I've had a Tarm Solo 30 for 5 or 6 years now. I replaced the tunnel a couple of years ago, and I'm kind of wondering how long and how much of a job it will be to do the firebox floor. If memory servers me correctly, the slot was about 2" wide when new. It now seems to be about 3" for much of its length and perhaps 4 towards the rear. As far as I can tell, it really hasn't affected performance, but I think I will be looking at replacing the floor before too long. I wondered if my memory of the original size was accurate, and would like hearing from anyone that has done this.
Tarm Solo slot width
- Thread starter Rory
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I am going to be in the same shoes here ,with my solo 60 . That really seems like a very short time for your tunnel to only last 4 years and your firebox floor 6 . My 60 has been in operation for 12 years and even though my tunnel is all but shot cracked in a couple of places and very brittle I am still using it . I have a new one sitting here and also a new ski slope for the door as that is cracked in several places . My slot in the floor is worn but just the upper edges have a good size taper to them .
Just wondering if you stay in the burn all the time or if you idle on occasion ? I was told this once and can beleave this that the intense heat from continuous burn has a very high determental effect on these refactory parts where as an occasional idle helps to cool them down and increases there longevity alot . I have never been able to have a continuous burn as my solo 60 out runs my pumping ability with my termovar and unpressurized storage .
I am not sure on any of this but I do know I still have original parts after 12 years , so maybe a little idling saves refactory parts and big money in the long run and I guess that is why we burn wood to save money .
Just my $.02
Just wondering if you stay in the burn all the time or if you idle on occasion ? I was told this once and can beleave this that the intense heat from continuous burn has a very high determental effect on these refactory parts where as an occasional idle helps to cool them down and increases there longevity alot . I have never been able to have a continuous burn as my solo 60 out runs my pumping ability with my termovar and unpressurized storage .
I am not sure on any of this but I do know I still have original parts after 12 years , so maybe a little idling saves refactory parts and big money in the long run and I guess that is why we burn wood to save money .
Just my $.02
I have storage, burn about once a week in the summer, progress through the shoulder season until I do 2 fires a day through the coldest months, no idling but plenty of down time. I do clean the ashes before every fire, and I think that abrades the refractory a bit.
I average one fire a day in winter , and do the burn once a week in summer for domestic , so not much difference other than I just keep a longer fire rather than two fires in the winter . From my experience in operation in the years when I get below zero I am just as well off to keep the fire going as I have the boiler sized pretty close to my demand . I chose the 60 over the 40 that time because of the guys at tarm . I needed at least 140k and with me having less than desirable wood ( 80 % soft maple 20% white ash ) I may have had a hard time to get that out of a solo 40 and I am glad I sized up but the result was some amount of idling . I am lucky to stay in the burn for an hour and most times its more like a half hour . Idle periods are any where from 15 minutes to 45 minutes , unless I over fired and the storage is getting up there in temp .
I only clean ashes out of the fire box once every 7-10 days and sometimes two weeks . I do clean out ashes in the tunnel and underneath before every fire .
I only clean ashes out of the fire box once every 7-10 days and sometimes two weeks . I do clean out ashes in the tunnel and underneath before every fire .
I've got the Innova 30. Replaced the nozzle at 5 1/2 yrs (about 40 +/- cords of wood) and just did the tunnel at 6 yrs(46+/- cords of wood). Never thought of doing the floor. It looks all good. Also, if you use a vacuum, on a regular basis, to clean, it's going to wear the refractory.
Do you have a link to a diagram? AFAIK, the "nozzle" and the "tunnel" are the same thing on my Solo.
What i call the nozzle, is the slot where the flames gone down thru. What i call the tunnel is the u that the flame blows down into.
If the nozzle is the slot, how did you replace it without replacing the floor? My impression is that the slot is just a void in the floor.
The nozzle is in it's own piece. Just lift put and put the new one in. I think most gasser's are like this?
I beleave the old tarm refactory was a 2 piece floor , now they are a 3 piece floor as I can remember when I called tarm for my other parts .
Do steel nozzles, (on other brands), have the potential to last longer? That environment has to be tough on any material.
My innova 30 has a 2 piece refractory floor. The split is right through the center, front to back, and the nozzle is just a wider opening in the middle. Maybe an inch and a half in width.
Just following to learn from your experience. My Solo Plus 40 saw its first heating season 2007-08. Burn dry pine almost exclusively, approximately 4-5 cords/season. I see some wear in the nozzle but nothing of concern. I also never clean the ash out very well, and especially I leave quite an ash accumulation in the firebox up and around the nozzle slot. I feel the ash insulates and protects the refractory from the high gasification heat. I talked to Tarm about when to replace and was told not to get too concerned, it can wear a lot before its needs replacement. Good luck on your efforts.
Mine wore until it was in 2 pieces when I removed it. I had the new one sitting there in the box quite a while.
The current Tarm Solo Plus and Solo Innova have a three-piece floor in the upper firebox. There is a left a right and what we call the "insert stone" in the center. The insert stone is a little bit bigger than a shoe box lid and has the slot/nozzle in it. If your Tarm Solo Plus is older than about 8 years, it may have the original two-piece floor and will need to be converted to the current three-piece design (no two-piece floor parts available any more). What we call the "tunnel stone" is the "U"-shaped stone in the bottom of the boiler that the wood gas torch fires into. We tell people to expect three to five years life on the tunnel stone and maybe a little longer on the insert stone. Both the tunnel and insert stones can get pretty ugly before they need to be replaced. The tunnel stone should take about 15 minutes to replace and the insert stone a half hour.
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