E Classic operating temperature

firechief · December 18, 2010, 01:03:55 PM

Just curious as to what temperature e classic owners are running their stoves at ? I've seen a wide range amonst us and was wondering what temps everyone is at and the reasoning for those chosen temps. I started mine out late fall running at 190 and just bumped it up to 195 last week when some colder temperatures outside moved in. If I remember correctly CB also recommends running these stoves at 195. Thoughts ? Thanks.

Firechief

doctorb · December 18, 2010, 01:07:38 PM

185 - 195

My plumber hopes for a return temp from my basement to the stove of 180 degrees, as he wants that temp or higher in my hot water baseboard pipes. I don't know where that figure comes from , except of course from him. Doctorb

beenthere · December 18, 2010, 01:25:34 PM

I have hot water heating system, and the gas boiler will maintain that 180° F temp, but I get by just fine with my wood boiler ranging from 100 - 180.
I have been puzzled all along in these discussions of the OWB's thinking the water temp needs to hover around that 180 temp. Have only figured it had something to do with the large reservoir of water being heated. Mine only has a 9 gal reservoir so it is more responsive.

And I don't get big swings in my home heat temperature. Very steady.

doctorb · December 18, 2010, 02:47:23 PM

Beenthere-

Central boiler has sent out a temperature sensitive valve to try and keep the temp of the return water to the stove above 150 degrees. They say that at temps at or below 150 degrees, condensation may be increased which is bad for the boiler. No confirmation of this. As my boiler temps never reach that low, except for possibly extended maintenance (not routine), I have no experience with this condensation problem.

JJ · December 18, 2010, 06:21:45 PM

I set my e-2300 to 187F. Never gave it more thought, than this temp would keep my oil boiler off (its set point is 175).

JJ

Dean186 · December 20, 2010, 10:33:46 AM

I have my E-classic 1400 set to 180 min - 193 max.

The 193 degree high set point is a maximum temperature without it occasionally overshooting and possibly boiling over.

My indoor boiler is set to it's lowest setting of 140 degrees.

hockeyguy · December 20, 2010, 07:26:26 PM

190 seems like a happy medium for me. Hot enough to keep the firebox fairly clean of creosote, but not boiling over.

jeff4955 · December 21, 2010, 12:12:43 AM

I set mine at 185 .

firechief · December 21, 2010, 05:04:10 PM

I sort of have to wonder why CB recommends setting the temperature to 195 in the manual ?

jchartrand · December 21, 2010, 05:57:20 PM

I run mine at 195 just for the fact that this is where the boiler seems to run the best, least creosote, least smoke and quickest gassification. Yes sometimes the temp does overshoot to 197 but you must remember that water does not boil untill 212. I have run my stove at this temp for 2 years now and have not once needed to add any water.

stumper · December 21, 2010, 05:59:05 PM

Mine came from the factory at 185. That is where I normally opperate it. I do occationally bump it to 195 when I am going to work on the boiler (that gives me an extra 54,000 btu's to keep the house warm while I work on it). Where does the manual say to opperate the boiler at 195? What vintage is your boiler & manual?

DouginUtah · December 21, 2010, 07:08:46 PM

I may be mistaken, but isn't PEX rated for 180° maximum? I'm just asking.

firechief · December 21, 2010, 08:37:30 PM

Well I've checked that entire manual and can't find it either, not really sure why I thought CB recommended that. ?? But at that temperature I sure do burn off alot of creasote, think I'll bump mine back down a bit now though. Thanks Stumper for pointing that out. Happy burning all.

MudBud · December 21, 2010, 10:02:50 PM

About PEX Temperatures:

http://www.ppfahome.org/pex/index.html

Holmes · December 23, 2010, 11:19:24 PM

Most hydronic heating are designed for 180* water . Baseboard radiation will give off 550 btu's per lineal foot at 180* but only 280 btu's per foot at 140*. Keeping the boiler temp up around 180* will get you the btu's your boiler says it will deliver. Holmes

doctorb · December 23, 2010, 11:23:54 PM

Mudbuds reference above says its rated for up to 200 degrees.

DouginUtah · December 23, 2010, 11:36:37 PM

I guess it depends on the manufacturer. I looked up one I've used and it lists 180°.

trapper · December 24, 2010, 10:07:20 AM

My understanding is that the higher the tempetuire of the water the lower the pressure rating of the pex is

Bioman · December 24, 2010, 10:46:24 AM

I think you'll find the 180-185 limit is based on empirical testing and the manufacturers attempt to allow for overshooting yet staying under boiling point. We have several safety set points built in that we learned empirically. For us the computer limit is 185 and mechanical snap disks at 190 to protect from boiling. PEX tubing limits are not the concern here.

Beenthere,

The three way thermostatic valve is pretty commonly used to prevent condensation. The number recommended at Intertek and from the articles I read say the mixer can be set as low as 135.

Dean186 · December 24, 2010, 08:53:33 PM

The Central Boiler manual on my unit states a factory default setting of 185 degrees and a range of 170 to 195 degrees.

The following note can be found in bold: "Note: It is not recommended to set the temperature below 185 degrees F."

upsnake · January 10, 2011, 04:32:35 PM

Hello,

I have had my e classic 1400 up for a week now. One question that I have is the temp on the controller is saying 185.

I then measured then the temp on the supply side of the HX and it was. I then measured the temp on a brass nipple on the supply line directly before the pump (owb side). and it was 165.

I have a thermometer on my return line, and i measured the temp leaving the HX and both were at 140. That and the supply line numbers both matching i know i am not losing the heat underground.

So my question is, is this normal? haha It seems weird to me that there is 20 degrees difference from the control panel to actual temp.

Thanks
Jay

doctorb · January 10, 2011, 06:51:12 PM

Upsnake-

Forgive me, but your numbers and nomenclature onfused me a bit. Please repost so I can try to help.

What is the distance from your stove to your house? What diameter pipe, what type of pipe are you using.

First - what is the temperature of the water? Not the temperature to which the stove is set, but the temp of the water itself as read off the controller.

Next - What is the temp of the water either leaving you stove, or entering your house? I assume that we ll lose a degree or so in this process, but it should not be significantly off the water temp of the stove.

Finally, what is the temp of the water leaving your basement?

I can't quite put together in your post with which temp goes with which area of measurement. Sorry, please clarify.

upsnake · January 10, 2011, 08:24:33 PM

Sorry didn't mean to make it confusing.

I have 120' of thermopex 1 inch diameter pipe buried 18".

Temp of water as read by the controller = 185
Temp leaving the stove = 165
Temp leaving the basement when the furnace fan is on = 140, when the fan is not on = 165 (give or take a degree).

Hope that helps.

doctorb · January 10, 2011, 11:14:02 PM

I have no explanation for the water temp on the controller to read 185 and the water temp as it leaves the stove to be 20 degrees less. I would have your dealer check the stove and the installation. There can not be a 20 degree loss between the stove jacket and the outgoing water flow. Maybe your controller is faulty. If those other temps are real, then your unit is not up to temp or running properly.

upsnake · January 10, 2011, 11:19:30 PM

That is what i was thinking. Thanks for the confirmation. I am confident that the actual water temp is the real temp. I have measured it with 3 different high quality thermometers.

I will call the dealer tomorrow and ask him about it.