Tarm delivered, question about burning oak

[twitch]

Just got my Tarm Solo 30 delivered yesterday, and she has a home in the boiler room I'm building in my garage. I thought it was going to be the older style, but to my surprise, it is the new Scandtec style.

In reading through the manual, it says not to burn only oak over extended periods (or something to that affect) due to the high acid content. The person delivering the boiler said he thought it had to do with problems with the heat exchanger tubes.

I've never heard this before, and the older manual doesn't say anything about this. Has anyone heard of this, or had problems when burning primarily oak?

 

[free75degrees]

Just got my Tarm Solo 30 delivered yesterday, and she has a home in the boiler room I'm building in my garage. I thought it was going to be the older style, but to my surprise, it is the new Scandtec style.

In reading through the manual, it says not to burn only oak over extended periods (or something to that affect) due to the high acid content. The person delivering the boiler said he thought it had to do with problems with the heat exchanger tubes.

I've never heard this before, and the older manual doesn't say anything about this. Has anyone heard of this, or had problems when burning primarily oak?

A guy from Tarm USA told me that when I bought mine, and for the same reason, but I don't have any experience with it.

 

[Medman]

I don't know about the Tarm, but I have been burning primarily red oak and maple in my Pacific Energy stove during the cold winter months. In the shoulder seasons I burn maple and yellow or silver birch for shorter fires. I have never had a problem with creosote buildup or corrosion with oak, but I will caution that red oak must be at least two years dry - cut, split and covered - for it to have a moisture content low enough to allow the PE stove to reach secondary burn temperatures. I will know how well the oak performs in the EKO 25 in a few weeks.
A full load of red oak in my PE stove will heat the living space for 12-14 hours, even on the coldest nights. It is by far my favorite wood to burn.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

To spare you the corrosion problem, I'll swap you out my Aspen for your Oak. :smirk:

 

[oldmilwaukee]

Twitch,

First, thanks for sharing your install pics, I am starting my Tarm Solo 40 installation today. I was studying your installation pictures and I wondered if your system has a balancing valve between the hot water from the boiler and the Termovar? Is one needed? That part of your system was already plumbed when you got it... if I understand the comments on your web page correctly? I am just looking for a model to follow, and yours looked pretty compact/neat.

Also, I like how your unit is on blocks - is this recommended general procedure?

Thanks!

 

[twitch]

oldmilwaukee...you are correct, I do not have a balancing valve between the boiler supply and the Termovar. The company I bought it from did that part of the plumbing, and at the time, I didn't know I needed one. I'm using the isolation valve (I think it is a ball valve) on the supply side of the Termovar as the balancing valve. I would definitely say that you do need one to be able to adjust the supply flow through the Termovar and get your entire system up to temperature.

The first few times I fired the Tarm, I wasn't getting enough heat to my air handler. The two things I tried was 1-shut the "balancing valve" half way, and 2-adjusting the circulator speed (I have a three speed grundfos). The thing that worked best for me was the balancing valve.

I read somewhere, not sure where, that it was recommended to put the boiler on blocks. For one, it keeps it away from any water that may leak in on the floor, and two, it's easier to clean the ashes out of the secondary combustion chamber.

I hope to have some pics of the completed system soon and add them to the page.

 

[oldmilwaukee]

Thanks for the description/clarification. That is awesome that you are up and running now. I just skimmed the Tarm manual again and I see it recommends raising the unit 8" to make loading easier. The spilled water scenario you present is equally as motivating. But I just spent 30 minutes taking the shipping pallet apart piecemeal and lowering my Tarm 6" on to the slab!! :0

I have a grundfos 3spd for the main loop circulator as well. 15-58.

Please do update us with some pictures of the installed unit. As you probably know, to see pictures of what these diagrams end up looking like is very valuable to those of us going down this path the first time.

Thanks.

 

[twitch]

It definitely is a good feeling to finally have free heat!! It was a lot of work, and took awhile to get it running only working on it a little at a time, but what satisfaction when I first fired it up. I was grinning ear to ear and bouncing off the walls I'll put some more pics up when I have time, and here is another thread that discusses the balancing valve and the need for one. This site is such a huge resource for these systems, I can't tell you how much I've learned by asking questions and searching posts.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/31171/

 

[hoth2oguy]

Just wanted to echo Oldmil's recommendation for the balancing valve. We recommend half way closed so that the path of least resistance for flow is out to your zones, not through the Termovar mixing valve. If you need, or would like, a plumbing diagram, please contact us and we can email you something right out.

Chris

Dealer Coordinator
BioHeatUSA

 

[hoth2oguy]

sorry, meant to say Twitch's recommendation.