Bunk House with Hardy H2

[Country Living in VA]

The gfi receptacles are notorious for going bad. I would definitely recommend replacing it. Neither the blower nor pump pull much of an electrical load, so it sounds like a weak receptacle. I had the same issue with mine.
It sounds like you are well on your way to heating with wood! I was able to get my water feed working on my unit, so no more carrying water up to my stove. I would bet your unit has the auto water feed if it is only 10-12 years old. If you give me the model number on the tag, I can tell you if it has that capability.
It could also be tied into your hot water system.

 

[brenndatomu]

, when I plugged the pump in the GFI outlet tripped.

I know the pump is good because I've tested it independently from the furnace.

Did you plug into a non GFCI outlet for the independent test? Water pumps will often pop a GFCI, but will run fine (sometimes for years) on a non GFCI outlet...could be a bad GFCI, could be the pump is "bad"...which doesn't mean that I would automatically condemn it...I'm not sure that it really needs to be plugged into a GFCI outlet anyways...its not really something that you would normally be messing with to get shocked by inadvertently...GFCI's are usually used in places where you could plug in hand tools and things that you would be messing with on a regular basis while its powered up.
If this is the case, I would add a second non GFCI outlet to plug the pump into, then save the existing GFCI for plugging in hand tools/etc. as needed.

 

[Country Living in VA]

Here is a picture of the pipe over the water tank

 

[Country Living in VA]

Did you plug into a non GFCI outlet for the independent test? Water pumps will often pop a GFCI, but will run fine (sometimes for years) on a non GFCI outlet...could be a bad GFCI, could be the pump is "bad"...which doesn't mean that I would automatically condemn it...I'm not sure that it really needs to be plugged into a GFCI outlet anyways...its not really something that you would normally be messing with to get shocked by inadvertently...GFCI's are usually used in places where you could plug in hand tools and things that you would be messing with on a regular basis while its powered up.
If this is the case, I would add a second non GFCI outlet to plug the pump into, then save the existing GFCI for plugging in hand tools/etc. as needed.

Most people I know replaced their gfi receptacle with a regular non-gfi receptacle including me. Don’t get the 49 cent special, get a better made one. I am not condoning doing away with the gfi, but just saying they are problematic and many people do.

 

[E Yoder]

No heating system should be on a GFCI circuit. They trip way too easy.
My humble opinion.

 

[maple1]

No heating system should be on a GFCI circuit. They trip way too easy.
My humble opinion.

I think I would have to agree. Have had a few gfci outlets give up the ghost over the years and just start tripping for no reason. Usually the one we use to plug block heaters into overnight. It's one thing for your car to complain more when you try to start it on a cold morning, quite another for your boiler circ to stop moving heat in the middle of the night.

 

[brenndatomu]

No heating system should be on a GFCI circuit. They trip way too easy.
My humble opinion.

I agree...but didn't want to come right out and say that since I didn't know what the "official" stance is for OWB's
Like I said before, if a person wanted to keep the GFCI, it would be really easy to add a second box (or a two gang box) with a second non GFCI outlet in it for the pump.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

Here is a picture of the pipe over the water tank

That is exactly what ours looks like so I ripped that cap off'a there an' pitched it in the trash.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

The capacitor on the motor is not working so the service technician has ordered a replacement and will return in a few days to complete the repair.

No I have to get my wood off the ground and stacked. I have almost a full cord cut and the pallets have been placed for stacking.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

Finally, stacks that we've had on the ground for months are being moved into better storage. We've had many reasons why these stacks haven't been moved into place but those reasons have been resolved and we're setting things right.

 

[maple1]

Hard to tell with the leaves in the pic, but if you can and haven't, try to get the pallets up off the ground on blocks. The higher the better. I use concrete blocks. Splits would be better than nothing, you can rotate them out for fresh ones and burn them, every time you empty your pallets.

 

[SpaceBus]

Hard to tell with the leaves in the pic, but if you can and haven't, try to get the pallets up off the ground on blocks. The higher the better. I use concrete blocks. Splits would be better than nothing, you can rotate them out for fresh ones and burn them, every time you empty your pallets.

I like to use rounds with punk or otherwise undesirable features and then just let them rot into the ground. I have two winters on some of them.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

Hard to tell with the leaves in the pic, but if you can and haven't, try to get the pallets up off the ground on blocks. The higher the better. I use concrete blocks. Splits would be better than nothing, you can rotate them out for fresh ones and burn them, every time you empty your pallets.

maple1, I have leveled the pallets on both blocks and splits. I'd expect them to degrade (rot) and I'd prolly burn them when we get to the bottom of the stacks and replace them when we resupply. Thanx for the advice. I love the wealth of experience that's available here and appreciate that y'all are so helpful. Liam

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

Received my peavey, hookaroon, wedges and moisture meter today. It’s time to get to work...

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

Resealed the water pump this afternoon and expect the local service department to visit this coming Friday to replace the pump relay. We should be ready to fire this OWB for full time use by the first of the week, fuel/wood dependant of course.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

I've made a mess of things on our Hardy. I attempted to reset the water pump but I've created more problems. First, the spacing between the cabinet and the pump housing is pretty close and I think I was less than careful when I re-installed the pump and now am unable to stop the leak (dripping) on this pump. I think that this pump is going to need to be replaced because I have broken the inner impeller sleeve where the pump fits up to the outgoing water supply line. Also, there is a aluminum plate that is part of the impeller seal that has been bent. The bend is slight but I think this is was causing the leak between the impeller and the pump motor at a point where there is no seal to contain the flow of water. (I don't have any pictures at this point but that may change.)

So, I'm thinking of options to resolve these problems. Should I simply replace the pump with another Taco pump of the exact model number? Or, should I attempt to reseal the pump with Permatex? Or, should I look for another brand pump to install with the idea of maybe improving the volume and efficiency of the Hardy system?

If particular concern is the price of this pump. I've already talked with one retailer that quoted a replacement pump at "about" $350...that's a lot of money for us right now...

Any recommendations?

 

[SpaceBus]

How much is a pump? Do you really think permatex could work for this? How long do you plan on staying in the bunkhouse?

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

How much is a pump? Do you really think permatex could work for this? How long do you plan on staying in the bunkhouse?

SpaceBus, the local retailer that I've spoken with estimated that this pump would cost about $350. The Permatex that I tried to use was designated for water pumps but this pump may be beyond repair. I don't know if I can effectively seal the location within the impeller that I think is the source of the leak. The Bunkhouse is on family property that is used by other members of the family as well. The Bunkhouse will always be in use but the Hardy heater may be another issue entirely if the cost to restore it to service gets to high. The Bunkhouse already has a heat pump as a primary source of heat with a LP heater as a supplemental source for additional heat. The Hardy has been used in the past but I get the feeling from previous conversations that this heater has been problematic for some time...

 

[SpaceBus]

I think a better long term investment would be a freestanding wood stove in the house, but a new EPA stove, or even one made in the last 15-ish years, will require dry wood. On the bright side, you will burn wayyy less wood and the flue emissions will be mostly steam and a bit of carbon. The heat pump should be able to carry the bunk house until it gets down below freezing. With the way the Hardy has been managed before you showed up makes me think you will find more problems as you go.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

I think a better long term investment would be a freestanding wood stove in the house, but a new EPA stove, or even one made in the last 15-ish years, will require dry wood. On the bright side, you will burn wayyy less wood and the flue emissions will be mostly steam and a bit of carbon. The heat pump should be able to carry the bunk house until it gets down below freezing. With the way the Hardy has been managed before you showed up makes me think you will find more problems as you go.

Spacebus, I think you're right about the potential for more problems...

 

[SpaceBus]

If I remember your bunkhouse has a fireplace with a propane insert of some kind. Is there a real chimney? A liner is less expensive than a class A prefab chimney. Perhaps you could find a stove that will fit on the hearth or maybe an insert if you don't mind using blowers.

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

If I remember your bunkhouse has a fireplace with a propane insert of some kind. Is there a real chimney? A liner is less expensive than a class A prefab chimney. Perhaps you could find a stove that will fit on the hearth or maybe an insert if you don't mind using blowers.

No chimney of any kind. We have a ventless gas heater-pretend-a-fireplace. We could add a chimney if it came to that, but first step is to resolve the issues with the Hardy-or not if it's too much to fix.

 

[SpaceBus]

No chimney of any kind. We have a ventless gas heater-pretend-a-fireplace. We could add a chimney if it came to that, but first step is to resolve the issues with the Hardy-or not if it's too much to fix.

Think about it this way, do you want to go outside and load the stove or just walk into the living room? Do you prefer forced air or radiant heat? Your bunkhouse could easily be heated by a modern EPA free standing wood stove and have way less smoke hanging around.

 

[E Yoder]

I've made a mess of things on our Hardy. I attempted to reset the water pump but I've created more problems. First, the spacing between the cabinet and the pump housing is pretty close and I think I was less than careful when I re-installed the pump and now am unable to stop the leak (dripping) on this pump. I think that this pump is going to need to be replaced because I have broken the inner impeller sleeve where the pump fits up to the outgoing water supply line. Also, there is a aluminum plate that is part of the impeller seal that has been bent. The bend is slight but I think this is was causing the leak between the impeller and the pump motor at a point where there is no seal to contain the flow of water. (I don't have any pictures at this point but that may change.)

So, I'm thinking of options to resolve these problems. Should I simply replace the pump with another Taco pump of the exact model number? Or, should I attempt to reseal the pump with Permatex? Or, should I look for another brand pump to install with the idea of maybe improving the volume and efficiency of the Hardy system?

If particular concern is the price of this pump. I've already talked with one retailer that quoted a replacement pump at "about" $350...that's a lot of money for us right now...

Any recommendations?

What model pump is that one? That price seems high. I'm trying to understand what you were taking apart when it started leaking?

 

[LiamFitzpatrick]

What model pump is that one? That price seems high. I'm trying to understand what you were taking apart when it started leaking?

Here are some pictures of the pump, installed, including the model number. I'll pull the pump later today and try to get some pictures of the bent flange as well as the area that I think the leak is coming from...

I have pointed out two of the four 7/16" bolts that I remove to unmount the pump.