I have what I think is a hydro hearth insert in my fireplace. Its in line with my baseboard heat and works pretty good.I have to turn on the circulator whenever we start a fire. My question is it seems my boiler runs more when i start a fire and turn the circ on. I dont think im saving anything on oil by burning the wood but the house does get nice and warm. I' asked a few plumbers about this and they have never seen the hydro hearth and had no info for me. Any info would be appreciated...Thanks JgWalsh1886
hydro hearth
- Thread starter Jgwalsh1886
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webbie
Seasoned Moderator
Hah! Wait a few minutes.....I'll see if something is in the old catalogs......
It probably won't say how to properly install - that's more up to the individual plumber. But it surely should add some BTUs into the water. Also, most of the controls should probably be automatic - that is, when it heats it auto-turns on the off the circ.
I'll do some digging.....
It probably won't say how to properly install - that's more up to the individual plumber. But it surely should add some BTUs into the water. Also, most of the controls should probably be automatic - that is, when it heats it auto-turns on the off the circ.
I'll do some digging.....
webbie
Seasoned Moderator
Got something - but this is the stove they made. Pretty much similar except the other thing was a fireplace grate.
Company long gone.
Company long gone.
webbie
Seasoned Moderator
The one in the picture is what I have, the patent info looks like it too. Guess I'm wondering if I can save oil by shutting down burner while i burn wood. The circulator is the burner circ for my lower zone and not sure if it will run with burner off..Thanks webbie, as you can tell im not fluid in plumbing but frugal in plumbing (oil)
webbie
Seasoned Moderator
Control logic is a whole book in itself.
Some people would do it this way. They would use the grate to simply circulate water to and from the boiler so both stay very how and then allow any or every zone to call for heat when they need it.
I can't claim to be an expert on controls - it always depends on what you want. The system I mentioned...you could turn the oil burner down 10 or 20 degrees so that as long as the wood kept things above a certain temp (150 or so), the oil would not turn on, etc.
Then you also want to make sure the circ doesn't turn on and take hot boiler water through the grate and cool it!.
So there might be an aquastat on the grate or near which turned the circ on at 185 degrees and off at 170....or even a different kind of sensor that monitored the fire temp, etc.
This is something any decent hydronics guy should be able to think up....not really much different from the way one would plumb some of the new units like these...
http://www.hydro-to-heat-convertor.com/fireplaceinserts.html
Some people would do it this way. They would use the grate to simply circulate water to and from the boiler so both stay very how and then allow any or every zone to call for heat when they need it.
I can't claim to be an expert on controls - it always depends on what you want. The system I mentioned...you could turn the oil burner down 10 or 20 degrees so that as long as the wood kept things above a certain temp (150 or so), the oil would not turn on, etc.
Then you also want to make sure the circ doesn't turn on and take hot boiler water through the grate and cool it!.
So there might be an aquastat on the grate or near which turned the circ on at 185 degrees and off at 170....or even a different kind of sensor that monitored the fire temp, etc.
This is something any decent hydronics guy should be able to think up....not really much different from the way one would plumb some of the new units like these...
http://www.hydro-to-heat-convertor.com/fireplaceinserts.html
Thanks for the info Webbie, I'll try and find a Hydronics guy to take a look. First time on your site and i appreciate the quick response and info! There are no sensors or aquastats on this system..I've been in the house twenty winters and finally got curious about it, with the oil prices here on long island thought it was time. Thanks again, Jim
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