Hey folks, new to the forum. My Heatsource 1 outdoor wood boiler is chugging like a train with the door closed. If I open the door it immediately clears and sounds normal. The smoke is also black. Any idea on what is causing this? Should I replace the blower?
Outdoor boiler chugging like train
- Thread starter Mattl
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
mark cline
Minister of Fire
It’s working fine, I took it out this fall and made sure it was clean. It does seem like it wants more air though. I also noticed some smoke leaking out from around the edge of the door in spots. The fire rope was replaced at the beginning of last winters. Maybe I’ll just start there and replace the door seal & blower.
But you said the blower works. It either does or doesn't. Or, possibly the aquastat is not telling it to turn on. Are your heat cycles normal?
As in, water temps. Low setting for blower on and high setting to turn off the blower. Gasket leaking would just feed the fire more air. Higher water temps. That would not be the cause of black smoke. How long have you owned and used this OWB? I see you have a conventional outdoor furnace, but wood quality really is still important. Wood should be dry/seasoned to burn clean.
As in, water temps. Low setting for blower on and high setting to turn off the blower. Gasket leaking would just feed the fire more air. Higher water temps. That would not be the cause of black smoke. How long have you owned and used this OWB? I see you have a conventional outdoor furnace, but wood quality really is still important. Wood should be dry/seasoned to burn clean.
It’s kind of a mystery to me. I didn’t know if blowers decline over time and begin to not provide as much air as they need to. This is my first OWB.
It turns on and off when it’s supposed to and if you open the door it stops “chugging” immediately. The temps aren’t higher than normal.
The boiler was here when I bought the house a few years back now. The trees were cut down over the summer though cut into manageable logs last month and stacked/covered. This started last winter and was intermittent. That would was dry and seasoned.
It turns on and off when it’s supposed to and if you open the door it stops “chugging” immediately. The temps aren’t higher than normal.
The boiler was here when I bought the house a few years back now. The trees were cut down over the summer though cut into manageable logs last month and stacked/covered. This started last winter and was intermittent. That would was dry and seasoned.
Sounds like your wood supply has way to much moisture in it. Your blower could be on it's way out and not providing enough air.
Even though your air intake is forced fed, if your wood was properly seasoned it would burn hotter. Your cycle times wood be shorter. It would be good to quarter split your rounds, half for smaller ones, and let them season properly. A year for most species, and 3yrs for oaks. Since you would be splitting bigger for boiler wood, more than 3 yrs on oak would be beneficial.
Edit/addon: With properly seasoned wood, you would burn less. More BTUs per pound.
Even though your air intake is forced fed, if your wood was properly seasoned it would burn hotter. Your cycle times wood be shorter. It would be good to quarter split your rounds, half for smaller ones, and let them season properly. A year for most species, and 3yrs for oaks. Since you would be splitting bigger for boiler wood, more than 3 yrs on oak would be beneficial.
Edit/addon: With properly seasoned wood, you would burn less. More BTUs per pound.
Maybe the boiler is plugged up from subpar wood and lack of cleaning
Similar threads
