Aquastst and PEX

[fourustircom]

Hi, Folks!

I'm learning a lot with the first startup of our Woodmaster 4400. Yesterday I discovered that the Aquastat, if attached to PEX, needs to be set 10-20 degrees colder than recommended. I was told 130 degrees and at that setting the oil burner kicked on. Now I have it set to 110, so we'll see how that works when the weather get's REALLY cold.

I have a temperature/resistence chart for testing the thermistor since I thing the readout looks high.

I have not added any wood since Sunday night and the readout showed 180 degrees this AM. The fire box was only about 1/4 to 1/2 full when first started. I definately need a taller stack!

 

[fletcher0780]

do you run the circulator pump 24/7 or is it switched? lets see some pics of your setup.

 

[fourustircom]

Woodmaster 4400

I was told that switching the pump on and off is bad for them. Yes, 24/7 it runs. I think that gives me some radiant heat as well. The pantry floor is quite warm!

I'll try and get some pics up. It looks very similar to another one on here. I attached the plate exchanger for the hot water to the existing furnace instead of the hot water heater. The furnace exchanger was shoehorned between the A-coil and the top of the furnace.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Yah, heat transfer thru PEX not as good as copper...are you using an Aquastat that clamps on to the pipe or is it in an immersion well? ....maybe grafting in a short piece of copper, then attaching it will help. By itself, switching a circ on/off does not hurt the pumps themselves, but the metal in the boiler can stress from hot spots.

 

[fourustircom]

Aquastat

Yes, my Aquastat clamps to the PEX. Adjusting the temp to account for the difference seems to work and is recommended by Woodmaster.

 

[Sawmill]

I have the same stove as you have. You are going to find that when the weather gets colder you stove temp will be closer to the aquastat setting, I run mine at 170 in the winter ans 140 in the summer on the high setting. If I remember right there is a 10 or 20 degee difference between high and low setting. In the summer I only have to put wood in every other day and in the winter I add wood in the morning and in the evening which is usually only a few pieces. My dealer said it works best if you only fill it half full when adding wood but in real cold (-20) I fill it up.

 

[fourustircom]

Pex?

So, do you have your Aquastat attached to PEX or metal tubing/pipe?

The machine was still showing 160 degrees or so this morning. Maybe it'll start cooling off today. The weather is supposed to warm up this week and the furnace is still hot! Great for making hot water anyway.

 

[Sawmill]

If you have a Woodmaster 4400 your auqastst should be in a well in the tank. That is the same stove that I have and you control the temp with the digital panel on the side of the stove cabinet. Hooking up the pex lines should not have anything to do with your water temp control.

 

[fourustircom]

Aquastat

The Aquastat I'm talking about controls the oil furnace for backup and is in the basement attached to the PEX lines that connect the Woodmaster to the forced air, updraft furnace. So, this aquastat is attached on the PEX line between the plate exchanger for the hot water tank and the heat exchanger in the furnace.

The device in the well of the Woodmaster tank is the thermister that senses the temperature of the water for the ECT.

 

[Madspeed]

does anyone have a ny type of diagragm of an install using an aquastat with their forced air system? Not familiar with this enought to warrant it yet. I mean simply hooking up a second t stat to control the owb seems to be the most direct install, but any info would certainly be appreciated!

 

[fourustircom]

Aquastat for a forsed air furnace

The device I was sold, a Honeywell L6006C, is wired into the house thermostat and controls what temp the oil burner kicks on. The blower still works with the thermotat, this just prevents the oil burner pump and blower from kicking on until the Woodmaster water temp get's down to 130 deg. Then, if no one is there to stoke the fire in the WM, the oil furnace will keep the WN water warm, providing there is power that is.

 

[Madspeed]

Sounds Like The Best Type Of Setup!

 

[mtfallsmikey]

L6006 series is/has been Honeywell's "boilerplate" control...been around for decades.

 

[Madspeed]

Hi, Folks!

Yesterday I discovered that the Aquastat, if attached to PEX, needs to be set 10-20 degrees colder than recommended. I was told 130 degrees and at that setting the oil burner kicked on. Now I have it set to 110, so we'll see how that works when the weather get's REALLY cold.

I will assume its possible to clamp onto the copper tubes of the water to air heat exchanger?

 

[fourustircom]

Pics

Here are a couple of shots of what we did...

 

[fourustircom]

Aquastat on copper

My Aquastat is about 6-8 inches long, so I suppose if you had a piece of copper long enough for it to fit in it's "groove", it would probably work.

 

[cat320]

that is a nice set up keep dry in the winter snow. you going to pour a floor in there?

 

[fourustircom]

ECT tested

It looks like I get to do a little reprogramming of my Woodmaster. I tested the thermister and found it to be darn close to the ohms to temps chart they sent me. I'm still showing about 10 degrees higher on the ECT than what the actual water temp is.

Glad they don't have to tear into this thing to replace the sensor!

 

[fourustircom]

Floor?

Thanks! Nah, it's a just wood shed so we won't freeze trying to stoke and clean up after the thing. My wife did want the floor in front of the burner burn proof, so she laid in a bunch of bricks. We also have a partition between the burner and the wood storage made of EMT and siding. Probably good thing too considering the sparks I saw fly out of the thing once. No, just a dirt floor, but we have a concrete side walk to the patio! I set the burner on concrete blocks.

Maybe, when we get too old to burn wood and get the GeoThermal system powered by a windmill/solar panels/batteries, I'll pave it and use the puilding as a work shop.

 

[beerman6]

Love the custom roof on the golf cart.