Hello All. I will start out saying my goal is to get 8 hours of burn. Sleep is precious. I am trying to figure out if I just scored big or if it is the next craigslist blooper!
This afternoon I pick up a 4 year old cleanwoodburn big bear 90k btu. outdoor or inside. Never heard of it? No small wonder. They were a small maine shop that as far as I can tell made about 50 units and the news a few times then closed. I am at the point of wanting to search down the builders to ask them questions!
I read on the web that the bb are ceramic lined. It has huge molded burn brick walls at the bottom sides and rear but the sides of the chamber just look like steel and warped at that. Is the described ceramic just the lower section? Remember it is a downdraft. I plan to build a guard to protect the rear lining since there is no way to buy them. I also read it came with a either 10 or 20 year guarantee. Not much good now.
The big kicker is this is to replace my 80's hs tarm wood oil combo. We installed it this fall and it is not working out for me having to feed it every 3-4 hours. Sorry tarm folks. It is mostly the burn chamber size. The bb has a huge door and burn chamber. The guy said they filled it twice a day. I guess my biggest question is can I just stick this in place of the tarm?
The bear has no gauge and I started wondering if it could be run in a pressurized system or if it has to be a open type?
The layout is a small modine in the shop and underground lines to a big hot air plenum mounted exchanger. The shop calls for it's circulator and the house is full time. I supplement with the house oil furnace helping to heat the water. I know I will need a gauge. I do not even know yet if there is a built in blow off valve or not. Sorry for the long confused post
This afternoon I pick up a 4 year old cleanwoodburn big bear 90k btu. outdoor or inside. Never heard of it? No small wonder. They were a small maine shop that as far as I can tell made about 50 units and the news a few times then closed. I am at the point of wanting to search down the builders to ask them questions!
I read on the web that the bb are ceramic lined. It has huge molded burn brick walls at the bottom sides and rear but the sides of the chamber just look like steel and warped at that. Is the described ceramic just the lower section? Remember it is a downdraft. I plan to build a guard to protect the rear lining since there is no way to buy them. I also read it came with a either 10 or 20 year guarantee. Not much good now.
The big kicker is this is to replace my 80's hs tarm wood oil combo. We installed it this fall and it is not working out for me having to feed it every 3-4 hours. Sorry tarm folks. It is mostly the burn chamber size. The bb has a huge door and burn chamber. The guy said they filled it twice a day. I guess my biggest question is can I just stick this in place of the tarm?
The bear has no gauge and I started wondering if it could be run in a pressurized system or if it has to be a open type?
The layout is a small modine in the shop and underground lines to a big hot air plenum mounted exchanger. The shop calls for it's circulator and the house is full time. I supplement with the house oil furnace helping to heat the water. I know I will need a gauge. I do not even know yet if there is a built in blow off valve or not. Sorry for the long confused post