Helpful Resources for Your Wood Boiler and Heat Exchanger Needs

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode on how to set up the control panel of your wood burning stove. On this topic, we have already discussed the settings we use during the annual wood furnace cleaning program, but this time we’re going to talk about two of the most frequent errors the WoodMaster ETC panel shows. Today we’re going to talk about the WoodMaster product. I have been selling WoodMasters for a long time and before I got into selling parts I used to be a dealer for WoodMaster. I still carry most of their parts and I am still a dealer. However, one...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode on swimming pool setup and in this blog post we are going to talk about the installation kits and tips to set up the aquastat on a boiler to heat your swimming pool. Find out what are the best practices and how you can monitor the water temperature or heat it in extra season. The Pool Heat Exchangers Installation Kit Now we're gonna talk about the wiring of the aquastat. When you buy the kit from me, it already comes with a pre-wiring diagram. It is actually a very simple thing to do. But in the diagram that...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode on swimming pool setup and in this blog post we are going to talk about how you can hook up the boiler to the swimming pool, the difference between chlorine and salt water pools, and the difference between using CPVC and PVC in pools. Find out all the details you need to know to use a boiler to heat up your pool water. How to Install the Pool Heat Exchangers   I have a wood boiler drawn in the picture and that's traditionally what my base is from is outdoor wood boilers or indoor,...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode, and in this blog post, we are going to talk about what options you have for hooking up your boiler to your pool to heat it. Find out what types of pool heat exchangers you can use, what makes a great pool heat exchanger and how to install it. In addition to the prior, you'll also learn how to monitor the chlorine levels in your pool. How to Heat a Swimming Pool With an Outdoor Wood Furnace Outdoor wood furnaces can provide heat for your pool at no cost and it is a fraction...

In this blog post we are going to talk about a seized wood boiler pump. Most of them after 6 years, 8 years or 10 years of usage they start to build up a goop inside the unit, rust, and scale, so you'll find out how to unseize them and continue to use them. What to Do If Your Wood Boiler Pump is Not Circulating? So if you notice that your pump is not circulating once you activate the power, turn off the power as soon as you can because you can burn up the head of the unit, and you...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode and in this blog post we are going to talk about what pump to use for your wood boiler, and how to size your pump for your application.   Wood Boiler Pump Sizing Tips Are you wondering what pump to use, what the difference between the pumps and what nomenclature they have, or how to size a pump for your application? At Alternative Heating & Supplies, we get a lot of questions like these and I'm gonna try to sum it up for you so that you can make an educated guess. I will...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode and in this blog post we are going to talk about what pumps to use for your wood boiler, how to install them, and how to fix them if anything is going wrong.   So I'm gonna break this subject down into three chapters. The first chapter is gonna be about installing the pump, all the things you need to consider when installing a pump. Chapter 2 is gonna be what pump to use, and how to size your pump for your application. And Chapter 3 is gonna be repairing a seized pump.   How to Install the...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode and in this blog post we are going to talk about how to set up the control panel during the annual wood stove cleaning program.   I just added the CF205 and one gallon of white vinegar. Now, the additive in the white vinegar works best at 100 degrees.  The unit is at 73 degrees because it's in the middle of the summer, and we're not running the unit at this point. So what we're gonna do is, we're gonna build a fire for 4-8 hours just to maintain about 120 degrees or more, or 100 degrees...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode and in this blog post we are going to talk about how to replace a wood stove fan cover. This is the second episode of the series on outdoor wood stoves annual maintenance.     Wood Boilers Maintenance How the Wood Stove Works? Basically, when the control unit calls for heat, it lifts this up and there's a rubber flapper here. Now, the rubber flapper looks generally okay, but what happens is the rubber loses its elasticity, and it doesn't make a tight seal, so air penetrates the unit. Again, making the unit smoke more...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode and in this blog post we are going to talk about annual maintenance on an outdoor wood stove. All the stoves are fundamentally the same, so the maintenance shall be pretty similar, and a few modifications.     Wood Stove Maintenance Tips The first thing that we're gonna do is when we come up to the stove, is we're gonna check the door gasket. Most outdoor wood boilers have the same kind of system, it's a 1-inch fire-braided rope, which easily just comes out.   Changing the Fire Rope of a Wood Stove When Should...

This chapter three of installing a water to air heat exchanger and we are going to talk about how to make it work inside your furnace and inside your home.     What we have done in Chapter two is actually installed the water to air heat exchanger inside the plenum of the hot air furnace, so now we're gonna make the water to air heat exchanger work inside your house seamlessly with the existing thermostats and your existing setup, so that if you are unable to feed your wood furnace or your wood stove that is using the water to air heat exchanger, your normal furnace...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode and in this chapter, we will continue our discussion about how to install a water to air heat exchanger inside of a hot air furnace. In chapter one, we talked about considerations that you need to think about before and where you're going to install your heat to air exchanger inside of your hot air furnace. In this one, I'm actually going to talk about how to install it.     It's actually so easy, people usually can't believe it's this simple. But what we're going to do is I'm going to use a cardboard box here as...