Heiss Masonary Wood Heater/Boiler
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BoiledOver
Minister of Fire
Yeah, I wonder about heat loss on all outdoor burners. That unit looks like an easy one to increase insulation on. Rigid polyiso is awesome and a few pieces of metal roofing.
Refractory can be mixed to accomplish different goals. I wonder if there is an insulating mix on the outer skin of those units. Guess I'll go back to their site and have a look around, it has been a long time since looking into those units.
Refractory can be mixed to accomplish different goals. I wonder if there is an insulating mix on the outer skin of those units. Guess I'll go back to their site and have a look around, it has been a long time since looking into those units.
PassionForFire&Water
Minister of Fire
Mike Fromme
Burning Hunk
With the fan and drifting snow we have yet to know.. I've bricked it up around the pipes and it has adequate hole for suction for the fan
Yea bigger greener logs.. Lol it still choo choos and reverbs back through blower the fans starting to gum up and stick. Well I'm starting to see a few odd flaws.. That could be big.. So before I toot the horn I'll see what the company has to say about it and I'll keep ya's posted.. Happiness 10 worriedness 5 and climing
The out side of the boiler is Luke warm not hot anywhere. Doors hot as hell but the shell they put over the cast cement is just Luke warm..
BoiledOver
Minister of Fire
This EKO 25 will blow back and slam the intake damper too. It happens when the blower is set too slow, gas build up in the primary chamber and then combustion....boom and the damper slams shut.
So far you are heating only with the Hiess? Thinking about the blower getting gummed up and wonder if the blower was moved around either corner to a side wall would eliminated that. Backdraft flapper at original hole and 2 foot of ducting to the blower might fix that issue. Just a thought.
yes hiess only. So needs more air pushed in . hmm I can't do anything to this boiler or it will void the three year parts warranty.. Were would I get duckting to go that wouldn't be a pain in the ass..lol thanks for the lesson on internals its a help for sure..I'll do the thermostat thing in a while havent got one..
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BoiledOver
Minister of Fire
The warranty is pretty important to consider at the price these things go for.
Hmm, maybe 4" stainless exhaust parts. Or maybe turbo diesel trucks have intercoolers with piping to and from. Aluminum downspouts. What is that ducting that jeeps use for their air intakes up by the windshield? Could be anything.
BoiledOver
Minister of Fire
GregoryMI, What have your burn times been with this unit? Have you had any trouble dialilng it in?
I am on my fourth year heating with Heiss Heaters. If you have a clip-on snap-disk aquastat, I highly recommend upgrading to a Honeywell aquastat (<$100) with a well. This should not void the warranty but you could always run it by them to be sure. They have been pretty accommodating for me in the past.
If this is your primary heating source I would also purchase a backup grundfos pump and a blower. The nice thing is that these parts are easy to replace yourself and if have them on hand you can be running again in minutes if the part fails.
BoiledOver, They do have polyiso insulation covering all refractory/cement/whatever-it-is, except on the bottom of the unit. They apply a layer of stucco to the outside to cover the insulation. Prior to placing my unit I placed 2" XPS and 1" polyiso under it to limit heat loss. It does a pretty good job as I will have snow accumulate on top if the wind isnt blowing too hard.
To those who read bad reviews in the past, I recommend looking at them again. They have come along way since I purchased my first boiler in 2010. I have since replaced my old boiler with the 2013 version and it has been great. The door design is much improved, the door opening is much bigger than my old one, insulation is improved and the cement has yet to crack.
I am on my fourth year heating with Heiss Heaters. If you have a clip-on snap-disk aquastat, I highly recommend upgrading to a Honeywell aquastat (<$100) with a well. This should not void the warranty but you could always run it by them to be sure. They have been pretty accommodating for me in the past.
If this is your primary heating source I would also purchase a backup grundfos pump and a blower. The nice thing is that these parts are easy to replace yourself and if have them on hand you can be running again in minutes if the part fails.
BoiledOver, They do have polyiso insulation covering all refractory/cement/whatever-it-is, except on the bottom of the unit. They apply a layer of stucco to the outside to cover the insulation. Prior to placing my unit I placed 2" XPS and 1" polyiso under it to limit heat loss. It does a pretty good job as I will have snow accumulate on top if the wind isnt blowing too hard.
To those who read bad reviews in the past, I recommend looking at them again. They have come along way since I purchased my first boiler in 2010. I have since replaced my old boiler with the 2013 version and it has been great. The door design is much improved, the door opening is much bigger than my old one, insulation is improved and the cement has yet to crack.
Well I'm back in business the pex line we layed had an issue cracked or hole new received and put in ground with in a week.. Of calling for warranty issue. The blower still puffs if not loaded quite right..outsides cracking the houseing shell. NOT internals just the housing and still works just fine... They are switching it out with new one this spring when they build one..no arguments either.. So far all is well.. The company is overworked a bit so times aren't slow at all so I can adjust for the asap clause they say on the phone..
I have my load times set at 6:30am/11pm-12/and again before midnight 12am..
3times in 48 hrs. Found to be a five hr burn with ash and pine haven't gotten to my good wood yet waiting forbthe snow for that..
However overloading the stove doesn't help it just coals it all up and u got a tone of coals that block the blow hole.. So I fill to about 8 inches from top straight in half way mid back in boiler. Logs split 48in long..
The cracking of the shell housing is from the foam expanding and contracting I have lots of cracks but they don't smoke or hamper working order..
purchase a backup grundfos pump and a blower? If u do I don't think u get a refund when their pump or fan stops workin.. Tight budget.. Thou I have a gas back up boiler.
Also they install the digital Honeywell aqua stat....I didn't ask.. Also dono if I told everyone I have this unit directly hooked to the house radiant heat system....I don't have forced air only pipes.
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BoiledOver
Minister of Fire
Welp.. pex lines had a fail replaced them company was fast for response. Hooked back up with in a week. Thou they will not touch a shovel and to redig the trench was 100$ from a friend. The current wood boiler is to be replaced due to my concern of a few manufacturing issues. They noted it was one of the stoves made by a former employee.. Said it would be replaced with a new made stove in spring. All working now well however I've learned the wood boiler isn't cut for high temps needed for a home with radiant heat. Need 185-200 to keep a 70° temp in house. I belive however the boilerbcould handle it not the pex...? Any ideas. If the out side temp get a wind chill below 5 its temp needs to come up. My house prolly could use better insulation. Short of tapeing plastic on windows.
However the colder the longer the blower runs to keep the called temp up.. I've moved up to five loadings a day from the three I was. Mixed woods..
maple1
Minister of Fire
Radiant heat should require lower temps, not hotter. What exactly do you have for emitters in the house?
I think I would maybe try to change what's in the house to allow you to use lower temps - that would benefit you no matter what you had tied to it for a furnace.
I think I would maybe try to change what's in the house to allow you to use lower temps - that would benefit you no matter what you had tied to it for a furnace.
maple1
Minister of Fire
Ok, that's not what is more accurately known as 'radiant'. That is ordinary hot water baseboard that works more on convection than radiant.
Man that's a huge house, and must be quite a load - would be for whatever you're heating with. There are options for getting more mileage out of your baseboard, and your hot water. You could add more finned lengths in places where there is none, or add some that is naturally more capable. Slant Fin makes one type that will get more heat out of the water - I forget the model of it, but I will be checking it out for next season to try to get more mileage out of my storage. I think it must be bigger in the fin department. You could also get some used cast iron rads, the old fashion type, and plumb those into your zones. That might be the cheapest. Those things pump out heat. Then there are panel rads, that would likely work & look the best, but would be the most expensive. IMO if you NEED 185 water to keep your house warm, I think the system was underdesigned and they didn't install enough radiation when the system was installed. I think I got lucky - seems to be the opposite here. My house doesn't seem to start to lose temp until my water gets below 140 or so, depending on the day. This last cold spell my storage was down to 130 or so sometimes before I started burning. But I'd still like even better performance.
I am actually surprised you can stay warm in a house that big with that boiler. Good luck!
Man that's a huge house, and must be quite a load - would be for whatever you're heating with. There are options for getting more mileage out of your baseboard, and your hot water. You could add more finned lengths in places where there is none, or add some that is naturally more capable. Slant Fin makes one type that will get more heat out of the water - I forget the model of it, but I will be checking it out for next season to try to get more mileage out of my storage. I think it must be bigger in the fin department. You could also get some used cast iron rads, the old fashion type, and plumb those into your zones. That might be the cheapest. Those things pump out heat. Then there are panel rads, that would likely work & look the best, but would be the most expensive. IMO if you NEED 185 water to keep your house warm, I think the system was underdesigned and they didn't install enough radiation when the system was installed. I think I got lucky - seems to be the opposite here. My house doesn't seem to start to lose temp until my water gets below 140 or so, depending on the day. This last cold spell my storage was down to 130 or so sometimes before I started burning. But I'd still like even better performance.
I am actually surprised you can stay warm in a house that big with that boiler. Good luck!
BoiledOver
Minister of Fire
I have zero experience with pex. Being that it is made for hot water heating, one would expect it to be rated for at least 212F.
How did your previous heating system do with the current baseboards? That is a large home to heat and insulation is hard to overdo.
You do know we are all using a bit more wood in these cold times.
Clarkbug
Minister of Fire
Was the pex failure at a fitting? Or the pex itself failed along the tube? It likes to move a lot with thermal expansion and contraction, so make sure you have appropriate measures in place.
The wind makes my house impossible to keep at setpoint when its this cold. Plastic on Windows helps a lot....
The wind makes my house impossible to keep at setpoint when its this cold. Plastic on Windows helps a lot....
The pex itself poped I haven't inspected it to see the hole yet. But no not a fitting. The heater has a blower and creosote build up issue. The fan now sticks about every other day. I've cleaned it weekly now. The fan cover is bent from install build.. They are replacing the whole stove in spring so I'm not concerned...
As for wind yes its bad.. Under 20° I need to bump up ten deg for every 8° change.. I know at 210 I could have a 80° house but pex won't allow it.. Yes next year during summer this year I'm insulating and and caulking all frames and doors.. I have cold drafts in my house so a large part is due to bad insulation... Plastic for sure next year..
Previous heater will work fine still installed but hooked direct to pex as well.. If I ran my gas boiler I can have 220° easy due to all thick copper pipes... Yes colder more wood woof a lot of work...
As for wind yes its bad.. Under 20° I need to bump up ten deg for every 8° change.. I know at 210 I could have a 80° house but pex won't allow it.. Yes next year during summer this year I'm insulating and and caulking all frames and doors.. I have cold drafts in my house so a large part is due to bad insulation... Plastic for sure next year..
Previous heater will work fine still installed but hooked direct to pex as well.. If I ran my gas boiler I can have 220° easy due to all thick copper pipes... Yes colder more wood woof a lot of work...
Well.. Seems I may have stumbled into the flaw we all know too well.. My stove is seemingly as the company replies the ONLY ONE EVER TO DO THIS! I know what's caused it but they don't agree.. The chugging from day one has been issue, now causing the screws they put in to the fan shroud to hold the flap and clicker on off seloniode has vibrated loose and fallen off. Further more the steel tube they have formed in the cement and lossened up and vibrated out about an inch.. Which the fan and all the gizmos attach too. So in short it has now been a hassle to keep the heater from over heating by nautaral draft and or starving due to creaso build up in fan and flap not opening.. There first "loud" explataion was that they are pissed off and think I must be doing something to cause this to happen.. ? Not gonna be beating on my 6k for the fun of it I think I like having heat more.. Were five months in and almost at a full breakdown of the system they brought me and well service is awaiting a reply on email I sent asking about this wood boiler. I asked them to replace my whole deal with come spring when and date. They already said yes not a problem last time when they were out fixing pex.. So guess I can only ask is there anyone els having issues with there stove??
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