Turbulators, Solo Plus 30

[Bad LP]

Called Tarm parts department and was told they sold the last set and unsure if any will be ordered so I have a couple of questions.

Can anyone confirm that they are 3"X29" long?
Does anyone have a source for aftermarket spiral wound turbulators they have used? I see a ton of manufacturers on the WWW.

Goal is to get a little more heat transfer quicker into storage. Boiler running 600+ degrees rather consistently.

 

[maple1]

Contact Smokeless Heat.

I just got a set of 3 last week. Mine are 3" x 39". The new ones are very nice & shiny, almost a shame to stuff them in the boiler.

They can be cut to length. Which is what led me to getting these ones. When I first got my boiler, it came with 3. But has 3 long tubes & 3 short ones. I cut two of them in half to change things around & mix & match to tune it in. But that only left me with 1 long one. Which after 5 years I decided maybe I might want more than 1 long one.

I think they are on their website - but I think they are around $80 for the set.

 

[warno]

Not sure of construction on your boiler. Does it have vertical flue tubes or horizontal? If vertical I've heard of good success with using chain as a turbulator.

 

[Bad LP]

Maple1, Will do thanks. Have lots of metal cutting tools so too long is good.

Warno, I thought about chain and saw it referenced within this site a couple of times then read some negative on them at cleaning time.

 

[JohnDolz]

Maple1, Will do thanks. Have lots of metal cutting tools so too long is good.

Warno, I thought about chain and saw it referenced within this site a couple of times then read some negative on them at cleaning time.

No personal experience with chains but this year I changed how I clean my turbs. Previous years I would clean them with a wire brush, this year I use the compressor and blow them clean. Works great, would imagine it would work on chains as well.

 

[maple1]

Your turbs or your tubes? I brush my tubes but have never cleaned my turbs.

 

[warno]

I imagine chains might come clean with a swift shake.

 

[JohnDolz]

Your turbs or your tubes? I brush my tubes but have never cleaned my turbs.

Brush the tubes and now blow off the turbs (outside). Not sure if it needs to be done, never gave it much thought - they were dirty when I took them out so I cleaned them.

 

[JohnDolz]

I imagine chains might come clean with a swift shake.

Sometimes the obvious is to obvious (for me).

 

[Bad LP]

How big a chain are we talking anyway? I realize that just slowing down the exiting heat for better transfer is the goal but a strip of twisted .15X3X29 steel will weigh a little less than a hunk of 1/2 chain. My buddy has a huge box of it and I took a 10' piece for use as the heavy chain on a marine mooring. God that stuff was horrible to work with. I know he still has at least another 75' of it.

Working in a fully equipped shop minus plasma cutter and welder that are in an outbuilding (for good reason) so air for cleaning is not a problem.

 

[Bad LP]

Your turbs or your tubes? I brush my tubes but have never cleaned my turbs.

I have a call into them but it was 435 so I suspect they went home for the day. How thick are the turbs? Found a company that will twist anything in any size including stainless steel. Type 316 SS would outlast the system.

 

[maple1]

Not sure on thickness but my 5-1/2 year old ones show no signs of wear.

 

[maple1]

Could try emailing. Dean is very responsive.

 

[maple1]

Brush the tubes and now blow off the turbs (outside). Not sure if it needs to be done, never gave it much thought - they were dirty when I took them out so I cleaned them.

I never have more than a blochy thin layer of fly ash on mine. I just pull them out, brush tubes, stick them back in.

 

[tom in maine]

We use chains in the pellet boilers we are testing here. We just rattle the chains, so to speak. They only have fly ash on them.

 

[Fred61]

I did an extensive amount of testing on chains vs the twisted steel, poorly engineered turbulators and found no difference in stack temperature so I chose chains for ease of removal for cleaning. The original mechanism was a deterrent to cleaning and caused me to continually postpone servicing so I removed that stupid rocker mechanism. I chose 3/8" chain for ease of removal and installation.

I just reach in the cavity with a hook and drag them out . Dropping them into a 5 gallon bucket from 4 feet up adequately cleans them.

I don't think neither the turbs or chains are as good as a well engineered turb could be. They just sit there in the middle of the tube interrupting the flow in the center of the tube providing a large gap on all sides to have a clean laminar air flow.

​

.

 

[maple1]

Chains wouldn't work in my turbs, they would just lay there. Not sure the Tarm setup.

 

[Bad LP]

Smokeless called me back but they too are out of stock.

Called Tarm and spoke to Chris and he was very helpful in a couple of questions that needed answers. The boiler is 270 miles away and he was helpful as always.

Having a set custom made as I type and should have them next week if all goes well. Chris asked for an update when I'm finished and I will also update this thread.

Thank you all.

 

[maple1]

Huh. I must have gotten the last set they had on hand. I have an extra one now - too bad we weren't closer. Although we're not as far apart as most on here.

 

[Bad LP]

I think it was Dean that left me a very nicely detailed VM on the land line. I'm pretty sure it was the same guy who spent a long time explaining the various manufacturers of wood boilers when I first started on the path to ownership. Very straight forward and honest. I like that in a businessman. Tell the truth and don't pull punches. That's how they ended up on my final short list. If you sell a product you really believe in and it has a solid track record there is no need to spew BS.

He did explain to me that the last set sold was for a non Lamba controlled boiler so yes, I do think you're the guy. LOL

 

[maple1]

Just reread your OP. You don't have any turbs at all now? I was thinkng you wanted more. Mine aren't exactly twisted like I'd picture twisted. They sort of are, but in sections, back and forth like. Not the result of grabbing by the ends and twisting them in opposite directions.

Good luck anyway, they do make a difference.

 

[Bad LP]

Just reread your OP. You don't have any turbs at all now? I was thinkng you wanted more. Mine aren't exactly twisted like I'd picture twisted. They sort of are, but in sections, back and forth like. Not the result of grabbing by the ends and twisting them in opposite directions.

Good luck anyway, they do make a difference.

Yes no turbs at all. Looking for more heat transfer into my water jacket. Informed that I should expect a 100 decrease in flue gas temp and that is my goal. Too much heat going to waste up the chimney.

Sounds like you have what I would call a "zig zag" turb. I'm talking a spiral wrap like a "barber pole". My turn is estimated to be a 12:12.5.

 

[maple1]

I think I just realized why mine are made like that. They need to fit inside curved tubes. I'm picturing twisted ones wanting to stay straight and be hard to get in & out. I might be picturing wrong. I'll try to remember to take & post a quick pic later...

 

[jebatty]

Used chain turbs for 10 years. Never clean them. Just rattle them in the firetube, pull them out and drop them in a bucket, brush the firetube, put them back in. They do drop the flue temp by at least 100F and probably more than that.

 

[DaveBP]

I was stunned how simple turbulators could be and still provide a serious increase in heat recovery from the boiler.

I took some 2" wide strips of 1/16" sheet metal (304 stainless in this case) and bent them into a zigzag so they had about 1/2" rattle space in the firetubes. This dropped my average exhaust temps down pretty nearly 100F, from about 450F to 350F.

If you have some heavy chain hanging around, that ought to work, too, and a lot easier. We're just trying to break up the laminar flow of hot gas up the middle of the tubes (and maybe slow the gasses down a little also).

I don't think it would be a good idea on a system without storage though. Things could get pretty gummy in there if it idles alot.