What's Happening? -- Monitoring Panel

[jebatty]

Just completed a monitoring panel at Deep Portage, except for the stack sensors for the Garn WHS3200 and the Wood Gun E500.

DP also installed a 4000 gallon storage tank to primarily serve the Wood Gun. The tank will allow the Wood Gun to maximize its potential, eliminate idling (and puffing explosions), and provide up to several hours of heat for DP during winter nights, and even longer during mild weather, without firing either boiler. The tank also can serve as additional storage for the Garn, and the Garn can serve as additional storage for the Wood Gun. We'll have fun this fall and winter learning the best operation of the boilers and storage to maximize efficiency and ability of storage to meet DP needs, particularly during the night.

I also have sensors installed to data log all monitoring locations, as well as outdoor temperature, and am looking forward to analyzing the data and provide updated performance data for the Garn, Wood Gun and the DP system.

The three splits in front of the Wood Gun have equivalent heat value to 1 gallon of propane.

 

[goosegunner]

Where do they get those tanks?

Gg

 

[alternative energy addict]

http://www.midwesttankco.com/

Above is the place I got both the 4000 gallon tank and the 1600 gallon tank, they will make anything you want

 

[Gasifier]

Jim, I don't know if you are married or not. But if you are. Does your wife get jealous of the attention she is robbed of by these boilers and this heating system? :lol: You must feel like a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of money! What the hell? How did you stumble upon this. Or have you been instrumental in getting them to do this whole heating system? You are a lucky guy. Have fun man. Have fun. And keep us posted along the ride. Not just at the end. It sounds like a cool ride.

 

[jebatty]

My wife admires the work that I do, for DP as well as volunteering for other local environmental organizations. Although I am retired, she still works part-time, but she too volunteers for community organizations. We're both pretty careful to leave plenty of together time; we also both believe that life is meant to be lived for the benefit of others.

I didn't quite stumble onto DP, but I told a friend and trustee of DP about how impressed I was with my Tarm, and he stopped by my shop and was blown away by what he saw. We then invited the Director of DP to "come see what he saw," and the Director too saw that this was the way to go, not just for the possible money savings but more importantly to advance the environmental sustainability of DP. The vision was created for space heating with wood gasification boilers at DP.

Now DP has not only the large Garn and Wood Gun, but also the Froling, evacuated tube solar hot water, solar hot air units, solar voltaics, and a wind turbine known as "The Betty" in honor of another trustee who long ago had the vision of wind generated electricity at DP. DP also has installed new windows and doors on much of the main building, substantial LED lighting, and other energy improvements. LP usage may be reduced by as much as 90% this coming year over what it would have been, grid electric usage is down by 25% over what it was, and DP is show casing these technologies to legislators, industry, and citizens. These are workable, efficient, sustainable, and near zero emission technologies, available and usable now.

As a learning institution, DP is in the forefront of showing not only what is possible, but also what is practical and workable.

And in all of this I get to enjoy employing and advancing my interest and skills. A lot of work remains to be done at DP to improve and better integrate the heating and DHW control systems. I have lots of ideas and look forward to the challenges.

 

[willworkforwood]

This is very interesting stuff Jim, and I'm sure many of us here appreciate you taking the time to report your experiences and findings. Although you've probably mentioned it in the past somewhere along the way, I don't recall how DP manages their wood processing. Is the wood coming from their own land, and does their own staff do all the processing? How about wood storage - did they build huge woodsheds for the new boilers? Are they at least a full year ahead with the wood, or is that a work in progress? Most of us did some type of cost-benefit analysis before purchasing our boiler, and projected a break even point in x years. Assuming they did that as well, do you know what the x came out to for them? Very nice for you to make this contribution to DP, and also be able to feed your hobby at the same time ;-).