fan control for wood boiler

[huntmaster86]

i need some assistance with the blower/aquastat/control needs for my boiler. I made an indoor wood boiler for my garage. Im using it to heat my 48x48 garage through radiant i installed in the pad. I dont know what i need to hook up a blower/ controller so the blower on the door will blow more or less depending on water temp. How do i go about this and what do i need? i will post up a picture of the boiler in a few minutes. Thank you in advance

 

[huntmaster86]

 

[PSUplowboy]

i need some assistance with the blower/aquastat/control needs for my boiler. I made an indoor wood boiler for my garage. Im using it to heat my 48x48 garage through radiant i installed in the pad. I dont know what i need to hook up a blower/ controller so the blower on the door will blow more or less depending on water temp. How do i go about this and what do i need? i will post up a picture of the boiler in a few minutes. Thank you in advance

My boiler uses a love controller. There is only one fan speed, it's either on or off. There is also a damper solenoid that raises up when the fan kicks on, it seals the fan air inlet off to choke the air off once the water hits the max temp setting. I think most forced draft boilers are set up that way. The natural draft boilers I've seen just pick a damper up to let air draft into the firebox.

 

[huntmaster86]

ok thank you. what does the controller do? does it connect the fan with the pumps so they work in conjunction with each other?

 

[PSUplowboy]

ok thank you. what does the controller do? does it connect the fan with the pumps so they work in conjunction with each other?

The controller just kicks the fan (and solenoid for draft) on at min water temp (ex: 150 degrees) and off at max water temp (ex: 160).
Some folks run the water pump from boiler to house heat exchanger all the time. I have a control board to kick that pump on whenever a circuit calls for heat. The thermostats for the house zones (also can put domestic hot water in as a zone) run to that control board . Sounds weird but the stove draft isn't tied directly to house pumps - the draft on/off goes by boiler water temp - which goes up/ down due to the zones calling for heat.

 

[huntmaster86]

ok, its making a little more sense now. I plan on running my pump all the time. Originally i was going to run my boiler much like a wood stove and if it felt cool in the garage just add some more wood and warm it up a bit. I dont know if its "better/more efficient" to run it with a controller and keep it a set temp(ish) in there.

so if i am reading this right i would connect a aquastat to the controller and connect the fan to the controller. the controller uses the reading from the aquastat to control the fan.... correct?? All im heating is my garage at the moment. My house is 400' away from the garage so the pipe to connect the two would cost me a fortune.

 

[PSUplowboy]

ok, its making a little more sense now. I plan on running my pump all the time. Originally i was going to run my boiler much like a wood stove and if it felt cool in the garage just add some more wood and warm it up a bit. I dont know if its "better/more efficient" to run it with a controller and keep it a set temp(ish) in there.

so if i am reading this right i would connect a aquastat to the controller and connect the fan to the controller. the controller uses the reading from the aquastat to control the fan.... correct?? All im heating is my garage at the moment. My house is 400' away from the garage so the pipe to connect the two would cost me a fortune.

Sounds right for the boiler controller.

Too bad you can't have the boiler between house and garage to keep the runs approx 200 ft to both.

I don't think you'll want to always run the boiler water in the concrete though, so an indoor thermostat would be needed. You'll need a mixing valve to keep the water temp coming into the concrete below roughly 110 to lower chance of cracking the concrete. Also you should have a manifold to keep the loop flows even. Are you thinking like 6 or 8 loops in that floor? It's a pretty good thing having heated floors to work on

 

[huntmaster86]

floor is poured. garage is built and insulated. I have 6 loops in it all perfectly even in length. manifolds are sitting on a shelf awaiting install. I dont have running water in the garage yet so a mixing valve will be an issue at the moment. guess i better get the ball rolling on that too. ugh

 

[PSUplowboy]

floor is poured. garage is built and insulated. I have 6 loops in it all perfectly even in length. manifolds are sitting on a shelf awaiting install. I dont have running water in the garage yet so a mixing valve will be an issue at the moment. guess i better get the ball rolling on that too. ugh

All you gotta do with mixing valve is plumb in "return from floor" with "in from boiler" to make an "in to the floor" line. It's just mixing water coming out of the floor (0ut side of return manifold) with the water coming from the boiler (to cool it down to approx 110) and the outlet from the valve then goes into the "in" side of the manifold. It'll make sense when you get the valve - if not I can snap a pic of mine. Sounds like you're close- I've never heard anyone complain about a heated floor so you should be thrilled with it. Need help just holler!

 

[huntmaster86]

i appreciate ur input!! my first understanding of a mixing valve was that i needed a source of cold water(hose/well water) and that mixed with the water coming out of the boiler to cool it down. It makes more sense now. lol

 

[PSUplowboy]

i appreciate ur input!! my first understanding of a mixing valve was that i needed a source of cold water(hose/well water) and that mixed with the water coming out of the boiler to cool it down. It makes more sense now. lol

Right on! It'll work out and I think you'll like it. Is your boiler open or closed(pressurized)?

 

[huntmaster86]

open system. didnt want to worry about something going wrong if my wife has to stoke it. rather have water on the floor if something happens

 

[PSUplowboy]

open system. didnt want to worry about something going wrong if my wife has to stoke it. rather have water on the floor if something happens

Cool. It's up to you, but I would look at only running the boiler pump when the heat is called for if you're able - either way works. I think you'll save some wood but no big deal. Might help pump life too, but I see most folks around here run them constant.

 

[huntmaster86]

ok ill have to look at mixing valves and controllers. where did you get your equipment

 

[PSUplowboy]

ok ill have to look at mixing valves and controllers. where did you get your equipment

Think the love controller came from online. I used taco brand pumps and I think the valves. Also used zurn and rehau brand. Most of my stuff I bought through local hvac fellows. I studied a design manual from zurn that came from a booth at a fair I think, lol. It worked good for me- I have 3 house zones, a garage, and domestic hot water (so 5 zones total). I used a water-to-water exchanger to have a propane "backup" boiler inside. I also used a water-to-air exchanger in AC trunk line so that I could have heat using the AC air handler fan and trunk. Made my own insulated pipes from boiler to house (never again ). All in all I think it is a decent setup, just looks confusing to most people who see it haha

 

[huntmaster86]

Ok thank you. I just looked through the stuff ordered early spring and I did order a mixing valve. Man my brain is shot. Hopefully next week I'll tackle the boiler and get it buttoned up

 

[NSMaple1]

ok, its making a little more sense now. I plan on running my pump all the time. Originally i was going to run my boiler much like a wood stove and if it felt cool in the garage just add some more wood and warm it up a bit. I dont know if its "better/more efficient" to run it with a controller and keep it a set temp(ish) in there.

so if i am reading this right i would connect a aquastat to the controller and connect the fan to the controller. the controller uses the reading from the aquastat to control the fan.... correct?? All im heating is my garage at the moment. My house is 400' away from the garage so the pipe to connect the two would cost me a fortune.

I might not be understanding - but for a simple on/off fan control, an aquastat alone should be able to do that. An aquastat is a type of controller. A Honeywell L4006 should do it. You can get them either immersion well type, or strap on sensor type.

 

[huntmaster86]

ok... i didnt know if an aquastat could to that or not??? ill look up that unit and check. trying not to spend unnecessary money like everyone else lol

 

[huntmaster86]

I might not be understanding - but for a simple on/off fan control, an aquastat alone should be able to do that. An aquastat is a type of controller. A Honeywell L4006 should do it. You can get them either immersion well type, or strap on sensor type.

so for this aquastat, the copper part would just insert into a well? does the aquastat have to be mounted in close proximity

 

[NSMaple1]

Yes. The probe rests in the well, and the stat sits on top of the well usually held in place with set screws. But you can also get strap on models that don't use a well rather a surface mount probe. You should be able to Google up a manual.