I could see where a person in that position may say that because they are burning wood to make steam. Since energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only changed; I could see where that was stated. I always viewed residential heating fires as not having as much BTU's because it robs energy from the fire to evaporate moisture in the wood so it can burn. This conversion robs the residence of potential heat because in that situation, the moisture goes up the chimney, unused. In a biomass facility they are capturing everything before it goes up the stack, they have to otherwise they would be in violation of air pollution laws. So they are capturing all the energy in a cord of wood...green or dry. But I think we are really talking apples to oranges here. The boilers I welded on were called liquid bottom boilers and had vast amounts of air that were pumped up through the bottom of it. This caused the fire to actually be suspended in this liquid fireball that reportedly burned things that did not even burn it was so hot. Those boilers typically had coal as a fuel, but it entered at the 3rd floor. The ash was taking out at the scrubber; at the 9th floor. What happened was it was like a cyclone system where the smoke was sent around a cyclone,with the heavier, bigger ash reentering the bottom of the boiler to be reburned. It did this continuously until it was so minute it passed emissions standards. In the meantime, any incoming air for the boiler was run through a massive preheater on the 9th floor that allowed the air to be super hot before it entered the boiler. So all this is to say, I think the fuel was almost instantly void of moisture the moment it entered the boiler. As an aside, I always thought about designing an outside boiler that operated in this capacity, but I am not sure if it would be worth it for what was gleaned out of the system.
Funny story here: as a welder I would occasionally go on boiler jobs if the job paid well, but typically i did not like it. Welding boiler tubes was about as exciting as watching pain dry. But some of these every day boiler makers would puff up their chest and say, "Ugg, Ugg...me boiler maker". I appreciate commercial boilers and what they produce, but I greatly dislike anyone thinking they are somehow superior to anyone else, and every day boiler welders thought they were somehow better then us other guys who only did the occasional boiler. So I would look at them and say, "Don't you get sick and tired of crawling out of these same boilers, every 9 months, doing the same thing all over again?" Fooey with that!
Hey guys...this is the real question that brought me here, in case anybody knows anything about HWBB: Advice needed with winterized HWBB system...TIA... TIA....
Remember, when burning green or unseasoned wood, a lot of the energy generated is wasted evaporating the moisture. It also leads to crease and eventually a dangerous flue fire.
Welcome Steve M - You're gonna like it here, I guarantee it. We like pics, dogs and beer. We also like spending your money on accoutrements to supplement your addiction...er....I mean hoard. Nice to meet you. And this Eric of which they speak; quite harmless actually, pretty sharp cookie, But will scar you with mental imagery given the chance....just FYI
Nope....not.......- glad to meet you SteveM Great story...needs a new thread...and I too think watching pain dry is quite unsatisfying. See, SteveM ..... I’m not so bad.....
My father used to say: " every one is normal, until you get to know them"... it just takes a lot less time for some.
Welcome to the club, SteveM! Glad you found us! Keep an eye on your flue. You'll probably be fine. Start planning ahead for the next couple years. We call it the three year plan. even if we get a bad year you'll still be ahead.
Welcome You burn what you got, Seasoned or not. Inspect the chimney every couple weeks You have the equipment to clean the stack ?
LOL...ok. Thanks. I will take a beer if forced to drink, but pretty much a tea and coffee guy myself...Scotch on a very rare occasion, but keep that wine AWAY from me! I'm a cat guy, but have two "grandpups" and LOVE dogs too (but we love the freedom to leave for a few days better...lol.)
I do, but I can't afford to let the fire go out in this weather! I'm throwing only 1/4 green in there with seasoned, so I don't think I'll build too much creosote. I'll be throwing a creosote log in next week...
Never heard of it. We don't have stores around here...15 miles to a town that has a Walmart and a couple hardware stores.
