i hope i am posting to the right place. i purchased a gw 100 don't seem to have enough draw have 30" horizontal run 8-6 reducer single wall pipe 24" pipe to 6" elbow then vertical run 5' to draft inducer then 12" of double wall metal bestos pipe with cap. gw would like for me to believe the boiler is not drawing correctly secondary to difference in temps of single wall pipe. i wrapped single wall pipe with glass wool. boiler temp usually runs around 140 deg.wood just smolders uless i'm feeding it split wood. yes i am burning dry wood. have tried all kinds. don't buy the temp differences in single wall pipe. today it was 50 deg. in ky. can't get stove above 140 deg. unless start burning split wood. i sure would like some help gw is basically worthless for customer service. even thought of talking to atty general but would prob laugh me off. also can't find a manometer no one in my area even know what one is. any help would be greatly appreciated. spent arount 16,000 would love for this thing tow work correctly.
Help with gw 100 boiler
- Thread starter docgogo
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BrownianHeatingTech
Minister of Fire
You're going to need to find out what the actual draft is. Any technician that services heating equipment should have a draft gauge.
Joe
Joe
Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
How are your aquastat temps set. My GW 100 is set with 190 limit and 20 degree differential working great at 10 degrees. If you can find the right person at GW they can help.
Steve
Steve
docgogo said:
Been there, done that. Frustrating isn't it??
1)Accept the fact that GW sucks at customer service.
2)Rely on the manual and some good advice found on this forum
First off, check your draft . . . don't do the "I think . . ." thing. Once you have that correct, we can talk about your setup and probably get you enough suggestions to get you burning. BTW, the learning curve is a bit long on these, so don't give up.
I have a boiler very similar to your GW. Trust me they burn green wood and big rounds just fine! I have problems getting rid of all the heat. Post back with the info everyone has requested and I am sure all the good folks here can figure it out...
docgoge u say u have 12' of chimney is that correct u should have a min of 18' for a good draft . With out proper draft this boiler will not run right at all 
thanks for the post. i have 12' of double wall and approx 5' of single wall with a draft inducer installed. maybe not enough. i make sure the air tubes for the draft are clean. and the damper is working properly. also aquastat is set at 180 degrees. trouble is unless i'm there feeding small wood . once i get the boiler to 170-180 deg i put a large piece of wood usually white oak well seasoned for at least 12 months in approx 3 hrs my stove temps are down to 140 deg. and the wood is smoldering . thanks keith
Not trying to insult your fire making abilities but... It sounds like you are not starting up properly. It sounds like the firebox is not getting hot enough before you add the round. If you are starting from scratch it takes a while to get the refractory up to temp... Try this - Load the firebox with 2 dry splits North to South on outside edges of firebox(drop in by hand so you dont hit the back refractory). On top of that east to west - lots of newspaper, kindling, 4 dry splits. On top of that - add a layer of small rounds. If it is warm out stop here and refill with bigger rounds when you have a good fire/coals. If it is below freezing, fill her up with bigger rounds as last layer. After it is all loaded start the fire. This should last 6 - 12 hours depending on variables. I.E. wood type, temps outside, etc...After established fire, you may want to try at least 2 pieces of wood at a time. 1 round will not burn well by itself unless refractory is up to temp and you have a good deep bed of coals. This type of boiler starts different then a wood stove or other boilers... You want to pre-load the whole box before you even start the fire... Once you get the hang of the way it burns you can start to play around with the type/amount wood you can burn. When I am home I only throw 2 or 3 small rounds at a time. My system overheats less and burns cleaner. Damn , I need to get working on that water storage 
As I looked back at your original post I notice one other thing. These types of boilers put out ALOT of heat. 50* are horrible conditions to run this beast. When I run above freezing I have to use small loads of small wood or I overheat and draft totally sucks. With those types of temps I think you may want to revert to IseeDeadbtu's approach. Burning short hot fires. To me the GW type boiler is awesome in cold climates but not the right choice boiler for a mild climate. Not sure where Kentucky falls in terms of median temps but I suspect fairly mild?
The only chick I ever knew from KY was hot, hot, hot . . . but she was a fireman's wife, afterall ;-)
Not to disagree with Sparke, but . . . if it's warm outside, you are not going to have trouble getting the GW to 190, at least not because of the outside temp. Stick to the basics
1)Quit quessing on draft. Measure it!
2)You may need to use small rounds and/or splits to get the beast going. IMO, until you get used to this unit you may find you don't want to add the big rounds until the damper closes and you have a bed of coals.
3)Have you measured the wood's MC?
Not to disagree with Sparke, but . . . if it's warm outside, you are not going to have trouble getting the GW to 190, at least not because of the outside temp. Stick to the basics
1)Quit quessing on draft. Measure it!
2)You may need to use small rounds and/or splits to get the beast going. IMO, until you get used to this unit you may find you don't want to add the big rounds until the damper closes and you have a bed of coals.
3)Have you measured the wood's MC?
Looking at the problem from a different point of view could you possibly have to much load for this boiler ? Are your heat exchanger tubes clean especially the hidden vertical tubes in back?? Do you have any idea of your flue temperature{ internal thermometer } ?? Anthony
In a similar vein to Anthony's ponderings . . .
What are you doing with the water produced? For example, if you were using a 50-plate HX or too big of a pump, you could be overwhelming the GW. Another possibility . . . I have a 1200[]+ basement slab with pex. If I were to suddenly say I wanted to warm up the basement multiple degrees at once, that would put a hurt on the GW's water temp. Concrete sucks the heat outa water. Don't know if any of this applys to your situation . . .
More basics . . .
1)From the back of the GW, look down all 4 air tubes. Completely clean?
2)Can you actually get the GW up to temp using smaller rounds (2" will heat amazingly well, specially when its 30+ outside) and/or splits?
3)You said it burns better with splits . . . are these splits of the same white oak that won't burn as rounds? (BTW, red and/or white oak burn GREAT in the GW)
4)What do you have coming out of the stack?
What are you doing with the water produced? For example, if you were using a 50-plate HX or too big of a pump, you could be overwhelming the GW. Another possibility . . . I have a 1200[]+ basement slab with pex. If I were to suddenly say I wanted to warm up the basement multiple degrees at once, that would put a hurt on the GW's water temp. Concrete sucks the heat outa water. Don't know if any of this applys to your situation . . .
More basics . . .
1)From the back of the GW, look down all 4 air tubes. Completely clean?
2)Can you actually get the GW up to temp using smaller rounds (2" will heat amazingly well, specially when its 30+ outside) and/or splits?
3)You said it burns better with splits . . . are these splits of the same white oak that won't burn as rounds? (BTW, red and/or white oak burn GREAT in the GW)
4)What do you have coming out of the stack?
C'mon Doc, I'm actually awake and paying attention now! Readings, please!
Take your readings between the GW and the fan:
1)Fan off; damper closed (assuming it ever closes)
2)Fan off; damper open
3)Fan on; damper closed (not sure why you'd ever want that scenario under normal operating conditions)
4)Fan on; damper open
BTW, what meter are you using?
Jimbo
Take your readings between the GW and the fan:
1)Fan off; damper closed (assuming it ever closes)
2)Fan off; damper open
3)Fan on; damper closed (not sure why you'd ever want that scenario under normal operating conditions)
4)Fan on; damper open
BTW, what meter are you using?
Jimbo
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Greenwood Furnace requires draft measuring between
.05” and .07” WC (water column) (12.45 – 17.44 Pascals), measured with a
manometer or similar device. Draft less than .05” will starve the fire of oxygen and
cause it to burn dirty (i.e., produce smoke and creosote). Draft more than .07” will
feed too much oxygen to the fire, causing it to over-fire and burn at less than
optimum efficiency.
.05” and .07” WC (water column) (12.45 – 17.44 Pascals), measured with a
manometer or similar device. Draft less than .05” will starve the fire of oxygen and
cause it to burn dirty (i.e., produce smoke and creosote). Draft more than .07” will
feed too much oxygen to the fire, causing it to over-fire and burn at less than
optimum efficiency.
Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
That's interesting. Draft is something I never think about, but it makes sense that with a natural draft design, it would be an important consideration.
I have instruments for measuring my wood mc, temps at various places and my blood pressure, but no idea of my draft.
I have instruments for measuring my wood mc, temps at various places and my blood pressure, but no idea of my draft.
Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
I deleted the pic, Jimbo. Nothing wrong with another pretty girl, but I guess I have to draw the line somewhere, and perhaps pics unrelated to wood boilers, furnaces, etc. is as good a place as any. Photos of cars, boats, girlfriends, family and other unrelated stuff falls into this category as well.
So that's the new guideline. I appreciate everyone's cooperation and understanding.
So that's the new guideline. I appreciate everyone's cooperation and understanding.
webbie
Seasoned Moderator
I second that emotion. Pics are better by email. Otherwise we have teat for tat - so to speak. Our lady friends will be posting chipendales and some beefy underpants ads, and I know we will be not appreciate that.
So we'll keep the Rigid ads on the plumbing supply back room walls for now.
So we'll keep the Rigid ads on the plumbing supply back room walls for now.
LOL, no sweat, guys ;-) Those Chipendales poster people pizz me off anyway . . . How do they get those guys' faces on my body, put it in a pic, and not give me credit?!? I should be rich instead of trying to make money the old fashioned way :lol: :lol: :lol:
Oh, (trying to pull off a NoFo here) BTW, How'z our beleagured GW guy? It's about to drop to -15 windchill in 24 hours. . .now's not the time to have trouble with your unit.
Are we back on track now? :roll:
Are we back on track now? :roll:
update i added another stick of double wall pipe i now have 5 3' sticks of double wall pipe with 4.5 ' of single wall pipe below it i fixed my horizontal run now 8-6 reducer 18" single wall then an elbow. fire is building faster now have not had the draft measured again. probable will do that next week. by the way measured draft with damper open fan off 0 draft fan on -2 thats what was confusing me. he says it is a manometer that connects to his meter. i built a fire much like the suggestions of course small stuff then progressing to larger diameter stayed at 200 degerees for about 4 hrs. went to bed the gw was at 175 deg. two 14-15" logs on a bed of white hot fire and coals got up a 5 am still two very large logs smoldering air holes in the back are clean just cleaned out the ashes yesterday. when i am having the draft measured how big of a fire should i have the book says start a fire and wait 20-25 min. i got a pretty good fire going but of course not as good as i would have in 30-45 min. woud it skew the results if i had a hotter fire. sincere thanks to all who has tried to help me. i am at the point i wish gw had a return policy i have spent a fortune gw is actually trying to make it look like they are helping me but they haven't done much so far.
where my boiler is over the hill behind my house with trees surrounding it the closest on is probably about 25' away i hope i don't have to take out that tree would involve a lot of climbing.
have also toyed with the idea of moving my boiler but would probably cost several thousand dollars.
where my boiler is over the hill behind my house with trees surrounding it the closest on is probably about 25' away i hope i don't have to take out that tree would involve a lot of climbing.
have also toyed with the idea of moving my boiler but would probably cost several thousand dollars.
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