I would like to find a company that has a good design that would add something else on their design for me. I would like a water tank for the water boiler and another tank that I could boil corn beer to distill ethhanol at the same time. It would just need two separate tanks one for heating my house and one for distilling beer from corn. I also plan to take the smoke from the chimney and run it through a wood gasifier then into a three phase military generator that I have. My plan is to heat my house and shop, make fuel for my vehicles and have electricity for my house from the same wood fire. I can feed my cows with the dried distilled grain also
So.... I’m fairly new to wood boilers. I’d like a cb 6048 like you have. In this video you had mentioned that sometimes you’re able to fill up once every two days. What tips do you have to achieve that kind of burn time?
Great job!! I’m a 10 yr owner of 5036 down south in central Ms. Everybody ard here thought mine was a meat smoker🤣. I tell them No it’s an electric bill smoker!! Seriously dude I’m a lineman here for Entergy an my supplier which is Delta Electric changed my meter out 4 times til I finally caught the guy! 🤪😂. My bill went from $375 using elect heat to $67 total monthly bill. They were really scratching their heads because my usage dropped so quick!! Love this Beast!! I’m 52 an love the exercise working up the wood. Building 2 new barns 30 by 60 starting out to store more wood for later. I have the plex in my slab an let me tell you if I ever build another house it will be through out the whole house. I grew up in this house an we added on. I like you Plumbed it all. When the floors are ard 69 to 70 degrees an it’s freezing outside it’s sooooo Awesome !!! But I’m usually out working then anyway!! May your fires burn long an white hot my friend!! 🔥🏠💪
Great video I love your set up. I am buying my inlaws house that is set up with a cl6048, but it is burnt out and junk. He never took care of it and now it is garbage. The next boiler i will buy is a Mahoning built here in pennsylvania. Its a coal and wood burner with shaker grates. I will be buying the insulated pex pipe like you as well as insulating the ground around the pex to double insulate the pipes. The house is 3600 sq feet plus a 30'x 48'building so the boiler will be busy heating everything. Where I live I do not have the most access to my own wood. so I will be purchasing a truck load, cost about $7-800. Yes for anyone looking at the cost it is a very large initial investment. With proper care and getting the boiler rebuilt when needed, their is no reason why the unit will not last 20 plus years. Thanks again for the great video.
I have a Central Boiler 5648 stainless. Basically the model prior to yours but has the stainless box. I've set mine with a high of 185 and low of 178. Been running 15 years now with and never had a problem with losing a cool pile in the Fall. Do you start early? I'm normally around mid October. Good to see you have a sheltered cover for your wood. All too many times you see people throwing snow covered wood into it. Makes it even messier and your throwing away BTU's to steam it off. Boilers like ours are not as efficient as the gasifiers but the trade off is less to go wrong and maintenance. It's impossible to get the firebox to stay hot enough, constantly, to keep the tar from building up. You have to stir and rake some which I don't always do either. Worst part with these is ash removal. No real easy way as coals get mixed in if you stir as recommended. I tend to load wood mainly in the center and stir from there. Try to pull the fines to the front to burn up completely. Throwing wood behind the last big web is a no no. All the heat is going up the stack if you do. One other thing I'll mention. To get the most out of your wood you need to split it some. I've had wood in enclosed storage, on concrete, that will still be wet when split when dealing with larger rounds like that. If you don't believe me, get a moisture meter and see for yourself. Not belittling you as I do it too. Just passing along info. Your hickory and oak normally will take 2 years, even when split, to be at the right moisture level. I'd also recommend getting a cart so you can load once at the pile, pull it to the stove and then unload. Saves a lot of steps unless you want the exercise. LOL
1:05 yea I have a Nikon D800 and it's a superb photo camera but shoddy for videos. really hard to focus properly especially with large aperture. I actually just bought a GoPro for videos. Not as good in the dark but really good for fast moving objects like my kids :)
I have the 5648 Classic boiler. I like having the safety of burning the wood outdoors, and I can pile my wood next to it and don't have to handle it as much by bringing wood in the house once a week for my older add on furnace. I have owned my Classic for 20 years. What I hate about it is, I have had it welded at least 13-15 times. Started when it was only 4-5 years old. Every fall I have to have it welded. Just had it welded last fall, now have 2 more holes in the clean out section, and the back wall by the outlet of the pipe is bad again. Junk steel. I am not sure how to fix this correctly. I would like to take the whole clean out section off, cut into the inner wall and put all new steel in. It would be quite the job. But it is rotten on the back wall up high by chimney hole and the bottom clean out section. I hate to stop burning it, I fill it once a day, lasts anywhere from 24-30 hours. Anyone had similar problem, and how did you fix it?
I learned today that piping the heat exchanger to the domestic hot water isn’t really efficient. The piping on top of the tank doesn’t really circulate water as well. It would have been better to pull out the pop off. Replace with a tee then replace the pop off. The hot water doesn’t flow down well. This way the heat flows into the tank
When I start mine I put 3 hour log at base fill with wood, light the log and wait a couple of minutes close the and I'm done. Before i would use kindling and fiddle with it.
I took a radiator out of a truck and put it in my garage and put a fan behind it and that in turn blows air through the radiator and work you very well just a suggestion for your garage James T North Carolina
I've run a Central Boiler CL40 since '97 and after 23 years of use my firebox finally developed a leak. I only have two things to say about these stoves to your viewers. First, I found these stoves to be the best heat ever to heat a home or anything else you may want to heat, however, on the other side of the coin I hope you are going to still enjoy this stove when you get up to retirement age and your back can't handle ALL the work that is needed to maintain them from cutting, splitting hauling and stacking that you need to do. I've tossed around the idea of trying to repair the leak, but I think I'm at the age now where I'd rather just turn a knob on a thermostat and pay the monthly bills that come with it. Good luck.
Very cool. We are contemplating doing something like this to warm our houses during the winter. Decisions decisions... Also, you mentioned your camera, check out our newer videos, they are all filmed with the Sony RX100 V. Best money spent on a run & gun camera for RUclips. Also does some great slow motion, you can see it (slow motion) in our When Things Go Right with the Husqvarna 455.
@@TheDurbinCompound I used a steel tank and spray foamed to keep the heat in. I put the tank in my shop so any extra heat went in the shop. If you can find a old propane tank for cheap that works really well.
Base boards on north walls of 1200 sq ft house, added damper fan to door on my 5036, works stellar, burn mostly Pine, keeps the house temp steady @ 74 all winter long.
I would use insulated leather gloves. I have smashed fingers and got huge splinters over the last 10 years. Also heavy cold wood is tough on the hands. Your a young guy. Wait till you’re 60 and try loading wood.
I have found that if I fill my stove up ...it will burn it. If I add just enough to get me 12 hrs then that's what I do. I load twice a day and just a few chunks at a time.
I have had mine for 13 years mine is smaller than yours I think mine is 5036 the sticker is gone so I'm not sure but I love it I live in Ohio I only put wood one time a day
Hi , hoping for some advice . My Central Boiler Model CL 5648SB installed in 2002 ( purchased new ) I believe has sprung a leak . I have water dripping from the top back left corner , the water is warm (and no it’s not coming from the add water / steam relief valve on top, I did check ) Can I put boiler stop leak into the system ? I am assuming I would dump the additive into the water /steam relic overflow valve on top of the unit . I wish I could see what the inside looks like in regards to the water jacket , I again am assuming the water piping runs throughout the top and perhaps the sides of the boiler ? If so maybe one of the pipes sprung a leak . I am hoping to get through the rest of the Adirondack GeoEngineered Weather . Any advice is much appreciated . Thank you kindly , Amy 🙏😊✌️
Amy, I have no experience with using a boiler stop leak. I would not recommend it because of the chance of clogging up your heating coil inside. With the water being circulated, I would be very reluctant to do any kind of stop leak. I’m afraid I don’t have any advice for the situation currently. If it was my unit, I’d shut it down, drain the water and weld the hole from the inside. A pin leak would only take a small tack weld to plug. Sorry I can’t help ya out! Good luck!
In the spring call a little welder to come fix it correctly do not uses any additive to the water side of the boiler as it will seriously affect efficiency.
Well the central boilers have the pumps wired into a male plug and it plugs into a duplex outlet on the boiler. So generator use only requires a standard extension cord to run the pump.
Nice video. I never thought to run the temp so high on the one I built. Great idea about the temp gauge in the bedroom. I haven't used antifreeze in it in 15 years do you use it?
Even though you don't use antifreeze it won't freeze because if the fuel in the firebox runs out it will simply keep the boiler from freezing by pulling heat from the building being heated as the pump runs continuously. I ot called by a friend who uses the same boiler and got called out to Texas for three weeks and his wife called me as it had run out of fuel and she needed it relighted. I took a old no longer good for feed half bale of hay that had gotten soaked then the tarp got blown off the pile. Used a propane torch to light it and 20 minutes later it took off. The house was down to 37 degrees. I filled the firebox to just over 1/2 of capacity.
That's what I do when I go away in the winter. I have a hot water heater hooked up to this that will keep the house and boiler from freezing. Got down to 34 degrees in the house after being gone a week. I worry more about the domestic hot water line freezing since it is not always moving water through it.
Yes! This is a pretty original video to the channel. I have not added or changed much. It’s been pretty good to me. I plan on doing more videos on it. Maybe in the next week or two!
Do you know if your piping underground is copper or pex? Pex has a temperature rating, some are only rated to 180° then it's strength drops off incredibly. If you have it where you can read the #s, it's definitely worth checking. Because it was fine until it fails.
When you check the water level (by turning the value on the tube on top right front), is the water level supposed to rise up to the fill line when you turn the valve and then fall back down to the bottom when you return the valve to its original position? Or is the water level supposed to be near the fill line the entire time (regardless of whether valve is open or closed)? Thanks.
Is there a pump that runs 24/7 circulating water between the boiler and the house? If so, do you have any idea how much electricity ($) it takes to run that per month? Thank you.
Yes. The circ pump runs 24/7. I do not have an data on the power it pulls. It’s very minimal. I this the rating is 1/32hp. It’s 110V. A 60W bulb 💡 probably uses more power
Central Boiler sells a remote temp gauge. It is a hotwell probe and about 75ft of wire with a little LCD display powered by a watch battery. Very easy to install the hotwell in line of the PEX and fish the wire up through the floor! Here is one I found with a simple google search. www.woodfurnaceworld.com/products/kit-indoor-temperature-display
The one in the link only shows 140 degrees but the one I have goes over 190 for sure. It's nice because you can monitor temps from your phone while you're not home.
I clean out the ash about once a month or maybe 2 months during burning season. It will get so full that it’s hard to continue to stack wood in it. I really hate to let it go out. It takes forever to get started again. You want to burn big hardwood pieces, these create nice big coals. The nice big coals are what gets you through when the damper is closed. If you let it go out, these coals burn down to ash and you basically start over. Except this time you just have a lot of fine ash to deal with while trying to get a fire started again.
I’m considering buying a home with one of these. Hopefully not something someone has already asked.... do you shut the breaker for your electric hot water tank off while the boiler is burning? Or does the electric still come on? I would like to think the wood fire can produce all the domestic hot water a household would need but I can see that after filling a bathtub, multiple consecutive showers or doing a lot of dishes and laundry etc the electric would need to come on. I just don’t feel like those side arm heat exchangers could heat enough water quickly
There are many schools of thought on this. I, myself, turn off the breaker to the hot water heater and just let the wood burner do the work. I do not have an issue with recovery time. You’d be surprised at home fast the heat exchangers do their job. The true test would be to actually try it. Then if you use too much and it can’t recover then you know that you just need to leave it on! Get ready to cut a lot of wood!
TheDurbinCompound Thank you for your speedy response and very informative video! Helpful to someone in my position! I am hoping to keep my utility expenses as low as possible.... so I am hoping to be able to leave the electric tank OFF all winter and let the wood furnace keep the water (and home) heated. I do not have a large family so I should hopefully be ok!
So that hot water does not constantly flow through the heat exchanger and constantly radiate heat. Anytime your fan would run for recirculating or humidifier, you would be heating.
The valve is there so that heated water can selectively flow through the heating system exchanger while constantly going through the exchanger for the domestic hot water exchanger. Sometimes, such as in warm weather, one wants wood-heated hot water (shower, clothes washing, etc.) while running air conditioning. It inactivates the exchanger inside the existing HVAC ductwork.
Why happen when you have a repository problem? How long does it take to get a technician/repair person to do repair/maintenance? Do you have a backup system for such times?
Roz, I am a Central Boiler owner and will provide an answer for you. The unit is supported by a dealer of Central Boiler and they are scattered all around. Some places have a concentration of dealers for a given area while some dealers are more widespread. The dealers do not have stores. They sell, install, and maintain and provide parts for the owners of the systems. They are responsive and capable. They can work on your furnace or supply parts to you.
Oh, and a backup heating system? Yes. Mine uses a heat exchanger placed within the same ductwork as the existing system. The original system still works, although either turned off or set a few degrees lower in case the fire goes out or you go on vacation.
Absolutely! Man it’s hard to keep up with comments! I probably get 30 comments a day! I know why the bigger channels don’t answer comments. Thanks for helping me out. I’m glad to meet another Central Boiler guy! Hope to see you around the channel!!
@@TheDurbinCompound thanks, it's my understanding that pex has a thermal barrier and you have to account for 10 degree loss on outer casing. Do you have a link to the submersible gauge? Thanks
Ryan Mansager you are correct! The Viegos are cheap and I always clamp them on the fittings so I get some more accurate readings. Standby for a link. I’ll reply again with it when I find them
Ryan Mansager ensure you get the correct fittings! I used 3/4 black iron Tees and a brass reducer to 1/2NPT on the one side. The 1” PEX Male adaptors to hook into my pex. www.supplyhouse.com/Winters-Instruments-TAS132-5-5AS-Straight-Thermometer-with-Thermowell-30F-to-240F-0C-to-115C?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3IeXusef5QIVkB-tBh2pPgIVEAQYAyABEgJJD_D_BwE
Awesome! If you need anything, don't be afraid to look me up. Did you see my pipe insulation video? My buddies go back and forth about the little details all the time
No mixer valve for domestic hot water? Why does everyone freak out because he don't have a mixer valve. Back in the fifties when I was a little kid no one had a mixer valve for domestic hot water, you simply learned how to add cold water to prevent a burn to skin. I still know a lot of people that still don't use a mixer valve as the temperature affected how clean you can get your laundry. Never take council of your fears.
We are on the same page James. With my mixing valve installed and turned as hot as it would go; the water was still colder than my electric hot water heater.
195 is too high a temperature set it no higher than 180 with a low of no less than 150. Before you add wood to the firebox use a flat scraper to scrape off the built up creosote which is unburned fuel and should ignite and burn very hot until it's burned out then add wood to your fire. To reduce the creosote buildup use dried wood dried for at least a year and your wood supply should be covered so it can dry out and stay dry. A little bit of work but definitely better than insects, dirt, and other problems from bringing firewood inside the home. Cheers
Central Boiler 6048 here for 12 years, ask any questions you want. The reason to go back down to 180, is efficiency, you will burn 20-25% less fuel. It takes a lot more energy to get to 190. If you want the same heat output at 180 degrees, double the power of the circulator flow rate. Also add a pressure gauge after the bottom of the circ, this will tell you if there are any obstructions in the plumbing. After some time, brazed plate exchangers can clog up like a brick with minerals. I run at 150 in the summer, and slowly go up by 5 degrees as fall approaches then arriving at 180 by Christmas, same thing in the spring going down to 150.
Your welcome, here's to being efficient and less work. Also keep your eye out for a Boilermate "Blue tank" even in scrap yards or dumpsters of the plumbing supply, they are easy to fix and plumbers just don't care. A Boilermate will take 15 years to brick up with minerals. That potable exchanger is going to brick up with minerals in 3-5 years. Causing back pressure to the circulator (hence the pressure gauge) gotta keep those flow rates up. Fow rates from the circs are the invisible slow killers to system output efficiency. Check your clean out on back of boiler for a pile of ash obstructing exhaust. Then silver tape that clean out cap sealed shut, this will ad 10-15% to front door draw of air. Would also suggest adding 2 more 4 foot pipes to the chimney, this will double the draw into the front door to the point you can hear it. I have 7, 4 foot pipes for my chimney, 35 ft of super draw & not smoke, so strong it sucks the front door shut. There is a reason the chimney is the tallest thing on any house. Trapped hot air rising. Even tho I am set at 180, that fire is being turbocharged by 35 feet of chimney. It gets so hot that even cutting off at 180 the boiler will still climb to 187 after cut off. The steel plate on the inside of the door turns white with just ash, no black, gotta clean that gap around that plate for optimum air flow.
I'm going to disagree with his saving 20-25%. There are some slight inefficiencies with having a higher temps due to other factors but the equations for heat transfer are linear. So the energy to heat water 20 degrees from 60 to 80 and 20 degrees from 180 to 200 is the same. When you get to a phase change like boiling (212) then that will be the max temp. Now 180 might still be a good temp due to safety reasons. As you get closer to boiling you will produce more stream and pressure but I'm sure there is a pressure relief. In my opinion you will get better efficiencies by having longer full burn times and less smoldering time. When smoldering and getting the fire to operating temperature all that smoke is wasted fuel. So the bigger delta between your kick on low temp and high turn off temp the more efficient it will be.
So much easier to have all the mess outside I have been burning a outside stove for 30 years if it gets super cold I might fire the inside fire place insert but haven't done that since 94 when we had -20 Temps I really hate dragging wood in the house because it makes such a mess bringing it in and taking the ashes out
Moving up in temp to 170 degrees, 30's low 50's high. If you don't have machines to make an enormous amount of lumber. Buy a different furnace, if you want the best wood boiler, get the machines to make it run. i.imgur.com/2R71MTG.jpg
Central Boiler owner here in my 7th heating season. Very happy with mine, a CL5036 which is not a gasification or catalytic furnace, which means that it can burn green wood without stopping up and not producing heat.
I have been using my cb eclassic gasification for 10 years. Got to keep it filled with large chunks of dry wood. Oak is best. I load it every 10 hours or so. I have an old large house it Helps heat my house and I live in the suburbs.
Had a friend install a cl 6048 outdoor boiler and all he did was bitch about how often the fire went out. After listening to him complain about what a mistake he made I went over to his house which was 138 miles from my house. First thing I noticed was he has a beautiful site of 250 acres all in wood. And his wood stockpile was just over 3 cords of wood. I asked him to show me the boiler and add wood as he normally does. He never adds more than 6 pieces of wood because as he explained it to me was he didn't want to waste the wood. Got my chainsaw out and dropped 35 trees in the next 5 hours then used his tractor and trailer to load them up cut to 4 foot lengths the cut them to no longer than 16 inches. Then filled the firebox to more than 3/4 full. He was stunned when the house was warm the next morning. Then I was stunned when I found out he was buying his wood from a local wood seller at $300 a cord. All the wood I cut on his property was standing dead wood or wood that had already fallen either due to a storm or was already dead. He was stunned to see how much wood I was able to cut in 5 hours. And all I cut was 5 acres. He after we spent 3 hours at a local general store and spoke to several woodcutters one of whom agreed to teach him how to cut and haul firewood for the heating system at a cost of $500 for the week. He now heats the house and garage with hot water from the boiler and has lost 137 pounds. His oil bill has dropped to zero. This happened 3 years ago and he loves it. I slept in the spare bedroom and loved the breakfast every morning, his wife was a chef before she met him. Excellent food no matter when she served it. Plus 2 girls and one boy. Cheers
I hear with the no nanny hot water mixing valve. Now I understand why you are not impressed with the furness output. If you run the "potable" and furness in parallel, not in series, you can get the furness 25 degrees hotter. While pulling more heat off the boiler at a lower temperature and get more efficient. If my water is leaving at 180 it coming back at 140, have done extremes heating the pool on the 3rd leg that will pull it down to a return of 100. You do the above you will have much more efficiency 20-25% @ a lower boiler temp. A good example of energy efficiency is the SS United States, she could do 34 knots no problem. But to get to 38.5 knotts, "just 4.5 more knots" took twice the energy & fuel, hence why we stay at 180 not 195. It takes so much more wood energy to get that last 15 degrees to 195.
Sorry your analogy here is incorrect. Kinetic energy for a moving boat is based on it's velocity squared. That's why it takes more energy to go a few more knots per hr. But for heat transfer in general everything is linear so heating water from 40 to 60 degrees takes the same energy as heating from 100 to 120.
Believe whatever you want, I have lived it for the last 12 years. I too went 195 for the first 2 years. 160 degrees settings here now in the face of 40's outside, long heat cycles, but very efficient. A lot less energy spent for the same hot water. Also understand as outside temperatures decrease, Oxygen content increases, creating a hotter flame in the fire box. I haven't found a Central Boiler 6048 customer more efficient than me. Bring it, if you think you can. One of the big things I want to update is having the intake door shut down when it goes below 15 degrees of settings. And not suck all the heat out of the fire box upon morning. There are no firmware upgrades for this unit, were on our own.
@@steveharkins279 Your flow situation may be different. Seems like Mr Durbin needs the temps to get good BTU delivery as his vent temps are just above 110-115F @195 if he drops his water temp to 180 he may not have enough to heat house and DHW. Looks like his video shows a entry level pump and I do not know what size pex he has looks like 1 inch. Assuming his flow is less than 8g/Min a bigger pump may allow him to decrease his temp. I heat two houses at 175F with 1 inch pex but it takes the correct pumps to do it.
@@brendanburton457 End cap, plug, stopper, or cork. In the video, he's actually talking about the bungholes (which makes 12yr-olds giggle) and not the bungs themselves.
Thanks for watching everyone! If you have a QUESTION, let me know below and I'll be happy to answer!
Good vid bud check my video out! Central boiler outdoor wood furnace #1
I would like to find a company that has a good design that would add something else on their design for me. I would like a water tank for the water boiler and another tank that I could boil corn beer to distill ethhanol at the same time. It would just need two separate tanks one for heating my house and one for distilling beer from corn. I also plan to take the smoke from the chimney and run it through a wood gasifier then into a three phase military generator that I have. My plan is to heat my house and shop, make fuel for my vehicles and have electricity for my house from the same wood fire. I can feed my cows with the dried distilled grain also
So.... I’m fairly new to wood boilers. I’d like a cb 6048 like you have. In this video you had mentioned that sometimes you’re able to fill up once every two days. What tips do you have to achieve that kind of burn time?
Nice dry hardwoods. Sometimes running the water temp at a lower setting will also achieve better burn times.
@@TheDurbinCompound Thanks!
Great job!!
I’m a 10 yr owner of 5036 down south in central Ms. Everybody ard here thought mine was a meat smoker🤣. I tell them No it’s an electric bill smoker!! Seriously dude I’m a lineman here for Entergy an my supplier which is Delta Electric changed my meter out 4 times til I finally caught the guy! 🤪😂. My bill went from $375 using elect heat to $67 total monthly bill. They were really scratching their heads because my usage dropped so quick!!
Love this Beast!! I’m 52 an love the exercise working up the wood. Building 2 new barns 30 by 60 starting out to store more wood for later. I have the plex in my slab an let me tell you if I ever build another house it will be through out the whole house. I grew up in this house an we added on. I like you Plumbed it all. When the floors are ard 69 to 70 degrees an it’s freezing outside it’s sooooo Awesome !!! But I’m usually out working then anyway!!
May your fires burn long an white hot my friend!! 🔥🏠💪
Awesome! Great to hear your story! 😂 hope to see you around the channel brother!
I love my boiler as well , it has been going strong for 19 years and myself as well 😊
Great video I love your set up. I am buying my inlaws house that is set up with a cl6048, but it is burnt out and junk. He never took care of it and now it is garbage. The next boiler i will buy is a Mahoning built here in pennsylvania. Its a coal and wood burner with shaker grates. I will be buying the insulated pex pipe like you as well as insulating the ground around the pex to double insulate the pipes. The house is 3600 sq feet plus a 30'x 48'building so the boiler will be busy heating everything. Where I live I do not have the most access to my own wood. so I will be purchasing a truck load, cost about $7-800. Yes for anyone looking at the cost it is a very large initial investment. With proper care and getting the boiler rebuilt when needed, their is no reason why the unit will not last 20 plus years. Thanks again for the great video.
I do not have use for much of what you have going on there, but it is fascinating to see your setup. Thanks for sharing :-)
Nice video I like that you left the door opened while talking....
Thanks! I do like this simple video!
I have a Central Boiler 5648 stainless. Basically the model prior to yours but has the stainless box. I've set mine with a high of 185 and low of 178. Been running 15 years now with and never had a problem with losing a cool pile in the Fall. Do you start early? I'm normally around mid October. Good to see you have a sheltered cover for your wood. All too many times you see people throwing snow covered wood into it. Makes it even messier and your throwing away BTU's to steam it off. Boilers like ours are not as efficient as the gasifiers but the trade off is less to go wrong and maintenance. It's impossible to get the firebox to stay hot enough, constantly, to keep the tar from building up. You have to stir and rake some which I don't always do either. Worst part with these is ash removal. No real easy way as coals get mixed in if you stir as recommended. I tend to load wood mainly in the center and stir from there. Try to pull the fines to the front to burn up completely. Throwing wood behind the last big web is a no no. All the heat is going up the stack if you do. One other thing I'll mention. To get the most out of your wood you need to split it some. I've had wood in enclosed storage, on concrete, that will still be wet when split when dealing with larger rounds like that. If you don't believe me, get a moisture meter and see for yourself. Not belittling you as I do it too. Just passing along info. Your hickory and oak normally will take 2 years, even when split, to be at the right moisture level. I'd also recommend getting a cart so you can load once at the pile, pull it to the stove and then unload. Saves a lot of steps unless you want the exercise. LOL
1:05 yea I have a Nikon D800 and it's a superb photo camera but shoddy for videos. really hard to focus properly especially with large aperture. I actually just bought a GoPro for videos. Not as good in the dark but really good for fast moving objects like my kids :)
Yes. I have since upgraded a lot of my equipment. This was one of my first videos!
the sound is amazing...
I have the 5648 Classic boiler. I like having the safety of burning the wood outdoors, and I can pile my wood next to it and don't have to handle it as much by bringing wood in the house once a week for my older add on furnace. I have owned my Classic for 20 years. What I hate about it is, I have had it welded at least 13-15 times. Started when it was only 4-5 years old. Every fall I have to have it welded. Just had it welded last fall, now have 2 more holes in the clean out section, and the back wall by the outlet of the pipe is bad again. Junk steel. I am not sure how to fix this correctly. I would like to take the whole clean out section off, cut into the inner wall and put all new steel in. It would be quite the job. But it is rotten on the back wall up high by chimney hole and the bottom clean out section. I hate to stop burning it, I fill it once a day, lasts anywhere from 24-30 hours. Anyone had similar problem, and how did you fix it?
during the fall and spring use more pine. Always mix rounds with splits. peace
Pretty good advice right there!
I learned today that piping the heat exchanger to the domestic hot water isn’t really efficient. The piping on top of the tank doesn’t really circulate water as well. It would have been better to pull out the pop off. Replace with a tee then replace the pop off. The hot water doesn’t flow down well. This way the heat flows into the tank
Yeah side arm heat exchangers just heat the water by convection. So the water being warmer will flow it slowly. It’s really inefficient and slow.
When I start mine I put 3 hour log at base fill with wood, light the log and wait a couple of minutes close the and I'm done. Before i would use kindling and fiddle with it.
That is one way to do it. I’ve done that a few times!
I took a radiator out of a truck and put it in my garage and put a fan behind it and that in turn blows air through the radiator and work you very well just a suggestion for your garage James T North Carolina
I changed out my lights and turned him to LID10 times brighter you will very much enjoy if you do that yes to suggest in James T North Carolina
I've run a Central Boiler CL40 since '97 and after 23 years of use my firebox finally developed a leak. I only have two things to say about these stoves to your viewers. First, I found these stoves to be the best heat ever to heat a home or anything else you may want to heat, however, on the other side of the coin I hope you are going to still enjoy this stove when you get up to retirement age and your back can't handle ALL the work that is needed to maintain them from cutting, splitting hauling and stacking that you need to do. I've tossed around the idea of trying to repair the leak, but I think I'm at the age now where I'd rather just turn a knob on a thermostat and pay the monthly bills that come with it. Good luck.
True story there! It’s a lot of hard work and dedication! I sure won’t have the energy forever
Nice job, simple that anyone can work on or fix
John Silvernale yes, very easy and mostly straight forward operation. I enjoy maintaining the system.
Very cool. We are contemplating doing something like this to warm our houses during the winter. Decisions decisions...
Also, you mentioned your camera, check out our newer videos, they are all filmed with the Sony RX100 V. Best money spent on a run & gun camera for RUclips. Also does some great slow motion, you can see it (slow motion) in our When Things Go Right with the Husqvarna 455.
Awesome. I'll have to check out the camera. I really hate messing with the one I have.
I added a 1000 gal tank to store hot water for heating.
Oh sweet! How is that working out? Did you use an insulated tank or a poly tank?
@@TheDurbinCompound I used a steel tank and spray foamed to keep the heat in. I put the tank in my shop so any extra heat went in the shop. If you can find a old propane tank for cheap that works really well.
Just for clarification, central boiler's gasification units do not require propane or natural gas to run them. (Classic Edge Series)
Paul good to know. Thought they Did! I'm not as familiar with the gasification units from CB. 👍👍
Unfortunately the edge has only a 12 hour burn time
Base boards on north walls of 1200 sq ft house, added damper fan to door on my 5036, works stellar, burn mostly Pine, keeps the house temp steady @ 74 all winter long.
Yeah buddy! I love them!
I would use insulated leather gloves. I have smashed fingers and got huge splinters over the last 10 years. Also heavy cold wood is tough on the hands. Your a young guy. Wait till you’re 60 and try loading wood.
I hear ya there!
I have found that if I fill my stove up ...it will burn it. If I add just enough to get me 12 hrs then that's what I do. I load twice a day and just a few chunks at a time.
I have had mine for 13 years mine is smaller than yours I think mine is 5036 the sticker is gone so I'm not sure but I love it I live in Ohio I only put wood one time a day
Awesome! What part of Ohio?
@@TheDurbinCompound I'm close to Portsmouth about 30 min
Josh Cunningham cool! I’m up in the northwest part of Ohio!
@@TheDurbinCompound I'm about as far south you can get
Josh Cunningham have some friends in Portsmouth!
What zone valve are you using at about 23:00 min mark?
Hi , hoping for some advice . My Central Boiler
Model CL 5648SB installed in 2002 ( purchased new ) I believe has sprung a leak . I have water dripping from the top back left corner , the water is warm (and no it’s not coming from the add water / steam relief valve on top, I did check ) Can I put boiler stop leak into the system ? I am assuming I would dump the additive into the water /steam relic overflow valve on top of the unit . I wish I could see what the inside looks like in regards to the water jacket , I again am assuming the water piping runs throughout the top and perhaps the sides of the boiler ? If so maybe one of the pipes sprung a leak . I am hoping to get through the rest of the Adirondack GeoEngineered Weather . Any advice is much appreciated .
Thank you kindly , Amy 🙏😊✌️
Amy, I have no experience with using a boiler stop leak. I would not recommend it because of the chance of clogging up your heating coil inside. With the water being circulated, I would be very reluctant to do any kind of stop leak. I’m afraid I don’t have any advice for the situation currently. If it was my unit, I’d shut it down, drain the water and weld the hole from the inside. A pin leak would only take a small tack weld to plug. Sorry I can’t help ya out! Good luck!
In the spring call a little welder to come fix it correctly do not uses any additive to the water side of the boiler as it will seriously affect efficiency.
I have the the same one I don’t have the water that hot , that’s dangerous , but I’m sure your cautious
Always cautious! It’s very hot!
👍🏻 watching your videos know 👍🏻
Shayn C awesome! Hope to see you around the channel!
New videos on Saturday at noon and 8pm
So it only works with houses with ducts?
Great work bro!
Don’t you need same 110v plug for the wood boiler outside, for generator use?
Well the central boilers have the pumps wired into a male plug and it plugs into a duplex outlet on the boiler. So generator use only requires a standard extension cord to run the pump.
Nice video. I never thought to run the temp so high on the one I built. Great idea about the temp gauge in the bedroom. I haven't used antifreeze in it in 15 years do you use it?
I do not use antifreeze. This means that no matter the case, you can not let the burner cool down.
Even though you don't use antifreeze it won't freeze because if the fuel in the firebox runs out it will simply keep the boiler from freezing by pulling heat from the building being heated as the pump runs continuously. I ot called by a friend who uses the same boiler and got called out to Texas for three weeks and his wife called me as it had run out of fuel and she needed it relighted. I took a old no longer good for feed half bale of hay that had gotten soaked then the tarp got blown off the pile. Used a propane torch to light it and 20 minutes later it took off. The house was down to 37 degrees. I filled the firebox to just over 1/2 of capacity.
That's what I do when I go away in the winter. I have a hot water heater hooked up to this that will keep the house and boiler from freezing. Got down to 34 degrees in the house after being gone a week. I worry more about the domestic hot water line freezing since it is not always moving water through it.
It’s been 4 years since this posting , do you have any general statistics on the boiler , did you make any changes/upgrades to the unit ?
Yes! This is a pretty original video to the channel. I have not added or changed much. It’s been pretty good to me. I plan on doing more videos on it. Maybe in the next week or two!
Once you have a good fire, can you put in long 2-3 ft on split logs?
Absolutely. You can feed it whatever you want after a good coal bed is established
Do you know if your piping underground is copper or pex? Pex has a temperature rating, some are only rated to 180° then it's strength drops off incredibly. If you have it where you can read the #s, it's definitely worth checking. Because it was fine until it fails.
I have 1” thermopex ran for the system. Buried at 3’.
Pex can take temps over 200, you just can't have much pressure at the higher temp. This boiler is an atmospheric boiler. That means no pressure.
@@tylerpaul6711 so long as you know..would want it to crumble or something due to not knowing.👍
Anything with a pump has pressure
@@sampantiliano 30 max is nothing
Do you fill your boiler with water softened water? I see conflicting opinions on this.
When you check the water level (by turning the value on the tube on top right front), is the water level supposed to rise up to the fill line when you turn the valve and then fall back down to the bottom when you return the valve to its original position? Or is the water level supposed to be near the fill line the entire time (regardless of whether valve is open or closed)? Thanks.
Your first statement is correct. When you turn the valve back off, the water drains out of the tube onto the ground. In cold weather it would freeze.
Is there a pump that runs 24/7 circulating water between the boiler and the house? If so, do you have any idea how much electricity ($) it takes to run that per month? Thank you.
Yes. The circ pump runs 24/7. I do not have an data on the power it pulls. It’s very minimal. I this the rating is 1/32hp. It’s 110V. A 60W bulb 💡 probably uses more power
He says it around 3:25
Running the stove hotter probably allows you to run a smaller pump
im looking for an out door bolier that i can put whole pallets and skids in the bolier with out cutting them
Awesome! centralboiler.com/products/classic/
Look at Central Boiler’s pallet burner!
You want a model 800 to use a forklift to fill it.
Would like to know how you installed a read out in your house to see the temp
Central Boiler sells a remote temp gauge. It is a hotwell probe and about 75ft of wire with a little LCD display powered by a watch battery. Very easy to install the hotwell in line of the PEX and fish the wire up through the floor! Here is one I found with a simple google search.
www.woodfurnaceworld.com/products/kit-indoor-temperature-display
www.lascarelectronics.com/easylog-data-logger-el-wifi-th/
Get it on Amazon, works great
Another great option! Thanks for the link
The one in the link only shows 140 degrees but the one I have goes over 190 for sure. It's nice because you can monitor temps from your phone while you're not home.
How often do you have to clean out the ash? And what happens to the ecosystem if it goes out? Or do you avoid that at all costs?
I clean out the ash about once a month or maybe 2 months during burning season. It will get so full that it’s hard to continue to stack wood in it. I really hate to let it go out. It takes forever to get started again. You want to burn big hardwood pieces, these create nice big coals. The nice big coals are what gets you through when the damper is closed. If you let it go out, these coals burn down to ash and you basically start over. Except this time you just have a lot of fine ash to deal with while trying to get a fire started again.
I’m considering buying a home with one of these. Hopefully not something someone has already asked.... do you shut the breaker for your electric hot water tank off while the boiler is burning? Or does the electric still come on? I would like to think the wood fire can produce all the domestic hot water a household would need but I can see that after filling a bathtub, multiple consecutive showers or doing a lot of dishes and laundry etc the electric would need to come on. I just don’t feel like those side arm heat exchangers could heat enough water quickly
There are many schools of thought on this. I, myself, turn off the breaker to the hot water heater and just let the wood burner do the work. I do not have an issue with recovery time. You’d be surprised at home fast the heat exchangers do their job. The true test would be to actually try it. Then if you use too much and it can’t recover then you know that you just need to leave it on! Get ready to cut a lot of wood!
TheDurbinCompound Thank you for your speedy response and very informative video! Helpful to someone in my position! I am hoping to keep my utility expenses as low as possible.... so I am hoping to be able to leave the electric tank OFF all winter and let the wood furnace keep the water (and home) heated. I do not have a large family so I should hopefully be ok!
Mitch Turcotte do you know the brand of burner? How big of house? Should be fine
TheDurbinCompound a Heatmor Outdoor Wood Furnace, forced air system inside with propane backup. 1,200 ish square foot home
Mitch Turcotte cool! Should be awesome. Usually if it’s not a hack job then the dealer has sized the burner correctly!
Can you burn green wood or pine wood?
I do with no issue
Fire box is 60”x48” as where it gets its name from
do you burn pine logs you can sometimes get free pine logs
Yes I burn pine as long as it’s dry! It does burn dirty so it will build more creosote and more upkeep!
Why do you need a three-way valve at the heat exchanger what purpose is that
So that hot water does not constantly flow through the heat exchanger and constantly radiate heat. Anytime your fan would run for recirculating or humidifier, you would be heating.
The valve is there so that heated water can selectively flow through the heating system exchanger while constantly going through the exchanger for the domestic hot water exchanger. Sometimes, such as in warm weather, one wants wood-heated hot water (shower, clothes washing, etc.) while running air conditioning. It inactivates the exchanger inside the existing HVAC ductwork.
Why happen when you have a repository problem? How long does it take to get a technician/repair person to do repair/maintenance? Do you have a backup system for such times?
Roz, I am a Central Boiler owner and will provide an answer for you. The unit is supported by a dealer of Central Boiler and they are scattered all around. Some places have a concentration of dealers for a given area while some dealers are more widespread. The dealers do not have stores. They sell, install, and maintain and provide parts for the owners of the systems. They are responsive and capable. They can work on your furnace or supply parts to you.
Oh, and a backup heating system? Yes. Mine uses a heat exchanger placed within the same ductwork as the existing system. The original system still works, although either turned off or set a few degrees lower in case the fire goes out or you go on vacation.
Jerry, thanks for the response on this question. I totally missed it all together! Appreciate you!
@@TheDurbinCompound, many thanks for the recognition and thank you for not being mad at me for making a response to your viewer. Enjoyed your video!
Absolutely! Man it’s hard to keep up with comments! I probably get 30 comments a day! I know why the bigger channels don’t answer comments. Thanks for helping me out. I’m glad to meet another Central Boiler guy! Hope to see you around the channel!!
What thermometers are you using?
In the video I’m using Viego clamp ons. I have since upgraded to a hotwell with submersible thermometer
@@TheDurbinCompound thanks, it's my understanding that pex has a thermal barrier and you have to account for 10 degree loss on outer casing. Do you have a link to the submersible gauge? Thanks
Ryan Mansager you are correct! The Viegos are cheap and I always clamp them on the fittings so I get some more accurate readings. Standby for a link. I’ll reply again with it when I find them
Ryan Mansager ensure you get the correct fittings! I used 3/4 black iron Tees and a brass reducer to 1/2NPT on the one side. The 1” PEX Male adaptors to hook into my pex.
www.supplyhouse.com/Winters-Instruments-TAS132-5-5AS-Straight-Thermometer-with-Thermowell-30F-to-240F-0C-to-115C?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3IeXusef5QIVkB-tBh2pPgIVEAQYAyABEgJJD_D_BwE
@@TheDurbinCompound what are your thoughts on ashtrol? Some people say it doesn't help?
What temperature gauges did you use?
They are Viega clamp on guages. They have a spring strap that holds them onto multiple sizes. Temp range is 32°F to 250°F
These are the specific guages
www.supplyhouse.com/Viega-15055-Strap-on-Temperature-Gauge-Set
TheDurbinCompound thanks! I just bought the same boiler. Your videos really helped me out.
Awesome! If you need anything, don't be afraid to look me up. Did you see my pipe insulation video? My buddies go back and forth about the little details all the time
What variable pump did you go with? Thanks
can you fillem to the maxswith wood
Yes absolutely. You can fill them all the way up. You want to make sure that air still flows through but you can pack it completely full!
I find myself staring at the fire and smoking cigars. Even at 5 degrees you can sit there on a beach chair and be warm with the door open.
No mixer valve for domestic hot water? Why does everyone freak out because he don't have a mixer valve. Back in the fifties when I was a little kid no one had a mixer valve for domestic hot water, you simply learned how to add cold water to prevent a burn to skin. I still know a lot of people that still don't use a mixer valve as the temperature affected how clean you can get your laundry.
Never take council of your fears.
We are on the same page James. With my mixing valve installed and turned as hot as it would go; the water was still colder than my electric hot water heater.
@@TheDurbinCompound Did the same with my mixer valve.
195 is too high a temperature set it no higher than 180 with a low of no less than 150. Before you add wood to the firebox use a flat scraper to scrape off the built up creosote which is unburned fuel and should ignite and burn very hot until it's burned out then add wood to your fire. To reduce the creosote buildup use dried wood dried for at least a year and your wood supply should be covered so it can dry out and stay dry.
A little bit of work but definitely better than insects, dirt, and other problems from bringing firewood inside the home.
Cheers
Thanks for the comment! Why should I stay below 180? Is there a specific reason?
Central Boiler 6048 here for 12 years, ask any questions you want. The reason to go back down to 180, is efficiency, you will burn 20-25% less fuel. It takes a lot more energy to get to 190. If you want the same heat output at 180 degrees, double the power of the circulator flow rate. Also add a pressure gauge after the bottom of the circ, this will tell you if there are any obstructions in the plumbing. After some time, brazed plate exchangers can clog up like a brick with minerals. I run at 150 in the summer, and slowly go up by 5 degrees as fall approaches then arriving at 180 by Christmas, same thing in the spring going down to 150.
Thanks so much for the info! That’s awesome info! Definitely going to try that this season
Your welcome, here's to being efficient and less work. Also keep your eye out for a Boilermate "Blue tank" even in scrap yards or dumpsters of the plumbing supply, they are easy to fix and plumbers just don't care. A Boilermate will take 15 years to brick up with minerals. That potable exchanger is going to brick up with minerals in 3-5 years. Causing back pressure to the circulator (hence the pressure gauge) gotta keep those flow rates up. Fow rates from the circs are the invisible slow killers to system output efficiency.
Check your clean out on back of boiler for a pile of ash obstructing exhaust. Then silver tape that clean out cap sealed shut, this will ad 10-15% to front door draw of air. Would also suggest adding 2 more 4 foot pipes to the chimney, this will double the draw into the front door to the point you can hear it. I have 7, 4 foot pipes for my chimney, 35 ft of super draw & not smoke, so strong it sucks the front door shut. There is a reason the chimney is the tallest thing on any house. Trapped hot air rising.
Even tho I am set at 180, that fire is being turbocharged by 35 feet of chimney. It gets so hot that even cutting off at 180 the boiler will still climb to 187 after cut off. The steel plate on the inside of the door turns white with just ash, no black, gotta clean that gap around that plate for optimum air flow.
I'm going to disagree with his saving 20-25%. There are some slight inefficiencies with having a higher temps due to other factors but the equations for heat transfer are linear. So the energy to heat water 20 degrees from 60 to 80 and 20 degrees from 180 to 200 is the same. When you get to a phase change like boiling (212) then that will be the max temp. Now 180 might still be a good temp due to safety reasons. As you get closer to boiling you will produce more stream and pressure but I'm sure there is a pressure relief. In my opinion you will get better efficiencies by having longer full burn times and less smoldering time. When smoldering and getting the fire to operating temperature all that smoke is wasted fuel. So the bigger delta between your kick on low temp and high turn off temp the more efficient it will be.
Surely an indoor wood stove with back boiler would do.
So much easier to have all the mess outside I have been burning a outside stove for 30 years if it gets super cold I might fire the inside fire place insert but haven't done that since 94 when we had -20 Temps I really hate dragging wood in the house because it makes such a mess bringing it in and taking the ashes out
正常一天需要多少燃料？
Moving up in temp to 170 degrees, 30's low 50's high. If you don't have machines to make an enormous amount of lumber. Buy a different furnace, if you want the best wood boiler, get the machines to make it run. i.imgur.com/2R71MTG.jpg
I had a central boiler, couldn’t get the damned thing to stay lit half the time. Wood boilers are a lot of trouble. Waste of money and time.
They can be some touchy things. Also not for everyone!
Central Boiler owner here in my 7th heating season. Very happy with mine, a CL5036 which is not a gasification or catalytic furnace, which means that it can burn green wood without stopping up and not producing heat.
I have been using my cb eclassic gasification for 10 years. Got to keep it filled with large chunks of dry wood. Oak is best. I load it every 10 hours or so. I have an old large house it Helps heat my house and I live in the suburbs.
Had a friend install a cl 6048 outdoor boiler and all he did was bitch about how often the fire went out. After listening to him complain about what a mistake he made I went over to his house which was 138 miles from my house. First thing I noticed was he has a beautiful site of 250 acres all in wood. And his wood stockpile was just over 3 cords of wood. I asked him to show me the boiler and add wood as he normally does. He never adds more than 6 pieces of wood because as he explained it to me was he didn't want to waste the wood. Got my chainsaw out and dropped 35 trees in the next 5 hours then used his tractor and trailer to load them up cut to 4 foot lengths the cut them to no longer than 16 inches. Then filled the firebox to more than 3/4 full. He was stunned when the house was warm the next morning. Then I was stunned when I found out he was buying his wood from a local wood seller at $300 a cord.
All the wood I cut on his property was standing dead wood or wood that had already fallen either due to a storm or was already dead. He was stunned to see how much wood I was able to cut in 5 hours. And all I cut was 5 acres. He after we spent 3 hours at a local general store and spoke to several woodcutters one of whom agreed to teach him how to cut and haul firewood for the heating system at a cost of $500 for the week. He now heats the house and garage with hot water from the boiler and has lost 137 pounds. His oil bill has dropped to zero.
This happened 3 years ago and he loves it. I slept in the spare bedroom and loved the breakfast every morning, his wife was a chef before she met him. Excellent food no matter when she served it. Plus 2 girls and one boy.
Cheers
I hear with the no nanny hot water mixing valve. Now I understand why you are not impressed with the furness output. If you run the "potable" and furness in parallel, not in series, you can get the furness 25 degrees hotter. While pulling more heat off the boiler at a lower temperature and get more efficient. If my water is leaving at 180 it coming back at 140, have done extremes heating the pool on the 3rd leg that will pull it down to a return of 100. You do the above you will have much more efficiency 20-25% @ a lower boiler temp.
A good example of energy efficiency is the SS United States, she could do 34 knots no problem. But to get to 38.5 knotts, "just 4.5 more knots" took twice the energy & fuel, hence why we stay at 180 not 195. It takes so much more wood energy to get that last 15 degrees to 195.
Sorry your analogy here is incorrect. Kinetic energy for a moving boat is based on it's velocity squared. That's why it takes more energy to go a few more knots per hr. But for heat transfer in general everything is linear so heating water from 40 to 60 degrees takes the same energy as heating from 100 to 120.
Believe whatever you want, I have lived it for the last 12 years. I too went 195 for the first 2 years. 160 degrees settings here now in the face of 40's outside, long heat cycles, but very efficient. A lot less energy spent for the same hot water.
Also understand as outside temperatures decrease, Oxygen content increases, creating a hotter flame in the fire box.
I haven't found a Central Boiler 6048 customer more efficient than me. Bring it, if you think you can.
One of the big things I want to update is having the intake door shut down when it goes below 15 degrees of settings. And not suck all the heat out of the fire box upon morning. There are no firmware upgrades for this unit, were on our own.
@@steveharkins279 you really going to denie physics? So many variables can explain the wood consumption
@@steveharkins279 Your flow situation may be different. Seems like Mr Durbin needs the temps to get good BTU delivery as his vent temps are just above 110-115F @195 if he drops his water temp to 180 he may not have enough to heat house and DHW. Looks like his video shows a entry level pump and I do not know what size pex he has looks like 1 inch. Assuming his flow is less than 8g/Min a bigger pump may allow him to decrease his temp. I heat two houses at 175F with 1 inch pex but it takes the correct pumps to do it.
Todd, we all appreciate your wisdom on the topic! Thanks so much
Hahahaha you said bung
What's a bung?
@@brendanburton457 End cap, plug, stopper, or cork. In the video, he's actually talking about the bungholes (which makes 12yr-olds giggle) and not the bungs themselves.