Repeated startup/shutdown

[jdeere5220]

quick question-

With the up and down temps in MI right now, I recently found that I can shut down my outdoor corn boiler for 2-3 days, then fire it back up, then shutdown, etc.. and save about 50% in corn over holding steady temp when no heat is needed. It takes about 25 minutes to get back to temp after a restart, so not too long.

My question: Is this a good way to rust out the firebox? I don't see anything about this in the manual, but I know I've seen authors here warn about running a boiler at low temp. Is frequent startup/shutdown basically the same as running at low temp in terms of rust risk?

Thanks!

 

[Piker]

I have found that when I run the Econoburn at lower temps, say 150 or 160, I seem to get a little more condensate in the upper chamber. For this reason, I keep the boiler about 190 most of the time. Also, any time you fire the boiler cold, you will get a pretty good shot of condensate forming until the water gets up to temp. I don't think this is an issue as long as you take the boiler up to temp, however, because as the water gets hotter, the condensate will begin to dissapear for the most part. If you repeatedly fired the boiler from say 80* to 120* and then shut it down, the condensate would not get a chance to dissipate, and it could cause corrosion issues.

At any rate, I think as long as you bring the boiler all the way up to temp each time you fire it, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. This is how those who own gassers with storage run their boilers every day.

cheers

 

[jdeere5220]

Thanks Piker.

Best Regards