SWITZER pics - finally!!

[EForest]

Seasoned wood update;
another 15 min another 10* ALL 3 Tanks
i must have hit the sweet spot.
I have not checked the MC of my wood piles but after tonight I might make the investment in a moisture gauge.

Another awesome tidbit about my setup;
when the wife complains about no DHW I can supply a satisfying demand in under 20 min because of the high DHW coil placement in the rear of all Switzer boilers.

 

[EForest]

The beast is still full of coals but I'm out of steam. It's been four hrs since touch off.
The bottom line after burning mostly green-ish:
+70* boiler (1050 gal), +80* 2nd (1000 gal bottom tank, first fed off mix), +60* 3rd 1000 gal tank (stacked over 2nd).
The final results are @ 437,000 BTU/HR.
Oops, I need to burn only dry stuff :bug:

 

[GARYL]

The basement is very toasty from heat loss. The front and rear of boiler have only 1" of duct board. That's the only thing about the Switzer I would change. It should have 4" but the steel doors cannot be insulated and still be accessible for tube cleaning. So I'll live with the heat loss. A toasty basement will result in warmer floors which can only increase the WAF.
I insulated the tanks with 2 layers of 2" foil faced polyiso purchased at the big box. I have my insulation guy coming to fill the space around the tanks with blown in cellulose soon. As is the tanks hold the heat better than the boiler by 20*.

Ed:
Now I am a little concerned that a Switzer may not be the one for me. I plan on installing in an unheated outbuilding and am concerned about heat loss you described from the boiler. Is there a way to limit the loss and still get at the tubes for cleaning? I am gonna be mightily disappointed if I have to eliminate the Switzer from my short list. :down:

Gary

 

[EForest]

Now I am a little concerned that a Switzer may not be the one for me.


Gary,
I put an indoor/outdoor thermometer on a table @ 8' from the boiler with the outdoor bulb at the ceiling 4' from loading door this morning. The table temp is 75* and the ceiling temp is 83*. Outside temp is 60*. Last nights burn was not so great, in the end I was able to raise the first 2 tanks 80* but the third never caught up. #3 stayed at 60* gain. So I've got two tanks at 180* and one at 160* and 4' away the ceiling is 83*. I will experiment with some duct board on the ends and post results. The top and sides have three layers of r19 fiberglas, and bottom of a switzer has 2 layers r19. The top and sides are always cool to the touch. The front and rear are always warm.

 

[mpilihp]

Wholy cow, how in the world did you manuver those tanks inside the building. Do you mind telling how you lifted the tank up to set it on the first one? I see the pic where its up in the air with the rafters right over it, it appears to be floating

 

[EForest]

two come-a-longs fed over steel pipe between joists to a second pipe a couple feet away.
I raised the top tank to floor joists, slid bottom tank under then lowered top tank. Gary did all the welding and fitting in his shop.
the two fit together with little effort.

 

[smangold]

Hi, A switzer needs to be in a insulated shed as the piping around it would freeze.It probaly doesn't need to be super insulated. Also hi, Ed ,long time no see.