Econoburn 150- first burn -need help!

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b33p3r

Feeling the Heat
Jan 29, 2008
286
NE Pa
Finally burned the econo. Nice! Everything worked good. Power out heat zone "Passed". Controls to shut down oil boiler "Passed". Over temp controls to dump zone not tested but I'm confident should it be needed it will Pass.
So what's the problem you might ask....I can't get the boiler out of gasification mode! The factory setting of 160* is being used. It reaches temp and the fan gears down but I don't think it gears down enough? At the lowest speed I heard the fan run so far, the temps still climbed to 200+ degrees. The torch like gasification flame in the bottom chamber never stops. Just keeps burning until the wood is gone. That's the only way the temp will fall.
Now I will admit I haven't done a draft test yet. I have a monometer but haven't figured out how to use it yet. So I maxed the damper setting to both extremes(it actually came set to the extreme where the damper would't open unless a strong wind went across the chimney). The other extreme it opens an inch or so while the boiler is running. No matter which extreme, it stayed in gasification mode.
Another thing noticed, The digital readout of temp and the pressure/temp gauge on side of boiler are 30* off. The digital gauge is 30* greater than the side pressure/temp gauge.The oil boiler pressue/temp gauge and the wood boiler pressure/temp gauge both agree but the digital gauge on the wood boiler does not.
Also if you press the "settings" button on the display(I didn't try to change anything like the book says not to), The first screen that comes up is "Rate =0.0".
The second setting is "T SP" that is also reporting "0". The third screen is "Run" that ="1". I would figure I should be seeing some kind of data on these screen but everything is "0" except the run item which is "1". The set temp is 160* and the actual is 200+.
Also on the digital screen, the A1 is lit when it is in recirc mode. I expected to possible see A2 light up when the primary was running but did not? I have no idea what the LEDs signify so I could use an explanation of them.
So since I can't trust it to go into idle, which it won't, I shut it down until I can get these issues resolved. have to work the next 2 days so I'll fire up again on Thursday if I can get the "constantly in gasification mode" resolved.
All help is appreciated and I will call the factory in the next 3 days if need be. Anyone?
 
Just did some searching on econoburns and might be onto something. My fan never shuts off! it slows down some but doesn't shut off. Is that normal? The aquastat that came with the boiler was placed in a Tee on the supply pipe. But when I went to wire it in, there was a yellow jumper wire on the terminal strip where from what I saw on the prints was where I needed to wire in the supplied aquastat.. I assumed it(yellow jumper) was there for testing purposes and removed it and wired in the 2 aquastat leads in place of the jumper. I'll check the schematic tomorrow but any incite would be appreciated. Is that my problem?
 
It sounds like things are probably ok, at least on the WB side. Are your certain the difference in front versus side temp is 30* ? The difference in my EB is normally 10-12, and I think that's typically what others have reported. But, assuming it is 30, then is the 200+ from the front? If so, that would be 170+ actual water temp, and the fan would definitely still be on at that temp. If the 200+ is from the side gauge, then you're getting close to the point where the controller (not the Honeywell aquastat) shuts the fan down, but probably not quite there yet. Did you get to the point of having a fairly large load of wood? The boiler won't idle with small fires, unless there is little or no load. The more important question is what the temp of the water is going to the zones. Are all of your zones getting what they need, or is it not enough? One possibility is that the WB is not quite able to keep up with the demand, and just continues to run at that temp supplying what it can. And that could be a result of burning small fires. However, if you're not idling, and all of your zones are getting the right amount of heat, you should start teaching the rest of us without storage how to run our boilers ;-) Right now you should relax and burn at least a couple more days to be sure the refractory is dry, before making the call on how your system is performing. And also try different sized fires to get the feel of how it runs with different amounts of wood.
 
b33p3r said:
Just did some searching on econoburns and might be onto something. My fan never shuts off! it slows down some but doesn't shut off. Is that normal? The aquastat that came with the boiler was placed in a Tee on the supply pipe. But when I went to wire it in, there was a yellow jumper wire on the terminal strip where from what I saw on the prints was where I needed to wire in the supplied aquastat.. I assumed it(yellow jumper) was there for testing purposes and removed it and wired in the 2 aquastat leads in place of the jumper. I'll check the schematic tomorrow but any incite would be appreciated. Is that my problem?

I have an EBW 150 , my aquastat is installed on the output side of the boiler. That explains
why your fan never shuts off. My fan is a 2 speed and is controlled by setting on the main
board. I have a timer switch setup on the aquastat wire so it will shut of the fan automatically...you can
pretty well judge how much time to set it with experience. I run my system manually.

I believe you have a potentially dangerous set up. I have my aquastat set @ 190 and there
can be 10-15 degrees overrun after it goes to idle. I would suggest you move the aquastat to the output
side..

I am very satisfied with my EBW 150 it has performed great, I'm going on my 3rd season.
Dry well split fuel will give the best results. MM
 
Willworkforwood:
Front digital display was fluctuating between 205* and 210*. Side analog gauge was 175-185*. I was burning small fire since it was my first day burning. Still a little leery how things will work so I kept the fires small. 2-4 splits at a time depending on temp. All zones in the house were actually calling for heat during this and the wood boiler was supplying it all without dropping.
I guess I don't really know what to expect so that's my problem. If the heat setting on the display is set to 160*, then why does the fan keep running when the temps are 185* ? The fan does go into low speed(can't remember what temp that was) but it keeps running. If it has already satisfied the set temp why doesn't it shut down? Or is it still recognizing a draw of heat so it maintains?
What temp should the fan totally shut down?
Which temp gauge, the front digital or the side analog, tells the boiler when to go idle? I'm pretty confident side analog is correct since the oil boiler analog was the same temp when primary was running. It's not knowing that bothers me.
What should I see as far as Rate, T SP and RUN goes when I go into the settings that the factory warns not to change?
What are the LEDs on the digital display representing. There are 4 of them. I think one is "C"(which is lit) one other I can't remember without running outside(not lit) and "A1" which I think is recirc pump running,(which is lit until about 150ish) and "A2" which I thought would be primary pump running but it never lights. Boiler Manual doesn't call these out.
When I got home from work tonight I did start a small fire to warm things up in shed and prevent any possibilty of freezing and the digital and analog did stay close. I shut WB down before primary turned on and at that time they were 8-10* apart. So that was much better than what I saw last night. Maybe some air still in system messing with readouts?

Nofossil:
I have a barometric damper installed. I mentioned I didn't calibrate it yet but I did play with the settings to both extremes to see if it slowed temp rise. I will be calibrating it when I get my boiler fired up again Thursday(will be able to baby sit it all day to see how it runs with full loads). The factory said the damper was preset to .3 or something like that(I understand the draft concept just don't remember the numbers yet) but it seemed to be maxed out at the higher end,.8? After burning a while I slid it to the .2 end and the damper started opening to take in some air from the room rather than staying closed and sucking everything from boiler. Temp rise may have slowed at that point but I was regulating very small amounts of wood so I didn't over fire so I'm not sure it was the damper or small amounts of wood.

Mtnmizer:
The aquastat that the factory supplied, I placed on the "Output side". I consider the supply side as the piping that takes the heated water from the boiler to the house as opposed to the return side that brings back the cooler water. If I'm saying it wrong let me know so I don't confuse anyone when I'm asking all these questions.
From what I saw last night during the 4-5 hour burn, I'm impressed and know I will love this thing. I just don't know when things are supposed to happen. Mostly at what temp does the fan completely shut off and what shuts it off? The PLC or the aquastat(s)? Is the Aquastat tied to the digital or analod display?


Again, if my temp setting is set at 160*, what temp should I see the fan go to low speed and what temp should I see the fan shut off? The factory supplied aquastat I installed is set to 195*. I will turn it down to 190*. Maybe 180-185* until I get comfortable with the cycles.

I hate to be a pain in the butt, but I need to know to be comfortable with this. Thank you all!
 
b33p3r said:
Mtnmizer:
The aquastat that the factory supplied, I placed on the "Output side". I consider the supply side as the piping that takes the heated water from the boiler to the house as opposed to the return side that brings back the cooler water. If I'm saying it wrong let me know so I don't confuse anyone when I'm asking all these questions.
From what I saw last night during the 4-5 hour burn, I'm impressed and know I will love this thing. I just don't know when things are supposed to happen. Mostly at what temp does the fan completely shut off and what shuts it off? The PLC or the aquastat(s)? Is the Aquastat tied to the digital or analod display?


Again, if my temp setting is set at 160*, what temp should I see the fan go to low speed and what temp should I see the fan shut off? The factory supplied aquastat I installed is set to 195*. I will turn it down to 190*. Maybe 180-185* until I get comfortable with the cycles.

I hate to be a pain in the butt, but I need to know to be comfortable with this. Thank you all!


Not a pain at all I got lots of helpfull info here getting started.

Ok, your aquastat is on the correct side of things...the top number on the panel in red is the boiler temp and the bottom
is the fan setting which is adjustable via the two arrowed buttons on the panel. Mine has a 5 degree differential between
the two speeds. Get a fire running with the factory setting and use the arrowed buttons and move the temp setting up
and down to see how it works. I put a switch in the aquastat wire so I could shut off the blower and open the door
and tend the fire without shutting off the entire unit.. then replaced that with a 3way switch and 12 hr timer.

All in all it's pretty simple to use, my wife can handle it if she has to....


At night at bed time with the house warm I set it down 140 with set the timer for somewhere
between 4-6 hrs depending on the temp out side. That keeps the blower from coming on high and waking me up...but will still have
some coals for a rapid restart in the am. My stack and boiler tubes have stayed clean to date with only soot on clean out..I
believe using well seasoned wood is the reason.

..MM
 
Based on your reply, things are going great so far! If your factory setting is the same as mine was originally, your fan willl shut down around 220* (front). It should be switching from hi speed to low at 160* (front). Again based on what you wrote, your boiler will have significant idling as you start building larger fires. I think you will probably wind up changing some controller settings - most of us do. But first you need to start burning larger fires so you can see what the idling pattern is. You need to find out exactly at what temp the fan shuts down, and also the temp that it starts up again. This pattern should be consistent to within a couple of degrees. But make sure that your Honeywell aquastat is set high enough (i.e. 230) so that it doesn't override the TC33 controller. Once you have the idling temps, then you can begin to figure out how that will match up with your heating loads. Keep in mind that the boiler is going to run differently (amount of idling), depending on the outdoor temps and wind speed. After a couple weeks checking performance, you will start to see what (if any) settings you might want to change. You also need to work into this your burning pattern - how convenient will it be for you to burn small fires. If not convenient, then you will need to see the effect of lots of idling. There are many possible variables when running without storage, so give it some time to get things sorted out before making any changes.
 
The aquastat, when wired in correctly to the terminals shown in the manual is there to shut off the fan once the setpoint is reached. That fact that it is not shutting off would make me think it's not connected correctly or the adjustable setting on it is too high. Dial it back to 160* with your boiler showing 180 or above just to test it. If the supply temp is actually 180 the fan should shut down. Check to see that it is mounted securely and in contact with the piping if it is a surface mount type. Give the guys at EconoBurn a ring and go through you wiring with them if you can't get it sorted out. This is something that needs to be taken care of to avoid an overheat situation ASAP.
 
Lots of good advice here. The first year is a learning experience--you will open the door too much, overload for heat load, check on it like a newborn,....... WWFW is exactly right--you will learn how to load for temp., wind, time away from home,.......especially w/o storage. I've found that one of my splits equates to roughly a one hour burn each--again dependent on temp., wind,..... If you are away from home you'll learn to load it with so many splits and forget about it. With the colder forecast I'll crank up the boiler temp. accordingly for my hot water baseboard. With your barometric damper I would install a manometer to monitor your draft. I went without it for quite a while but once you install one it's pretty much set it and forget it. Easy to install, about 25-30 bucks on ebay. Will try to post some pics. My next project is a wireless monitor so I don't have to go out in the garage to check on it.....
 
heaterman said:
The aquastat, when wired in correctly to the terminals shown in the manual is there to shut off the fan once the setpoint is reached. That fact that it is not shutting off would make me think it's not connected correctly or the adjustable setting on it is too high. Dial it back to 160* with your boiler showing 180 or above just to test it. If the supply temp is actually 180 the fan should shut down. Check to see that it is mounted securely and in contact with the piping if it is a surface mount type. Give the guys at EconoBurn a ring and go through you wiring with them if you can't get it sorted out. This is something that needs to be taken care of to avoid an overheat situation ASAP.
I'm sure this is correct for most other boilers Heaterman, but the following information comes right from Dale, the head guy at the EB factory. The Honeywell aquastat that they supply is not intended to shut the fan down in regular operation - that one is a fail-safe to protect against true boiler overheat. It's the TC33 controller that should be shutting off the fan, and also telling it when to come back on. There are 2 separate adjustable controller settings for this purpose. Unfortunately there is not any information distributed to boiler buyers which describes this (at least I didn't get anything). So, I too was running for quite a while with the Honeywell shutting down the fan. He also had me change one dip setting on the Nimbus board. After making these changes and further tweaking the idling duration, my boiler is running much better. I'm not saying that you can't use the Honeywell for fan shutdown - MM earlier described yet another way to use it. I would recommend that any EB owner who has questions about this should call Dale at the factory for further assistance, because each system is unique, and YMMV. And if you get different information from him, please post for all to see. If Piker can break away from installing Frolings for a few minutes, he might want to take a swing at this one also ;-)
 
willworkforwood said:
heaterman said:
The aquastat, when wired in correctly to the terminals shown in the manual is there to shut off the fan once the setpoint is reached. That fact that it is not shutting off would make me think it's not connected correctly or the adjustable setting on it is too high. Dial it back to 160* with your boiler showing 180 or above just to test it. If the supply temp is actually 180 the fan should shut down. Check to see that it is mounted securely and in contact with the piping if it is a surface mount type. Give the guys at EconoBurn a ring and go through you wiring with them if you can't get it sorted out. This is something that needs to be taken care of to avoid an overheat situation ASAP.
I'm sure this is correct for most other boilers Heaterman, but the following information comes right from Dale, the head guy at the EB factory. The Honeywell aquastat that they supply is not intended to shut the fan down in regular operation - that one is a fail-safe to protect against true boiler overheat. It's the TC33 controller that should be shutting off the fan, and also telling it when to come back on. There are 2 separate adjustable controller settings for this purpose. Unfortunately there is not any information distributed to boiler buyers which describes this (at least I didn't get anything). So, I too was running for quite a while with the Honeywell shutting down the fan. He also had me change one dip setting on the Nimbus board. After making these changes and further tweaking the idling duration, my boiler is running much better. I'm not saying that you can't use the Honeywell for fan shutdown - MM earlier described yet another way to use it. I would recommend that any EB owner who has questions about this should call Dale at the factory for further assistance, because each system is unique, and YMMV. And if you get different information from him, please post for all to see. If Piker can break away from installing Frolings for a few minutes, he might want to take a swing at this one also ;-)

Hmmmm I'll have to look into that........The aquastat was the last stage for fan shutdown (idle mode) on all the units I have put in. I'm not familiar with that control if it's supposed to work that way. I know EconoBurn has a nifty new controller coming out but I didn't think it was in production yet. Sorry for the confusion. Sounds like a phone call to the factory is in order here.
 
The aquastat does indeed function as the shutdown or "third stage" in the operating sequence. Hi fan, Low fan, Off.

Take that to the bank.

Now for a new user like yourself, you have to get the feel of firing the boiler based on weather conditions and outside temp as others here have suggested. Become one with the boiler :)

Check your wiring diagram and the temp setting on the aquastat. If it's wired correctly and the Astat is set to 180 then you may have a problem with it. Where the heck is your dealer in all this?
 
Wow ! Thanks for all the replies. To make things clear, My aquastat is presently set to 195*. I have NOT reached that temp yet to test whether it shuts down or not. I was going to turn the aquastat down to 180* to test it before I started loading the boiler up.


My main question is: What temp should the fan totally shut down if I have the boiler set for 160* ????

By the sounds of the other posts, The fan will continue to run in low speed after 160* (while temperatures rise) until the Aquastat is satisfied and completely shuts down the fan? Is that correct?
 
Wow ! Thanks for all the replies. To make things clear, My aquastat is presently set to 195*. I have NOT reached that temp yet to test whether it shuts down or not. I was going to turn the aquastat down to 180* to test it before I started loading the boiler up.


My main question is: What temp should the fan totally shut down if I have the boiler set for 160* ????

By the sounds of the other posts, The fan will continue to run in low speed after 160* (while temperatures rise) until the Aquastat is satisfied and completely shuts down the fan? Is that correct?
 
b33p3r said:
By the sounds of the other posts, The fan will continue to run in low speed after 160* (while temperatures rise) until the Aquastat is satisfied and completely shuts down the fan? Is that correct?

Exactly.

I am not sure what the proper setting is- and I am also not too sure that the readout on the mechanical 'stat is all that accurate. Right now I run my system in such a way that anytime there's a fire, heat is being pulled from the EBW, so there's no such thing as an idle during which temps would climb alarmingly.

I suggest you do some empirical/ trial and error experiments- start low, then work high, to see how high leaves enough "headroom" for the fire to coast down before hitting problematic temperatures.
 
heaterman said:
[ I know EconoBurn has a nifty new controller coming out but I didn't think it was in production yet. Sorry for the confusion. Sounds like a phone call to the factory is in order here.

Heaterman-- can you please shed a little more light on what the new controller will incorporate/ do? Thanks
 
b33p3r said:
Wow ! Thanks for all the replies. To make things clear, My aquastat is presently set to 195*. I have NOT reached that temp yet to test whether it shuts down or not. I was going to turn the aquastat down to 180* to test it before I started loading the boiler up.


My main question is: What temp should the fan totally shut down if I have the boiler set for 160* ????

By the sounds of the other posts, The fan will continue to run in low speed after 160* (while temperatures rise) until the Aquastat is satisfied and completely shuts down the fan? Is that correct?

Bingo! Once your boiler control setpoint is reached, with some differential added if I recall, the fan will cycle to low and continue to run there until the aquastat hits whatever it is set for. In your case the fan would not cycle off until the temp reached 195*. I would use a beginning setpoint of 170 on your boiler control and 180-185 on the aqua stat for starters. See how you particular system likes those temps and adjust accordingly. Every house is different.
 
THANK YOU Heaterman & Pybyr! That is exactly the information I was hoping for to be more comfortable during the fire. The first 4 hour burn I did Monday evening, I had the water temp to 180-185. The oil boiler never fired once and both zones in my house were calling for heat. Low fan speed maintained the water temp while the system brought the house up to temp. It was music to my ears not to hear the oil boiler fire up for 4 hours! I think I'm gonna like this thing!
Tomorrow A.M. I'm bringing the WB back online and hope to keep it online until the Tulips bloom.
Thank You to everyone!
 
The boiler seems to burning well. Temp setting at 170 and aquastat at 185*. Had one over temp alarm shut me down 2 hours into the burn and the side temp gauge was only 180*. Called Dale and he figured there was some noise on the neutral causing the digital gauge to be "fluttering". I did notice that phenomenon while burning a few days ago. After assuring him the boiler was on a dedicated circuit, he had me remove the front panel that the gauge is mounted to and lift the insulation slightly. Under the insulation about a foot back is the thermocouple. He told me to lift the thermocouple tab up and away from the boiler plate, It did appear that the wires were pressed against the plate. The digital reading now seems more stable and I haven't had an overtemp alarm since but it's early. We'll see how it does over night. The digital gauge still doesn't match up with the aquastat though. Their still about 15* difference.
Hooked up the manometer. Now burning at .03-.04 wc. Book says .02-.05 so I should be in good shape there.
I have noticed throughout the day that my fan never has to kick into high speed. It does for a second or two when it comes out of idle but it immediately gears down to low speed. Maintaining temp pretty well I guess, for these temps anyway.
Wife is enjoying the higher temps in house.
I noticed someone posted they have their aquastat set at 220*. Wouldn't that send your boiler into overtemp alarm? The boiler controls, according to manual will overtemp at 220*.
 
b33p3r;
Hi, interesting thread as I have just completed the install of a Econoburn 150. Had it running since last Friday and I am getting familiarized with the running. I have noticed that my installer had the aquastat set for 140* and the boiler set point was 160*. I have bumped the settings up a bit to 150 and 170 and based on the advice you have received will probably up those numbers. I am very impressed with the EB as it easily heats our house with the oil boiler completely off line. It has been mild but I don't anticipate it having any difficulty when the temperature drops. The house is actually warmer than ever. I should mention the EB is a retrofit replacing a New York Thermal wood boiler. My over temp circuit got a test today when I opened the damper and the lower door and went off for a few minutes.The temp quickly exceeded the 220* and set of the alarm. My installer plumbed in around 30 feet of radiant heat tubing for the over temp zone and it worked like a charm. The EB and the oil boiler are in a shed about 50 feet from the house with the piping underground. Before hooking up the EB I replaced the old Kitec piping with Wirsbo HeatPex but that is another storey. Sorry to ramble on, great information here.

Earl
 
I think you got the settings backwards. Shoud be boiler setting 140* and aquastat 160*. Right?
I added a couple relays in the house at the oil boiler. One to keep the oil boiler from firing if the primary is running and the 2nd to force on my main living area circulator if the emergency dump is activated. Both are working well thus far. Tonight will be my first overnight burn. I'm anxious to see how long of a burn I get. I put the econoburn in an outside shed with underground piping also. I'm sure you're going to see much colder temps than I will, so if yours holds up I'm sure mine will keep me warm.
Good luck with yours and keep me filled in on any new developments.
 
Yes, I was just out and set the aquastat to 180* and the boiler to 170* we'll see how that works out. I was getting a lot of idling,(no storage yet),but did get a 10 hour burn yesterday. Loaded it at 6:30 AM and my wife fed it at 5:00 PM with no issues. When I got home at 7 it was just cooking along. Our temperatures here in Nova Scotia don't get real cold. Last winter we only had a week or two of -15 C weather and today it is only -6*C. The ocean keeps things moderated. I have been in contact with another forum member in PEI who has been a great help.' Wantstoburnwood' has been running his EB 150 for two winters now with no water storage. My biggest problem so far is that my wood is not ideally seasoned. I have some left from last winter which is piled but I didn't get at this years wood until late so it hasn't dried completely. Keep us posted as to how things go as these units definitely have a learning curve. The folks on this forum have been great.

Earl
 
E.W. said:
... I was getting a lot of idling ... My biggest problem so far is that my wood is not ideally seasoned ...
Lots of idling and unseasoned wood is a bad combination with any wood boiler, and especially so with an EB. There 4 verticle HX tubes located in the back of your 150. In the first year with my EB, I tried to extend the burning season into the Spring with poorly seasoned wood. I couldn't see any extra creosote forming and though everything was ok. But I didn't know that the heat tubes were being coated with creosote, until I tried to clean the unit in the Summer. With the installed factory linkage, you do not have access to clean those tubes (or even get a good look at them) unless you remove both the top and back plates. The back plate also has the flue connector, so that is likely to mean also disassembling a good portion of your flue. And you also need to disassemble all of the turbulator linkage. All told, this is not a small job, and is usually only done once at the end of the year. In addition to a nightmarish cleaning job, coating the tubes with creosote reduces boiler efficiency (heat transfer). I would urge you to make every effort to find at least some seasoned wood. Perhaps a trade with a neighbor who has extra seasoned stuff. Another good possibility is pallets, which can be cut up and tossed in, nails and all. Lots of business would be happy to have you get rid of their pallets. You could mix them in with your poorly seasoned wood, and bring the overall MC content of the load down. And, in addition go getting seasoned wood, make every effort to keep idling to a minimum. The best way to reduce idling is to run smaller sized fires whenever it's possible to do so, trying to match the fire size with the heat load. But, the ultimate and best way to cut the idling is to install thermal storage. Good luck with your new boiler!
 
willworkforwood said:
E.W. said:
... I was getting a lot of idling ... My biggest problem so far is that my wood is not ideally seasoned ...
Lots of idling and unseasoned wood is a bad combination with any wood boiler, and especially so with an EB. There 4 verticle HX tubes located in the back of your 150. In the first year with my EB, I tried to extend the burning season into the Spring with poorly seasoned wood. I couldn't see any extra creosote forming and though everything was ok. But I didn't know that the heat tubes were being coated with creosote, until I tried to clean the unit in the Summer. With the installed factory linkage, you do not have access to clean those tubes (or even get a good look at them) unless you remove both the top and back plates. The back plate also has the flue connector, so that is likely to mean also disassembling a good portion of your flue. And you also need to disassemble all of the turbulator linkage. All told, this is not a small job, and is usually only done once at the end of the year. In addition to a nightmarish cleaning job, coating the tubes with creosote reduces boiler efficiency (heat transfer). I would urge you to make every effort to find at least some seasoned wood. Perhaps a trade with a neighbor who has extra seasoned stuff. Another good possibility is pallets, which can be cut up and tossed in, nails and all. Lots of business would be happy to have you get rid of their pallets. You could mix them in with your poorly seasoned wood, and bring the overall MC content of the load down. And, in addition go getting seasoned wood, make every effort to keep idling to a minimum. The best way to reduce idling is to run smaller sized fires whenever it's possible to do so, trying to match the fire size with the heat load. But, the ultimate and best way to cut the idling is to install thermal storage. Good luck with your new boiler!

My concerns also.I'm on the hunt for some seasoned wood or pallets to mix with my year old stuff and have reduced the fire size to encourage less idling.Thermal storage is in the plan but probably won't happen for another year. I really appreciate the advice and hopefully we are not getting too far off the original topic.

Earl
 
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