operative
tenth season on a CB 5648, one door solenoid in that time. First fire Nov. 2004, shut it down in May 2005 for what I thought would be the summer, but alas, missed the aroma of a fire when leaving for work in the mornings, and didn't want to slather the firebox with some corrosion inhibiting substance and burn it off in the fall, (yuck) and also thought that I have so much junk wood laying in the woodlot - not the best for winter heating - but enough Btu's for heating the domestic water which would rot if I didn't use it, so fired that bad boy back up in June 2005 and never looked back. I also thought I could keep issues to a minimum if I kept the unit running and the pump circulating water, figuring the whole system might be better off, and of course the benefit of heating domestic water for not much effort, and with one teen in the house and two right behind, we use a lot of hot water. And not burning propane from May through Sept. means I could add a new chain saw to the collection every two summers
(just gotta get the wife in tune with that idea). One additional maintenance item: I have an aquastat on the incoming OWB line that will trigger the back up propane boiler if the OWB temp goes below my set point, and every month or so, I move the dial to below the set point to turn on the propane boiler and let it run for awhile just to make sure everything is working.....the last thing I want to deal with is an inoperative backup system if you ever do need it.
This is an interesting thread. Good to see good rep for the Central Boiler's longevity. I hope to have an OWB some day and CB is very high on the list of companies I'm likely to buy. Any Portage and Maine longtimers out there?
That says it all right there.
A lot of people seem to not have enough time to cut wood and let it dry for a year or more, but they have enough time to cut twice as much wood every year. Hey, I understand that life gets in the way occasionally. This is a case of a little short term sacrifice paying long term rewards.
I'm going on 5 years on my OWB.
I bought my Central Boiler stainless 5648 in March of 2002 and been online since then, close to 12 years now. When I bought it I figured it would take 2 1/2 years to pay for itself based on heating bills for JUST the house. I heat a 36' x 50' garage with radiant floor heat and DHW so that is also a bonus not figured into the payback time.
In all that time I have NEVER added any water to my system. I added conditioner once but it was only borderline then. Still fine at this years start up. Everyone tells bad things about stainless stoves but mine has been great.
Issues: Had a damper door warp to where it wouldn't seal right. They replaced for free
Heatrack system acted up and dealer correctly said it was probably loose wires . Loosened/retightened them all and fixed it.
One zone valve died after 7 years.
Main pump impeller went to pieces after 10 years and replaced cartridge.
That is all!
I run mine in the Winter only and wood and stove are in a building purpose built for it. Do NOT regret that either. A little bigger building would be better though
Mine is not as effiecient as newer versions but till it dies I will keep using it. It does smoke a fair amount but I'm in the country and secluded so it doesn't effect neighbors.
In all that time I have NEVER added any water to my system. I added conditioner once but it was only borderline then. Still fine at this years start up. Everyone tells bad things about stainless stoves but mine has been great.
Issues: Had a damper door warp to where it wouldn't seal right. They replaced for free
Heatrack system acted up and dealer correctly said it was probably loose wires . Loosened/retightened them all and fixed it.
One zone valve died after 7 years.
Main pump impeller went to pieces after 10 years and replaced cartridge.
That is all!
I run mine in the Winter only and wood and stove are in a building purpose built for it. Do NOT regret that either. A little bigger building would be better though
Mine is not as effiecient as newer versions but till it dies I will keep using it. It does smoke a fair amount but I'm in the country and secluded so it doesn't effect neighbors.
TFPace
ArboristSite Operative
Kevin,
That's a very nicely plumbed system you have there.
It looks as if you have 7 zones? Your domestic water heater is in the lower LH side of the photo?
That's a very nicely plumbed system you have there.
It looks as if you have 7 zones? Your domestic water heater is in the lower LH side of the photo?
Kevin,
That's a very nicely plumbed system you have there.
It looks as if you have 7 zones? Your domestic water heater is in the lower LH side of the photo?
There are 2 zones that run on 2 pumps. they heat a 36' x 50' garage. When thermastat calls for heat they turn on. You can see the tempering valve there too feeding them. Houses existing heating system was tied into using a heat exchanger. That is in the lower left hand side. Water heater is on the right side. Took me some time to lay it out as I allowed for future stuff if needed. All stainless, copper and brass.
milkie62
ArboristSite Guru
My Central Boiler CL40 purchased in 1995 is still running strong.Absolutely no breakdowns except for the rope gasket on the door which I caused to rip is the only thing I have done.The chimney stack is getting kinda rough though.19 yrs -----I think my warranty will be running out though. LOL
I bought my Central Boiler stainless 5648 in March of 2002 and been online since then, close to 12 years now. When I bought it I figured it would take 2 1/2 years to pay for itself based on heating bills for JUST the house. I heat a 36' x 50' garage with radiant floor heat and DHW so that is also a bonus not figured into the payback time.
In all that time I have NEVER added any water to my system. I added conditioner once but it was only borderline then. Still fine at this years start up. Everyone tells bad things about stainless stoves but mine has been great.
Issues: Had a damper door warp to where it wouldn't seal right. They replaced for free
Heatrack system acted up and dealer correctly said it was probably loose wires . Loosened/retightened them all and fixed it.
One zone valve died after 7 years.
Main pump impeller went to pieces after 10 years and replaced cartridge.
That is all!
I run mine in the Winter only and wood and stove are in a building purpose built for it. Do NOT regret that either. A little bigger building would be better though
Mine is not as effiecient as newer versions but till it dies I will keep using it. It does smoke a fair amount but I'm in the country and secluded so it doesn't effect neighbors.
Very impressive plumbing. Do the PEX crimps all face the same way...?
Good job...
Den69RS96
ArboristSite Operative
This is great to hear. We plan on getting a eclassic 1450 this fall. I read elsewhere that I'd be lucky to get 10 years out of a CB.
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