The furnace was installed about 4 years ago. The only venting I've seen is the fan that cycles off/on to keep the fire going. I'm pretty OCD about watching the water level. I adjusted the fan flap to make it not open as wide to see if that slows down the burn rate. It's been cold, and my wood is pretty dry, both of which will make it burn pretty quickly.
Long post, sorry Iike to talk !!
As far as vent I meant the boiler, the vent so it doesn't blow up, ours is on top of the boiler with a small vented cap on it. Some are not vented somehow now, the Central Boiler brand isn't and the company that took over Wood Doctor makes them un-vented now also, sealed system in a effort to make them last longer, no air, less corrosion. When I said 'new one's' I'm referring to our state 'NY
new regulations for them ' we are only supposed to use the new gassifier boilers that burn off the wood gas, hardly nothing for smoke, supposed to be more efficient but I've heard are not just cost way more.
Some of the regulations, and there is WAY more, just a snippet (for those that think regulations are just for big businesses)
Prohibited fuels.
No person shall burn any of the following items in an outdoor wood boiler:
(1) wood that does not meet the definition of clean wood;
(2) unseasoned wood;
(5) yard waste, including lawn clippings;
(11) coal
(18) manure;
(19) animal carcasses;
(b) Setback.
A residential-size new outdoor wood boiler shall not be located less than 100 feet from the nearest property boundary line.
(c) Stack height.
A residential-size new outdoor wood boiler shall be equipped with a permanent stack extending a minimum of 18 feet above ground level. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the department may require that the permanent stack extend up to two feet above the peak of any roof structure within 150 feet of the OWB when necessary to adequately disperse smoke emitted from an outdoor wood boiler.
all the others were just dumb stuff that should be illegal, actually didn't realize coal, some are designed to self feed coal, wood pellets, fruit pits, corn, etc, dang coal? I was wishing mine had a ash pan set up so I could burn coal when we were not going to be around for awhile. You can use coal in any other stove or furnace here. Unseasoned wood...arrest me...(19), shhh
I don't burn crap, I don't like smelling the neighbors garbage burn (illegal also) so I wouldn't. Anyways not good, neither is the also illegal pressure treated wood or plywood, tires etc, chemicals not good for the metal in the boiler.
Stack height, Lol! arrest me! We're also supposed to have them on a concrete pad per regs also, I put mine on a big slab of bluestone. I'm lucky we live in a rural upstate don't like the gov area as far as the town board and local gov goes. I bought one of the last non gassifiers from a dealer that got out of selling them just as the new regs took place and got a deal on it, he even let me borrow all his tools and install it myself.
Blah blah blah.... I could talk forever, back to where I was going
I was trying to think of things to save you wood and $$, make it more efficient, that's why I said maybe water level if it was vented, sounds like your on top of it already. I'm new to them, maybe four yrs, so not a authority (no expert, just learning), just IMHO, they are not wood stoves, wood stoves in the house use less wood cause they are hot! If your used to a wood stove in the house like I am you probably think the outside boiler uses too much, but dang they are nice, no worry of fire and regulated even heat, and can be efficient if steps are taken. Look at your house, ours is old... I put plastic on our windows even though there is storms, burn less wood, we put in new doors, old one's I think came with the hundred yr old house, burn less wood, think of it as a furnace, not a save all, still have to make your house as insulated as you can.
Sounds like you have a system like mine, I don't think you will improve it by slowing down the burn by reducing the air flow with the flap. Outside Wood boilers design doesn't have a blower just a mechanical draft, don't know if this is better, ours is more like a forge, heats up quick with the blower but more electric and another motor to replace if it goes bad. They're designed to heat up, mine has a high and low limiter for the blower, kicks on when it gets down to 150, kicks off when it hits 180, 190 if your using baseboard heat but I can set it to whatever, just has to do that.
My BIL thought I should not split our wood, so it would burn longer, NO, it isn't a wood stove that you want to still be kinda warm in the morning with 'all nighter' blocks and maybe be restartable, blowers going to blow if it gets down below 150, best to split and pack the darn thing, big blocks doesn't help the burn, less wood in it with big blocks. Same with some people think burning green unseasoned wood is more efficient cause it takes longer to burn....NO!, you need BTU's, green wood has to wast BTUs to dry out the wood to burn! (I'm guilty of this, I don't think I ever have seasoned wood, I don't ever think of cutting wood till I need it, it seasons out in the boiler if it is on top though Lol!!!)
Blah blah blah
We get wood way cheaper than any other fuel so I don't think of it much, only thing I can think of to make a OWB more efficient, efficient house ( not always possible lol) door gasket, make sure it's good, we should probably replace ours, make sure the door is tight (ours is not, why I say this, ours we have to pull back on the door handle to tighten up, cut off the airflow, supposed to be airtight.
ADD TO THE WATER VOLUME! I think maybe.
This is where maybe you can school me researching it myself. Water is a great heat conductor, holds the heat nice anyways.. I've wanted to add to mine.
Heard it from a truck driver at work, thousand gallon tank....yeah whatever, had a good point though, heat it up once and then it just 'sips', I got a 330 gallon tank from work square plastic on a pallet and cage, then I realized I can't get it in my basement...We can build whatever in our basements, to hold water, even a fuel tank. I think that's the only way we can make them more efficient, volume of heat retention.
