Newbie from Indiana

[carpenter383]

Hello all, Great Site! I'm a newbie here, but have been lurking for a couple months.
I have been in the process of installing an home built outdoor wood boiler. (I didn't build it) It was built based on plans from the internet. I just got it going today and it seems to make plenty of heat.
A few details:
It holds aprox. 120-130 gallons of water.
It has an anedode rod in the water jacket.
It has a firebox that's aprox. 12 cubic ft.
It has a forced air blower to keep the fire going.
The circ. pump is set up to run all the time. (is this ok?)
It's insulated with 2" foam board on the back, both sides and the top. The door is poured with some kind of high temp concrete
The fire box is 1/4" mild steel, water jacket is 3/16" (I think)
I didn't get much of a jump on gathering wood in time to let it season well, but what I do have cut has been dead for a couple yrs.
A few questions:
Should I put any fire brick in the fire box?
How much benifit would I get from insulating the bottom of the stove?
What kind of water treatment should I use?
I'm not planning on running the system in warmer months, so should I drain the water every yr. even if I use water treatment?
Are there any common newbie mistakes I should be aware of?
TIA

 

[Gary_602z]

What are you using to keep it from overheating? Aquastat to shut off blower and draft opening?

Gary

 

[Duetech]

My system is configured to run the primary circ 24-7.

 

[carpenter383]

What are you using to keep it from overheating? Aquastat to shut off blower and draft opening?

Gary

Yes an aquastat controls the blower, when the blower is off there is a steel "flap" that closes via gravity and blocks most of the air from entering the firebox. The blower air pushes the "flap" back open when it kicks on.

 

[carpenter383]

My system is configured to run the primary circ 24-7.

The primary circut being the water pump?

 

[carpenter383]

Well my boiler is heading toward a 24 hr burn. I loaded it with wood at about 11 oclock last night and there are still some good chunks left now at 18 hrs. Outside temp is in the upper 30's though so I'm sure things will be a little different in a month or two. If I would have know it would go this long I would'nt have put so much wood in it last night. Since it's supposed to be better to have shorter hotter fires.

 

[Gary_602z]

Since I have a OWB I thought I would throw in my thoughts! My circ.pump runs 24/7 going to a flate plate heat exchanger that preheats any water going to my electric water heater( preheats water going in from 52degrees to about 120 degrees) then goes to a water to air heat exchanger in the plenum of my furnace to heat my house. T-stat kicks on fan to keep temp right.
Luv it! Does it save me any money? With the intial cost and interest on my money it would take about a 4-5 year payback.
But man I just hate giving my money to the propane co. I would rather spend it on chainsaws and supplies or tractor gas.
Plus the benefits are no chimney fires ever,I don't have the mess of hauling wood into my basement and with the layout of our house I didn't have the option of putting up another chimney astheticlly.

Gary