# Help with Northland Boiler W 1010



## DogDoc (Jan 3, 2013)

Hi,
This is my first post here (newb). I bought a house in Northeast CT last year which had a combination boiler system with a Weil McClain Gold WTGO Series 3 (Oil fired with tankless coil) in connection with a Northland Boiler W 1010 Indoor wood Boiler (Company originally based out of East Haddam, CT and now out of business). House is approximately 2500 sq ft and there are 5 heating zones.Its a pressurized system which supplies cast iron radiators. The wood boiler is in fabulous shape and unfortunately I don't think I am using it in an efficient way as I can't get my oil fired boiler to stop firing, even when I'm at 180-200 *F with the wood boiler. There are 4 single aquastats on the wood boiler. I know one is dedicated to the circulator but cant figure out which task the other 3 have ( high limit, low limit, overheat, other???).

Is there anyone that is familiar with this boiler or has any literature at all? I am happy to post pics if it will help. Any help is greatly appreciated as I am burning through 1.5 -2 cord a month and I know I should be getting better results.


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## DogDoc (Jan 3, 2013)




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## DogDoc (Jan 3, 2013)

My biggest problem is not knowing what the aquastats are controlling (except circulator). When there is a call for heat oil boiler fires and supplies the intended zone ( water temp drops in the bolier, but satys at 180 in the wood boiler)  instead of having the wood boiler supply it while keeping the oiler boiler off.  There is no temp fluctuation in wood boiler water jacket.  Its almost as if the wood boiler is acting as 90 gallons of storage and nothing more.


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## mikefrommaine (Jan 3, 2013)

One of the aquastats may be an 'open on rise' that is used to turn off the becket oil burner. In the second to last picture the aquastat on the left has a tstat wire  connected to it, where does the wire go to? Or are there any wires that connect to the tt wires on the oil burner?

Also what are the set points set at on the various aquastats?

1.5 to 2 cord a month doesn't seem totally out of line for a non gasser. If you aren't burning any oil.


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## DogDoc (Jan 3, 2013)

3 out of the 4 Aquastats have thermostat wire that runs to the Argo 4 zone with priority switch relay. Take a look at the pics.  Anyway to test what these are doing by making adjustments? One of the aquastats is a White Rogers with limit settings (aluminum and brass pointers) but it seems like that is not how it is wired to the Argo.I have contacted everyone possible and no one in any proximity is even willing to glance at my system. Appreciate any help you can offer.  I


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## BoilerMan (Jan 3, 2013)

It looks like there are several zones that the aquastats are parrelled to the thermostats.  Esentially this gives a call for heat if the wood boiler rises above a given tamp.  You need to follow the wires from the aquastats.  There is not "given" way anything hydronic is installed so there are many different ways to skin a cat so to speak.

TS


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## BoilerMan (Jan 3, 2013)

It also looks like there is a zone valve above the boiler which I assume is a gravity overheat loop of some type.  One aquastat may go to that as well.

TS


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## DogDoc (Jan 3, 2013)

There are 2 aquastats on left side. One of them is an overheat which kicks on circulator pump when a set temp is reached. It is set at about 215.  When I turn it down to 180, matching the wood boiler water temp, it kicks on.... So now we have 2 of the 4 solved. The aquastat next to this one is wired to one of the zones but does nothing when I dial up or down (maybe its bad?).
On the other side of the boiler is the circulator aquastat set at 140 and verified working properly. The aquastat next to this is a White Rogers with the the 2 pointers (brass and aluminum). It is wired to another zone in the Argo relay and opens a zone on when I turn dial down to around 120.  Why would it do that?

The gravity overhead loop has thermostat wire that runs to some kind of transformer mounted on a junction box. I assume this one is for overheat if there is power loss, it automatically opens up. It is connected to a toggle switch to turn power on or off, but not an aquastat




Taylor Sutherland said:


> It also looks like there is a zone valve above the boiler which I assume is a gravity overheat loop of some type.  One aquastat may go to that as well.
> 
> TS





Taylor Sutherland said:


> It looks like there are several zones that the aquastats are parrelled to the thermostats.  Esentially this gives a call for heat if the wood boiler rises above a given tamp.  You need to follow the wires from the aquastats.  There is not "given" way anything hydronic is installed so there are many different ways
> to skin a cat so to speak.
> 
> TS


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## DogDoc (Jan 3, 2013)

The wood boiler (WB) has worked well up until about a week ago.  It used to be that temp in the OB matched that of the WB, as I assume the circulator moves the water through the OB when there is no call for heat. When there is a call for heat and a zone is opened I notice the temp dropping in the OB only and the WB temp doesn't budge. Therefore the OB drops temp and starts ti fire.  It's as if there is something plugged up, or the WB circulator pump is not moving water anywhere.
The only way I can stop this is to turn down the high and low limit settings on OB to 120/140, but then my OB won't heat house in morning when wood ran out overnight.  Any suggestions on this


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## DogDoc (Jan 4, 2013)

I would like to be able to keep the oil boiler from firing when the wood boiler is above, let's say 140-150.  Is there a way to do that with one of the aquastats on the wood boiler? Ideally I would like to not have to turn the oil boiler relay high and low limits up and down all the time to prevent it from firing, kind of a pain in the ass. There's got to be some way to wire one of the aquastats to the oil boiler to do this, I would think. So the oil boiler will heat the house if I am gone for any extended period of time, or when sleeping overnight and decide I don't want to add wood at 4 am.  Any ideas?


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## wrightk20 (Jan 5, 2013)

So if the system worked well up until a week ago then i would suspect that something has failed. Either an aquastat or maybe a pump. I'm assuming that it is plumbed to keep the oil boiler hot at all times so i would look into why the oil boiler cools off and not the wood boiler when a zone calls for heat. Can you confirm that the pump for the wood boiler is running when it is hot? Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 5, 2013)

Check the red pump behind the boiler and make sure its running. I have heard of that style pump having a connection between the electric motor and the pump that can break and the electric motor would run but the pump would not. Just something to check out. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 5, 2013)

I have a B&G Series 100 circulator pump (1/12 hp) from the exiting side of the wood boiler. I have wondered if this was the issue and that the hot water from wood boiler is not being circulated to the oil boiler because of this. The pump started to make a rattling sound about a month ago.  I did oil it in the 3 dedicated locations but that did not make a difference.  

Is there a way to tell if there is an issue with the pump?  Unfortunately it looks like I would be draining the system to check or replace it. I see no shut off valves in line between both boilers.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 5, 2013)

Yeah i'm not sure if you can check it with it still installed. Let me know. I'm curious as to what it could be. Sure seems like the pump could be the culprit. Where the pump is installed should be the return side of the system by the way. You might have ment it like that but i'm just making sure just incase you need to install a pump so you can install it correctly. Supply should be out the top and return should be in the bottom. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 6, 2013)

I know these B&G Series 100 pumps can be rebuilt but I will need something to install in place.  I can replace with a similar pump or perhaps a Taco 110.  However, I was wondering if I could go with the Taco 007-F5 which is 1/25 hp. 

I know it's not reccomended to drain your system too often because of adding oxygenated, mineralized water, which is going to cause increased corrosion and scale, But I don't have many options here.  How bad is this, and is there anything I should do (corrosion protection additives/ pH adjusters as used in OWB's)?


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## wrightk20 (Jan 6, 2013)

U could try one and see if it works. I would definitely be installing some shut off pump flanges when u install a new pump. If u have to drain the system then that's what needs to be done. Just make it so u won't have to drain it if it fails again. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 6, 2013)

I guess I heat my house with one grundfos 15-58 3speed pumps without a problem. Water to air heat exchanger in the plenum heating almost 4000 square ft. Kevin


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## BoilerMan (Jan 6, 2013)

A 007 or a 15-58 would work fine in this situation.  The old B&G is a watt hog for the little bit of piping you are moving water through.

TS


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## DogDoc (Jan 6, 2013)

OK. Forgive me for not knowing this well, I am no plumber or heating contractor. So the B&G Series 100 circulator pump attached to return on my wood boiler (pipe exits bottom near floor) runs through copper pipe that connects to what I believe is the return on my boiler which is also located at the bottom of the OB. Why is a return connected to a return, isn't that canceling each other out? Take a look at the pic below. They meet at an iron pipe T which connects to the 5 heating zones. The iron pipe leading from the T to the heating zones does not feed anywhere it has a cap at the end (see second pic). The arrows on the Taco circulator pumps feeding those zones are pointed down towards the floor... wouldn't that mean that the water moving from each zone moves from up to down? So does this mean water is being moved out of the return from the wood boiler, which is connected to water which is moving out of the return on my oil boiler, with both of these connecting to the 5 zones (which when opened) are moving water against these?


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## heaterman (Jan 7, 2013)

Sounds like whatever circ (B&G100?) moves the water through the oil boiler is not working. You mentioned that it made a rattling noise a while ago..........that was probably the flexible coupling between the motor and impellor giving up the ghost.

You do not have to drain the system to replace that coupling.
Kill the power and take off the wiring.
Take out the 4 bolts holding the motor on the intermediate bracket. 7/16" wrench IIRC
Use the appropriate allen wrench to loosen the two halves of the coupling and pull it apart.
Install the new coupling and reassemble in reverse order.


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

Motor is running and I can observe impeller rotating normally. Would it still spin if it was the flexible coupler?



heaterman said:


> Sounds like whatever circ (B&G100?) moves the water through the oil boiler is not working. You mentioned that it made a rattling noise a while ago..........that was probably the flexible coupling between the motor and impellor giving up the ghost.
> 
> You do not have to drain the system to replace that coupling.
> Kill the power and take off the wiring.
> ...


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

Can anyone comment on my water movement from each boiler and zone circulator pumps?  I am confused about how the water circulates based on how this was set up.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Now i'm no professional by any means, but if the flow of the zone circulators is correct as u show them then the flow would continue back into either the bottom of either boiler. If the wood boiler is hot then the pump should be running and the flow would go into the bottom of wood boiler and get pumped through and out the top of the boiler and then to a manifold to supply your zones. If your wood boiler was cold then a circulator should run on the oil boiler side and the flow would go that way through the oil boiler and out the top to the manifold that supplies the zones. I don't see a circulator for the oil boiler so that confuses me some.  But either way the flow should go into the bottom of either boiler depending on which one is working to provide the heat and should then go out the top and to a suppy manifold to the zones. Maybe this will answer your question. Hopefully someone that knows more about this stuff will chime in. So you have verified that the pump is pumping water? Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

don't you mean into the bottom of the oil boiler in your last sentence here?  If the wood boiler is up to temperature then the circulator pump is on and moving water out of the wood boiler as seen with my directional arrows.  


wrightk20 said:


> Now i'm no professional by any means, but if the flow of the zone circulators is correct as u show them then the flow would continue back into either the bottom of either boiler. If the wood boiler is hot then the pump should be running and the flow would go into the bottom of wood boiler.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

No the pump should be pushing the water into the bottom of the wood boiler. Colder water coming from the zones would go into the wood boiler, get heated up and then go out the top of the wood boiler. If your wood boiler got below the aquastat setting of 140 then the circulator would turn off and then the flow would go out of the zones and into the bottom of the oil boiler, get heated up and go out the top of the oil boiler. The water leaving the pumps can go either way depending on which boiler is gonna provide the heat. If the wood boiler is hot and the circulator was running the water would go to the wood boiler. If the wood circulator pump was not running then the flow would go through the oil boiler. I could be wrong but the way a boiler is plumbed is cold water in the bottom and hot out the top. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

View attachment 88419


	

		
			
		

		
	
 Arrow on circulator pump on wood boiler shows direction of pumping out like my arrows indicate (see 1st pic). Inline air purger connected to expansion tank shows water flow in through top (see 2nd pic)

I was going to try to avoid pump replacement until I am sure it is the issue. Not convinced the current setup is correct. Something doesnt seem right.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

The way that i see it with the pump running pushing water into the bottom of the wood boiler it comes out the top of the wood boiler. Comes out the top and over to the air scoop and expansion tank. Then if no zones are calling for heat then the water flows into the top of the oil boiler and comes out the bottom of the oil boiler and back to the pump on the return of the wood boiler.  Now lets say a zone was calling for heat. The water would come out the top of the wood boiler. Come across the air scoop and expansion tank and instead of going down through the oil boiler it would go to the zones suppl side manifold. Go through the zone calling for heat and then get to the return manifold and then make its way back to the wood boiler return. Maybe that will help you see the flow as the wood boiler is supplying the heat. Thats the way i think that it is suppose to work. Like i said i am no professional. Just looking to help you out. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Lol alright now i'm at a loss! I guess i don't know then. I guess the flow is reversed through the wood boiler. I haven't seen it like that before. Either way that pump should move water. I don't know if the reversed flow through the boiler is causing some of the inefficiencies of the wood boiler, but in either case it would still work i would think. Sorry i can't help to much more. It seems a little over my head at this point. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Maybe you can get a good photo of the coupler on the pump. Maybe take the electric motor off the pump and take a picture. Might help a bit. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

Kevin,
Definitely appreciate all the help. I am just confused because the flow arrows indicate that water comes in the top of the wood boiler and leaves the bottom.

In the fall I had to replace the gasket on the water jacket which required emptying the boiler. Before I started I had to make sure I was just draining the wood boiler and not the entire heating system. There is a shut off just to the left of that expansion tank (in the pic above) which I had closed, and one at that red circulator pump, these shut offs keep the wood boiler system isolated so I dont drain the entire system. Then I could hook up a hose to a lower spigot and drain. I then removed the steel plate and gasket. Before I re-installed the steel plate on the water jacket I wanted to view how water entered the wood boiler. I opened the shut off (at the expansion tank which connects to the top of the oil boiler and it filled with hot water coming from the oil boiler. Then the auto feed valve on oiler boiler would kick on and start to fill oil boiler to replace the water moving in to fill wood boiler.



wrightk20 said:


> The way that i see it with the pump running pushing water into the bottom of the wood boiler it comes out the top of the wood boiler. Comes out the top and over to the air scoop and expansion tank. Then if no zones are calling for heat then the water flows into the top of the oil boiler and comes out the bottom of the oil boiler and back to the pump on the return of the wood boiler. Now lets say a zone was calling for heat. The water would come out the top of the wood boiler. Come across the air scoop and expansion tank and instead of going down through the oil boiler it would go to the zones suppl side manifold. Go through the zone calling for heat and then get to the return manifold and then make its way back to the wood boiler return. Maybe that will help you see the flow as the wood boiler is supplying the heat. Thats the way i think that it is suppose to work. Like i said i am no professional. Just looking to help you out. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Has the oil boiler always been kicking on when you have been running this thing, or has it just recently started to do so? Possibly after the pump started making noise? Does the pump sound like its pumping water or do you just hear the electric motor humming? I guess you should be verifying that the pump is moving water, then go from there. I don't have any experience with those pumps so i don't know how easy it is took look and see if the coupler is still good without taking it apart. If you aren't sure if the coupler is good or not you could take the electric motor part off the pump and check it that way without having to drain the boiler. Kevin


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## mikefrommaine (Jan 7, 2013)

It's possible that you have air in the system.


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

Oil Boiler always kicks on unless I lower the limit settings near 130/110. Even then it still occasionally fires. I am going to post the brochure which has specs and schematics. I also have a copy of the installation manual which is just type written without diagrams


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

I have bled every radiator in house and had a consistent spray of water from all.  Would I need to do more than that?



mikefrommaine said:


> It's possible that you have air in the system.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Have you bled the bleeders on the air scoop and top of the boiler? Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

I replaced air release vent on top of air scoop and on top of wood boiler next to (what is supposed to be supply)and bled. Don't these function to automatically eliminate air


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

I believe some are automatic and some are manual. Kevin


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## henfruit (Jan 7, 2013)

It looks like it plumbed backwards. The hot should coming out the top of the boiler and the cold returning on the bottom.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

I'm wondering if it would work better if the pump was flipped to pump into the wood boiler return. Maybe? Might be worth a shot. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

It looks like water enters wood boiler at supply (on top) exits at return (at bottom in back) is moved via circulator pump to return on oil boiler (at bottom in back) and moves out of oil boiler supply to primary and other zones.  Zones return and feed into connection between both boilers.



henfruit said:


> It looks like it plumbed backwards. The hot should coming out the top of the boiler and the cold returning on the bottom.


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

So if I reversed circulator pump on wood boiler so water moves through return, will it pull water from the boiler return and incoming zones (when open)?  Also would I need to reverse air scoop? 

What besides zone circulator pumps, moves water from the oil fired boiler?  Just wondering because there is forceful water movement from oil boiler supply through air scoop and into wood boiler supply.  When I opened the shut off between the supplies on both oil and wood boiler ( while water jacket was open) it moved water with a lot of pressure into the wood boiler to fill it and didnt let up. That auto fill valve on OB doesn't put water in the system that fast.



wrightk20 said:


> I'm wondering if it would work better if the pump was flipped to pump into the wood boiler return. Maybe? Might be worth a shot. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Do you have any literature on the oil boiler. Perhaps an illustration on a proper piping scematic with another boiler?


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

If it were mine i would try it, but there might be something that i don't see that would make it not work right. It would be better to get someone elses opinion on it. Kevin


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## mikefrommaine (Jan 7, 2013)

If it was working until recently I would try to figure out the problem before making any modifications to the system.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

He has stated that the problem has been all along. Hes trying to prevent the oil boiler from firing when the wood boiler is up to temp. The plumbing just doesn't seem right how they are moving the water through the wood boiler. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

DogDoc said:


> So if I reversed circulator pump on wood boiler so water moves through return, will it pull water from the boiler return and incoming zones (when open)? Also would I need to reverse air scoop?
> 
> What besides zone circulator pumps, moves water from the oil fired boiler? Just wondering because there is forceful water movement from oil boiler supply through air scoop and into wood boiler supply. When I opened the shut off between the supplies on both oil and wood boiler ( while water jacket was open) it moved water with a lot of pressure into the wood boiler to fill it and didnt let up. That auto fill valve on OB doesn't put water in the system that fast.


That forceful water movement that you hear is the pump from the
 wood boiler circulating water from the wood boiler to the oil boiler and back. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

Everything makes sense here and I think it worked ok before because it was warmer out.  When a T-Stat makes a call for heat one of the Taco circulator pumps is activated and opens that zone up. That cold water can't move into the wood boiler return and is circulated into the oil boiler return.  The water temp in oiler boiler quickly drops from 180 to about 120 ( the colder the water the more it drops). The oiler boiler senses a significant drop in water temp and fires up. Meanwhile the wood boiler temp stays at 180* not dropping temp.  It then takes 5 minutes or so for the wood boiler water to circulate and mix with oil boiler water to come back near 180.

Kevin, 
The circulator pump was off when I was experimenting filling wood boiler with water jacket plate off.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

In my head switching the pump around would allow the returning water from the zones to flow through the wood boiler properly. With the flow the way it is the wood boiler and oil boiler heat up at the same temp. Then when a zone turns on and starts pumping water that flow from the zone meets with the flow of water from the wood boiler and they both mix and go into the the oil boiler. The more zones that open at one time the cooler the water is gonna be returning to the oil boiler. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Basicly the way it is plumbed and flowing your blending your hot water with cool water before it even has a chance to be useful. Then once the water gets below the 140 temp the oil boiler kicks in to supply the demand. You are only using a very small percentage of the heat you are producing with wood. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

I agree.  This was installed by previous owner in the 70's and he used it until he died in 2007. How could it have been wrong for so long.  Maybe pump was pulled for service at one point and installed wrong.

So I will probably replace the circulator as it is 23 years old and reverse the flow as discussed. Do I need to reverse the Air Scoop since arrow is pointing with flow towards supply instead of away from it, or does this not matter?



wrightk20 said:


> Basicly the way it is plumbed and flowing your blending your hot water with cool water before it even has a chance to be useful. Then once the water gets below the 140 temp the oil boiler kicks in to supply the demand. You are only using a very small percentage of the heat you are producing with wood. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Maybe somewhere along the way the pump was taken out to be serviced or replaced and got installed the wrong way? If he had it that way the whole time I can only assume that the poor guy worked hard to cut wood and pay the oil man or he paid way too much buying both at the same time. There might be a way that it could work, but the way i'm seeing it is the pump either got flopped around or the guy burned alot of oil and wood. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

But if the pump would have been flopped then the air scoop doesn't make sense! I just don't know. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

Can water move in either direction through air scoop?



wrightk20 said:


> But if the pump would have been flopped then the air scoop doesn't make sense! I just don't know. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

I don't see why not. You have plenty of devices to bleed air out of. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just flip that pump and see what happens. Kevin


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

Looking at the pump if one were to just flip it then the oil caps would be pointing down. Might have to unbolt from the pump body and flip the pump body around. If it were me though i would just get a smaller more efficient pump. Kevin


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

I was hoping I could find someone who has one of these in service, or has the literature from Northland.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

I would think it would be pretty tough to find an owner of one of those still in operation that would be on here, but you never know. If i were you i would do a search and see if anyone has talked about them before. Maybe look up some boiler plumbing schematics that others have used to try and get a sense for how that system should function. Theres alot of good information. Even if you just look in past threads. By the way Welcome to the forum. Kevin


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## BoilerBob (Jan 7, 2013)

Before you get the pipe wrench out. I would try to find out if the system can heat with wood as it is hooked up.

 Could you just shut off oil burner and try it on wood only?


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

Technically by turning the hi/low limits on the oil burner relay I am doing this.  The issue becomes that I need the oil burner to kick on if I am not home and fire goes out, or overnight.



NovaScotian said:


> Before you get the pipe wrench out. I would try to find out if the system can heat with wood as it is hooked up.
> 
> Could you just shut off oil burner and try it on wood only?


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## BoilerBob (Jan 7, 2013)

Just re-read entire post again,

Pipe wrench might be the only fix, good luck..


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## DogDoc (Jan 7, 2013)

Taking a look at this post shows some other options. 

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/connecting-wood-boiler-to-oil-boiler.65261/

I do have my DHW coil within my oil boiler.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 7, 2013)

So if you flipped your pump around then it would be just like the option 2 but could possibly run out of hot water if all of the zones were calling for heat. I would think that with your big pumpon the wood boiler that it would feed the zones plus flow enough through the boiler to keep that coil hot. That pump will flow alot of water. Just might need to increase the pipe size inbetween the wood boiler air scoop and pressure tank to the supply side of the oil boiler. It looks a little small, and since your right there just spin around the air scoop to flow the correct way and everything should work out fine. Kevin


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## heaterman (Jan 9, 2013)

DogDoc said:


> Can water move in either direction through air scoop?


 

Yes it can move either way..........but........the scoop is designed with a baffle that directs any air upward toward the vent. If your flow is reversed the efficiency of that is going to be greatly reduced.


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## wrightk20 (Jan 10, 2013)

Hi dogdoc. Any update on the system?


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## DogDoc (Jan 11, 2013)

One of the forum members from the thread I linked above was nice enough to offer to come out and take a look at my system next week.  Then I will make the appropriate changes.  I have a feeling I will be switching the direction of the wood boiler circulator pump and air scoop.


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## JohnC (Dec 8, 2014)

I have a DF1010-K, Northland Boiler, which looks like an earlier model with same dimensions as your W1010. I've run mine for 5 years. Each year I have discovered  improvements that I could make. If anyone is interested in the details, please drop me an email wholehousedesign@gmail.com and I will come back on and post all the pictures and details of my experiences.

I am in the process of converting part of this model boiler's huge fire box space into a separate firebox. I drive the wood fire by fan motor. I took out the ash grate and place the wood on the bottom of the ash pit. I use either three or six pieces of wood when I start the fire. 

In the future this 12" high space will be covered with a plate of poured insulating firebrick, except for a port that lets the fire into the next double chamber. At the outlet of this last part of this last chamber, the temperature reaches aproximately twice the temperature range as in the first chamber, which typically is 900º at best, 600º normal. Now, if I put in three pieces of wood, I get 1200º, with six pieces of wood I get 1800º, ie, I've created a gasification boiler...for cheap.


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## maple1 (Dec 8, 2014)

You've done this - or plan to?


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