I have been burning my EKO40 system for approx. 2 months and have been less than happy with its BTU output and higher than expected wood consumption.
Until today I have not been able to get my 1,000 gallons of pressurized storage any hotter than 160 F. I have been setting my controller to 195F and the boiler just cycles up to this point, drops to the designated temp and repeats itself (rapid cycling).
Today I actually sat down and calculated the BTU output of the EKO40 for the past few days that I have recorded burn data for. I used the rise in temperature of my (2) 500 gallon storage tanks to determine the BTU output of the boiler (I also kept track of approx. burn time for each loading).
Based on these calculations I discovered that I have been collecting approx. 52K BTU/hour from my EKO40 boiler.
Thus, I recalculated the circ. tank and piping system #'s and discovered that I was running my Taco 010 on its highest setting when I should have been operating it on its lowest setting (I am using a Taco 010IFC 3 speed pump). Using the "Taco pump selection bulletin" I calculated a GPM of 13.6 at a head of 4' ( I am using 30' of 1.25" dia. copper with minimal elbows and misc fittings).
After discovering this error I immediately made a fire in the EKO40 and was able to get my tanks up to 180 F with 1-1/2 wood loading/burning cycles.
I recalculated the new BTU output based on tank temperature readings and my BTU output went from 53K BTU/hour to 129K BTU/hour.
I wanted to share this information because early in my days of researching the gasifiaction options/systems available I came across several people who originally installed too small of a circ. pump and were unable to achieve high tank temperatures and experienced the same rapid cycling that I experienced having too small a circ. pump. However, I found no one that said too large of a pump can also cause problems. Rather, it was mentioned that it is better to have a slightly larger pump than too small a pump.
In addition to more than doubling my Boiler BTU output /Input into the (2) 500 gallon storage tanks, I also went from a 160 watt load (controller, fan and pump) to a 119 watt load (same controller, fan and circ pump). Imagine that, over double the BTU output with less electrical input (approx. 40 Watts).
Until today I have not been able to get my 1,000 gallons of pressurized storage any hotter than 160 F. I have been setting my controller to 195F and the boiler just cycles up to this point, drops to the designated temp and repeats itself (rapid cycling).
Today I actually sat down and calculated the BTU output of the EKO40 for the past few days that I have recorded burn data for. I used the rise in temperature of my (2) 500 gallon storage tanks to determine the BTU output of the boiler (I also kept track of approx. burn time for each loading).
Based on these calculations I discovered that I have been collecting approx. 52K BTU/hour from my EKO40 boiler.
Thus, I recalculated the circ. tank and piping system #'s and discovered that I was running my Taco 010 on its highest setting when I should have been operating it on its lowest setting (I am using a Taco 010IFC 3 speed pump). Using the "Taco pump selection bulletin" I calculated a GPM of 13.6 at a head of 4' ( I am using 30' of 1.25" dia. copper with minimal elbows and misc fittings).
After discovering this error I immediately made a fire in the EKO40 and was able to get my tanks up to 180 F with 1-1/2 wood loading/burning cycles.
I recalculated the new BTU output based on tank temperature readings and my BTU output went from 53K BTU/hour to 129K BTU/hour.
I wanted to share this information because early in my days of researching the gasifiaction options/systems available I came across several people who originally installed too small of a circ. pump and were unable to achieve high tank temperatures and experienced the same rapid cycling that I experienced having too small a circ. pump. However, I found no one that said too large of a pump can also cause problems. Rather, it was mentioned that it is better to have a slightly larger pump than too small a pump.
In addition to more than doubling my Boiler BTU output /Input into the (2) 500 gallon storage tanks, I also went from a 160 watt load (controller, fan and pump) to a 119 watt load (same controller, fan and circ pump). Imagine that, over double the BTU output with less electrical input (approx. 40 Watts).
