Pump Launch temp / Storage tank temp dropping

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hartkem

Member
Jan 24, 2012
249
KC
Guys,

My 500 gallons of storage is 120ft from my boiler shack in the basement of my house. My eko 40 has the newer controller. I think I may need to raise the launch temp of my circulator pump from the default settings. The temperature outside has been up and down so I have only been firing the boiler once a day or skipping a day or two. I have a 140 degree danfoos installed for boiler protection. When I go out to check the boiler or make a new fire sometimes the eko 40 blower is running or the circ pump is still on. I think I may be wasting heat by allowing the circ pump to keep running. Also it seems that the blower runs long after the fire is out. Is there a way to turn it off faster? Since most of you have way more experience running the EKO what would be the optimum settings for the circ pump, blower, and hysterisis? I have been burning mostly oddball sized and less desirable stuff now.
 
You'll find a lot of chatter on the board regarding all of your questions. Many of us EKO users have outfitted our blower fans with timers to shut them off at certain times after the last load of wood is thrown in. I usually let mine run 4-5 hours or so to make sure all the wood is gone.

Circ pump shut off is more tricky. To do it right you need to integrate a differential setpoint controller. I personally haven't had the motivation to do this yet. So when I throw my last load in I make sure my pump launch is at 170, hysterisis always stays at 2, and then I set the blower timer. And that's it. Most mornings I'll swing downstairs and check on my boiler before heading to work. Many times the pump will still be running if I have 168+ water in the tanks top to bottom. If the circ is running I turn off the boiler and head to work. Just that easy.
 
You'll find a lot of chatter on the board regarding all of your questions. Many of us EKO users have outfitted our blower fans with timers to shut them off at certain times after the last load of wood is thrown in. I usually let mine run 4-5 hours or so to make sure all the wood is gone.

Circ pump shut off is more tricky. To do it right you need to integrate a differential setpoint controller. I personally haven't had the motivation to do this yet. So when I throw my last load in I make sure my pump launch is at 170, hysterisis always stays at 2, and then I set the blower timer. And that's it. Most mornings I'll swing downstairs and check on my boiler before heading to work. Many times the pump will still be running if I have 168+ water in the tanks top to bottom. If the circ is running I turn off the boiler and head to work. Just that easy.

Thanks stee6043,

I did some reading and I think if I change my pump launch to 170 it should help me out. I only have 500 gallons of pressurized storage but am a little disapointed with the time that it heats my house. I have two WAHX in my plenum in an A style configureation and can heat my house with 130 degree water. Probably a little lower if I wanted my blower to run longer. I had about 15 ft of 1.5 inch copper that I just insulated in my boiler shack so that should also help out. I think the water was circulating round and round until water dropped below factory settings and pump shut off. I would image that the copper pipe was losing significant amount of heat. I do have a fairly large heat load heating my 3500sqft house. I plan on using a 12 hr timer to shut the blower fan off. I know how to wire it between the controller and fan just not sure where and how I want to mount the mechanical spring wound timer. Obviously it needs to be in a junction box, maybe just mounted to the boiler or the wall.
 
Thanks stee6043,

I did some reading and I think if I change my pump launch to 170 it should help me out. I only have 500 gallons of pressurized storage but am a little disapointed with the time that it heats my house. I have two WAHX in my plenum in an A style configureation and can heat my house with 130 degree water. Probably a little lower if I wanted my blower to run longer. I had about 15 ft of 1.5 inch copper that I just insulated in my boiler shack so that should also help out. I think the water was circulating round and round until water dropped below factory settings and pump shut off. I would image that the copper pipe was losing significant amount of heat. I do have a fairly large heat load heating my 3500sqft house. I plan on using a 12 hr timer to shut the blower fan off. I know how to wire it between the controller and fan just not sure where and how I want to mount the mechanical spring wound timer. Obviously it needs to be in a junction box, maybe just mounted to the boiler or the wall.

Yeah, I've had several conversations with folks on this site about "volume" of storage. There are some that will advocate that having smaller amounts of storage is still "worth it" even if it's used more as a buffer than a true battery for a full day. 500 gallons is, in my opinion, on the ragged edge of being useful for most average homes in the 1500+ square foot region, depending significantly on heat loss of course.

I heat 3200 square feet and without 1,000 gallons of storage I absolutely could not effectively heat with wood with my work schedule. 500 gallons, in my case, might as well have been zero gallons. Fortunately I knew this going in!

It's never to late to add more, if you have room. You'll learn to love that EKO. It's a great boiler, even though I am biased.
 
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