Central Boiler 760HDX - Montana

[DDW_OR]

starting this thread for my Central Boiler 760HDX install and future notes
Classic Edge HDX Outdoor Wood Furnace | Central Boiler

will be heating for the following

Loop 1,    1-1/4"
100 ft run
House, forced air
House, How water
Attached 2 car garage converted to a work shop
Hot tub in Garage

Loop 2,    3/4"
50 ft run
30x60x14 polebarn, just above freezing
30x20x10 work shop inside polebarn

Loop 3,    3/4"
100 ft run
Greenhouse, 10x26x10 Harbor Freight, with ALL modifications
will be putting an insulated pit under the Greenhouse, then Pex loop, then soil
may use an old hot water heater for thermo storage, anti scald valve to keep the soil at 50 deg?
Temp controlled Greenhouse pump from Thermo storage to soil loop. runs only as needed.

Oregon - Central boiler 750
NEW Central Boiler Install in Firewood and Wood Heating

Oregon - Moving this Greenhouse to Montana
starting a HF Greenhouse in General Board

++++++++++++++++++
this area for future notes

Conclusion
Central Boiler 760HDX - Montana in Firewood and Wood Heating

[DDW_OR]

Trenching

name each trench.
my trenches are in a Y shape with the top of the Y connected, that is T3
the OWF is at the branch of the Y
T1 = House to Polebarn
T2 = Pole barn to Greenhouse
T3 = Hose to Green house

color code the black poly pipe
Red = T1 Polebarn to House
Yellow = T1 Polebarn to OWF
Green = T2 Polebarn to Greenhouse
White = T3 House to Greenhouse

Blue 2 inch sch80 = new power panel to house basement

T1 contains
1.25 Thermopex
2-2-2 power cable
12-12-12 for 3-way switch
empty 1.5 inch black poly pipe, 100 PSI rated
coax cable, future intercom ??
10-10-10 power to OWF
empty 1.5 inch black poly pipe, 100 PSI rated to OWF

T2 Contains
3/4 Thermopex
empty 1.5 inch black poly pipe, 100 PSI rated
coax cable, future intercom ??

T3
10-10-10 Power cable
3/4 Thermopex
empty 1.5 inch black poly pipe, 100 PSI rated
coax cable, future intercom ??



 

Metal pipe A is layed across ground for reference
all 3 Thermopex are tied together at B
 

[DDW_OR]

use a ratchet strap to pre-bend the thermopex



 



 

A = layed across ground for reference
B = old electrical line
C = Metal pipe pounded down to mark where the trenches branch

[DDW_OR]

Bobcat E80
Did not use the grapple or Rotator, not strong enough
and a ratchet strap to rotate the OWF into place.



 

[DDW_OR]

bottom View of the OWF

about a 4 to 5 inch wide base

[DDW_OR]

Ratchet strap to pre-bend pipe




Tools I used to expose the Pex pipes
Saws-all to cut Thermopex to length, longer that you think is needed
Angle grinder to cut outer green casing
Sharp knife to cut foam

 

 

[Walnut Beast]

Great information and pictures 👍.

Do you have this in the house? Dual Heat System In-Floor Radiant/Forced Air

I assume you have a smart phone. Pretty handy with all the information on it

[Walnut Beast]

I was confused but looking a little more it looks like it's your second one. What improvements or differences have they made on the new one. I see you seemed to have a fair amount of trouble but not enough to get another one.

[DDW_OR]

Do you have this in the house? Dual Heat System In-Floor Radiant/Forced Air
I assume you have a smart phone. Pretty handy with all the information on it

all locations will be Forced Air. no in-floor heating
except the future greenhouse that will have in-ground and Forced Air

Dual Heat, OWF and Natural gas

Iphone 8, 256G memory

In Oregon i have the older 750 with the heat exchanger inspection plates inside the firebox

....What improvements or differences have they made on the new one......

this 760 HDX is in Montana and has all of the modifications i told a Rep at Central boiler when i visited the manufacturing plant several years ago
rotate heat exchanger 180 deg, put a door on the backside for access
stepper motors instead of solenoid
stainless steel instead of carbon steel
spin the downdraft so it re-burns
change from the standard non-WIFI Firestar to the one with Internet connection

........ I see you seemed to have a fair amount of trouble but not enough to get another one.

do not understand

750 had LOTS AND LOTS of trouble. mostly from me doing long slow burns
was planning to heat house, DHW, polebarn, greenhouse, shop. but only had the house and DHW in use

the 760 HDX is brand new and as of this posting has not been fired up.
will be planning to heat house, DHW, garage, polebarn, greenhouse, shop, chicken coop

DHW = Domestic Hot Water.

the 760 HDX system is being installed this week, will post more when they are done.

I fire the 750 on a water temperature status.
( it is oversized for the current heat demand. record low in Glendale OR is -1 deg F )
sequence is:
fire
let OWF water temp get to normal High
then do not load any more wood.
let fire die
then for the next 4 days watch OWF water temp
when it drops to 100 deg or less then, pump the chains hanging in the heat exchanger
then re-start fire
this allows the reaction chamber to reach the High temp to burn the Creosote off the heat exchanger

[DDW_OR]

in Oregon with less snow i had purchased 2 of the Harbor Freight 10x12 greenhouses
but in Montana with much more snow i plan to get a different, stronger greenhouse 9x35, 6MM double wall
plan to dig a pit 4 ft deep under the GH, line the pit with foam
then add a foot of soil, then several loops of PEX
then 3 ft of soil
i do not want it water tight, so I will punch some 2 inch holes in the foam

[sublime68charger]

My 760HDX thread is here I'll be following along and need to read threw yours but thought you might want to take a look?

Sublimes Central Boiler 760HDX in Firewood and Wood Heating

[DDW_OR]

now for the Firestar controller

Dashboard


 
Furnace Settings
must be changed at the Firestar controller, not from the Web page
 

 
History from the time of the first fire.
First fire was with scrap wood






 


 

[sublime68charger]

The graphs are fun to have to know what your stove is doing that is for sure!

[DDW_OR]

Here are the full day charts from Sunday
the previous charts where on a 24 hour basis, so would include part of the previous day.



 

 

[DDW_OR]

Went on a 5 day trip
here are the charts


 

 

[DDW_OR]

thermo photos with the Flir C2

the color bar on the right shows the max to min temps
the temp in the top left is what the center circle is


 

 


 

 
the door over the pumps

FYI - the closer the camera is to the object the more accurate the measurement

[Dan_Shade]

Fahrenheit?

That's cool. 

[PoginyHill]

Nice look at the temps on your 760. I glued foam board to the inside of my pump access panel. It was quite warm with no insulation on that cover.

[DDW_OR]

Plan to do the same 
And insulate the pipes 

[DDW_OR]

Fahrenheit?

That's cool.

Fahrenheit Yes

[DDW_OR]

◄▀►◄▄►◄▀►◄▄►◄▀►◄▄►

now for the review
Pro:
the mess of having the wood heat is all outside
heat is stored in the water
one fire to heat several buildings. house polebarn garage shop greenhouse
bugs and spiders are not carried into the house
have heat for when the world goes #%$$%#%$$%#$%@#%$%$#

Con:
i can buy a lot of natural gas for the $30,000 ++ that the furnace and install cost
or a lot of firewood for the wood furnace that still is in the basement.

Conclusion:
would i have done this knowing what i know now. Yes

[DDW_OR]

partial cleaning

tools from Central boiler


 

 

my tools


 

 

[DDW_OR]

the cleaning 50%
in late spring i will do a 100% cleaning



 

 

 

[sublime68charger]

Why you clean it out?

How due the Heatexchangers in the back look?

I pulled the Tubrolaters out of mine last year and I'm still burning the same amount of wood but don't have the build up in the back like I did with the turbolaters.

Though over half of my wood is more on the not dry side than dry so I get build up from that.

But I am hoping to have next year's wood cut by this spring vs the last 3 years when I have been cutting in the fall to make enough for the upcoming winter.

[beenthere]

Try to give your wood at a minimum of 12 months seasoning time (works for ash) and add another 12 months if oak. 
You will be amazed at the extra heat from your wood if you do.