Posts Tagged ‘Boilers’

This video shows the Viking Bio Pellet burner from Varmebaronen attached to the Vedolux 50 UB natural draft wood gasification boiler.  In the video I show the pellet head operating and the fire.  I also show how fast and easy it is to convert from pellets to wood.  I then demonstrate cleaning the boiler and finally lighting a fire.  Varmebaronen boiler products make alternative heating simple and economical.

Last week we proudly attended the 2009 Ag Progress Days show in Rock Springs, PA. The event was sponsored by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

We had a great time at the show and talked to hundreds of people. Our Varmebaronen boilers caught the attention of crowds of show goers at various times. We had a sign saying “Look through the Peep Hole at the Fire”. That sign certainly produced interest and curiosity in people of all ages.

After checking out our live boiler, many people were impressed with the flames we were producing in our Vedolux 30 wood gasification boiler. However, even more were amazed at the fact that we were burning wood with NO visible smoke.

Ultimately the show was a good time, we had fun talking about our wood gasification boilers and accumulation tanks.

Here is a video clip and some photos from the show:

Varmebaronen Traveling Boiler System

Talking boilers

Tent and Boiler Display

Varmebaronen Boilers

Checking out the boilers

See the Fire

I purchased my EKO 60 a couple years ago before I began selling boilers.  The EKO 60 that I purchased was actually one of a few boilers that were designed and modified to be used as outdoor boilers.  The company that I bought it from was trying to take on some of the outdoor wood boiler market.  Unfortunately, due to high manufacturing costs, the units couldn’t be competitively priced.

These units were built with an insulated stainless frame and roof to house the boiler.  Inside the steel housing, the unit has a 100 gallon tank and circulating pump.  The boiler was designed to be a “plug and play” installation.  All you needed to do was connect the electric and plumbing on the two ports coming out of the 100 gallon tank.

When I first purchased the EKO 60, I used it outdoors for a cold season until I was able to build my barn.   I have installed a 500 gallon storage tank in my basement.  The tank is a used propane tank which was professionally inspected, cleaned and modified to add the plumbing ports. 

This summer I built my barn and replaced the 100 gallon tank that came with the boiler with a 250 gallon insulated tank placed just outside the boiler housing.  The 250 gallon tank is a used propane tank as well.  I had a base ring installed on one of the rounded ends; I did that so I could stand it up and save floor space.

When building the barn last summer, I left an opening the size of the face of the steel boiler housing.  I pulled the boiler flush with the outside wall and installed flashing to seal/connect it to the wood siding.  Having the boiler facing the outside is very convenient; I can load wood without worrying about smoke issues etc.  I can treat it more like I did my outdoor wood boiler with the exception of the dry wood needed for the gassifyer.

A couple of these photos show what it looks like inside the barn.  The one photo shows the boiler enclosure with the insulated removable side panels off.  There are removable panels on the opposite side as well.  The back side of the boiler has doors on it similarly to the front doors.

There is a draft meter mounted on the side wall of the boiler.  I have been experimenting with different draft control as I had lots of trouble with too much draft.  I’ve learned that without the draft meter (Dwyer Mark II), I wouldn’t have known what was going on in relation to my burn variation.  It has helped me to configure my boiler’s air mixtures to achieve great burns.

Is a hot water storage tank required?
It is highly recommended because it increases overall system efficiency, is more convenient and minimizes the possibility of creosote build up.

Hot water storage tank before it was insulated

Efficiency:
A properly sized hot water storage tank can lessen your wood usage. The average American house uses about 82 Million Btu’s annually. Assuming the boiler system is 85% efficient, 82 Million Btu’s translates into 4 – 5.25 hardwood cords or 6.5 to 11.75 softwood cords.

The increased efficiency is due to the fact that the boiler is designed to operate best when burning at full pace. The hot water tank stores heat for later, and allows the boiler to continue to burn for a longer period of time at maximum output. Once the demand is finally met, the boiler will idle.

Convenience:
Because the heat is stored in the tank, the heat is retained long after the wood or coal is depleted (the length of time is variable based on demand and on the volume of water in the tank). This means that you don’t have to reload your boiler until your tank temperature drops to an unusable temperature (the unusable temperature varies based on your heating system. Typical unusable temperatures are below 140 degrees for baseboard and below 110 for radiant floor).

Starting the fire once every few days is sufficient during warmer months in fall and spring or in the summer when using the boiler only for domestic hot water. So ultimately, even though the boiler will produce heat without the additional storage tank, the added efficiency and convenience exceeds the initial investment of a tank.

Creosote:
When you size your boiler, typically you are trying to size it for the coldest temperature your area sees in the winter. Our area is 0 degrees. We may see 0 degrees for a week or two out of the year, so that means that 90% of the time our boiler is “over sized”. This means that in the spring and autumn months the boiler will tend to idle more if no storage tank is used.

When the boiler is idling, you have the potential to build up creosote in your primary chamber and chimney. If a hot water storage tank is in use, it allows the boiler to burn at full capacity for a longer period of time when first lit. This allows the tar and creosote causing agents to be burned off during the gasification. If system demand is met near the end of the burn, the fuel left is in a charcoal state.  If the boiler idles at this point, it will not cause any creosote.