# keeping up with the polar vortex



## Coal Reaper (Jan 8, 2014)

how did everybody do handling the polar blasts that you are not used to?
i think i used a design temp of 10*F and expected to load my boiler (~60#'s/loading) 3 times a day at these times.  we are coming out of a 3 day period of near 0 temps, with a negative windchill.  we saw a high of 8*F yesterday with winds 23mph gusting to 36mph.  i know this is nothing for our northern friends with crazy insulation but here in new jersey we just ussually dont see more than 24 consecutive hours under these conditions.  i did fine with 3 loads the first day.  yesterday i fired in the morning.  12 hours later when i got home from work 1000 gallon of storage tanks were depleted and house had dropped 5 degrees.  3 loads later the house had climbed only 3* by the next morning.  thats 240#'s of wood for a 24 hour period.  after a load this morning the wife reported that the house is now back up to temp.  outside temperatures are climbing and it is sunny with no wind.  my oil boiler would have had a very difficult time maintaining as well.  even with 180*+ water coming from boiler/storage, it takes a great deal of effort to bring house temps back to where they should be.  lesson i guess is to try to not let storage temps fall too low when it gets this cold.  just hard being out of the house 12 hours during the day.  again, these are extreme circumstances for our area.  wind kills the heat loss in my house.  i need to address air infiltration issues better.  is what i am experiencing out of the norm for guys in my region with similar systems?


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 8, 2014)

fire was started at 17:30.  TANK 0/4 is actually on the return line.


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## Fred61 (Jan 8, 2014)

I'm still wheeling in one cart of wood per day. The only difference is that I'm using more of the wood on the cart during my evening burn. The storage temperatures are a little lower than normal in the morning but on days like yesterday the zones call for heat more often during the day. House temperature still holding at 70 but tank temperature was down to about 127 when I went down to light my evening fire at 4:00 PM. I have been throwing a couple more splits about an hour in to the burn and then when it starts approaching 165 or so I start adding a split or two at a time trying to calculate when the storage will be at 180 at the same time the wood is burned out.

I don't usually fool with it this way because normally I have adequate heat stored when tank temperature is between 170 and 180 but in this weather I wanted to get the storage close to the max which I consider is 180. Trouble is I get more idling time when I start pushing storage up.


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## avc8130 (Jan 8, 2014)

Fred61 said:


> I'm still wheeling in one cart of wood per day. The only difference is that I'm using more of the wood on the cart during my evening burn. The storage temperatures are a little lower than normal in the morning but on days like yesterday the zones call for heat more often during the day. House temperature still holding at 70 but tank temperature was down to about 127 when I went down to light my evening fire at 4:00 PM. I have been throwing a couple more splits about an hour in to the burn and then when it starts approaching 165 or so I start adding a split or two at a time trying to calculate when the storage will be at 180 at the same time the wood is burned out.
> 
> I don't usually fool with it this way because normally I have adequate heat stored when tank temperature is between 170 and 180 but in this weather I wanted to get the storage close to the max which I consider is 180. Trouble is I get more idling time when I start pushing storage up.



Wow, that storage sounds so "convenient".  Babysitting 1-2 splits at a time? 

Put the wood in the boiler.  If the storage goes higher than 180 is something going to explode?

How are you using 1 cart of wood per day, if you are burning more wood from that cart now than before?  Must be a magic cart.

ac


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## Fred61 (Jan 8, 2014)

avc8130 said:


> Wow, that storage sounds so "convenient".  Babysitting 1-2 splits at a time?
> 
> Put the wood in the boiler.  If the storage goes higher than 180 is something going to explode?
> 
> ...


You must have an itch that you can't scratch.


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## ewdudley (Jan 8, 2014)

Coal Reaper said:


> how did everybody do handling the polar blasts that you are not used to?


We've got a tank of five year old oil that needs to be used up, so flipped the switch to get rid of it.  I must say oil heat is very nice once you turn up the thermostat and quit worrying about the expense!


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## infinitymike (Jan 8, 2014)

I seem to be handling the blast pretty well. 
Temps here on LI a bit higher but not much.
I live on the north shore 1 mile from the water and get good north west winds off the LI sound. 

I load the WG e100 at 10:30pm to the top and wake up at 6am to house holding temps at 67* with a nice bed of coals in the box waiting for the next load. 
Then I load box again and come home at 3pm and find house holding 70* and another nice bed of coals waiting for the next load to make it to 10:30 pm. 

Heating a 2700 sq ft house built in 1951 and remodeled in 1975. So it's insulated like a wiffle ball. And I'm nice and toasty with NO storage and no more creosote in my firebox than I've seen in any other units posted here. 


Nice machine you got there AHS.


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## maple1 (Jan 8, 2014)

All good here.

During the coldest days, I have a fire in the boiler for 10-12 hours/day, with it about burned out as I'm heading to bed. That keeps the house all kinds of warm, and storage charged by the time the fire is out. Otherwise, in more 'normal' winter conditions, the fire is only burning 6-8 hours a day. Firebox holds about 3 cu.ft., but I rarely load it full full.

My storage is waaay convenient (I wouldn't go back to being without it), and no babysitting of it here.

I do have a couple of itches though.


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## MarkW (Jan 8, 2014)

My boiler went out about 10:30 last night and storage was virtually depleted by the time I got out at 5:30.  I did drop from 73 to 69 in the house but it was right back up after I got the boiler going.  If the boiler is running, I have no problem maintain temps in the house and it's not well insulated at all.  I suppose having a 60 helps in that department.


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## Fred61 (Jan 8, 2014)

maple1 said:


> My storage is waaay convenient (I wouldn't go back to being without it), and no babysitting of it here


Normal operation doesn't require babysitting and adding a couple sticks during the end of the burn isn't my definition of babysitting and you can tell by my morning storage temperatures that the exercise was not needed but I did it anyway for at least three nights. As I said above I don't want any unburned wood in the firebox when I shut her down for the night.


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## stee6043 (Jan 8, 2014)

It's been quite a week.  The only difference I have is a longer burn between when I start my boiler at night and when I give it the last fill.  I'm probably using about a 1/2 load of wood more than normal to keep my storage where it needs to be to heat all day while at work.  For me that's a "lot of wood" but in reality it just means I go to bed an hour later than normal.


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## muncybob (Jan 8, 2014)

We have been burning more wood than usual of course since typically we don't get temps lower than mid teens and usually that's with daytime temps getting to mid 30's. Cold temps compounded by my lack of foresight in stocking the wood shed(hitting the cherry instead of the better stuff this last week or so) has me running to the shed sooner than usual. But I'll take that exercise any day to keep the house warm.
Even the Mrs mentioned last night that the last time we had these kind of temps over a prolonged period of time we were burning oil and wearing sweaters. I'm not even sure where the sweaters are now.


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## MaineGuy (Jan 8, 2014)

Here in Maine we call a Polar Vortex, "Winter"


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## AndrewChurchill (Jan 8, 2014)

I upped the lower limit on my storage tank from 150F to 160F.  150 wasn't heating the house.  It would maintain the temperature but in order to raise it I needed 160F as a minimum.


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## maple1 (Jan 8, 2014)

Fred61 said:


> Normal operation doesn't require babysitting and adding a couple sticks during the end of the burn isn't my definition of babysitting and you can tell by my morning storage temperatures that the exercise was not needed but I did it anyway for at least three nights. As I said above I don't want any unburned wood in the firebox when I shut her down for the night.


 
Agree completely.

There are times I burn in what some might call 'babysitting' ways - but not because I HAVE to. Sometimes I'm just in the basement anyway, so I'll put just enough wood in to try to just get storage up to 180 or so since higher temps likely lead to a bit more inefficiency.

Sometimes I put a couple sticks in on the downside of the burn at the edge of the box so they'll leave char for firestarting.

Then there's those times I'll go down & put a couple sticks in just because I want to go down & watch that blue flame for a while.


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## hiker88 (Jan 8, 2014)

Coal Reaper said:


> lesson i guess is to try to not let storage temps fall too low when it gets this cold. ?



If you have a fire, and there is a call for heat, does your setup heat storage first, or the house?  

I ask because when any heating zone calls for heat, my storage is bypassed and heat only goes to the house load.  So, what I see is my house temp come up, and storage doesn't change at all until the zones are satisfied.

In this weather, I think the major change I see is the flipping back and forth between heating storage and the house.  Throughout a lot of the shoulder season and early winter, it seems that once my zones are initially satisfied, the ambient heat of my stove pipe in the basement and copper pipe is enough to keep the house at temp, so I don't usually see zones open until I am running off storage.

It's awesome to watch the boiler speed up and down in this weather, but I don't want to get your thread off track.


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## flyingcow (Jan 8, 2014)

Everything kept up, but burned more wood. But I feel bad for the deep south. Some places were looking at 7f on the thermometer. No place for cold like that.


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## AndrewChurchill (Jan 8, 2014)

My storage is set up so that it will try to heat the zones and storage at the same time.  However, as more zones call for heat less heat is transferred to the storage tank.


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## flyingcow (Jan 8, 2014)

Hiker88--TV-2 valve? That works nice. Nothing like 195f water rolling thru the Baseboard. Makes it really nice to bring the house back up to temp.


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## skfire (Jan 8, 2014)

Same winter burn schedule, 6:30am & 8:00pm, just fuller loads with more oak,
70-75%(5.3 cb ft) in the a.m. and 90%(6.5 cb ft) in the p.m.,
Except Tuesday, the warden did a less than half box(3 cb ft) mid day fire for a heavy dose of DHW need(Laundry, Hot water for goats in barn(6 buckets) etc.

On same Tuesday , the  -11f (-27f wind chill)morning, I found the tanks down to 102top/98 bot and the 2 far zones of the house at 65f instead of the 68f setpoint. Started the fire but the LP burner switched on during loading....beat me to it by minutes. Thought about ramping up the mixing vlv dial for more output to 130f, but didnt.
Floors were still 80f, no complaints from the warden and the jr assistant wardens.

Thus far all good....getting ready for 48f on the weekend..

Scott

PS: btw...storage is a no brainer and would not do without it.


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 8, 2014)

ewdudley said:


> We've got a tank of five year old oil that needs to be used up, so flipped the switch to get rid of it.  I must say oil heat is very nice once you turn up the thermostat and quit worrying about the expense!


 my oil only a year old but i thought about it!


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## Fred61 (Jan 8, 2014)

maple1 said:


> Sometimes I put a couple sticks in on the downside of the burn at the edge of the box so they'll leave char for firestarting. Then there's those times I'll go down & put a couple sticks in just because I want to go down & watch that blue flame for a while


Same here! I'm spending more time in the basement this winter within feet of the Eko now that I've mounted a TV in front of the treadmill.


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## Tennman (Jan 8, 2014)

Thanks for thinking of us in the Deep South flyingcow. Our 60 class boiler has been running flat out to keep our old creaky home at 68F. Last nite it struggled to keep 65F in the house. Setpoint at 191F and it's running full bore to keep the boiler at 185-188F.... 0F to 4F where we live is a recording breaking event. Haven't needed storage for the last several days! I guess I've got a load calc on our old house.

Thank heavens this year I've got some no kidding 2-3 year seasoned oak that's plum full of btus. Roads are dry here and schools opening mid-morning... we ain't equipped for real cold.

Let's keep it among friends, but this morning I actually ran propane AND wood to warm the house up.


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## Fred61 (Jan 8, 2014)

AndrewChurchill said:


> My storage is set up so that it will try to heat the zones and storage at the same time.  However, as more zones call for heat less heat is transferred to the storage tank.



I heat only off storage but I must say that when the zones are calling while I'm charging storage the temperature at the top of the tank rises reeeal slow.


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 8, 2014)

hiker88 said:


> If you have a fire, and there is a call for heat, does your setup heat storage first, or the house?
> 
> I ask because when any heating zone calls for heat, my storage is bypassed and heat only goes to the house load.  So, what I see is my house temp come up, and storage doesn't change at all until the zones are satisfied.
> 
> ...


 i am using a bumble bee set-point circ for storage to house loop.  once the system is up to temperature 10-20 minutes after a call for heat, the BB is moving ~3.5gpm from storage.  the loading unit moves more than this but i forget what the gpm value is.  so both are getting heat and it climbs to 180* supply.  when the storage is getting close to full charge my supply temp increases if there is still a high load at the house.  boiler is in the barn so no ambiant heat is felt by house.  i could increase the flow rate on the BB but then it would pump too fast at lower storage temps when the house is merely maintaining temperature.


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## skfire (Jan 8, 2014)

View attachment 123329
View attachment 123329


Fred61 said:


> Same here! I'm spending more time in the basement this winter within feet of the Eko now that I've mounted a TV in front of the treadmill.



Lol...same here...TV in front of the stairmaster....and after work out and boiler time...this:


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## flyingcow (Jan 8, 2014)

Tennman said:


> Thanks for thinking of us in the Deep South flyingcow. Our 60 class boiler has been running flat out to keep our old creaky home at 68F. Last nite it struggled to keep 65F in the house. Setpoint at 191F and it's running full bore to keep the boiler at 185-188F.... 0F to 4F where we live is a recording breaking event. Haven't needed storage for the last several days! I guess I've got a load calc on our old house.
> 
> Thank heavens this year I've got some no kidding 2-3 year seasoned oak that's plum full of btus. Roads are dry here and schools opening mid-morning... we ain't equipped for real cold.
> 
> Let's keep it among friends, but this morning I actually ran propane AND wood to warm the house up.



Pretty serious potential to raise heck with everything especially ag-business. 

Also, i would think the plumbing and heating trades must be at a very busy time.


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## KenLockett (Jan 8, 2014)

infinitymike said:


> I seem to be handling the blast pretty well.
> Temps here on LI a bit higher but not much.
> I live on the north shore 1 mile from the water and get good north west winds off the LI sound.
> 
> ...



Mike, holding temps here at 68 DegF for the most part as well.  At -12 DegF last week was able to hold 68 DegF but interestingly enough last night with lows down to around -3 temp was at 66  DegF this morning.  Perhaps wind has larger bearing than I thought.  What I have found is that as long as I keep heat output up I can hold.  If I have my thermostat setback to 66 at night it takes forever to catch up next morning when near 0 DegF.  Definitely using more wood though.  By the way, it is nice to hear positive feedback from someone without storage like myself.  I too have no issues with creosote nor heating without storage.  I can get an 8-12 hour burn depending on ambient and species so loading three times a day without having to light new fire is convenient to me and to be honest I like tinkering/tending to the boiler all day.  I often think that for those with storage that have to light a new fire everyday this would become tedious.  In this cold weather my idle cycles are normally anywhere from 20-40 minutes.  Anyhow, nice to know that there are others out there that aren't 'shamed' by those of us without storage.


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## mwk1000 (Jan 8, 2014)

Coal Reaper said:


> i am using a bumble bee set-point circ for storage to house loop.  once the system is up to temperature 10-20 minutes after a call for heat, the BB is moving ~3.5gpm from storage.  the loading unit moves more than this but i forget what the gpm value is.  so both are getting heat and it climbs to 180* supply.  when the storage is getting close to full charge my supply temp increases if there is still a high load at the house.  boiler is in the barn so no ambiant heat is felt by house.  i could increase the flow rate on the BB but then it would pump too fast at lower storage temps when the house is merely maintaining temperature.



I have the low tech solution , boiler feeds house and storage with a simple pipe tee. Storage circulator runs faster than house (medium vs low setting). So,
If boiler is hot then circulator is running and water is provided to house right from boiler with always a little going into the tank ( top ) because of the higher flow, the house returns to the tank bottom so whatever is left still helps raise tank temps. 

When boiler is cold/off the input is closed and house if forced to draw from tank top and return to tank bottom. Seems to work well I never have to worry about heating up the tank to get the house warm. 

I posted in another thread, I think the boiler is saving me from a furnace system that is under designed and can't normally keep up at -10.


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## heaterman (Jan 8, 2014)

Went from an average of 2 bags of pellets per day to a little over 3. This weather SUCKS heat out of houses.

Of course.....it doesn't help matters any that my house runs 72* either


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## mwk1000 (Jan 8, 2014)

heaterman said:


> Went from an average of 2 bags of pellets per day to a little over 3. This weather SUCKS heat out of houses.


This whole season has been killing me, i'll be lucky to last through January with the wood I have left, Using more that in past years.


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 8, 2014)

mwk1000 said:


> I have the low tech solution , boiler feeds house and storage with a simple pipe tee. Storage circulator runs faster than house (medium vs low setting). So,
> If boiler is hot then circulator is running and water is provided to house right from boiler with always a little going into the tank ( top ) because of the higher flow, the house returns to the tank bottom so whatever is left still helps raise tank temps.
> 
> When boiler is cold/off the input is closed and house if forced to draw from tank top and return to tank bottom. Seems to work well I never have to worry about heating up the tank to get the house warm.
> ...


 thats the same thing i was trying to explain.  see pic.  boiler supply come from far left.  goes to house on the right.


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## goosegunner (Jan 8, 2014)

We had -22 for a couple days with very high winds. The most wood I burned to heat for a 24 hour day to heat our 2800 sq ft was 220lbs. Still had some left in the tank at 155 top and 140 bottom

To keep that in perspective, Last year I weighed a unsplit piece of Cherry that had dried in my boiler room for the winter.

13" inch diameter
17" long
44lbs
18% after splitting open

gg


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## heaterman (Jan 8, 2014)

mwk1000 said:


> This whole season has been killing me, i'll be lucky to last through January with the wood I have left, Using more that in past years.



I can tell you that every single customer we have talked with has said the same thing.
It doesn't matter if they are burning wood, oil, gas or pellets. Fuel use across the board is up around 25-30% from what I see and hear.


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## maple1 (Jan 8, 2014)

heaterman said:


> I can tell you that every single customer we have talked with has said the same thing.
> It doesn't matter if they are burning wood, oil, gas or pellets. Fuel use across the board is up around 25-30% from what I see and hear.


 
Last couple years my folks have taken to letting the oil do the work until after the holidays, then they fire up the wood boiler (for some reason). They've got a new Buderus so I guess they want to run it. Last year about this time they got a fillup, and they figured the past 1-2 months cost them about $15/day for oil. Last week they got a fill up, and figured about $20/day for about the same time period. Sounds like there's a consensus happening.


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## KenLockett (Jan 8, 2014)

mwk1000 said:


> This whole season has been killing me, i'll be lucky to last through January with the wood I have left, Using more that in past years.


 
Same here.  About 1 cord left that should get me through January but then I would be tapping into wood allocated and drying for next year that was C/S/S this early summer.  As a backup there is a green renewables factory (they package and sell the bagged firewood at the convenient type stores) 5 minutes down the road that sales kiln dried hardwood by the cord for $240.  Stuff is like rocket fuel but is great for mixing with higher moisture content wood.  Higher price than the going price of $180 cord green (or advertised as seasoned) but at least it is guaranteed to be dry.


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## maple1 (Jan 8, 2014)

Guaranteed to be cheaper than any fossil fuel too.


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 8, 2014)

T


goosegunner said:


> We had -22 for a couple days with very high winds. The most wood I burned to heat for a 24 hour day to heat our 2800 sq ft was 220lbs. Still had some left in the tank at 155 top and 140 bottom
> 
> To keep that in perspective, Last year I weighed a unsplit piece of Cherry that had dried in my boiler room for the winter.
> 
> ...


Thats a good perspective. 220#s sounds like a lot but it really aint all that much. 


Just got home and storage is supplying house with 150*. All is well again.


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## infinitymike (Jan 8, 2014)

KenLockett said:


> Mike, holding temps here at 68 DegF for the most part as well.  At -12 DegF last week was able to hold 68 DegF but interestingly enough last night with lows down to around -3 temp was at 66  DegF this morning.  Perhaps wind has larger bearing than I thought.  What I have found is that as long as I keep heat output up I can hold.  If I have my thermostat setback to 66 at night it takes forever to catch up next morning when near 0 DegF.  Definitely using more wood though.  By the way, it is nice to hear positive feedback from someone without storage like myself.  I too have no issues with creosote nor heating without storage.  I can get an 8-12 hour burn depending on ambient and species so loading three times a day without having to light new fire is convenient to me and to be honest I like tinkering/tending to the boiler all day.  I often think that for those with storage that have to light a new fire everyday this would become tedious.  In this cold weather my idle cycles are normally anywhere from 20-40 minutes.  Anyhow, nice to know that there are others out there that aren't 'shamed' by those of us without storage.



Ken,
Its even nicer to have a person who has a gasifier that is _required _to have storage not have storage and brag about how well he is doing.

I haven't had to start a new fire in what seems like forever.
I have digital programable stats and they are set for both floors to hold 67* from 11pm to 5:15am and the first floor at 70* from 5:15am to 11pm. 2nd floor at 70* from 5:15am to 8:00 am then back to 67* until 7:30pm 
It takes about 2 hours on a regular winter morning to bring house up 3* and about 2.5 hours the last couple mornings. 

The WG will run nonstop for about 1.5 hours then hit its operating set point of 200* and shut down for 15 or so minutes until the 30* differential trips and it cycles on again for another 20 or so minutes until it shuts down again for a few hours. House will be up to temp and stay there for a few hours and then the WG will turn on to satisfy the house  stat. 
During a normal winter day it may turn on 3-4 times in an 8-9 hour period to satisfy house temps. 
The last few days the house has been dropping temps a bit quicker so it cycles on 1-2 more times during the day. 
Because of the cold I've been home all day doing estimates for my business and have had a lot of time to monitor it. 

Anyway. Thanks for coming out of the no storage closet.


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## KenLockett (Jan 8, 2014)

maple1 said:


> Guaranteed to be cheaper than any fossil fuel too.



I guestimate that an honest cord of kiln-dried is equivalent to between 150 and 175 gallons of fuel oil.  At $3.89 per gallon of fuel oil per my last check this equates to between $583 and $681 equivalent cost.  $240 is a bargain and it is delivered.  I just have to stack it.  to be honest though, I'm tempted to just have it dumped at my Bilco doors and bring it into the basement as needed.  For the most part I process all my firewood off my 18 acres but it truly is a time consuming endeavor and you have to love it.  I'm a self admitting member of the firewood hoarding club.  With life's commitments its just hard to get ahead of the curve.


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## Green Mt Heat (Jan 8, 2014)

Wow a night above 0, must be the beginning of the January Thaw! I'm enjoying my Eshland E140 wood gun (now that I'm getting ahead of the learning curve). No problems heating over 2000 sqft to 70* inside @ -15 outside thanks to 10 cft firebox. Sorry guys the only storage here is the 80 gal the WG holds (maybe someday). This is my first year with the old WG, after an 11th hour install in the beginning of December when my trusty 30 year old Van Wert Simplex Multitherm cashed it in...I have to say coming from a conventional wood boiler to a gasser is amazing, it makes a cold snap no big deal. I would have to say the the WG is using at the min 30% less wood than my Van Wert and not even a hint of a chimney fire! Bring on the Polar vortex.


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## jebatty (Jan 9, 2014)

Our temperature data, below 0 days only, but staying warm:

HDD Base 70
2013-11-01,1289  +8% over 2012
2013-12-01, 2083  +23% over 2012

Dec     LO     HI
5  -9    12
6  -17   0
7  -29  -6
8  -29  -5
9  -15   0
10  -13  1
11  -24 -6
12  -11  10
13  -2   7
14  -9   5
15  -17  -6
16  -6  26
17  -11  28
18  -2  27
19  -2  18
20  -13  12
22  -4  9
23  -27  -2
24  -31  8
29  -26  -1
30  -27  -2
31  -29  -9

Jan LO HI
1  -24  -6
2  -33  -2
3  -18  19
4  -15  21
5  -29  -11
6  -26  -17
7  -24  -2
8  -31  1


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## KenLockett (Jan 9, 2014)

infinitymike said:


> Ken,
> Its even nicer to have a person who has a gasifier that is _required _to have storage not have storage and brag about how well he is doing.
> 
> I haven't had to start a new fire in what seems like forever.
> ...



Mike, very interesting.  The differential and thus idle cycle periods with the WG appear to be wider that the Tarm.  As you can see from a trend of a typical night below (5-32 DegF), A typical full cycle for me is about one hour on average, 10-30 minutes of firing and 20-40 minutes of idle.  On an average 8 hour night I would average about 8 cycles.  the units on the left side of the trend are DegF for the Flue and Boiler Supply Temps and Minutes for the Idle Cycle Timer. As the outdoor temps rise above 32 my idle periods extend to as high as 1 hour.

I wish I had the ability to adjust a my differential.  I would prefer a higher diff like yours of 30 DegF.  Mine is between 8 DegF and 10 DegF.  The system holds 55 gallons.  Perhaps that is why the diff is lower.  Is your capacity larger?  Someday when the control board warranty expires I am going to tap into it and attempt to automate fan control from my PLC based controller that now only monitors and provides low/high/reload alarms for supply and flue temps.

Warm front coming through for the next week or so so hope to catch up on my wood consumption a bit.  By the way, to achieve the 8 hour burn you see below uses one wheel barrow of wood (approx 4-5 cu ft) that is mix of soft and harder species hardwood.  How about your consumption on a typical load?

Take Care.


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## KenLockett (Jan 9, 2014)

jebatty said:


> Our temperature data, below 0 days only, but staying warm:
> 
> HDD Base 70
> 2013-11-01,1289  +8% over 2012
> ...



That is COLD


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## infinitymike (Jan 9, 2014)

KenLockett said:


> Mike, very interesting.  The differential and thus idle cycle periods with the WG appear to be wider that the Tarm.  As you can see from a trend of a typical night below (5-32 DegF), A typical full cycle for me is about one hour on average, 10-30 minutes of firing and 20-40 minutes of idle.  On an average 8 hour night I would average about 8 cycles.  the units on the left side of the trend are DegF for the Flue and Boiler Supply Temps and Minutes for the Idle Cycle Timer. As the outdoor temps rise above 32 my idle periods extend to as high as 1 hour.
> 
> I wish I had the ability to adjust a my differential.  I would prefer a higher diff like yours of 30 DegF.  Mine is between 8 DegF and 10 DegF.  The system holds 55 gallons.  Perhaps that is why the diff is lower.  Is your capacity larger?  Someday when the control board warranty expires I am going to tap into it and attempt to automate fan control from my PLC based controller that now only monitors and provides low/high/reload alarms for supply and flue temps.
> 
> ...




The WG has a 60 gallon water supply in and of itself plus what ever the piping and heat emitters carry.
The fire box is 6.5 cubic feet.
Obviously there is no way to fit exactly 6.5 cf in the box due to size and shape of splits so I assume that a full load will be about 5 cf
I don't weigh my wood and I stopped logging (on paper) when I would reload and how splits I put in.
I always fill the box for an overnight run, but will adjust the quantity of the load during the day, based on temps, my schedule, my wife schedule etc.

With cycle times like that, I now understand why other units _require _storage.
I've seen the WG sit off (idle)  for 5 or more hours before the differential is reached and then turns back on.
And with the help of the Gremlins (which only come with a WG) I've seen it relight itself after those long extended periods.

I am real happy the temps are rising a bit. We just ain't use to this stuff here on the island.

I'm real happy with the performance of the WG under this Polar Vortex, aka winter, and am even happier that I haven't burned any oil and have been super toasty!


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## muncybob (Jan 9, 2014)

Green Mt Heat said:


> Wow a night above 0, must be the beginning of the January Thaw! I'm enjoying my Eshland E140 wood gun (now that I'm getting ahead of the learning curve). No problems heating over 2000 sqft to 70* inside @ -15 outside thanks to 10 cft firebox. Sorry guys the only storage here is the 80 gal the WG holds (maybe someday). This is my first year with the old WG, after an 11th hour install in the beginning of December when my trusty 30 year old Van Wert Simplex Multitherm cashed it in...I have to say coming from a conventional wood boiler to a gasser is amazing, it makes a cold snap no big deal. I would have to say the the WG is using at the min 30% less wood than my Van Wert and not even a hint of a chimney fire! Bring on the Polar vortex.


 
Good to see you have worked things out!


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## KenLockett (Jan 9, 2014)

infinitymike said:


> The WG has a 60 gallon water supply in and of itself plus what ever the piping and heat emitters carry.
> The fire box is 6.5 cubic feet.
> Obviously there is no way to fit exactly 6.5 cf in the box due to size and shape of splits so I assume that a full load will be about 5 cf
> I don't weigh my wood and I stopped logging (on paper) when I would reload and how splits I put in.
> ...



It sounds like our physical boiler parameters are very close.  I have a 55 gallon supply plus piping and a 5.5 cf firebox. If I could just adjust the doggone delta from 8-10 to 30 DegF like yours I probably would have fewer idle cycles as well.  One nice thing about shorter cycling is that generally the flue temps and thus the heating output are up very quickly after each idle cycle.  Plenty of solar heating today and warmer temps and just cranked up thermostat to appease my wife.  By the way I work from a home office as an engineer and am here everyday for the most part and have plenty of time to tend the thing.  Yeah, travelling makes it a little tougher.  Wife just doesn't seem to get it so I generally get a lot of bridging when she loads!!  Ugh!!


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## Fred61 (Jan 9, 2014)

infinitymike said:


> Anyway. Thanks for coming out of the no storage closet.





KenLockett said:


> I often think that for those with storage that have to light a new fire everyday this would become tedious



Please don't take the "storage...no storage" as an "us VS them" dispute. It's not "HA HA HA I have storage and you don't. The people that took the plunge and installed storage are just trying to send the message to those who have not installed it what it has done for them. At least that has been my mission. I don't care if you have storage or not. It's difficult to see the virtues until you try it. I'm not trying to sell it to you. Just trying to help.

If you believe that lighting a fire every day is tedious then you are not going about it correctly. I've mentioned it several times here that I attempt to leave charcoal in my firebox at the end of my daily burn. Next day's lighting procedure is: rake the coals over the nozzle, load as much wood as you want or need, close firebox door, light charcoal up through nozzle for 30 to 45 seconds, remove torch, close door, start fan and walk away. I know it sounds like a long procedure but it's only 30 to 45 seconds longer than adding your fuel load. I do it every day in the coldest months. It's easier than putting my socks on.

The Wood Gun is even easier. If you have 2 or three coals laying on the nozzle just wad up a couple pages of newspaper, light it and throw it over the coals. Presto you're ready to add wood. That fast moving draft will have those coals glowing in no time and that's all you need if at least one of your logs makes contact with the coals.

One advantage that I haven't put forth is that I can take down and clean my boiler any day of the week. If I find myself with a few extra minutes I can open it up, remove the turbs and brush the tubes. It's usually cool by morning so I basically have all day up 'til 4:00 PM when I usually start my daily burn.


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## infinitymike (Jan 9, 2014)

KenLockett said:


> It sounds like our physical boiler parameters are very close.  I have a 55 gallon supply plus piping and a 5.5 cf firebox. If I could just adjust the doggone delta from 8-10 to 30 DegF like yours I probably would have fewer idle cycles as well.  One nice thing about shorter cycling is that generally the flue temps and thus the heating output are up very quickly after each idle cycle.  Plenty of solar heating today and warmer temps and just cranked up thermostat to appease my wife.  By the way I work from a home office as an engineer and am here everyday for the most part and have plenty of time to tend the thing.  Yeah, travelling makes it a little tougher.  Wife just doesn't seem to get it so I generally get a lot of bridging when she loads!!  Ugh!!




Perfect example of average day.
Its 25* and sunny here.
The WG shut down around 7am after bringing house to 70*
Its 10:42 and the 1st fl zone is calling for the first time and the WG just kicked on.
3 hours 45 minutes later with NO help from me the WG is burning away with a red hot fire.
There is a good bed of coals and 2 skeleton splits from the 1/2 load I put in at 6am which was put in on a very empty but still hot enough firebox to get it going again.
I was out last night at the Garden watching the Nitro circus and my wife only put in a half load for the evening. Not too surprised it made it through the night.
I just added one  4x5x24 split. Should be good for another 3-4 hours.


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## infinitymike (Jan 9, 2014)

Fred61 said:


> Please don't take the "storage...no storage" as an "us VS them" dispute. It's not "HA HA HA I have storage and you don't. The people that took the plunge and installed storage are just trying to send the message to those who have not installed it what it has done for them. At least that has been my mission. I don't care if you have storage or not. It's difficult to see the virtues until you try it. I'm not trying to sell it to you. Just trying to help.
> 
> If you believe that lighting a fire every day is tedious then you are not going about it correctly. I've mentioned it several times here that I attempt to leave charcoal in my firebox at the end of my daily burn. Next day's lighting procedure is: rake the coals over the nozzle, load as much wood as you want or need, close firebox door, light charcoal up through nozzle for 30 to 45 seconds, remove torch, close door, start fan and walk away. I know it sounds like a long procedure but it's only 30 to 45 seconds longer than adding your fuel load. I do it every day in the coldest months. It's easier than putting my socks on.
> 
> ...




Believe me, I definitely don't want another thread brought down to a battle of "us vs them".

Storage is still on my wish list, but unfortunately it's far down on the list since kids college tuitions, mortgage, food and other things come first!
Thank goodness oil ISN"T on that list of expenses!


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## infinitymike (Jan 9, 2014)

So here it is 16 minutes later and the T-stat is satisfied and the WG shut down.
16 minute cycle in 3.5 hours.
I'll let ya know when the next cycle is.
Either the house will demand or the 30* differential will call.
Hmm which will it be!


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## infinitymike (Jan 9, 2014)

31* outside and exactly 2 hours later the 1st floor zone was demanding. Wood Gun cycled on for about 15 minutes and shes done.


Not really a polar vortex today.


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## Fred61 (Jan 9, 2014)

infinitymike said:


> Storage is still on my wish list, but unfortunately it's far down on the list since kids college tuitions, mortgage, food and other things come first!


Been there!


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## maple1 (Jan 9, 2014)

Fred61 said:


> Been there!


 
Living it!


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## KenLockett (Jan 9, 2014)

Fred61 said:


> Please don't take the "storage...no storage" as an "us VS them" dispute. It's not "HA HA HA I have storage and you don't. The people that took the plunge and installed storage are just trying to send the message to those who have not installed it what it has done for them. At least that has been my mission. I don't care if you have storage or not. It's difficult to see the virtues until you try it. I'm not trying to sell it to you. Just trying to help.
> 
> If you believe that lighting a fire every day is tedious then you are not going about it correctly. I've mentioned it several times here that I attempt to leave charcoal in my firebox at the end of my daily burn. Next day's lighting procedure is: rake the coals over the nozzle, load as much wood as you want or need, close firebox door, light charcoal up through nozzle for 30 to 45 seconds, remove torch, close door, start fan and walk away. I know it sounds like a long procedure but it's only 30 to 45 seconds longer than adding your fuel load. I do it every day in the coldest months. It's easier than putting my socks on.
> 
> ...



Fred, just out of curiosity, if there are coals left behind after a burn to some degree would that not be similar to idling especially if there is sufficient draft to keep them glowing.  Would this create creosote as well.  I'm curious on my end since I am often tempted to simply shut-off the draft fan after a full burn (to clean for example) while there are still coals glowing to preserve and not have to relight.  I usually worry though and let the fan fun until the coals are essentially extinguished. 

Your point of view is appreciated.  Based upon my time on the forum I understand the pro's and con's of storage/no storage.  However, there are varying degrees of opinion on here regarding best practices for wood burning.  There are some viewpoints from members on the forum that tend to imply that those who do not use storage are being irresponsible with respect to the environment and emissions.  Of course everyone is entitled to ones opinion so I try to take it with a grain of salt.  It seems that everyone who is active on the forum is generally respectful but there are times I sense an underlying sense of judgement.  Hope this doesn't open a can of worms.  Just voicing my impressions and opinions.


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## BrotherBart (Jan 9, 2014)

MaineGuy said:


> Here in Maine we call a Polar Vortex, "Winter"



It would have been interesting if it had the 20 year effect on Maine that it had on most of the rest of the country. That would have been some nasty cold weather.


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## BoilerMan (Jan 9, 2014)

When it was colder last week, ie. -32 night and -10 during the day all I do is use Hard Maple and Yellow Birch instead of the Aspen I've been burning.  I'll generally throw 3 or 4 splits of Aspen in on the coal bed before going to bed which is not part of the normal routine.  Nothing out of the ordinary for us for this time of year, heck my Ranger still starts w/o a block heater.......

TS


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## BoilerMan (Jan 9, 2014)

Ok and to be completely fair, when it's way below zero for days at a time, I'll build a fire in the LR stove for some nice warmth that only a wood-stove can give.  But I can't burn oil to heat the house (never piped it up) and there are some days I wish I could, especially when I have to work late.  The stove is so quick to heat up.............the slab and even the boiler, not so much.

TS


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 10, 2014)

I think all woodgas is expelled by the time splits turn into coals.  I have no creosote buildup in in exchange tubes or chimney.  I have my fan shut off when stack temp falls to about 100*c. This leaves enough charcoal to very easy light the next fire. It is exactly as simple as fred explained. 
Boilers without storage and even WGs for that matter are expected to run thier best during high demand periods. Less idling and cycles. Storage on the other hand really shines in shoulder season when non-storage systems might have temp swings in the house or be idling or prone to blowback or whatever you WG guys call it when you get an explosion out the intake. I was originally curious how storage system are making out in these high heat demand times when there is no fire burning. During not so cold parts of the season we run our storage tank temps down lower but just cant get away with it as easily when the heat loss is greater. Once my supply temp falls to 140*f the house temp starts to fall when its this cold.


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## jebatty (Jan 10, 2014)

During two of the -30's periods we had I was out of town for the entire time. I heated storage up to 190F before leaving and set the electric backup heat at 44F air temperature. On the cold period over Christmas I left on Dec 23, the shop was maintained by storage until Dec 29 when a small amount of electric heat was used, Dec 30 and 31 used 109 kwh of electric heat, and then I was back home and electric heat was off. Cost of the electric kwh: $12.00. 

Electric was set at 44F, and the shop temp and floor temp was 44F when I returned. And I went through lots of wood reheating the floor and bring it up to temp and the 1000 gal storage tank up to temp. The storage had cooled down only to about 90F because I have a temp controller on storage that stops the draw from storage at about that point. That's to make sure no matter what happens storage never will be at risk of freezing, but all the other plumbing and boiler are allowed to cool down to air temp, which was 44F.


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## jebatty (Jan 10, 2014)

Low temp radiant excels with storage. I supply 100F water to my in-floor. 1000 gal of 190F water will last 2 days or longer, depending on demand/outside temperature. During demand periods my Tarm (140,000 Btuh rated) will fully meet the in-floor demand, about 35,000 Btuh, and charge the tank at the same time. As often noted, the lower the temp of usable water, the easier it gets to operate a wood boiler with storage: maximum boiler burn rate without idling; potentially long periods between burns.


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## Fred61 (Jan 10, 2014)

KenLockett said:


> Fred, just out of curiosity, if there are coals left behind after a burn to some degree would that not be similar to idling especially if there is sufficient draft to keep them glowing.  Would this create creosote as well.  I'm curious on my end since I am often tempted to simply shut-off the draft fan after a full burn (to clean for example) while there are still coals glowing to preserve and not have to relight.  I usually worry though and let the fan fun until the coals are essentially extinguished.
> 
> Your point of view is appreciated.  Based upon my time on the forum I understand the pro's and con's of storage/no storage.  However, there are varying degrees of opinion on here regarding best practices for wood burning.  There are some viewpoints from members on the forum that tend to imply that those who do not use storage are being irresponsible with respect to the environment and emissions.  Of course everyone is entitled to ones opinion so I try to take it with a grain of salt.  It seems that everyone who is active on the forum is generally respectful but there are times I sense an underlying sense of judgement.  Hope this doesn't open a can of worms.  Just voicing my impressions and opinions.


I believe that once your wood is burned down to the charcoal stage the volatiles that contain the gasses and moisture are pretty much depleted. Take for example your charcoal grille. Once the material is glowing there is no smoke which is the vehicle that carries all that nasty stuff.

I do this every day and get no creosote build-up. When I do visit the boiler at the time I assume the wood is depleted and I find an unburned piece the size of a banana still smoldering and smoking on top of the bed of coals, I shut her down anyway since I don't want to make another trip to the boiler. My justification being that it may deposit some creosote on the burn box but not enough so that I would notice if you know what the walls already look like. I also assume that if the smoke is drawn up the stack, it first must travel through a four inch deep bed of glowing coals which should pretty much ignite any of the gasses. The fire tubes in my boiler never show any signs of creosote.

So at this point in my explanation I look up and re-read your post. It appears that you're wondering if this is polluting the atmosphere. I don't know. What's your take on it?

Just to get off subject for a minute. I don't want to derail this thread because it is interesting. When you described yourself as a work at home engineer it caused me to recall another work at home engineer that I made friends with back in the 50s when I was a petroleum transfer technician (pumped gas). His office was separated from his home and needed it's own heat. He devised a feeding system that carried reject clothespins into a wood stove. These were rejects from an American factory that were better than the best Chinese ones you can now buy. They were maple and had been tumbled so the flowed like water.


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 10, 2014)

Fred61 said:


> His office was separated from his home and needed it's own heat. He devised a feeding system that carried reject clothespins into a wood stove.


That is glorious!
Well, i am off to the bahamas until monday night late. Gonna try not to think about heating but the house is running on oil for this period.   Tstats dropped to 55, storage being warmed at 3gpm while OB fires so hopefully wont have to work to hard to bring everything back tofull temp.  Tanks were 190 avg when i left yesterday. At least it warming up for the weekend...


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## Fred61 (Jan 10, 2014)

jebatty said:


> Low temp radiant excels with storage. I supply 100F water to my in-floor. 1000 gal of 190F water will last 2 days or longer, depending on demand/outside temperature. During demand periods my Tarm (140,000 Btuh rated) will fully meet the in-floor demand, about 35,000 Btuh, and charge the tank at the same time. As often noted, the lower the temp of usable water, the easier it gets to operate a wood boiler with storage: maximum boiler burn rate without idling; potentially long periods between burns.


I have my drawdown limit on storage set at 100 which will allow me to maintain house temperatures when outside is in the high 20s and low thirties but when outside is zero or below and late afternoon comes and zones are calling and storage is at 120 it seems to keep the thermostats satisfied but the radiant output doesn't seem to overcome the radiant from windows, etc. and my body feels cold. I haven't run that condition for any length of time since it usually occurs about boiler firing time.
EDIT: Forget DHW when temps are at 100 degrees!


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## DBNH22 (Jan 10, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> It would have been interesting if it had the 20 year effect on Maine that it had on most of the rest of the country. That would have been some nasty cold weather.




I think many people that have never experienced a New England Winter, particularly a northern New England winter, have no idea how brutal and long they can be.  After hearing about all the cold weather in MN I actually looked at a map.  I'd never actually realized much further north MN, WI, ND and part of MI are compared to Maine, NH and Vermont.  As a native New Englander who's never experienced a winter in MN, WI etc.. I always just assumed we had bragging rights when it came to the toughest winters.  has anyone experienced both?  How do they compare?


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## mwk1000 (Jan 10, 2014)

Coal Reaper said:


> thats the same thing i was trying to explain.  see pic.  boiler supply come from far left.  goes to house on the right.


Ah, didn't get it the first time. Got it now.



> As a native New Englander who's never experienced a winter in MN, WI etc.. I always just assumed we had bragging rights when it came to the toughest winters. has anyone experienced both? How do they compare?



I live in MI and work in MN for the past few years, One time I was complaining about the 20 degree weather we were having in MI. on the phone with a bunch of folks from MN. One guy said , " Is that -20 or 20 ?" --- I never complained again ! I have had a few -30 or worse days that are just not something most of us are used to. They seem to take it in stride and keep movin


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## __dan (Jan 10, 2014)

I have not noticed any difference in my routine. Second year with the Froling and I'm still burning the low quality cordwood first. Had some really punky, light, damaged wood in the piles. What made the biggest difference this year was getting the piles up on pallets, much dryer! Also made a stack under the porch and that stuff burns like a dream, but it was still the uglies. I'm looking at stacks in the yard of beautiful css red and white oak for burning 2 years out. The Froling is not at all fussy about burning the low quality junk cordwood.

I need a woodshed. Tarps blew off the first stack and it got a little rained on.

In the cold I was burning ~ one 32 gallon Rubbermaid trash barrel of the low quality punked stuff daily. Just dipped into my second stack for this year and there's some nice hardwood splits in there. Don't have a scientific measurement, just by eye burning what I had budgeted for the year, but I don't see myself much over 3 cord for the entire year. And that's half junk tree remains.

In Ct it's pretty common for the jet stream to dip south in the winter and we get the cold air from Canada. What made the difference this time was the deep dip of the jet stream with the hard cold penetrating all through the South from Missouri to Georgia..


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 22, 2014)

Its back!


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## MarkW (Jan 22, 2014)

Wonderfy, isn't it. House is warn but boiler is hungry.


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## cookiemonster (Jan 24, 2014)

Coal Reaper said:


> how did everybody do handling the polar blasts that you are not used to?
> i think i used a design temp of 10*F and expected to load my boiler (~60#'s/loading) 3 times a day at these times.  we are coming out of a 3 day period of near 0 temps, with a negative windchill.  we saw a high of 8*F yesterday with winds 23mph gusting to 36mph.  i know this is nothing for our northern friends with crazy insulation but here in new jersey we just ussually dont see more than 24 consecutive hours under these conditions.  i did fine with 3 loads the first day.  yesterday i fired in the morning.  12 hours later when i got home from work 1000 gallon of storage tanks were depleted and house had dropped 5 degrees.  3 loads later the house had climbed only 3* by the next morning.  thats 240#'s of wood for a 24 hour period.  after a load this morning the wife reported that the house is now back up to temp.  outside temperatures are climbing and it is sunny with no wind.  my oil boiler would have had a very difficult time maintaining as well.  even with 180*+ water coming from boiler/storage, it takes a great deal of effort to bring house temps back to where they should be.  lesson i guess is to try to not let storage temps fall too low when it gets this cold.  just hard being out of the house 12 hours during the day.  again, these are extreme circumstances for our area.  wind kills the heat loss in my house.  i need to address air infiltration issues better.  is what i am experiencing out of the norm for guys in my region with similar systems?



Vortex shmortex. Been using my Harman SF-360 for all of my heating and hot water needs from Nov. to March. My Buderus oil is powered off. Burning premium anthracite coal. This thing is great. Long burn cycles. No problem......( and I have half of the firebox blocked off). Ha


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## jebatty (Jan 25, 2014)

Losing count on this season's "cold snaps." I think we just ended #5 on Thursday, Friday temps reached into the +20's, but today starts another one with the real cold starting Sunday night (-29F and wind) with temps not getting above 0F for several days. 9 days so far in Jan when the temps never got above 0F.

The living room wood stove installed in 1990 keeps the 1500 sq ft house warm, regardless of the cold outside, but I think this Dec and Jan have been the longest continuous periods of burning, literally 24/7, that the stove ever has seen. Wood supply remains good, foresee no shortage.


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## Fred61 (Jan 25, 2014)

jebatty said:


> Losing count on this season's "cold snaps." I think we just ended #5 on Thursday, Friday temps reached into the +20's, but today starts another one with the real cold starting Sunday night (-29F and wind) with temps not getting above 0F for several days. 9 days so far in Jan when the temps never got above 0F.
> 
> The living room wood stove installed in 1990 keeps the 1500 sq ft house warm, regardless of the cold outside, but I think this Dec and Jan have been the longest continuous periods of burning, literally 24/7, that the stove ever has seen. Wood supply remains good, foresee no shortage.


I suspect we may get some of that warm bubble today. At bedtime last night it was +4 and this morning it was +10.

I had a little talk with my boiler last night when I wheeled my cart of wood in for my daily fire. I told it that it's all you're getting tonight so use it wisely.


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## jebatty (Jan 25, 2014)

... and what did the Boiler say?  beeteeuuu, beeteeuu, bbbettteu and hhhhh!


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## Fred61 (Jan 25, 2014)

That could have been what it said.  All I could make out was uuuu. Don't know what came before that.


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## MarkW (Jan 25, 2014)

Fred61 said:


> I suspect we may get some of that warm bubble today. At bedtime last night it was +4 and this morning it was +10.
> 
> I had a little talk with my boiler last night when I wheeled my cart of wood in for my daily fire. I told it that it's all you're getting tonight so use it wisely.


We have +14 now!
I'm so excited that Ijust can't hide it. I'll make it on storage all day and I think I like it!


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## BoiledOver (Jan 25, 2014)

Largest burn day of the season was yesterday, 137 pounds. Definitely not the coldest of days but the wind was nonstop and gusting Thursday night and all of yesterday (Friday)..... 25 mph with gusts in the 50's. Today still windy but not a bad morning clearing the overnight snowfall. Now at 12:35 in the afternoon and the temp is dropping fast.


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## flyingcow (Jan 25, 2014)

Boiled, just curious, where are you?


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## infinitymike (Jan 26, 2014)

flyingcow said:


> Boiled, just curious, where are you?




He's right there! LOL


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## infinitymike (Jan 26, 2014)

Looks like another week of a polar vortexing


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## infinitymike (Jan 26, 2014)

based on boil's signature he could be any where way north of here.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiga


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## ihookem (Jan 26, 2014)

I have been using almost the same as other years. The reason is cause I load 3 times a day and keep the boiler @ 160-165. I have a 2200 sq ft ranch. I put 1000' of 1/2 " pex stapled under the floors in the basement. It keeps the living space @ about 66*. Back closet is 61* or so.  The other day I got curious so I weighed my wood for 24 hrs. It came to 145 lbs. I figure 145 lbs @ 7,000 btu per lb @ 80% efficient EKO 25 comes to about 815,000 btus per day including hot water for 4 people. This comes to 33,800 btu per hr.  @ -8 for a low and +8F fopr a high. So, I figure these BTU's are for an avr. of 0 *. with a bit of wind. Tonight is about -10 and tomorrow night  will be -20 and very windy. I might have to do a test and turn the water to 170 or so to see if it keeps the house to temp.


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## Fred61 (Jan 27, 2014)

Ground hog day this weekend. According to the meteorologists at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury you should have half your annual wood supply left on that day. How are you doing?


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## Coal Reaper (Jan 27, 2014)

I will be cleaned out of all the wood i brought in for this year by the end of february. First year burner woes. Been mostly silver maple, ash, and black birch with the last cord i am on now being oak.  Will have to tap into next years stash im sure and replace with ash. Almost 12,000#s run through the boiler since november. Would not have been many cords if it was the oak/hickory/black locust that i have lined up for future years. It will get better....


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## Seasoned Oak (Jan 27, 2014)

Lowest the house got was 74 so far, but this summer better believe i will be insulating those cold spots i missed on the last go around. Fuel use up at least 20-30% .


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## maple1 (Jan 27, 2014)

I'm good. I've been burning almost exclusively white birch & windfall spruce so far, that I cut up & split this past spring & summer (some of the spruce not until early fall). Haven't touched the seam of 4 or 5 year old mostly hard maple yet that I've been saving. Don't think I'm halfway into my pile yet.

I'm surprised how far the birch & spruce took me. Don't know if it's the not charging storage as high as I did last year or what. But the house is no cooler, gotta like that.


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## ihookem (Jan 28, 2014)

Maple one, I bett lowereing the storage temps save wood!!  I dont have storage so I see when I run 165 it keeps the house the same temp as when I run 180 but it sure goes through more wood with very little difference. This is when I heated with a HX in the furnace. Also, I always thought the heating seasonis half done on January 21. I am a bit over half out of wood.


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## arbutus (Jan 28, 2014)

maple1 said:


> I'm good. I've been burning almost exclusively white birch & windfall spruce so far, that I cut up & split this past spring & summer (some of the spruce not until early fall). Haven't touched the seam of 4 or 5 year old mostly hard maple yet that I've been saving. Don't think I'm halfway into my pile yet.
> 
> I'm surprised how far the birch & spruce took me. Don't know if it's the not charging storage as high as I did last year or what. But the house is no cooler, gotta like that.


 

Cut, split and stacked summer 2012 or 2013?  Do you have an estimate on moisture content or just burning it?


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## maple1 (Jan 28, 2014)

arbutus said:


> Cut, split and stacked summer 2012 or 2013?  Do you have an estimate on moisture content or just burning it?


 
Just this past summer. The spruce had been windfalled for a year or two - it was pretty dry when I split it, just took a couple months to finish it up. The white birch I cut in May/June, and split it pretty fine - someone who dropped by in the fall asked what I was going with all the toothpicks. It dried in no time. I re-split a few pieces after I got it inside when I started burning it in November, nothing above 22%. It's burning great. I do have a very good drying place, on top of an exposed windy hilltop. Which is good. My house is up there too though, which isn't that good this time of the year. Good for bug season though.


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