Hydro-to-Heat-Convertor Up and Running

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brant2000

Feeling the Heat
Oct 24, 2011
262
Somerset, PA
After reading a lot of posts and picking up some great information on here, I decided I needed to replace my basement wood stove with a boiler. I came across a Hydro-to-Heat-Convertor boiler and thought it would be a nice unit to make the transition. It still provides a lot of radiant heat, with only up to 30 MBH going into the water. I only have 120 gallons of storage, so I can't easily handle that many btu's. Eventually I'll be finishing this space in the basement and there's just something I love about being able to watch the flames. It's been about 2 weeks since I first built a fire in it and the heat pump hasn't had to kick on yet :) Here's a picture of it right after I got it installed and built a fire. Hopefully I'll post some more pics after I get things cleaned up a little bit.
 

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Welcome to hearth. Looks nice.
 
Hi Scott,
You probably need to fine-tune the airwash a little bit.
See how clean (dirty) the window stays after a couple of days.
Any idea what your draft is?
Call me if you have questions
 
Thanks Marc. That picture was actually taken with the bypass open, so probably not the best indicator. No, I don't have any idea what the draft is...not quite sure how to test for that. I have about a 25' tall exterior masonry chimney. The draft probably varies a lot, depending on the chimney temp.
The haze on the glass seems to come and go, depending on how hot I burn. I'm actually not sure which of the rear ports control which air intake. What should I try to adjust the airwash?
 
Hi Scott,

I checked the history of this particular unit: it was used for EPA R&D testing (50/70 hours burn time), UL listing/certification (30/40 hours) and some burn time in our shop.

The only difference is the stack/chimney setup.

We test with 8" double wall and no turns, 16' high.
Your setup shows a 8", 90 degree turn and then I assume into a masonry chimney.
I guess the draft is less then in our setup, so the cold window air does falls down over the glass in a different way.

If it comes and go, I would say you are fine. Better would be if you see a white haze on the inside of the glass.

3 things to keep in mind:
- do not keep the bypass open to long, it will overfire the unit and damage the combustor. Also you are not producing a lot of hot water because the HX is not engaged.
- try to burn wood with a moisture content of less then 25%, 20% MC is good, 18% is optimal.
- keep combustibles away at least 12": wood, 18" in front of the glass for the carpet

Also keep the beer boxes at a cooler place, it taste better when beer colder. LOL

If you decide to built an enclosure around the unit, then don't cover the two 1/8" holes on the left/right side of the door.
 
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