BioWIN 210 Install

[Galroc]

I picked up a can of foam sealant but I am holding off using it for now. Marc installed an outside drain hole in my foundation and I want to use that same hole for an outdoor boiler reset and I want to foam seal that as well. Those foam sealant cans are only good for spraying once. :D

 

[bdud]

I hate that Great Stuff spray foam. It continues to expand, at least until you turn away and do something else and is a pain to clean up. grrrrr. I bought some other make of expanding foam, I think it was in a blue/white can, not so easy to get hold of, Aubachon Hardware maybe. Easier cleanup and you can clean out the straw and reuse the can.
Not sure if it makes a difference which connection in your fabric pellet bin is a fill or vent, but it does for my metal silo. I marked in sharpie which was which, next to the outside hose connectors.

 

[Galroc]

I ran bin pipes underneath my basement steps, along the wall, and up and over to the pellet boiler. The fabric bin is on the other side of the steps. The pipes go through larger PVC tubes underneath the steps. I still have to pick up vertical supports where the flexible pipes leave the wall and head over to the boiler.

 

[Galroc]

Not sure if it makes a difference which connection in your fabric pellet bin is a fill or vent, but it does for my metal silo. I marked in sharpie which was which, next to the outside hose connectors.

With Marc's advice, I opted for both to be fills to maximize the ability to fill the bin. No idea if it really matters. The pellet truck will be here within an hour.

Might start another topic.
I am still trying to figure out if the BioWins will respond to Outdoor Reset Controllers. It would be a shame to keep it hot through Fall and Spring and not have a warm weather shut down mode.

 

[velvetfoot]

I used 1" thick armaflex foam insulation on the pipes. It has a self-stick seal, which MOSTLY works. Not cheap. I got it from zoro.com .

 

[bdud]

The pellet truck will be here within an hour.

Nice..

 

[velvetfoot]

Hope the pellet fill goes smooth!

I guess I don't know how your system is plumbed. The BioWin heats up the 120 gallon buffer tank via that external plate heat exchanger, and the dhw is indirect via another zone off the buffer tank?
Are you shutting down during the summer? With your reset idea, you're thinking about heating the buffer tank to a lower temperature? My buffer tank is pretty well insulated so I don't get too much heat loss. I'm thinking I'd rather not have more cycling. My BioWin doesn't seem to have any connection for outdoor reset.

 

[Galroc]

Hope the pellet fill goes smooth!

I guess I don't know how your system is plumbed. The BioWin heats up the 120 gallon buffer tank via that external plate heat exchanger, and the dhw is indirect via another zone off the buffer tank?
Are you shutting down during the summer? With your reset idea, you're thinking about heating the buffer tank to a lower temperature? My buffer tank is pretty well insulated so I don't get too much heat loss. I'm thinking I'd rather not have more cycling. My BioWin doesn't seem to have any connection for outdoor reset.

The boiler is plumbed to a heat exchanger, which is plumbed to a 105 gallon thermal storage tank. Two zones, drawing heat from the thermal storage tank, heats the house. No DHW.

Yes. I plan to shut it down during the Summer. Automatic warm weather shut down and/or lower thermal storage temperature before the boiler cuts on.

 

[Sparky978]

A close up of a band clamp. The wire is there to provide ground continuity between the different pipe sections. The wire is stripped and inserted inside the band clamp, which is then tightened down.

View attachment 169365

I would recommend one of these ground clamps on each side of the band clamp with the wire between them. You want a good solid connection. Are both pipes also grounded to earth?

Are you using Sandri for your pellet supplier?

 

[Galroc]

Pellet loading was brutal.

I can't see the fabric bin holding up to that abuse. There appears nothing to slow down the pellets inside the bin. The pellets hit the fabric at full speed. All my custom pipe work did well. I am glad I had welds at the bends instead of additional clamps.

The fine dust is a problem. I think a dedicated room is a must in the near future.

 

[Galroc]

I would recommend one of these ground clamps on each side of the band clamp with the wire between them. You want a good solid connection. Are both pipes also grounded to earth?

I was thinking of welding bolts on the pipes..and then connecting them together. A bit overkill.

I put wires underneath the band clamps as recommended by Marc. I then checked the resistance between the pipe sections and the resistance was at or near 0.00 or 0.01 ohms.

The bin itself is grounded to the house cold water pipe. Everything is grounded to each other: Pipes, Bin, Boiler.

Are you using Sandri for your pellet supplier?

Yep.

 

[Sparky978]

Pellet loading was brutal.

I can't see the fabric bin holding up to that abuse. There appears nothing to slow down the pellets inside the bin. The pellets hit the fabric at full speed. All my custom pipe work did well. I am glad I had welds at the bends instead of additional clamps.

The fine dust is a problem. I think a dedicated room is a must in the near future.

Normally you have a rubber "impact mat" on the far side of the bin to take the abuse of the force.

 

[Galroc]

Normally you have a rubber "impact mat" on the far side of the bin to take the abuse of the force.

Nope. Not included and not mentioned with this fabric bin.

Besides a impact mat (I am not sure if I can attach it) I was thinking of welding on a pipe end that would splay the pellets out and down, rather than straight into the other side of the bin.

 

[bdud]

Besides a impact mat (I am not sure if I can attach it) I was thinking of welding on a pipe end that would splay the pellets out and down, rather than straight into the other side of the bin.

Having the pipe angled down will minimize how many pellets you will get in your bin. Maybe the noise of the pellets hitting the bin is normal.
I have Sandri connect a pipe to the vent outlet to keep the dust away from the house, it is still a lot though.
The last couple of times I used a leaf blower on suction with a fabric bag on it loosely hooked up to the pipe.
It collects most of the dust that would otherwise go everywhere.
Using this method it fills up my silo as full as it will go, I even get a few pellets in the suction bag at the end.

 

[Sparky978]

Nope. Not included and not mentioned with this fabric bin.

Besides a impact mat (I am not sure if I can attach it) I was thinking of welding on a pipe end that would splay the pellets out and down, rather than straight into the other side of the bin.

I would ask Marc. I'm sure he would know how it can be attached.

 

[Willman]

a trick I use to clean nozzles on spray foam is to use a can of brake cleaner or equivalent chemical. The key point is it has to have a straw. Hose out the nozzle and also the can valve. Forgot to say this is done after nozzle is off can. Shake out residue from can and your ready for next aplicpation.

 

[velvetfoot]

I bought a foam gun applicator, and it's the cat's meow.