Ugh

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I have been a bit under the weather and haven't had the energy to sit at the computer and write. Even though I appreciate everyone's support with this blog...I still find writing difficult when my eyes and nose are burning and my throat scratchy.
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This current cold I have reminds me of another reality with an OWB. My Hardy doesn't seem to care how I am feeling, if I am confined to the bed with the flu, have two broken legs...whatever...the OWB needs fed wood or he will simply quit working for me. If you heat with gas, all you have to do is pay your monthly bill, lay in bed, and suffer. With an OWB, you have to drag your sorry behind out of bed, trudge out to the woodshed, and fill the Hardy with logs. Sometimes I wonder if all the work I do to heat my house is worth it. Maybe this is the wrong question to ask when I am in the dumps...but still I go out there and toss in the logs. Of course my wife is here to help...but everyone's situation is different. We all worry about catastrophic injury that would keep us from earning a paycheck and paying the bills...but with an OWB, you have to realize that a minor illness or a major catastrophe (broken leg etc) can really crimp your ability to have a warm house.
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I hope to be back on my feet here in a couple days and back to my old, happy and motivated self...and by then I hope to get back up to speed with my posts. Of course you are all welcome to come over and toss in some logs for me...or if you prefer you can write a post for this blog. I never turn away free help!
Smokin

Where Did the Snow Go?

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We finally had a couple warm days. The cold snap has broke. Yesterday the mercury broke 50 and we are expecting the same today. Most of the snow is gone except for the large piles on either side of the driveway and small patches here and there in the yard. Now I am back to dealing with the mud. The yard is squishy and mucky but all my wood is dry. I am going to take this break from the cold and snow to rearrange my wood pile. During the cold snap and deep snow I only took wood from one area of my pile. Today I am going to restack my wood by moving the logs from the back of the woodshed and placing them on the stones that surround my furnace. This way I won't have to walk thru the mud to get my wood each day. I am also going to work on those large elm logs behind my shed. If I can get a couple more of those split I will be in good shape.
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Yesterday I let the wood in the firebox burn down to the grates so I took that opportunity to flip and rotate my grates. I moved the center grate to the front and front grate to the rear. I put the rear grate, alas, in the middle. When I was moving them I flipped the front and rear grates since I noticed they were sagging a little. When I flipped the grates, all the coals that rested on them fell into the ash bin. I dug out these coals and dumped them back on top of the grates...then I put in some small round logs to help build up my fire again. Finally, I threw in a paper grocery bag of old bills and personal papers that normal people would have shred. My paper shredder is a little different than most...It is a Hardy H2.
Smokin

Warm worms

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I must make a confession...I am heating the ground and keeping the worms warm this winter. Without my Hardy H2, all the worms deep in my yard would have pneumonia and would be wearing little scarves to keep themselves warm this winter. Despite my best intentions, my superior planning and executing the perfect plan, my attempt to save $1000 in making my own underground-super insulated water lines hasn't payed off like I had calculated.

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For those of you still learning about OWB's, these smokers are nothing but a big hot-water tank that pumps hot water into a heat exchanger in your house. The water lines in my case are four 3/4 inch Pex lines that carry water to and from the furnace, heat exchanger and domestic hot water tank. When you buy your OWB the salesperson will ask if you want to buy the pre-made, super insulated water lines that are all encased in insulation and wrapped by a hard plastic outer shell...very convenient but very expensive. This purchase is something you should consider and do your homework on. Buying the pre-made stuff is a huge investment and can raise the price of your OWB to where your return on investment will be negatively affected. When I bought my Hardy H2 the pre-made stuff was going for $11 a foot...and needing about 60 foot, I quickly figured I could do better by making my own. I bought a spool of the 4 inch corrugated black pipe and sections of 4 inch pipe insulation and assembled my own underground "system." I first laid out my Pex (you can see these pipes in some of the pictures to the left of this article) and slid the insulation sections over the pipes. I duct taped the insulation sections together. Then I duct taped the grey #14 electrical wire and thermostat wire to the outside of the insulation. Finally I, along with about three other helpers, slid this assembly into the black corrugated pipe. I buried this assembly in a three foot trench and back filled first with sand...for more insulation...and then topped it off with soil. So far so good.

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Here is what I did wrong and what I recommend to you. If I had to do this all over again...I would reconsider the extra money for the pre-made stuff but I still don't know if I would really buy it...it is too expensive for what you are getting...in my opinion. DO NOT...however...use the black corrugated pipe. Instead use the solid white or green 4 inch pipe and glue the joints together. By the second year my black corrugated stuff started leaking in ground water...probably because it was crushed under the weight of three foot of fill. What a bummer. I have to keep a bucket under the opening of the pipe as it comes into my basement to catch the water that is forced out when outside conditions are soggy. What a bummer. To fix this I will have to re-dig, and redo...no small task. Now the $1000 doesn't seem so bad.

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As for the heat loss that my worms love so much, I end up melting the snow over the trench because of the heat loss thru my assembly. In fairness to my buried pipes, I have seen installations with the pre-made stuff that also melts snow so I am not too sure how much better the pre-made stuff is. One way to be sure is to measure the temperature drop in your lines from the furnace to what is inside the house. I can't help but think the pre-made stuff is'nt that much better in keeping the heat in because there isn't that much more insulation as compared to what I made. Regardless, I am faced with a big repair. I don't want to do it either. In the summer all I want to do is cut wood...and that is enough for me to mess with my Hardy.

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Here are some pictures demonstrating my heat loss. Let me know your feelings about my situation or some of your experiences. I would love to post them on the blog.

This is my wood shed and Hardy as seen from the house. Note the nice warm grass.

This picture was taken with the woodshed to my back showing the trench going into the house.

Smokin