Thinking of "Hot Rodding" My Boiler Vent

 
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coalkirk
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Post by coalkirk » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 8:30 am

When you had an old 60's car you wanted to soup up a bit you would increase air in and air out while adjusting fuel etc. I have an idea I want to run past the many folks here with hours of expertise to see what you think.

I already made a change in the air in. This year when I cleaned my boiler grates, I used a drill bit slightly larger than the original holes to increase under fire air flow. Hard to say with certainty but I think I can detect more intensity in the fire. Now I want to increase air out and recover some more BTU's at the same time. This is where I need the group to shoot holes in my idea.

Last year I bought a brand new still in the box 6" Magic Heat on craigslist for a really good price. I'd like to use it on my boiler vent prior to the baro to extract more heat out of my setup. Of course that will reduce my flue gas temp and I already have draft issues under some conditions. So the second part of this hot rod setup would be to install a AD-1 draft inducer. My thinking is the draft inducer would be a good idea for my setup anyway and with the mechanical draft assist I should be able to use the Magic Heat and still have the draft I need. I'm also thinking I could completely remove the flow restrictor on the combustion fan.

Yes I realize I will spending some $$ on electric to run the fans in both units and I'm ok with that. Please critique.


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 8:45 am

I think the magic heat could further complicate your draft problems. The draft inducer would take care of the draft, but it will also increase the standby losses of the boiler and suck a lot of heat out of the house.

My 0.02 is to run the VF3000 like it was designed with the best coal you can find, and run your oil boiler a few hours per year to help out.

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 9:06 am

Get a Axeman ;)

 
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coalkirk
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Post by coalkirk » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 10:08 am

Rob R. wrote:I think the magic heat could further complicate your draft problems. The draft inducer would take care of the draft, but it will also increase the standby losses of the boiler and suck a lot of heat out of the house.

My 0.02 is to run the VF3000 like it was designed with the best coal you can find, and run your oil boiler a few hours per year to help out.
Well for sure the Magic Heat will have a negative impact on the draft. It has a thermostat that will turn the fan on and off based on the flue gas it is receiving. The inducer fan can be tied into the combustion fan cycle so it only runs when the boiler is firing. Or I can have it run at a reduced speed when the boiler is not firing.

Yes an Axeman would be nice but not likely that is going to happen.

 
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Post by hotblast1357 » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 10:30 am

my father in law has a majic heat on both of his hand fed saey hannover stoves, because he always had them on his wood stoves, they do not come on that often due to the coal gasses being a lot cooler than wood gasses, but it helps him with moving the heat, but with a boiler I do not see the benefits, maybe if you could change the gas flow inside the boiler to slow it down more, maybe with more baffles? I am not familiar with your boilers insides.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 10:34 am

I think the question is, would there be enough additional heat from the new mods to offset the operating costs of the two additional electric motors running?

I don't know.

What are the flue pipe temps before the baro?

 
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coalkirk
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Post by coalkirk » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 10:48 am

hotblast1357 wrote:my father in law has a majic heat on both of his hand fed saey hannover stoves, because he always had them on his wood stoves, they do not come on that often due to the coal gasses being a lot cooler than wood gasses, but it helps him with moving the heat, but with a boiler I do not see the benefits, maybe if you could change the gas flow inside the boiler to slow it down more, maybe with more baffles? I am not familiar with your boilers insides.
The magic heats fan comes on at 270*. My prebaro temp is well above that when the boiler is firing. \
Lightning wrote:I think the question is, would there be enough additional heat from the new mods to offset the operating costs of the two additional electric motors running?

I don't know.

What are the flue pipe temps before the baro?
I am tinkering more than anything and I don't care about the fan operating cost. I just want to see if it will work and how well.


 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 11:02 am

coalkirk wrote:
I am tinkering more than anything and I don't care about the fan operating cost. I just want to see if it will work and how well.
Nice. I can relate to that hahaha. :)

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Dec. 20, 2015 11:08 am

I've been wondering how I can reclaim some heat from flue gases during higher burn rates also. I'm afraid to share my thoughts at the moment for fear the black vans would line up outside.

I think if you use the magic heat exchanger during high heat demands while it's cold out, you may not have any draft issues. Like, don't use it unless it gets below a particular temperature outside.

 
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coalkirk
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Post by coalkirk » Mon. Dec. 21, 2015 10:31 am

So I took some flue temp measurements today while under a demand for heat. Pre-baro was 462* and post baro was 316* draft at .04.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Mon. Dec. 21, 2015 11:12 am

coalkirk wrote:So I took some flue temp measurements today while under a demand for heat. Pre-baro was 462* and post baro was 316* draft at .04.
I'd say you definitely have some gambling chips there to use. My plan of attack would be to install the magic heat between the stove and baro and wire it in conjuction with the the heat demand, so it runs while the stoker is burning hot.

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Dec. 21, 2015 1:43 pm

Our Schrader wood stove was a top vent with no baffle.it benefited greatly from the Magic Heat.The stack temps you posted would likely be worth using the Magic Heat,no extra t-stats or wiring needed,it is already t-stat controlled. It should be a worthwhile project to go ahead with.

 
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Post by Lightning » Mon. Dec. 21, 2015 1:48 pm

windyhill4.2 wrote:Our Schrader wood stove was a top vent with no baffle.it benefited greatly from the Magic Heat.The stack temps you posted would likely be worth using the Magic Heat,no extra t-stats or wiring needed,it is already t-stat controlled. It should be a worthwhile project to go ahead with.
I think he's worried about it hurting draft while the stoker is idling.

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Dec. 21, 2015 3:42 pm

Lightning wrote:
windyhill4.2 wrote:Our Schrader wood stove was a top vent with no baffle.it benefited greatly from the Magic Heat.The stack temps you posted would likely be worth using the Magic Heat,no extra t-stats or wiring needed,it is already t-stat controlled. It should be a worthwhile project to go ahead with.
I think he's worried about it hurting draft while the stoker is idling.
The Magic Heat will only come on when the stack is 270*.

 
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Post by Lightning » Mon. Dec. 21, 2015 4:04 pm

One of my ideas is to wrap the 6 inch pipe with a 4-6 foot section of 8 inch pipe. Then either force air thru the one inch gap between the two pipes or let it gravity feed and plumb it to the first floor.


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