5 Years In and Still Learning

[Tennman]

With our relatively mild temps I've been satisfied with my settings and output so avoided messing with the upper and lower air flaps. Took my approach to adjusting a dirt bike carb, if it's not broke don't fix it. I've seen temps before where the boiler couldn't keep up, but never to the extremes of late with the vortex. So Saturday I bit the bullet and messed with the dreaded mixtures. Shocking how I've been operating this think so choked and I doubt it's still anywhere near optimized. In the BioMass sticky, one of the users added an oxygen sensor. In addition to getting the storage plumbed, I'll be adding that sensor to help my tuning process.

I've attached a pic or my latest feeding processing system which is the best yet!! Now my wife and I can bring 1-2 days of splits in with the wagon, re-split to smaller splits, pile it near the boiler, and load. Easy to load and clean up. As you guys can see from the pic, I've got to go up and over the door frame between the boiler, storage, and lines to the house. I welcome advice about ghost flow, where to put components, if check valves are necessary to work with the Laddomat to prevent weird flows. I'm hoping to hire a pro to do the storage install. Hate it's not up and running this year but ya gotta pick your priorities and sadly getting the storage running got bumped down. Ya'll stay warm up nawth.

 

[Coal Reaper]

you have storage tanks in place, insulated, and not hooked up? i dont understand.

 

[Tennman]

Yeah Coal, tanks got set right before Thanksgiving which is when I fired up the boiler for the season. Between work demands which was 6 days a week before the holidays and that I couldn't find a local plumber that wanted to mess with the job I've accepted burning without storage one more season. Given the cold weather this season, the propane bill would be huge if I quit burning wood vs just finishing the season without storage. I've read the biggest advantage of storage is convenience not efficiency, so for the time being burning non-storage is more efficient and warmer than propane.

FWIW, last year was my first year with well seasoned wood but the nozzle was shot. This year it's all come together.... new nozzle with a steel plate protector and well seasoned oak..... just no storage.

FWIW #2 the steel nozzle edge protector is holding up great and I'm not being so anal about removing the ash from the upper chamber. 3/16" 1018 med steel plate doing good.

I think the temp has dropped 20-30F outside in the last 3-4 hrs. The vortex is back again but I'm off propane and toasty. Cheers

 

[Coal Reaper]

haha, i hear yah, just busting balls.
i have my loading unit mounted up next to supply from boiler so i dont have to see everybodys crack when they bend down to look at the temp gauges on it. the return to my boiler goes to cieling hieght and then back down to bottom of storage tanks. i get some ghost flow to the house when the boiler is running, none otherwise. at the end of a burn the PEX in house over 150' away is just getting a bit warm. dont bother me none, figure btus gotta get to the house at some point...