New Member, Greenwood Observations..

[GENECOP]

Stove Defender, draft inducer, top end

 

[GENECOP]

The Firebox

 

[GENECOP]

The dreaded oil, and SS

 

[GENECOP]

 

[GENECOP]

Had enough?

 

[GENECOP]

If it was black, it was creosote.

How tall is your chimney? Does it have a barometric damper? I'm suspecting you have too much chimney draft. Magnetic guages also read way low - when I'm burning, my probe guage reads around 200c. The magnetic right beside it reads 100c less. A Dywer Mark II Model 25 might be a good investment for you - along with a good internal probe. And likely a barometric damper. Does the manual say HOW flue temps should be measured?

No Barometric Damper, should I have one? No mention in install manual.....what exactly would it do for my setup?

 

[maple1]

That depends on what your flue draft is - which is why I asked what it was, and suggested the Dwyer. Does the manual have a draft spec?

 

[GENECOP]

That depends on what your flue draft is - which is why I asked what it was, and suggested the Dwyer. Does the manual have a draft spec?

0.05----0.07.....water column......how do I test for that?

 

[maple1]

With a manometer - the Dwyer Mark II Model 25 is a prime candidate.

Should be a few on Ebay, for starters.

How tall is your chimney?

Also, might be pic perspective, but the flue pipe looks pretty close to some combustible stuff in places.

 

[GENECOP]

With a manometer - the Dwyer Mark II Model 25 is a prime candidate.

Should be a few on Ebay, for starters.

How tall is your chimney?

Also, might be pic perspective, but the flue pipe looks pretty close to some combustible stuff in places.

I will measure length of flue Tommorrow, Flue pipe is strapped to brick chimney on right, metal on door trim....Just noticed you are in Nova Scotia.....wife and I hope to live in Cape Breton one day soon.....I am always looking at Tradewinds Realty.....what a beautiful place....thanks PS, I will check out EBay....

 

[BoilerMan]

Keep in mind that the top and at least the rear of the boiler have to be removed in order for HX cleaning. Some tight clearances there.

TS

 

[GENECOP]

Let system cool down today and added damper, changed out rusty elbow....will close of damper today first time at end of peak burn....I have all the temps and reductions recorded over the last 6 weeks, so I should be able to tell the benefits (if any) in a couple of hours..

 

[maple1]

I will measure length of flue Tommorrow, Flue pipe is strapped to brick chimney on right, metal on door trim....Just noticed you are in Nova Scotia.....wife and I hope to live in Cape Breton one day soon.....I am always looking at Tradewinds Realty.....what a beautiful place....thanks PS, I will check out EBay....

My kids are half-Caper. All my wifes family is from the Louisbourg area. Yes, very nice place - we think so anyway.

 

[flyingcow]

My kids are half-Caper. All my wifes family is from the Louisbourg area. Yes, very nice place - we think so anyway.

been to PEI, haven't made the trip to NS, yet. Have been to New Brunswick too many times to count. I grew up on the border, not so many yrs ago. I had been to another Country many, many times before i went to New Hampshire. Canada is a good neighbor, except when you guys send down the arctic highs....hard on my wood pile.

 

[GENECOP]

Flue Pipe total is 16-17' straight up, just two nineties at the bottom....so far so good with the damper....I do not engage damper when fire Is new or active, only after main burn is complete and it gets to the simmer state....tiny drop of white smoke when damper is on, then it clears up and my temps either climb, stabilize, or slowly start to drop...much slower than pre damper......15Deg today.....should be a good test if I can be around.....O yea also raised the Aquastat a few Degrees...

 

[GENECOP]

OK a few days of using the damper now, much more time between burns, easier restarts....when the fire gets down to a good sized bed of hot coals I engage the damper, the decline in temp from that point is very very slow....seven - eight hours later open the door, still a good bed of red hot, easy to get stove up to temp again....less food for the beast....The key here for me is not to engage the damper to early, the heavy burn must be complete...I have it pretty consistent with around 138 water temp out....seems like the sweet spot....

 

[GENECOP]

Next long entry......so we come upon the Spring season, I ordered the Nyle Geyser...four weeks out....running the Greenwood Boiler is bit tricky with warmer temps so I decided to use a little oil......but here is the funny part....The Tecmar Controller Intimidates me...I admit it....tried to read the manual, looks like Greek to me....my plumber is not to good with the control end either.....so when it came time to hook up the Tecmar I had a control guy come over, wire it up, give me a quick 5 minute tutorial which I forgot 10 minutes after he left....4 days later I had my plumber come over to finish up a few things and attempt to switch over to wood, this was in Jan, Feb....or so....I hit a few buttons...Mode one, Mode two.....Differntial.....curve .....holy chit.....finally the Greenwood came to life......Damper opened, inducer came on...I was thrilled...quick start a fire.....this was a couple of months ago.....I realized in the process of hitting buttons the oil burner (mode 2 ) got turned off....so fearfull of screwing things up I decided to plow through the winter with wood only...this leads me to this morning....The control guy when he was explaining things to me told me that the wood boiler and oil furnace would switch back and forth, I would need to play with the differential...so I woke up today and decided...time to hit some more Tecmar Buttons....ran into the basement, stood a few minutes starring at the Tecmar, here we go, Menu....Adjust.....a few clicks later, running up and down the basement stairs...will the oil burner start again after a two month nap...click click...nothing...run upstairs again, to the Greenwood, better load more wood in....then suddenly the roar of the Riello....Buderus is running again...Yahoo...wait a minute....the Greenwood is running also...Water Temp is rising....much quicker than usual...that's because this is the first time I am heating with both wood and oil..The temp continues to climb..what's going to happen next?...165-170..,Oil shuts off, and Greenwood shuts down at the same time...Amazingly, things are working, and for the first time, together...this is beyond exciting for me.I now have many new things to learn....not sure about setting the Differntial.....right now they seem to go on and off together....O yea...the funny part...all winter during the coldest nights I had to get up more than once...had I pushed a few more buttons two months ago the oil would have taken over until the morning and I could have slept through the night...o well....I did save money even if it was at the cost of a good nights sleep....more to come......

 

[BoilerMan]

Why are you adjusting your Tekmar controller. A heat loss should be done and your radiation compaired to come up with an outdoor reset ratio. You can take a guess and then adjust it from there but that is done in days. Ideally constant circulation or near constant circulation is the goal with outdoor reset control.

I'm a licensed HVAC control guy.

TS

 

[GENECOP]

Why are you adjusting your Tekmar controller. A heat loss should be done and your radiation compaired to come up with an outdoor reset ratio. You can take a guess and then adjust it from there but that is done in days. Ideally constant circulation or near constant circulation is the goal with outdoor reset control.

I'm a licensed HVAC control guy.

TS

If you are ever in NY, give me a call....would love to have someone who has a clue adjust my system

 

[BoilerMan]

If you are ever in NY, give me a call....would love to have someone who has a clue adjust my system

The eastern NY boarder is a 9.5 hour drive, it's been a few years, but I've been to Balston Spa NY.

TS

 

[GENECOP]

The eastern NY boarder is a 9.5 hour drive, it's been a few years, but I've been to Balston Spa NY.

TS

We are looking to relocate to Northern Maine in a few years.....a nice Homestead Cabin with 10 Acres or so.....water on the property would be nice...let me know if you hear of anything.....we are in the middle of Long Island...it's a big ride from your neck of the woods.....

 

[BoilerMan]

Expected low of -8 tonight, and there is OVER 4 FEET OF SNOW still on the ground

TS

 

[Fred61]

Expected low of -8 tonight, and there is OVER 4 FEET OF SNOW still on the ground

TS

That's one way to keep those New Yorkers out.

 

[GENECOP]

That's one way to keep those New Yorkers out.

Cant scare us away.....snow and cold.....Bring it on.....I can't guarantee we won't Bug out a couple of months during the winter.....

 

[BoilerMan]

That's one way to keep those New Yorkers out.

Hahaha, you really got me laughing on that one Fred. It's been a long time quote of mine when people start complaining about the cold "Well it keeps the riffraff away".

TS