Helpful Resources for Your Wood Boiler and Heat Exchanger Needs

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...

This is another Alternative Heating & Supplies episode and in this blog post, we are going to talk about the importance of using heat exchangers and how to install them. Some people call them a hydro coil, some people call them a simple radiator. But what I'm gonna talk to you about is how to install a water to air heat exchanger and the importance of using a water to water heat exchanger in a hot air furnace. Why Are Heat Exchangers Important Water to Air Heat Exchangers are designed to fit right into your plenum of your existing hot air furnace...

This is another episode of Alternative Heating & Supplies' tips and in this blog post, we are going to talk about the new EPA regulations and wood furnace laws EPA Certified Furnaces The traditional pot-bellied stove is a thing of the past – today’s wood stove models feature improved safety and efficiency. They produce almost no smoke, minimal ash, and require less firewood, they can be sized to heat a family room, a small cottage, or a full-sized home. The best choices are appliances labeled by the Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC) or another testing and certification body for safety. They should...

This is another episode of Alternative Heating & Supplies' tips and in this blog post, we are going to talk about how to install a plate exchanger on top of a domestic hot water tank. Learn why plate heat exchangers are important, how are they used and how to install them to heat your house.     How are Plate Heat Exchangers Used A plate heat exchanger is used to extract the heat from the wood furnace to distribute it throughout the house. What if there were a way to heat your home, give you all the hot water you need for baths, showers,...

This Alternative Heating and Supplies tips, part two of outdoor wood boilers installations, and here we'll discuss the problems that I see with improperly installed plate exchangers and improperly installs on indoor boilers. If you haven't installed your boiler yet, go back to Chapter 1 and learn how to install it properly.     I'm gonna go into the problems that I get all the time of people calling and saying, "Look, I'm having problems. My buddy told me to install it this way, my plumber did it this way, and I'm having problems." And I'm hoping that this video will solve a lot of...