Froling Add-on Install

[Marshy]

 

[Marshy]

 

[brenndatomu]

View attachment 226434

Just in time to start up the AC....
If you can figure out how to make that read about 30*F, you'll have a good start on a whole house swamp cooler

 

[Marshy]

Just in time to start up the AC....
If you can figure out how to make that read about 30*F, you'll have a good start on a whole house swamp cooler

Time for a hot tub!

 

[TCaldwell]

your right, with a independent storage tank, guess I was thinking about a Garn .

 

[Marshy]

@Chris Hoskin, I wanted to ask you a few questions about this partucular boiler.

Does the boiler know how many gallons the storage tank is?

If it isn't programmed with the number of gallons the storage tank is then how can it accurately predict how much wood to load based solely on the temperature probes?

I dont see anywhere in the manual which has you program the size of the storage...

There is a modem plug on in the control box. Is there any user interface to be able to hook a computer to it and monitor the status through a computer network?

Theres one more I'll write when I get home and can toggle through the controls...

Thanks!

 

[maple1]

If it isn't programmed with the number of gallons the storage tank is then how can it accurately predict how much wood to load based solely on the temperature probes?

Wait now - you mean the Froling tells you how much wood to put in?

 

[Chris Hoskin]

@Chris Hoskin, I wanted to ask you a few questions about this partucular boiler.

Does the boiler know how many gallons the storage tank is?

If it isn't programmed with the number of gallons the storage tank is then how can it accurately predict how much wood to load based solely on the temperature probes?

I dont see anywhere in the manual which has you program the size of the storage...

There is a modem plug on in the control box. Is there any user interface to be able to hook a computer to it and monitor the status through a computer network?

Theres one more I'll write when I get home and can toggle through the controls...

Thanks!

Hi Marsh,

Correct, you need to tell the boiler how many gallons (liters) of thermal storage you are using for it to be able to suggest how much wood to load. In Service mode go to the Buffer Tank One menu. Scroll down to Service and select it. Scroll down to Refill Calculation Active and select Yes. Then scroll down to Volume of Buffer Tank and enter the volume.

Yes, you can plug a laptop into the boiler for monitoring and data logging using Fröling's Visualization software (free from us). Give Travis a call here to have him walk you through the set up. Alternately, you could purchase a touch screen display which you could mount on or near the boiler. This has an ethernet port so you can just connect to your home router and use a browser to monitor the boiler from anywhere. This option, however, does not have the data logging functionality.

 

[BoiledOver]

If it isn't programmed with the number of gallons the storage tank is then how can it accurately predict how much wood to load based solely on the temperature probes?

Wait now - you mean the Froling tells you how much wood to put in?

Sounds like it can make a guess but there are some variables that would require input. Total volume, shape of the vessel, wood moisture content and at least 3 sensors in storage to get close. More sensors would get better accuracy. I suppose the shape of the vessel wouldn't be so much important as the volume represented for each individual sensor reading. Interesting stuff, I had no idea anyone was doing it already. But, it is simply math and so easy for the controller to accomplish.

 

[Marshy]

Hi Marsh,

Correct, you need to tell the boiler how many gallons (liters) of thermal storage you are using for it to be able to suggest how much wood to load. In Service mode go to the Buffer Tank One menu. Scroll down to Service and select it. Scroll down to Refill Calculation Active and select Yes. Then scroll down to Volume of Buffer Tank and enter the volume.

Yes, you can plug a laptop into the boiler for monitoring and data logging using Fröling's Visualization software (free from us). Give Travis a call here to have him walk you through the set up. Alternately, you could purchase a touch screen display which you could mount on or near the boiler. This has an ethernet port so you can just connect to your home router and use a browser to monitor the boiler from anywhere. This option, however, does not have the data logging functionality.

SWEET! I'll be in touch. I know it would not allow me to access some of those functions possibly because the user rights are set for customer..? I'll call and get it figured out with you or Travis. Even the display would be nice. I'm not a huge computer geek so the data logging isn't much of a priority but its something I'd like to learn later.

If it isn't programmed with the number of gallons the storage tank is then how can it accurately predict how much wood to load based solely on the temperature probes?

Wait now - you mean the Froling tells you how much wood to put in?

The boiler has the ability to determine the heat capacity of storage tank and estimate how much wood to load into the firebox to fill it back up.

 

[Dc31]

For the Froling display, I had the sheet metal cover, found a box that it would fit, cut out the openings for the meters, painted the cover red to match the Froling, and then used stick-on lettering.

Data recording can be useful, especially to spot and diagnose any anomaly. I also use DS18b20 sensors to do this. My latest foray into temperature data recording is with a Raspberry Pi computer running a Python program. I did the programming myself, using available programs in Python and then modifying them to do what I wanted. The RPi can handle multiple sensors and with the Python program can be customized and is very flexible. I am hoping this winter, when I have more spare time, to add programming for control (off-on) of devices, like circulators, valves, fans, etc.

Interesting... I only bumped into this thread today and read bunches of it but not thoroughly. I installed a Froling FHG in 2012 so now have six winters under my belt with it. No issues or complaints. Mine is in a detached garage so I wanted a remote indication of temperatures. I was introduced to the Raspberry Pi through another project and soon had one mounted in the boiler room with nine DS18B20 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EU70ZL8/?tag=hearthamazon-20) sensors giving me boiler temp, supply/return temps, top/bottom temps, outdoor temp, etc. I found a neat little program called gspread that uploads the data to a google sheet. Now I can access the data from anywhere that I have an internet connection. Subsequent iterations of Raspbian (the RPi operating system) included another program called Node-Red (www.nodered.org). One of the nodes available for use in node-red reads temperatures from DS18B20 sensors. This opens the way to displaying and controlling just about anything imaginable. I use a pi to monitor temperatures in the DHW tank and control the DHW circulator as well as the main circulator. Both the boiler pi and the DHW pi are set up to email me and to send push notifications when something needs my attention. Once you get the data into Google Sheets the graphing is relatively simple. The Node-Red dashboard also has charting capabilities.

 

[jebatty]

I didn't spend any time on the RPi this last winter, nor did I any active temp data monitoring. The Tarm/storage system in my shop is quite simple, works exceptionally well, and with all of my past monitoring, continuing with monitoring isn't necessary. Plus, the display panel I made visually shows the temp points which are important to know in operating the Tarm through a burn cycle(s).

Node-Red looks very interesting, and exploring its capabilities may be something I will pursue. Thanks for this great info.

 

[Dc31]

I didn't spend any time on the RPi this last winter, nor did I any active temp data monitoring. The Tarm/storage system in my shop is quite simple, works exceptionally well, and with all of my past monitoring, continuing with monitoring isn't necessary. Plus, the display panel I made visually shows the temp points which are important to know in operating the Tarm through a burn cycle(s).

Node-Red looks very interesting, and exploring its capabilities may be something I will pursue. Thanks for this great info.

One inaccuracy in my post above. The CURRENT release of the Raspbian OS does not include Node-red. It is easily installed through “Add programs” under “RPi configuration”. You will want Node-red and Npm (node package manager.) Good luck!