Out side woodburner

[EZ]

As some of you know I have an out side stove, (Hardy). I've had it for about 8 yrs and this yr it decided to start leaking. I was putting 15 gallons of water in it every day just trying to figure out what I was going to do with it. I had a fuel oil furnace in the basement that I never hook up, but my son needed a new furnace so I give him it. : The leak was inside the fire door, which would mean I would have to take it up to the garage and work on it for a couple days. Which would mean no heat in the house. ??? Anyway I thought I wonder if raidator sealer would work, so I bought 5 tubes of it and put them in. It has'nt leak a drop since, this was about a week and a half ago. Just thought I would post this just in case any body else that has a leak this could save you for awhile.
EZ

[Mark M]

What kind did you use EZ?

[pasbuild]

EZ
  Will this be a problem with your pump(s) , heat exchanger, ext. ?

[EZ]

I used the powdered alumunim. My heat exchanger is 1/2 inch pipe, its not made like a car or truck raidiator. I wondered about the pump but if it goes bad I have a spare. If anything goes wrong I'll let you guys know.
EZ

[slowzuki]

I don't know a whole lot about them but I hear the non stainless steel ones lifespans are only 10 years or so due to corrosion problems.

Ken

[Mark M]

Corrosion is one of the big disadvantages of a non-pressurized system. Oxygen enters the system and allows oxidation (rust/corrosion) to occur. Use of corrosion inhibiting additives similar to those used in diesel engine cooling systems will help slow the process. Checking the pH of the water would also be a good idea. Anything less than 7.0 is considered acidic and it will attack iron. I would want it to be around 8.0 or so. Our lab tests coolant for engine and I would be glad to check some boiler water if anyone is curious.

I've used that silver seal in my truck radiator and it works pretty good. There are some regular boiler sealers that I think are very similar.

[Jason_WI]

My dad just put a bottle of stuff in his outdoor furnace. It was to prevent electrolysis. He has a little john from johnson stove.

Made in WI.

Jason

[beenthere]

Don't know if I heard right, but was told a township (Spring Green in Iowa County, WI) recently banned home outdoor wood burners because they smoked so much. This is a rural township, not an urban one.  ???

Will try to learn more about it, and post.

[Neil_B]

Thanks for the tip EZ, will keep that in mind if mine starts leaking ( Central Boiler). I use a rust inhibitor mixed in with the water that is supposed to prolong the life of the liner. Also use a powder mixed in the firebox to control the ph levels of the ash. So far things look good.

beenthere, in the township I'm in here in Ontario, you have to live on a rural zoning in order to put a furnace in. I'm in a rural area but my lot is residential. If I hadn't have put it in before this new zoning bylaw, I would not be able to have one. I don't think they smoke much more than a large woodstove would. Besides, you would think they would encourage the use of them as they can allow you to shut down you water heater for the season thereby saving on hydro. There is such a push now for conservation of electricity, you would think anything to use to save it would be benificial in the eyes of the counselers  ???

[slowzuki]

Some do smoke a lot!  Some don't have a lined firebox so they burn cold and inefficently.  They do it to improve heat xfer to the water jacket.

Many have short stacks and poor draft combined with a thermostatic intake damper based on water temp. Low loads during off peak heating season can cause smoky results.

Some are better than others.  Take a look at www.tractorbynet.com and www.countrybynet.com and do some searches on google.

Ken

[EZ]

I guess it really depends on the wood you burn. If I burn good dry cherry then it dont smoke much. Most of the time I burn anything, wet or dry, oil cans, oil filters, deer bones, old shoes, tin cans, just about anything that I happen to grab.
EZ

[Wes]

 Sounds like a good way to get rid of old tires.

[Corley5]

Dad's on his second season with a Heatmoor and it doesn't seem to smoke excessively and he burns anything in it.  Green popple, red pine, sugar maple, an tire tread once and only once.  Way too much wire to fish out later :(.  He didn't realize a tread had that much steel in it.  Green beech seems to burn the worst.  It just work as good popple or maple.

[Mark M]

I don't know about burning tires. There is probably a heck of a lot of heat energy in them but I would also suspect they contain sulfur that might cause corrosion, kinda like burning coal. I don't know this for a fact but suspect it to be true. In the wood boiler we used to have we burnt all of our garbage except metals and glass. The stove is still going strong after 12 years so it didn't seem to hurt anything. I think the key is a good hot fire and a short stack that gets rid of stuff before it can condense.

[Neil_B]

Not to come down on anybody, I used to burn off copper wire in mine, but burning garbage and tires is the main reason why alot of bylaws are coming out on where these things can be set up. I say I used to burn copper because it stunk so bad and the smell was on everything, you could smell it days after. My neighbours (in-laws) used to comment about it too.
I do admit to still throwing in a used oil or fuel filter when I change one, that way I can burn the crap out and recycle the filter with my steel scrap.

[EZ]

When deer season is in I'd say most guys look outside to see if it's raining or snowing. I look at the wood burner to see which way the smoke is going. If it's going to the back, I hunt up front, and visi versa. There's always a good thing from something bad. :
EZ