It's 13 degrees outside but the ole EKO is summerized

[stee6043]

I'm almost ashamed to admit I ran out of wood before the end of January this year. I went in to this winter with about 70% of the wood I would normally have (4 cord). And wouldn't you know we'd have one of the coldest I can remember in a long time. I knew by Christmas time I was in trouble.

Kids combined with a basement remodel project really hosed my wood processing schedule late 2012. I've had wood bucked in a pile waiting to be split since 2011. Haven't seen the bottom of that pile in 3 years! Nevertheless, I'm good for 2014/2015 winter after I throw some cherry in the last row. I look forward to getting back to my normal schedule of not paying to heat my house this coming winter.

The EKO looked great as I cleaned it out yesterday. Knock on wood...I think I can get at least another year out of the lower refractories. My upper nozzle still looks very good, minimal wear. I may someday throw some cheapo fire bricks on top of the nozzle opening just for kicks. I think my nozzle could last a lifetime if I play my cards right.

 

[woodsmaster]

If you keep running out of wood it will last forever ! LOL... Just depends on how much wood you burn for most part as to how long the refractory will last. They way and number of times it's cleaned may also affect the life I believe. I wouldn't count on it lasting your life time even at only 3 or 4 cord a year but then again you never Know how long you have.

 

[Fred61]

I think my nozzle could last a lifetime if I play my cards right.

I don't believe your nozzle will last a lifetime unless "playing your cards right" means you're planning on sucking on the exhaust pipe of your car in the next 3 or 4 years.

 

[skfire]

Rough winter....same here....as of mid March, ran out of my allocated supply(just under 5.5 cords) and through about 1/2 ton of biobricks(emergency stash)...only have about quarter cord of small dry oak left and I am saving it for my sauna. Froling was shut down last Wednesday.. and doing some lower refractory maintenance/repair this weekend. Propane boiler is running....

All set for 2014/15 with 6 cords of 3 year old,Ash, Maple, beech and birch. Working on 2015/16, have 2 cords of oak, split and stacked(felled in 2011) and have about 4 cords of ash and maple logs felled in 2012, waiting for bucking , splitting and stacking. The eye injury in 2012 really dropped the hammer on me...but I will catch up this summer. Adjusting to left eye dominant..after a lifetime of right...no matter what keep on keeping on.
Have a few dead standing Cherries to drop and process. Last 8 years, Cherries, hard maples and black birches started to die out....

On the way out..they are predicting an incoming big storm this week for the north east.....arghhhhh

SK

 

[infinitymike]

[quote="stee6043, post: 1699293, member: 6246" I went in to this winter with about 70% of the wood I would normally have (4 cord). [/quote]

Are you saying you only had 70% of 4 cord? So only 3 cord? or 4 cord is 70% of what you normally use, (6 cord)?
Either way,... thats it??!!

I know there are many determining factors in amounts of fuel burnt, but I'm almost done with 9 cord.
Which equates to what I would have assumed I'd burn in oil for such a cold winter, man that would have been a big fuel bill.
I'm down to a 1/4 cord and then it's into the 22 cord that was only c/s/s back in May.
I figure LI would be a touch warmer than Michigan.

 

[ihookem]

Mike, you used 9 cord? Wow. I'm half that at this point. Is your home tight or do you like it 76* in the house? One of my only prayers is to not run out of firewood. In 96 I had a few handfulls left. I don' think I will run out but will be close if it doesn't warm up. I have 1/4 cord of basswood I got 1 mi. away and almost 1 cord of elm. I have 2 months to go though.

 

[Fred61]

Have a few dead standing Cherries to drop and process. Last 8 years, Cherries, hard maples and black birches started to die out....

Process those standing dead as soon as possible. Black birch first. It will rot in weeks if bark is not scratched, exposing the sap wood, then cherry who's bark is still quite waterproof and lastly the maple. On the pieces that are too small to split all it takes is a quick scratch the length of the piece that penetrates the bark with the end of the bar.

 

[Fred61]

I've burned my allotted 3 cords and just started picking from next year's stash but not to worry because next years stuff has been split and stacked for 4 years. Will be processing 2017-2018 wood this spring. Will have a little catching up to do. All those below zero mornings added up even though I didn't feel like I was feeding more into the boiler. I guess just one or two extra pieced per day add up. I guess it didn't help that I was hooking up my water hose to the hot water sillcock and performing de-icing duties a few more times this winter.

 

[infinitymike]

Mike, you used 9 cord?

Yep. For heat and DHW since late October.
And my house is insulated like a wiffle ball.
And I keep the house at 70 from 6am - 11pm and then it's at 67 for the overnight.

My house was built in 1951 with NO insulation. Then added to in 1971 with very little insulation. Some where in the mid 70's they blew some powder in the 1st floor walls which has settled down a third of the way. I know this because I put new windows and siding on the front wall and ended up pulling off the t&g sheathing to insulate with r-15 roxul

It's 2720 sq ft of heated space and the Wood Gun is in the uninsulated garage.

But I also think I am burning so much because I made a mistake when I first bought the WG and split everything down to the size of a playing card or a bit bigger because that's what I had read here. But now I I realize that's like kindling for the WG. So everything that i split now is really big like 6x6 and 7x7. but the 22 cord is split like a 4x4 to a 5x5

 

[skfire]

Process those standing dead as soon as possible. Black birch first. It will rot in weeks if bark is not scratched, exposing the sap wood, then cherry who's bark is still quite waterproof and lastly the maple. On the pieces that are too small to split all it takes is a quick scratch the length of the piece that penetrates the bark with the end of the bar.

Funny...as you were writing this, I was outside with my 11 year old boy, marking trees, trails and access points so I can start getting to them.....still ice everywhere.
Black birches rot super fast, "super high gluten in the sap"...LOL, like to use them for my oven, mixed with hickory when I bake pots of wings with onions and/or pizza...
I have harvested about 5 in the last 3 years....serious changes in the soil, air temps and certain bug infestations....wiping them out.

Scott

 

[skfire]

I'm almost ashamed to admit I ran out of wood before the end of January this year. I went in to this winter with about 70% of the wood I would normally have (4 cord). And wouldn't you know we'd have one of the coldest I can remember in a long time. I knew by Christmas time I was in trouble.

Kids combined with a basement remodel project really hosed my wood processing schedule late 2012. I've had wood bucked in a pile waiting to be split since 2011. Haven't seen the bottom of that pile in 3 years! Nevertheless, I'm good for 2014/2015 winter after I throw some cherry in the last row. I look forward to getting back to my normal schedule of not paying to heat my house this coming winter.

The EKO looked great as I cleaned it out yesterday. Knock on wood...I think I can get at least another year out of the lower refractories. My upper nozzle still looks very good, minimal wear. I may someday throw some cheapo fire bricks on top of the nozzle opening just for kicks. I think my nozzle could last a lifetime if I play my cards right.

Btw Stee, what s your summerization protocol?
Interested to know how far do you go with it, especially regarding oil rub downs and ceramic care.

Thank you

Scott

 

[flyingcow]

Btw Stee, what s your summerization protocol?
Interested to know how far do you go with it, especially regarding oil rub downs and ceramic care.

Thank you

Scott

Oil rub downs? Curious where this goes. Actually maybe not.....

 

[Fred61]

Oil rub downs? Curious where this goes. Actually maybe not.....

You're not anywhere close to that Zumba instructor in Kennebunkport are you?

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Hey, she's pretty hot.

 

[skfire]

OK...I SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING YOU DIRTY MINDED,,,,,I guess I agree....

 

[flyingcow]

You're not anywhere close to that Zumba instructor in Kennebunkport are you?

Nope, actually you might be closer

 

[heaterman]

Lots of people in that same boat this year. It was (still is) a rugged winter. Looking at 4*F on the thermometer up here as I type this and it'll be below 0 tomorrow morning for sure unless it clouds up.

 

[stee6043]

[quote="stee6043, post: 1699293, member: 6246" I went in to this winter with about 70% of the wood I would normally have (4 cord).

Are you saying you only had 70% of 4 cord? So only 3 cord? or 4 cord is 70% of what you normally use, (6 cord)?
Either way,... thats it??!!

I know there are many determining factors in amounts of fuel burnt, but I'm almost done with 9 cord.
Which equates to what I would have assumed I'd burn in oil for such a cold winter, man that would have been a big fuel bill.
I'm down to a 1/4 cord and then it's into the 22 cord that was only c/s/s back in May.
I figure LI would be a touch warmer than Michigan.

Depending on the winter my 4 cord will take me from end of October or early November through to the end of March. Last year I had wood left over since it was so warm.

I've got alternating stacks of 4 cord so I'm usually a full year ahead. Last year...not so much.

 

[stee6043]

Btw Stee, what s your summerization protocol?
Interested to know how far do you go with it, especially regarding oil rub downs and ceramic care.

Thank you

Scott

Since my boiler is indoors I'd say my spring cleanup is likely pretty simple in the grand scheme. I clean out all the ash from both the upper and lower chambers, scrape away the creosote in the upper chamber only where it's really heavy (near the door seals), remove the refractories for cleaning and get everything out from under the turbs while they are out. I'll clean the flue (T cleanout) and the fan for the inducer. I then take both doors off, scrape them clean, heavily WD40 the seals, reinstall. I throw desiccant in the upper and lower chambers, seal off the flue with a towel and presto - done.

I'll check the fire tubes in the fall but if they look like they normally do I'll probably skip cleaning those as usual. That's about it. So far this method has worked well for me...

 

[Bill the Dog]

Since my boiler is indoors I'd say my spring cleanup is likely pretty simple in the grand scheme. I clean out all the ash from both the upper and lower chambers, scrape away the creosote in the upper chamber only where it's really heavy (near the door seals), remove the refractories for cleaning and get everything out from under the turbs while they are out. I'll clean the flue (T cleanout) and the fan for the inducer. I then take both doors off, scrape them clean, heavily WD40 the seals, reinstall. I throw desiccant in the upper and lower chambers, seal off the flue with a towel and presto - done.

I'll check the fire tubes in the fall but if they look like they normally do I'll probably skip cleaning those as usual. That's about it. So far this method has worked well for me...

I've ran my EKO 80 for 6 years now. Went through 10 cords this winter (heating close to 5000 sq. ft.). I average 9 cords per winter. I'll be out of wood in about a week.
My summerization process is identical to Steelman's, except I don't put desiccant into either chamber, nor block off the flue. FWIW, my nozzles look to be in brand new condition. My lower chamber refractories have very minor cracks in the bottom (Under the "U"), but look to be in excellent condition. I don't see that I'll need any refractory replacement any time soon. My heat exchange tubes in the back always look clean and ready to go in the fall when I look in there. I've never brushed them or done anything other that slide the turbulators up and down a few times every time I add wood.

Bill the Dog

 

[woodsmaster]

I've ran my EKO 80 for 6 years now. Went through 10 cords this winter (heating close to 5000 sq. ft.). I average 9 cords per winter. I'll be out of wood in about a week.
My summerization process is identical to Steelman's, except I don't put desiccant into either chamber, nor block off the flue. FWIW, my nozzles look to be in brand new condition. My lower chamber refractories have very minor cracks in the bottom (Under the "U"), but look to be in excellent condition. I don't see that I'll need any refractory replacement any time soon. My heat exchange tubes in the back always look clean and ready to go in the fall when I look in there. I've never brushed them or done anything other that slide the turbulators up and down a few times every time I add wood.

Bill the Dog

Do you guys that don't brush the tubes measure the exhaust temps ? curious what temp you're getting.

 

[woodsmaster]

They must have used some exelent quality refractory in some of those units. I know its not all created equal.

 

[stee6043]

I've ran my EKO 80 for 6 years now. Went through 10 cords this winter (heating close to 5000 sq. ft.). I average 9 cords per winter. I'll be out of wood in about a week.
My summerization process is identical to Steelman's, except I don't put desiccant into either chamber, nor block off the flue. FWIW, my nozzles look to be in brand new condition. My lower chamber refractories have very minor cracks in the bottom (Under the "U"), but look to be in excellent condition. I don't see that I'll need any refractory replacement any time soon. My heat exchange tubes in the back always look clean and ready to go in the fall when I look in there. I've never brushed them or done anything other that slide the turbulators up and down a few times every time I add wood.

Bill the Dog

Glad to hear I'm not the only one! I see threads about nozzle replacement and cleaning the fire tubes and I wonder what kind of lucky star I must be living under...

 

[stee6043]

Do you guys that don't brush the tubes measure the exhaust temps ? curious what temp you're getting.

I do. I adjust my fan/shutter settings during a burn to maintain 350 +/-. This is 12" from the flue exit, single wall pipe.

 

[Tennman]

FWIW since you brought up nozzles, started this year with a new nozzle. Obviously burned more wood than last year. Last year I'm estimating we filled the wheelbarrow 3.. maybe 4 times with ash. This year one wheelbarrow of ash for the season. I don't know if the Biomass's nozzle material's different than the BioMass, but I've got the data now for keeping a sharp edge nozzle. Good tips Stee.