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: Wood chip fuelled water heater
: Wood chip fuelled water heater -- en2jbn	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: Squill ® 04/06/2009, 18:26:04 Author Profile eMail author Edit

Have you found plans for a wood chip water heater?

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: : Wood chip fuelled water heater
: : Wood chip fuelled water heater -- Squill	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: Gympie Sawmill ® 04/04/2010, 04:03:30 Author Profile eMail author Edit

We do something similar with our sawmill waste timber ( 12% to 15% moisture content ) to provide hot water to dry out timber. We have a cylindrical insulated combustion chamber about 700 mm in dia ( 28 inches ) and 700 mm ( 28 inches )in height made of Stainless Steel with 3/4 inch copper pipe coiled around the walls inside this combustion chamber to heat the water. There is a cylindrical grate made from stainless steel in the bottom of the combustion chamber. There is a 100 mm ( 4 inch ) opening to allow air in under the grate to the bottom of the fire which is unregulated. There is a cylindrical lid that pivots allowing the lid to be moved to one side to allow top loading of the fuel. The lid has a 150 mm ( 6 inch ) flue centrally located in the lid and is about 5 metres in height ( 15 feet ). The kiln dried timber offcuts used as fuel are loaded into the combustion chamber to the top and a small fire is started using shavings. The lid is closed and soon a nice top burning fire is burning without smoke. The lid is not tight and in fact has a 20 mm gap all round the top of the combustion chamber that allows air into the fire. This fire will burn for 4 to 5 hours burn down evenly and consumme about half the combustion chamber of fuel before it starts to smoke. After a while the whole of the timber is on fire and the smoke stops. I have thought about having a fan force air into the fire thru the 100 mm opening under the grate but havn't got around to it and this would probably solve the problem of the smoke at the middle of the burning process. The amount of timber involved is one and a half big wheel barrows and this burns for 16 hours. This burner will also burn sawdust or shavings by filling the combustion chamber with the fuel and putting a 100 mm pipe in the middle and packing the fuel tightly into the combustion chamber. We then remove the pipe and this leaves a hole in the middle of the fuel We then put a bit of paper down the middle hole and lite it and get the sawdust burning from the bottom. This turns into a very hot fire with a blue flame and a convection current is set up that sends hot air up the flue to heat the water jacket around the flue ( the copper coils inside the combustion chamber are usless as the fire doesn't get to the outside for a long time and is nearly out anyway. I would like to make a heater that would burn kiln dry wood shavings from our moulder ( 10 to 12 % mc ) that could be fed in by a rotating feed screw plus a bit of air from the bottom to control the heat and with a water jacket up the chimney. 50 or 60 years ago we used to have chip water heaters in our bathrooms where you put in some kindling and lit it and it roared along and produced hot water for your shower or bath. Do you know what I mean Do you have any more information to offer.

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: Wood chip fuelled water heater
: Wood chip fuelled water heater -- en2jbn	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: liliput ® liliput 02/09/2008, 06:06:55 Author Profile eMail author Edit

Cleaning out an old friends garage for him, came across a brand new still in the box chip water heater. I don't know if they still make them

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: : Wood chip fuelled water heater
: : Wood chip fuelled water heater -- liliput	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: erley ® 09/05/2008, 22:25:54 Author Profile eMail author Edit

Hi there, Are you selling the chip heater?

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Re: Wood chip fuelled water heater
: Wood chip fuelled water heater -- en2jbn	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: randykimball ® 03/27/2006, 23:50:17 Author Profile eMail author Edit

Not to state an opinion nor advertize but I would check a copy of "Mother Earth News" off the news stand or a similar magazine about being self sufficent. I would be shocked if you don't find several sets of plans and/or places to purchase such a device there. /←randy→/ The worst suggestion of your lifetime may be the catalyst to the grandest idea of the century, never let suggestions go unsaid nor fail to listen to them.

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