I have just installed a max caddy wood stove the water heater part that I just put in thermosiphon's, backwards, I have to run both lines (hot and cold) above a door. (I did not have any other way to do this) I have four inchs separatethe two. the cold water side is hot and the hot water side is cold cannot figure out why it is doing this and I was hoping someone would help me.
thermosphion backwards?
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Oldman47
Minister of Fire
Welcome ND Guy. Do you have a link to the manufacturer's instructions and diagrams for that water heater? All I found on the max caddy site was a picture of a water heating coil that would naturally flow from cold to hot based on the water picking up temperature and thus becoming less dense. No way that would ever run backward if you had a fire in place. If you let the fire go out the heat transfer could reverse and run backward based on heating coil routing inside the storage tank. Without a diagram or a design drawing there is no way to know enough to help you. The routing over the door to your storage unit should not affect it at all. Any natural circulation boiler or heater works using the density changes where the heating or cooling is happening, not the routing in between.
http://www.psg-distribution.com/downloads.aspx?CategoId=16&Type=manuel
Theses are the manuals that I got, in fact the ones on the internet look better. The lower line is hot and the upper one is cold the stove is fired and verry hot, the solenoid is facing the way it should be going and it still is going the wrong way. would it have any thing to do with the tank not being high enof or to high. Cool inlet is 40 inch off ground, hot is 64, at 8 feet from stove and the water loop is 41 and 42.
Theses are the manuals that I got, in fact the ones on the internet look better. The lower line is hot and the upper one is cold the stove is fired and verry hot, the solenoid is facing the way it should be going and it still is going the wrong way. would it have any thing to do with the tank not being high enof or to high. Cool inlet is 40 inch off ground, hot is 64, at 8 feet from stove and the water loop is 41 and 42.
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Isaiah53
Member
I am not familiar with wood furnaces, but I do know as an engineer there is no way that set-up can thermosiphon between the furnace and tempering tank. You cannot have those high point loops over the door. The manual clearly shows this (Max Caddy - Page 10) and even calls for continuously rising pipes between the furnace and the tank . Ideally the tempering water tank should be on the other side of the door adjacent to the furnace with minimal length pipe/tube between the two. Don't know if you have room for it or not. You would have to have a mechanical pump to move the hot water for that set-up to work.
Thermosiphoning heated water will not descend. It only "wants" to go up. I'm especially hoping you installed a temperature/pressure relief valve (though you don't indicate one in your drawing).
maple1
Minister of Fire
Coil cant go vertical comes from manufacture like that. It has temperature /pressure release valve an a temperature gauge and pressure gauge that I did not show on my drawing. But thank you for your concern.
As for as the water going up and over the door I agree with you. I didn't think is would be able to do that either. I can not run the pipes any where else or put the tank any where else. Do to the room being small and I find it important to get to the back of the stove for maintenance purposes. but the people at PSG told me to put the solenoid in and do not use a pump it will work so I tried it and this is what I got. so instead of trying to talk to them again I thought I would post something on hearth and find out what you guys thought. So with that being said I am got to buy a relay and pump and make it work. I really appreciate you guys help me out with this.
As for as the water going up and over the door I agree with you. I didn't think is would be able to do that either. I can not run the pipes any where else or put the tank any where else. Do to the room being small and I find it important to get to the back of the stove for maintenance purposes. but the people at PSG told me to put the solenoid in and do not use a pump it will work so I tried it and this is what I got. so instead of trying to talk to them again I thought I would post something on hearth and find out what you guys thought. So with that being said I am got to buy a relay and pump and make it work. I really appreciate you guys help me out with this.
No legs. I did consider doing that. But I still have the hot water going up and over the door and back down. And then a one inch trip hazard at the door. If I pump it I need not worry about It. but I like the idea. Thanks
DoubleB
Minister of Fire
Sounds like a mystery why you're feeling any heat at all in your tempering tank. Are you using copper pipe? It's been known to conduct heat (not by warm water flow, but by heat traveling down the copper). If your connection between the water heater and your tempering tank is short, and if you don't open hot water faucets for a long time, you might be feeling heat just conducting along the copper?
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