For the past say 3 years I have 'messed with' the aquastat depending on anticipated outdoor WCF. With this current cold snap coming, I bumped the aquastat up to 190. I watched it cycle a time or two to make sure I wouldn't boil . . . the stock thermometer showed ~185 at damper open and ~205 at damper close. I know some talk of spiking after the damper closes, but I've never seen that be more than 2 °F .
A few observations . . .
The GW only seemed to 'eat' wood for the first load or two. Then it seemed like wood usage settled in, and was not affected by the higher water temps.
The primary combustion chamber stays incredibly clean. But even at lower temps, the refractory does not hold on to creosote. Could be my imagination but the HX seems to stay cleaner too.
One huge advantage . . . the length of time between a fresh load and 'new' heat production can be lengthened. What I mean is, if you load with the H2O at 200 °F , and this fresh load takes a while to get humping, that's okay, because even if the temps drop 20 °F , you're still sending 180 °F water to the house. Almost like the benefit of a buffer tank.
One bad observation . . .
Seems that the thermometer and the aquastat are not in sync. No surprise in that they are both original and not precise, But . . . could I be losing that many degrees from the outlet of the HX (where the thermometer is) across the top on the unit (~ 3' of Black Iron) to the aquastat? I'm wondering if insulating all the lines that are not T-Pex would help.
Hmmm . . .
A few observations . . .
The GW only seemed to 'eat' wood for the first load or two. Then it seemed like wood usage settled in, and was not affected by the higher water temps.
The primary combustion chamber stays incredibly clean. But even at lower temps, the refractory does not hold on to creosote. Could be my imagination but the HX seems to stay cleaner too.
One huge advantage . . . the length of time between a fresh load and 'new' heat production can be lengthened. What I mean is, if you load with the H2O at 200 °F , and this fresh load takes a while to get humping, that's okay, because even if the temps drop 20 °F , you're still sending 180 °F water to the house. Almost like the benefit of a buffer tank.
One bad observation . . .
Seems that the thermometer and the aquastat are not in sync. No surprise in that they are both original and not precise, But . . . could I be losing that many degrees from the outlet of the HX (where the thermometer is) across the top on the unit (~ 3' of Black Iron) to the aquastat? I'm wondering if insulating all the lines that are not T-Pex would help.
Hmmm . . .
