E-2300 home alone

[hockeyguy]

Traded the mountains of N.H. for a few days in the mountains of Maine this week. Left the 2300 alone for the first time for 3 days.
I tested my oil burner last weekend to make sure it was going to kick on since it hasn't run since mid October. I set all t-stats in the house to 60 deg. and the 2300 to 185 deg. I loaded the firebox to the brim on Wednesday morning before we left.

Daytime highs Wednesday thru Saturday were 38,19,23,and 32 while nighttime lows were 1,3 and 24.

When we returned on Saturday, I was surprised to find the 2300's water temp. at 126.
The wood had burned completely leaving only about 3 shovel fulls of powdery ashes. The firebox was warm and the top of the firebox was hot to the touch. Fired her back up and was up to 185 three hours later.

The gauge on my oil tank moved only slightly. The reverse action of heating the 2300 water through the heat exchanger via the oil burner seemed to do a good job while not using too much oil.

Though things worked out well, I'll probably ask a neighbor to feed some wood for me next winter getaway. I did a lot of worrying while away for nothing.

[doctorb]

I think it takes a fair bit of energy to keep 450 gallons at 140 degrees over a few days.  My opinion is that you burn more oil than you think with this method.  I used the very same method last year, and it worked great.  My fears about the E-2300 freezing were ill-founded, and the temp when I returned from 5 days away was about 130 degrees.

I wonder if there was a way to control the eventual temp of the stove, say a low of 75 degrees.  Maybe a decrease in flow from the OWB to the house would decrease the amount fo heat transferred from the oil furnace back to the OWB.

There is no question that this method works.  I wish there was a way to determine how much oil we use with it.  Do you have one of the CB return valves that shuts the flow from the OWB to the heat exchanger at around 150 degrees.  That valve would prevent this method from working. 

[stumper]

I wish there was a way to not have the fan run after the wood was burnt out.  It seems counter productive to have the fan running blowing cold air through the boiler that you are trying to heat with the oil furnace.  If I have to leave for more the the boiler will go I turn off the boiler but leave the circulator pump running.  

Temps have been doing a roller coaster lately havent they.  My temps in Central Maine have ranged from a low of 14 below to 47 in the last few days.

[hockeyguy]

Having the fan running on high for a few days bummed me out. Maybe next time I'll try it with the circulator only.
Sure is nice to have 45 deg. temps. today. I'm thinking I'll get a 24 hour burn. Sounds like we're going to pay the price with a snowstorm on the backside of this front.

I do have one of those CB valves but it's not installed. They sent me a 1" thread, I need 1 1/4". I do have the capability of isolating the owb from the oil burner with shut off valves to bypass the heat exchanger.

As far as using oil goes, I'm not going to complain since it's the only oil I've used since Oct. and it was bought last summer at $2.30 a gallon. I know my oil tank pretty well and my best guess is that I used about 5 gallons each day. This is a nice insurance policy to have.
My oil burner is a cold start and I think this helps though I'm not sure.

BTW, my hot water in the superstore was still hot, nice bonus.

[stumper]

It is ok by me.  The snow is dropping nicely and they are only calling for 4 to 6 inches of snow for me.  Now in the mountains they are calling for 15 inches plus, with up to 2 feet possible.

[doctorb]

Hockeyguy-

We have the exact set-up.  I, too, have a CB 1" valve (I'll give it away to any who request it) going unused as I have 1 1/4" pipe as well.  Further, I have a manual valve loop to separate the OWB from the heat exchanger, just as you describe.

I agree that using a few gallons of oil to come home to a working system that's still pretty warm is a small price to pay.  So, next time you go away, will you not light the stove beforehand, let it go out, and shut down the fans, leaving only the circulatory pumps on?

[muckamuck]

You can read my lengthy reply to the post How Long Does A E-Classic 2300 Take to Water Freezes????  (Read 592 times) of Feb 23. Briefly, I put a timer on the pump from oil furnace to heat exchanger to keep the  e classic warm but not burn too much oil. I do not use the low temp bypass valve.

[hockeyguy]

doctorb, Guess I'd have to put some thought into that. The trade off for the 126 deg. water may be worth the fans running for a few days, but I'm not sure. If I let the fire go out and came back to say 40 deg. water, bringing it back to temp. takes a while and is a pain.


I do love winter, but I'm ready for spring. We've lost probably 6 to 8" of snow today with the rain. I'm starting to see my picnic table emerging in the front yard. It's been buried so long I forgot it was there. Let's hope 4 to 6" tonight does it for here too.  With a few more snow days my kids will be in school until the end of July.

Thanks muckamuck, just got your reply and will check out your post.

[hockeyguy]

stumper, what do your water temps look like after being shut down for a few days?

[stumper]

After better then 2 weeks away at the end of Novemeber into December, it was 122.  The outside air temp was in the low twenties were I return home.

[Dean186]

I wish there was a way to not have the fan run after the wood was burnt out.  It seems counter productive to have the fan running blowing cold air through the boiler that you are trying to heat with the oil furnace.  

Yes, the fan blowing cold air into a firebox that is out of wood will cool things off quickly.  The new Firestar controllers have a "Fire Out" feature.  When the water temperature drops below 120 degrees and the water temperature has not increased in temperature, the fan shuts down and an error code of FO (fire out) is displayed on the panel.  The system will continue to check for an increase in temperature every 30 minutes.  Opening and closing the firebox door resets this out condition.

[pulse]

Yes, the fan blowing cold air into a firebox that is out of wood will cool things off quickly.  The new Firestar controllers have a "Fire Out" feature.  When the water temperature drops below 120 degrees and the water temperature has not increased in temperature, the fan shuts down and an error code of FO (fire out) is displayed on the panel.  The system will continue to check for an increase in temperature every 30 minutes.  Opening and closing the firebox door resets this out condition.
[/quote]

That is exactly the controller I have been looking for the past few years for my owb. Although it is not a CB it does have a forced air draft that will continue to run even if the firebox is empty. Is this a CB item and do you think it could be made to work on a "standard" owb?

[Dean186]

That is exactly the controller I have been looking for the past few years for my owb. Although it is not a CB it does have a forced air draft that will continue to run even if the firebox is empty. Is this a CB item and do you think it could be made to work on a "standard" owb?

Yes, It is a Central Boiler Firestar controller that I am referring to and it is the one that is installed on the E-Classic 1400's.  I think it would be difficult to install one on another type boiler without knowing a lot about what you were doing.  If you're an electronics guy, then maybe it could be done.

[Flyer]

I wish there was a way to not have the fan run after the wood was burnt out.  It seems counter productive to have the fan running blowing cold air through the boiler that you are trying to heat with the oil furnace.  

I have to go away a lot with my job.  I installed a simple switch inline to the fan unit.  I just shut it off if I have to leave for a few days and let the stove burn out.  The circulator keeps running and the oil boiler takes over to heat the house.  The heat exchanger transfers enough heat to the OWB to make sure the water doesn't freeze, but the fan stays off.  Probably not as elegant as it could be but it's been working fine.

Flyer