Putting The Pellet Boiler to Sleep For the Summer

[velvetfoot]

A recent thread on the Pellet forum got me thinking about this. The boiler is in the basement, which is damper than up top. There are more moving parts, like the pellet feed and bottom, and flyash removal systems. I guess it could be kept running in the summer for hot water, but I'm currently leaning to putting it to sleep and using the electric water heater.

I'm thinking:
-Thorough cleaning
-Block exhaust
-Crack open door

I guess I could close the door and put something like Damp Rid in there, but I've never used that
I thought about spraying parts down but there are moving parts that can't be reached for cleaning first, like the flyash tube cleaners (not sure of correct term).
One pellet forum post suggested a Stabil fogging (which I also don't have any experience with), running the fan to distribute fog. I wonder if that stuff landing on parts covered with flyash might not be a problem, and maybe it'd be a fire hazard?

Any tips?

 

[jebatty]

Hard to think about "boiler to sleep" when the temp outside right now is -22F. On a more serious note, my gasification non-pellet boiler gets, and the first item and some of the others may apply well to comparable areas for pellet boilers (not necessarily in this order): 1) seal the flue, draft fan and all air entry points into the firebox and gasification chamber, 2) vacuum dust out of the draft fan and surrounding areas, 3) scrape loose material off the walls of the firebox, 3) clean ash out of firebox and gasification chamber, brush the firetubes, and clean ash out of the exhaust area above the firetubes, 4) clean the flue collar area and seal the flue collar.

The idea behind sealing the boiler from air entry is to reduce as much as possible humidity laden summer air from being in contact with boiler parts to prevent corrosion, and especially to prevent humidity laden air to be in contact with any surface that my have creosote deposits. Creosote + water = acid and corrosion.

 

[Karl_northwind]

I agree with all of the above (except the stabil fogging) and I would get a couple desiccant bags and throw them in there too. can't hurt. maybe one in the burn chamber, one in the top of the flue chamber below the inducer fan. make sure to put a sign on the boiler and boiler breaker to remove them before lighting.
maybe run it out of pellets too? so they don't decompose in the feed hopper?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#desiccants/=w6dllh
karl

 

[velvetfoot]

Thanks. Your approach is to seal off the boiler from the basement as well as outside air? I can see blocking off the flue so that the warm humid air isn't drawn down the flue to condense on the cooler surfaces of the boiler, but I'll be darned if I know exactly how the air is drawn into the boiler and how to seal that off. I can see it as an exercise in futility. I'm thinking that keeping the door cracked open would help to equalize the temperature changes and maybe avoid some condensation, as long as the flue is blocked.

I can see a gold standard being an incandescent bulb in there and/or running the dehumidifier more, although the heat pump water heater helps a little.

 

[harttj]

I clean everything real well, remove the chimney and the augers to store them in the barn. I used to put an old lamp inside and coat the inside withe lp3 but the last couple years I spray the entire inside and tubes with motor oil. This seems to protect the steel nicely at less cost. Do a quick check in July to ensure no trouble and the reassemble in October. I leave the circ pump on year round.

 

[CaptainK]

... I guess it could be kept running in the summer for hot water, ...

With the price of pellets compared to elect. that's what we do. Last summer it fired one to two times a day for DHW. No "summerization" required.

Besides its fun to have your friends come over and say "Hey,, (*sniff* *sniff* *sniff*) who would be burning a fire in the middle of July?!"

 

[George the Beagle]

I agree. Why did you retain the electric hot water heater if you're making hot water off the pellet boiler? Our MeSys installer recommended going the DHW route off the pellet boiler as opposed to a hybrid hot water heater just because they felt it would be better for the boiler not to do a full shutdown in the summer. So far, so good.

 

[woodsmaster]

sleep ? its still negative temps here. Is summer really coming ?

 

[velvetfoot]

Captain and George: Did you ever figure how much pellets DHW uses?
I think I might make a separate topic on this.

 

[Karl_northwind]

I've only done the math on it, but I figured that 100 gallons a day would use around 2 tons of pellets annually. my in-house fuel calculator has a DHW function, and that's what it spit out for a client that I'm working with.
for what it's worth.

Edit: I opened my mouth before I opened my spreadsheet
the output is about 1.5 tons of pellets, but that's figuring a simple 85% efficiency. not figuring for standby losses etc.

karl

 

[George the Beagle]

That could be a tough one. My "seat of the pants" answer is: DHW uses a lot less fuel than heat. How's that?

 

[George the Beagle]

Thanks Karl, you obviously are better in touch with this than my seat is.

 

[Karl_northwind]

It's just math based on BTU load and assorted assumptions. I could be wrong, but it's in the ballpark. and remember, that's annual DHW load. the summer is a portion of that.

 

[velvetfoot]

That could be a tough one. My "seat of the pants" answer is: DHW uses a lot less fuel than heat. How's that?

You must be one of those guys with the bulk delivery

 

[CaptainK]

Hey, whats wrong with being a bulk delivery guy?

I gauged it once because I was curious, with the two of us its about 15lbs a day. That's with a superstore of 50gal holding at 140°F, and the boiler set to "summer mode"

 

[velvetfoot]

Hey, whats wrong with being a bulk delivery guy?

I'm beginning to think you guys' numbers are a little loosey-goosey.

How did you measure the 15 lbs?

Assuming 15 lbs x 30 day/month = 450lbs. I don't know, could that be $60 a month for dhw for two people? Seems high.

 

[CaptainK]

I'm beginning to think you guys' numbers are a little loosey-goosey.

How did you measure the 15 lbs?

That maybe true, after all when you have a 3 ton "bag", its hard to be accurate...

I ran the small hopper dry and filled it full, it holds 100lbs, then I disabled the auto fill and let it run, it went one week before it ran dry. 100/7=~14.3 (see, even rounded up) so about 15lbs a day.

 

[velvetfoot]

That's a good number then.
This is also where the less handling factor of bulk delivery comes into play, perhaps. Generally speaking, the idea of flipping a switch has its appeal, to me anyway.
I think I do better than 60 bucks a month for electric hot water.
Then again, I'd have to factor in any "summerizing" costs.

 

[CaptainK]

Our elect. bill dropped by $70 so we are quite happy. Also I only pay $0.12 lb so it's closer to $55 /mo but you best check my loosey-goosey math. :-D

 

[BoilerMan]

Think about a cool boiler fireing up to make DHW, and then the aquastat opens and then what does all the hot steel and water of the boiler do? All to do it all over again the next day/cycle............not for me. Too much loss and what I would consider nu-necessary wear on equipment. Electric or better yet HPWH for summer. This is also where tankless-on-demand gas has it's advantages, although that may be the only advantage.

TS