Here is the deal I have my wood boiler, I am playing with dampers on flue, burning coal and soon to have a 575 gallon storage tank online. I am looking for ways to keep and eye on whats doing what. Right now i am using a outdoor wireless thermometer w a probe to keep track of boiler temp. (without going out to look at boiler) I put it in the return as it will only go to 140 deg. then it reads offline. But I know if it is offline line my supply temp. is around 170 deg. (my target temp) or higher?? but I would like a setup to where I could see my boiler temps (supply/return and maybe my tank temps and possibly what is doing what? If I could make it using probes and some sort of control panel would be COOL!! but I am open to any suggestions. Thanks for the site and all you guys who help out it is quite fun to read and learn stuff!!
Help me control it
- Thread starter Sparky
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Sparky said:
Is your Logwood outside? If not, how far away is the boiler from where you want the displays?
Also, how do you like the boiler? I've considered getting one for my house.
Its not outside it is in my garage about 100 feet in pipe length. Its a ok boiler, I live in a 2,400 sq ft house the 3 yrs. old and used 10 cords a year for the first two years. not what I would call a power house or wood miser. This year I'm adding a 575 gallon thermal storage (home made) and added a damper to my flue (works better) and I also am burning some coal in it. That seems to work vey well even though it's not set up for coal.
flyingcow
Minister of Fire
woodsmaster
Minister of Fire
Sparky, there are wireless BBQ thermomiters that go to a higher temp. If you want to run a small conduit a few inches under the
ground there are sensors, and control panels you can get. It's been talked about a lot on here so a search should turn up a lot of ideas. J.T.
ground there are sensors, and control panels you can get. It's been talked about a lot on here so a search should turn up a lot of ideas. J.T.
Sparky said:
Sparky,
If it is just temps you are looking for, then check out my Pachube feed. Basically, I have temperature sensors connected together on a one-wire network of CAT5 twisted pair cable. I ran cat5 cable in conduit, in my trench when I installed my supply/return lines for my boiler. I then use an arduino micro-controller board to poll the temp sensors, and feed them to the pachube site for plotting and monitoring. The Arduino could also be programmed to "Act" on those temp sensor levels, and control things if you wanted, very similar to any other control system. You would have to make certain that you have taken all possible scenarios into account in your control algorithm to be safe. This is referred to as "Fail Safe" design.
You can get info about the arduino at their site :http://www.arduino.cc/. There is also a wiki here on hearth.com that describes a temperature monitoring application.https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Arduino_Controller/
You can buy all the components and more here:http://www.sparkfun.com/
You will need to have some basic level of programming skill, as well as, a basic level of electronics to build up your system. All the info you need can be found on the web. There is a tremendous amount of code, and example circuits you can choose from to begin to design your system. If you decide this is for you, and would like to see my code, pm me with your email, and I will send it to you.
Good Luck.
Thanks Russ, There is a lot of info. there, but exactly what I was looking for. I would like to start with just the temps. and eventually get to control. I am one that doesn't like to buy something then later on buy something else. So with that said What basic parts are needed to start monitoring my temps? and will I be able to use the stuff when I get into controlling it? I am a electrician by trade and love to experiment and make things work better like wood boilers and heating systems. Thank you so much. All you guys for your time and talents shared on this site.
Sparky said:
Sparky,
You can find a BOM for starting up here. You could skip the breadboard, and holder if you don't want a prototyping platform, but I found it very useful. Same goes for the project enclosure, if you have another plan for how you want to enclose your project once complete. Also, if you already have the correct usb cable, then 86 that too.
This is the basic setup to get going, and feed data to the web. Once feeding to pachube, you then can "See" your system temps anywhere you have an internet connecting by simply browsing to the web site. You can also use a smart phone.
As for controlling. This base setup can be extended to control 24v relays. So it should preserve your investment.
I have been working on a more detailed description for my blog, and should get that up anytime. By the time you get your parts from spark fun, I should have the details of what I did on my blog.
Hope that helps a little more.
Neat project. Keep us posted Sparky, there isn't much info on the Logwood boilers on here. Think you could get us some pictures of it? Maybe also of the inside of the stove? Do you use the oil at all on this?
No I don't burn oil. I read somewhere in this forum someone did and it kept getting clogged. They had to take it out and put it back in when they needed to use it. My works alot better now I put in a damper on my flue pipe. I use to get only 6 hrs burn time now I get 10 on a full load of wood. It has been a good boiler for the money but if I could and had more of it I would of bought a gasser. If you do buy one get the coal shaker. I didn't and now I am burning some coal it works but not as good as it could. Let me know if I can help you out with your decision making. If you get it let me know.
Sparky said:
Interesting. I think I've decided against getting an oil/wood combo as there just isn't a good unit out there for a reasonable price. Odds are I'll end up with a Harman wood boiler and tie it into my oil boiler system I have now. I like the simplicity of the Logwood, but its not a lot cheaper than the Harman and I don't think it will last as long. I appreciate the info though and would love to see some pics of the inside of it as there isn't much info on the Logwood online.
I will try to you some pics. I won't be easy. It is in a dark garage with lots of ashes in it. They run better when a little dirty. I completely cleaned it out one year and I didn't have the control. Too much air. I paid $3500 for mine what are they going for now?
Sparky said:
That's about what they go for now still. I appreciate the effort and look forward to whatever pics you may be able to get me.
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