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OWB winter shutdown

Started by doctorb, January 25, 2012, 05:47:24 AM

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doctorb

I have never,ever had a back issue before, but 10 days ago I felt a pop and I am miserable.  Loading the OWB makes it worse, much worse, so I am going to go back to oil heat for a while. 

I thought it would be an interesting exercise to observe daily temps in my OWB.  My plan, at the onset, is to just run the circulatory pump at the stove to my basement, without having Any flow through the heat exchanger.  In other words, let's see how long the temps in the stove remain above freezing.  I will have to, if the weather stays cold enough, eventually open the loop to the heat exchanger to transfer a little heat from the oil furnace back to the OWB to prevent freezing.

I'll  try and post daily water temps, as well as outside high and low for the day, to give us some idea as to How these things behave.  As there have been several threads on the subject of shutdown, I though a little data added to the discussion might be helpful.  Might as well make the best of a painful situation!

Doctorb
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Roxie

You should see a doctor about that back.  Sure hope you feel better soon!   :)
Say when

bandmiller2

Always the man of science,taking a bad situation and learning from it.Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

stumper

I know that Doctors are almost all quacks ;D, but please find one knowledgeable in back issues, see them and take their advice!!!   

I blew out a disk and did not see a knowledgable doctor until it was too late (worker comp doctor only wanted to keep the cost down, not make me better- I still wonder what oath he took).  While I am not in pain I have lost a portion of the feeling in my left leg and will live with that for the rest of my life.

My advice is ignore what you learned as a boy.  Specifically, "Tough it out, Walk it off, No pain No gain, ect...."  Listen to what your body is telling you and do not push things. 

Hope you heal well and get back to the things you love as quickly as possible!  Please keep us posted on both your recovery and your boiler.

Norm

Boy what some people won't do to get out of some work.... :D

I'm sure your wife and daughter would be more than happy to do the wood work while your laid up. Please don't tell them I suggested it.  ;)

thecfarm

Good luck with your back. Will be interesting to see your numbers.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

DouginUtah


Have you considered hiring a teenager to load the OWB once or twice a day?

When I was fourteen I walked half a mile every winter day to put coal in a stoker for an old couple.
-Doug
When you hang around with good people, good things happen. -Darrell Waltrip

There is no need to say 'unleaded regular gas'. It's all unleaded. Just say 'regular gas'. It's not the 70s anymore. (At least that's what my wife tells me.)

---

chevytaHOE5674

When I leave town for any length of time I pay the neighbor kid a couple bucks to load the OWB. He just gets on/off the school bus at my house instead of his own and then walks the 1/2 mile down the road to his place. Paying him is a whole lot cheaper than buying propane.

doctorb

Thanks for the suggestions.  Yes, I thought of having my wife and daughter load the stove, but my wife's kind of afraid of things like fire, and she's put a little of that fear into my daughter.  As I hope this is a short-term problem, I would like to avoid teaching someone what this stove needs in daily maintenance.  Unfortunately, I am one of those people who is a doer, and I would probably not leave that OWB alone if it's still up and running.  So, the best thing for my back is to buy a couple of weeks worth of heating oil and get better.

The furnace is out this AM.  Last fuel was placed yesterday AM (about 2/3 full) and allowed to go out.  I was not able to shut down the fans before bed last PM, so some cool air blew into the firebox with a dying fire all last night.

Day #1:
OWB water temp this AM:  159 degrees
Air temp this AM:  34 degrees
Hig temp this afternoon:  mid-40's

My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

buckgrunt

My theory is that as long as the circulation pump is kept on, the water in your OWB or your underground piping will never freeze.  I say this because when I lived in Central Quebec, our well water lines were not deep enough to prevent freezing.  To solve this, we  kept a "drip" going in our bathroom faucet to keep the water flowing, thus preventing any freeze up.   

hockeyguy

Hope you are back to normal soon. I think most of us have suffered from back pain at one time or another and can understand the pain your in. Thanks for the data on  the boiler, it's good to know. Just the thought of burning oil is making my back act up.  :'(
Best wishes on a speedy recovery.

firechief

Sorry to hear about the bad back Doc, but, in the name of OWB science, thanks for posting the numbers for us.

submarinesailor

Quote from: doctorb on January 25, 2012, 01:47:49 PM
So, the best thing for my back is to buy a couple of weeks worth of heating oil and get better.

Doctor - just as a heads up, heating oil is currently at or very near record highs ::) ::) ::) ::) ::).  So watch out for sticker shock. :o :o :o :o

Bruce

doctorb

Bruce-

Timing in life is everything!  On the good side, we're forecast to stay on the warm side for a little while, so the amount of heat I will need may be less than most late January weeks.  On the bad side, I know that heating oil and gasoline prices are up and headed higher.  Fortunately, I filled those tanks this October when the price was about $3.60 / gallon, and they are still full.  Heck, that's close to what gasoline prices are now!  I am sure heating oil is approaching or passed the $4.00/gal mark by now.

Checked the OWB late this afternoon:  139 degrees

Buckgrunt-  if I had to bet, your theory would be correct, unless an extremely long period of subnormal temps occurred.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

boilerman101

Hey Doc, any good chiropractors in your area? I've had great luck with a chiropractor fixing my overworked back up fast!
In the meanwhile, you might try cracking back the ball valve on your return line at least halfway or more at the furnace to slow the flow. You should not need normal full gpm flow to keep from freezing and that should keep furnace water temp up longer.
Good luck with the back!

beenthere

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

doctorb

Boilerman-

I presume that partially closing the valve restricts flow, but also increases the resistance against which the pump must push to move the water.  Is it harmful to the pump for it to have to work against this increased resistance to flow?
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

boilerman101

Doc, not sure which pump you are using but most can handle and are rated for much more "head" pressure than what we are running on most of our systems. I would be comfortable with some extra restiction for a short term. And yes, my thinking is to slow the flow and temp drop in the furnace. Especially with your good Thermopex delivery line.

doctorb

Day #2:

OWB water temp this AM:  119 degrees

Outside temp:  36 degrees
Forcast high in mid-40's
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Norm


doctorb

Actually, I have missed a total of 4 loadings and it is improving!  Thanks for asking.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

stumper

We had southern temps like this eariler in the week.  Seemed like half of the Maine state was driving with their window down enjoying the warm temps.

gspren

Quote from: doctorb on January 25, 2012, 07:27:43 PM
Bruce-

I am sure heating oil is approaching or passed the $4.00/gal mark by now.


Actually just yesterday I wrote a check to cover 300 gallons of heating oil at the house I rent out,  :'( $3.629 gallon delivered last week. My tennents are supposed to pay but they always have a story, maybe when their tax refund comes ::)
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

thecfarm

Take care of that back. I have a brother that has to be careful just picking a pencil up off the floor.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

doctorb

Day # 3:

OWB water temp:  91 degrees

AM outside temp:  52 degrees!
Expected highs today above 60 degrees!

The back continues to improve, but it's not gone yet and I'm not rushing it.  I can pick things up off the floor OK now.  One of my problems is that I can't escape the use of lead aprons in the OR, as much of my surgery uses intraoperative x-ray (called fluoroscopy).  They are heavy.  It's like wearing a 20-30 pack and standing for hours.  UggHH.

I think, for the experiment's sake, that leaving the pump running was a good idea during this shutdown because it gives a better idea of the temp loss per day under winter conditions.  However, we have had anything but winter conditions since this started.  We've not had a single night below freezing!  Look at those daytime temps expected today!  We don't know how much the ambient outside temp effects the temp drop.

Anyway, I shut the circulating pump off this morning.  It's not going to go below freezing here for another couple of days.  We'll see if the amount of temp drop per day decreases with the pump off.  Certainly it should, but it also should decrease less with the outside temps being so warm.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

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