The Biggest Mistakes With Your Outdoor Wood Boiler
This is Pablo. Pablo thinks he knows everything, and he struggles when people give him advice. Pablo actually made the biggest mistakes in ALL 3 of the important phases of outdoor wood burning boiler ownership: Installation, Maintenance, and Operations.
We recently published the first two - we'll recap those below. But first, here are the...
"3 Biggest Mistakes When Operating an Outdoor Wood Furnace"
1. Never Overheat Your Boiler
2. Don't Give Your Boiler a 6-Month Moisture Bath - Follow the Dry Burn Procedure
3. Freeze Damage Will DESTROY Your Boiler Fast - Be Prepared
Has Your Outdoor Boiler Overheated?
If your outdoor furnace has overheated, you must know the reason why because you could have a serious problem. Read our article on this topic found HERE, then take the recommended steps to prevent long-term damage to your boiler.
The failure of safety features is the most common cause of an overheating boiler. A boiler temperature that is too high isn't necessarily a reason for alarm or a safety hazard, but it must be addressed immediately to avoid further damage.
A simple fan seal could be the solution, but it's also possible that your pump is deteriorating or it could be a failure of other outdoor wood furnace parts and needs to be replaced. As a result, this is a critical issue.
6-Month Moisture Bath
If you don't follow the recommended "Dry Burn Procedure", you are giving your boiler steel a moisture bath that will destroy the steel. Follow this Dry Burn Procedure described HERE. This is not only for people who use their boilers year-round but for EVERY owner of an outdoor wood burner.
How Fast Will Freeze Damage Destroy Your Boiler?
We all worry about this, but are we truly prepared for a catastrophic event? Your boiler was designed to outlast all its electronic components (several times) so you should have one of each of these 4 electronics that will fail at some point: Fan, pump, solenoid, and high limit safety switch.
Read HERE about the risk of Freeze Damage. This is one of the biggest risks you face. Pablo is unprepared for this risk - are you?
We recently published the Biggest Mistakes that can be made during the Installation and Maintenance phases - we'll recap those here:
3 Biggest Installation Mistakes:
1. No Filter
2. Using an UN-insulated Chimney Extension
3. Installing low-quality underground Insulated PEX
(Read more about installation mistakes HERE)
3 Biggest Maintenance Mistakes:
1. NEVER allow ash layers to get deep - Always remove all ash WEEKLY
2. DO NOT ALLOW YOUR STEEL TO CORRODE! Fill your boiler completely full of properly treated water, and send a water sample to be tested by the OutdoorBoiler.com Lab.
3. Sediment is the "Secret Killer" of Outdoor Boilers...GET IT OUT of your boiler by Performing a sediment flush.
(Read our article on these maintenance mistakes HERE)
Avoid these mistakes! Follow our recommendations and we will enable you to Keep Your Family Toasty Warm and Comfortable for Decades!
Visit our website at OutdoorBoiler.com for more outdoor wood boiler parts!