Unconfigured Ad Widget

gilfish · 23 May 2015, 09:05 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

That looks like a very interesting alternative heater what size area are expecting to heat with it is there any fume issues? hope all goes well Smithw

Tony From West Oz · 24 May 2015, 01:20 AM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Check out my thread on http://www.biofuelsforum.com/threads...t=home+heating
using WVO as fuel. I have a couple of video on you tube also.

I have now got the hydronic heating radiators connected and working well.
Yesterday the house was cold at 11am so I fired it up and it used about 10 litres between then and midnight. The whole house was up above 20�C, so I am pretty chuffed with this heater.
Still more work to do, controls to change heat settings and valve positions, between boosting the solar tank and for heating the house. Safety and over temperature shutdowns will also be incorporated into the control system.

Yours sounds like a little rocket. You may need to get a blower to mix cooler air with the heated air so you don't cause any damage with the excessively hot air from your new toy.

Have fun,

Tony

smithw · 24 May 2015, 11:35 AM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Thanks tony Ive been toying with idea of converting the wood fire to WVO, glycerine or sump oil, but the fire place is near the center of the house, on a concrete slab, so I havent worked out how Im going to get a fuel line to it. I dont want a tank inside.
So this diesel heater came up so I thought I would give it a go, as we would now have to spend $150 or more per meter of wood (if I can get it) , and probably go through 4 meters over winter. It certainly heats the house up way quicker than the fire, as is sucks up cold air from outside and blasts hot air inside. It has a separate intake and exhaust for the burner so there is no problems with fumes. I will at some stage fit a thermostat to it, easy enough done it just has 2 wires to turn it off and on.

Tony From West Oz · 24 May 2015, 09:35 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

smithw,
You could simply run a suitable pipe up an outside wall over the ceiling and then down to the heater. If it is against a wall or in a corner that will make it easier to route the pipe. I am using 10mm nylon air line as my fuel pipe, but i only have to go from the tank outside, thru the rammed earth wall, and into my control box (containing the fuel pump, valves and flow control valves as well as the blower and eventually the control electronics).
Note: Facet style fuel pumps do not like to self-prime with fuel. They overheat and the electronics die.
I have killed 2 of them this way.

Tony

smithw · 26 May 2015, 02:17 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Thanks Tony, Do those little tick tick pumps work ok with WVO or WMO? It was nice to be ale to flick a switch this morning and heat up the house.

Tony From West Oz · 26 May 2015, 05:21 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Yes, they do work OK, but you need to have larger fuel lines to minimise the flow restriction.
At the moment, we are using 50% used Transformer oil (reprocessed but not meeting specifications) and 50% WVO as fuel.
Last night we used 12 litres between 4pm and 1:30 am, and most of the house was toasty warm. We closed off the bedrooms to avoid cool drafts in the living areas.

Regards,
Tony

Captaincademan · 27 May 2015, 08:36 AM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Tony,

You may already realise this and are taking appropriate precautions, but I understand that used transformer oil is particularly nasty. I also understand that the oil has been changed in recent years and the current oil is less nasty, but I do believe they are both carcinogenic. I think it has to do with the excessive heat cycles they go through and the temperatures reached.

smithw · 27 May 2015, 02:15 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Thanks tony that is good to know, I will have to have a think about how I can convert the fire to wvo. The diesel heater works great, I put it on for an hour last night and the house was warm enough to switch it off. As its air supply is from outside and it blows so much air into the house, The hot air seems to travel all through the rooms, and its not drafty like when the fire place is going. Also it uses around half a liter per hour and is rated at 4.6 KW

Tony From West Oz · 27 May 2015, 09:51 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Cade,
Thanks for your reminder of the issues with Transformer oil.

Tony

Matt · 27 May 2015, 09:54 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Absolutely correct, old oil contains PCB's, new oil does not but has plenty of other mineral nasties, can find out if you like (work in the industry). Please don't use it like this.

Tony From West Oz · 27 May 2015, 09:57 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Your heater sounds great. Very economical too.
By pressurising the house, you will avoid drafts, as you have found out.
The heater configuration I have used, uses a blower to provide air to the burner and a low pressure pump to supply fuel. I have a needle valve to control fuel flow rates.
Now while the blower is a tad noisy, most of the noise comes from the "turbine noise" of the burner in operation. In our home this is not an issue as we do not occupy that area at night when the burner is working. Had it been in our main living area, I would have needed to reconsider the type of burner I used, as the total noise of the blower / burner can be intrusive.

Regards,
Tony

3DB · 27 May 2015, 10:15 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

smithw - does you new diesel heater make much noise?

What are the exhaust fumes like? Any smoke?

I love the idea of plumbing something like this into my existing ducted gas heating system, but living in close quarters to the neighbours here in Sydney, don't want to get them offside…..although I wouldn't mind exacting some revenge on the bloke over the back who runs his wood fire too rich and smokes the whole neighbourhood out. Get some fish n chips into ya!

smithw · 28 May 2015, 02:30 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

It makes a little bit of noise, but its not loud. There a rushing air/fan noise inside, and it would be about as load as an air con outside, There is no fumes inside but a little smoke on start up and shut down out the exhaust. So you need to pipe the exhaust well away from the intake or you will get fumes inside.

3DB · 28 May 2015, 05:30 PM

Re: Heating the house with bio

Originally posted by Matt View Post

Absolutely correct, old oil contains PCB's, new oil does not but has plenty of other mineral nasties, can find out if you like (work in the industry). Please don't use it like this.

Hey Matt - being in the electricity industry, you might have come across some newer pole-top and padmount transformers that use vege oil for insulation? Distribution network operators sometimes put them in sensitive areas like wetlands, so if it blows up, there are no hydrocarbons to contaminate soil & water. I think they paint the pole-tops green from memory. Anyway, it would be interesting to get hold of some of that oil and see if it is any good for making bio or for WVO. Sorry, probably off the topic..

Unconfigured Ad Widget

Announcement

Heating the house with bio

Heating the house with bio

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment