I have a glenwood 2150c wood boiler. Issue ive been having is when i load it for a over night fire it will heat above set point. The draft fan doesnt run it just runs over on its own. Last night it over heated bad enough it blew the releaf valve. Im thinking maybe it needs a bararometric damper? Last night it was cold with alot of wind and im thinking it might have caused it to over draft and over fire. Also anyone have any info on this boiler? I just got it used and didnt come with anything.
Glenwood boiler over heated
- Thread starter Metallica21156
- 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.
- Status
brant2000
Feeling the Heat
What type of system are you using, IOW - what are your heat emitters (ie. CI radiators, fin tube baseboard, furnace mounted coil, radiant, etc)?
its a hot water coil on a airhandler. It doesnt seem to over heat running. Only when the boiler is at idle. Normally it over heats to 180 while its set on 160 which i can deal with but last night it pegged the gauge.
brant2000
Feeling the Heat
You need some means to remove heat, even though the boiler is idling. This can be done with either a baseboard or two that have more heat dissipation capacity than your boiler will add on idle, or need a control method that will kick your blower on when the water hits a set point. Does the coil have flow to it all the time, or only when there is a call for heat?
the pump is always on so yes theres always flow. the boiler does ok during house warm up. its idles the issue. if i make a dump zone in the house it would over heat the house. i was already planning on adding a sensor to turn the air handler on if it gets to hot. i would think the fire wouldnt run that hot at idle. to me it seems like its still getting too much air which is why im wondering about the draft damper. itd have less pull on the fire box and shouldnt run as hot. is it normal to add one? I know the wood furnaces have them.
brant2000
Feeling the Heat
I don't know any of the specifics of your unit, but that's the nature of solid fueled appliances. All the fuel gets loaded in at once, and then it's tough to control them from there. You either need storage to accommodate excess heat, overheat your house, or dump BTU's outside.
whats the point of it having a blower with a door that shuts when its off? I thought u can load it and it would maintain temp. its just like the 950 model. it has a 8" Flue, piping inside the firebox and a water tank welded to the top. it has a little blower on the door with a flap the closes when its off. i can post a pic if needed.
All these systems are very unique to themselves, minor differences cause major variations in how they run, so it's difficult to get a straight answer that applies perfectly to your situation.....that being said I think there are less complicated ways to address your overheating issues than a damper....for example currently my Greenwood goes into an 80 gallon super store before anything,,,,,then it comes out, and into my heating manifold...even if my boiler idles, and it seldom does, the damper will close, the pump will continue to run, pulling the heat off into the SS....additionally I think everyone these days for the most part consider idling to be the enemy......so systems are designed to minimize it.....
maple1
Minister of Fire
Every indoor boiler should have a means to dump excess heat. If it doesn't it's likely violating some sort of codes.
I don't know anything about your specific boiler, but it does sound like the air isn't getting shut off tight when it's up to temp. Are you sure there's nothing in the way of it closing tight? Piece of dirt? I had a few times when my old one would get too warm - the damper would bind up & hang open.
I don't know anything about your specific boiler, but it does sound like the air isn't getting shut off tight when it's up to temp. Are you sure there's nothing in the way of it closing tight? Piece of dirt? I had a few times when my old one would get too warm - the damper would bind up & hang open.
im planning on moving the boiler to my garage in the next 2 years and put a large storage tank with it. i have it piped with caps for a dump zone but ive been running it without and its been fine until last night. it does have the blow off which i think is all thats needed for code. i plan tomorrow during the day to load it up and that way i can keep watching it. However i do still plan to install a ove ride if temp gets to high. I replaced the door seal when i first got it and there was 2 spots it didnt seal very well. So today i replaced the seal with the next size up and it looks to seal it 100%. Currently its running but its warming the house up so i will have to wait til later at idle to see what it does.
Funny you posted this... I just overheated my boiler. This is about the 3rd or 4th time this happened. I heard water running and thought it was a frozen spicket to find the temp guage is 200-205 or so. SO,, crank the heat and get the water temp down. I lost a gallon of water or so but don't like it at all when it happens. I thought for sure it was a creosote fire in the box. It seems this has happened before and don't see why it couldn't happen. Then I read this post about your windy conditions. This makes sense. It is very windy here today, 35 mph gusts were recorded at the weather station and I know they are not on a hill like I am in farm country. I can imagine extra air getting in the firebox when it is this windy. This may have kept the temps way up alone, but it could have also started some creosote stalagtites on the top of the firebox. Anyway, the boiler has been keeping up with my 80k HX and the 1,000 ft of 1/2" staple up pex. The thing is crankin heat like I have never seen and has never kept up like this.I'm sure it was from the extra hot water but no doubt the boiler itself is darn hot. Then,,, like a fool , I put two more logs in... Oh well,,, the wife will come home to a warm house for sure I had the boiler temp @ 173, and now that I think of it,, a storage tank as small as 50 Gal. would double my water capacity and reduce this type of overheating.
Last edited:
Just so you know the Glenwood is a re-branded second generation Greenwood. You should be able to find more information about it on this site. http://www.greenwoodusa.com/
my boiler was made in pa not wa. also i just realized i put the wrong model. its a 1250c. the only i wonder about storage is that if the house is hot enough and the storage is 100% warmed up it could still over heat. This boiler is over 20 yrs old.
yes exactly. i had the same issue. i just loaded it up so im gonna see what it does. although its windy here today which i think is gonna make it over heat but i think on a non windy day it would be ok. it also is puffing some smoke into the house when the wind blows so it is affecting the fire by the wind. i dont have the damper installed yet.
4:34pm i just measured the draft. im as low as.10 iwc and when the wind blows it spiked at .22 iwc. i thought i only wanted about .04 iwc?
4:34pm i just measured the draft. im as low as.10 iwc and when the wind blows it spiked at .22 iwc. i thought i only wanted about .04 iwc?
Last edited:
i just went down to check on it and every time the wind blows i can hear it pulling air though the boiler.
I have a Greenwood 100. Experienced the same overheating problems for several years, culminating in blown pex at boiler last November. Repair included a bypass loop through a garage heater in basement. Runs like a champ now. Yes, there is a lot of heat dumped into the basement - we could grow tomatoes there - but the house is sure warm and my wife likes that!
I think it might be worthwhile to post some pics. of this boiler or provide a better description of it's features.
maple1
Minister of Fire
Clarkbug
Minister of Fire
Is there a means of positive shut-off on the air intake? Or just a blower? Im thinking a damper with a solenoid (like a Central Boiler unit) or something that would prevent any air from getting sucked in via natural draft....
Regarding my comments on the Greenwood 100 "fix". I don't know how to post pictures, but will try and describe our set up. In the basement of our house, we installed a fan type garage heater on the supply line from the boiler to our oil furnace A bypass loop from the supply line from the boiler runs through the garage heater before the supply line enters the heat exchanger (HX?) on the forced air oil furnace. An aquastat on the bypass loop is set to turn on the garage heater when the temp at the boiler reaches 190.
there is a fan on the front with a damper inside that opens when the fans running. once the motor shuts off it shuts. I installed the barometric damper tonight and as of now its holding .05 which im ok with. tomorrow i will stuff it and see how it does. its amazing how much the thing is open even with the fan running to try to keep the draft in check.
so far so good. it seems to npt over heat. it looks like it might if it sat idle for a few hours but thats expected. so far it seems to be acting as it should. next challenge will be when its windy next to see how it does.
- Status
Similar threads
