Having a hard time keeping water up to temp

[wvwoodchuck]

I'm having a difficult time today keeping my boiler water temp up to where it needs to be. I'm struggling to keep ahead with wood to burn. I got the OWB installed late in the fall and didn't have any wood cut. So right now I'm burning green wood. The btu's just aren't what they need to be. I'm gonna have to find some more standing dead trees. Since it's a wood/coal burner, I'm adding some coal to help with the btu's. Any other suggestions besides to try and find some seasoned wood?

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I don't remember anything about your setup . . .

Assuming everything is set up the way it should be, and the fact you live in WV, I'd prolly be burning coal.

and I'd be getting my wood for next year.

 

[Nofossil]

There's no magic bullet. In most areas you can but dry wood, but it's expensive. Standing dead wood can still have a very high moisture content. To make matters worse, getting your wood a year ahead probably won't help as much as you'd like. Most OWBs burn long unsplit pieces, which won't dry much in a year.

Many dealers and manufacturers claim wildly optimistic numbers for wood consumption. Reality can be a different story.

I'm no expert on OWB fuel, but anything you can do to reduce moisture content will help. Cutting wood shorter allows quicker drying. Some species (ash) are MUCH better than other species (oak). Getting two years ahead is a great investment - you can get a LOT more heat out of two year old wood than out of green. Of course you have to keep it dry somehow.

 

[RobC]

Have you checked your draft fan and intake areas to make sure they are 100% clean ? Squirrel cage fans need to be really clean to work at 100%.

 

[bigburner]

Does it ever idle? What kind of terminal units are you using -fan coils, in floor etc? What is your underground pipe, how far down, how long and is the sol wet or dry? Most OWB I have been involved with will handle wetter wood then about anything out there and making hot water is easy if you want to feed it correctly, in your case spiting the wood into 4 to 6 diameter will allow the unit to dry on the fly,it's more work for sure.

 

[wvwoodchuck]

It does idle sometimes. When the water gets up to temp, it will idle. When I first installed the unit (Nov. 2010), I used standing dead locust and oak. I've just about cut them all up that are easy to get to. I've been cleaning out the fence line along our pasture so that I can redo the old fence. The coal has really helped.
My pipes are 2 1/2ft in the ground. Insulated in the black pipe. Thanks for the replies. This place is great.