jdemaris, thermo control question.

I have the model 400 hot water wood stove. I hooked it up to my base board water with a 15 or 20 gallon water tank. It seems if I really burn the stove hot the water will get up to 120 degrees, but no more. The oil boiler will get the water up to 180. I was thinking about eliminting the water tank and just having the stove heat the water in the heating system that the boiler heats? If that makes any sense. The nice thing about the water tank is the oil boiler gets it up to 180, than shuts down, but the wood stove circulator keeps the hot water flowing through the house. Do you think the wood stove would keep the water hotter without the water tank? So if I took out the tank, the stove would have less water to heat? I installed it the way the manual showes, but would like to try it with out the tank. Shoulda got the model 500 I guess, lol J

Here is a pic to better show the tank. The blue and white by the bottom of the red pole is the Utica oil boiler. So I was thinking about bypassing the water tank, and only heating the water in the heat system. Maybe the wood stove will keep the water at a higher temp?

The system requires an expansion tank, be careful of that requirement. If the wood boiler only gets the water to 120, that is OK. The colder the water is in the boiler the more heat it takes away. It seams wrong, but the higher temps have less delta T and thus less transfer in the combustion gasses to the boiler tubes. It may be giving you all it can.
Small hot fires are much more efficient than cold slow burning fires. They do take far more personal attention. Jim

I can't tell from the photo exactly how the water circulates. Thermoshiphon or electric pump?

I've never tried to use a wood stove or furnace for hot-water baseboard heat - so I can't give answer based on any first-hand experience. People that have tried it, had to install a circulator pump and not rely on thermo-siphon.
I know several people that used a 400 or 500 to heat baseboard in one small room somewhere - but never an entire house. The coils don't have the capacity - as least not the ones Thermocontrol used.

We installed many Thermocontrol 400s and 500s with coils for domestic hot water only. That works great, if set up properly. It's how I heat all our hot water.

Generally speaking though . . . it goes like this. At the least - your wood furnace has to heat enough hot water to keep up with the heat-exchange at the baseboard units. Most Thermo-control hookups were done so with the thermo-siphon method. Thermo-siphon works great with domestic hot water, but not well with baseboard heat. The water moves too slow. That is likely to require a circulator pump and aquastat between the stove-coils and storage tank.

My wood furnace has a coil that is U-shaped, around 48" total length. 24" one way to the U and 24" back out. It is hooked to an 80 gallon vertical storage tank. It would easily heat to 180 F if I let it. But, keep in mind that it sits often without being used since it's domestic hot water- and not hot-water heat.
Thermo-siphon, to work best, needs a check-valve at the inlet where the cold water comes into the furnace. Also needs an automatic vent on top. My tank also have the TPI valve, and a thermal regulating valve on the outlet. That is a must - especially if hooked in series with another heater. My 80 gallon hot-water storage tank is hooked in series with a 40 gallon propane hot water heater. In the winter, the propane never fires and it just acts as more storage. But. . . propane-fueled hot water heaters will get destroyed if the water coming into them is TOO hot. The one-time thermal-fuse will blow. So, the incoming water must be kept down to a certain temp.

I could be wrong, but I suspect the 400 isn't up to the task of making hot water to heat an entire house. If you added coils, and a circulator, and ran it super hot - the stove would probably burn out. I've had to repair many that burnt out the steel baffles, warped, etc.

One note. Thermocontrol - to a degree - is still in business. They cannot legally sell the big units as "woodstoves" anymore. So, last I spoke to them, they were trying to market them as indoor, or outdoor "furnaces" and put more coils into them. I'm not sure how far they got on that project.

My thermo-siphon setup for domestic hot water. Wood furnace is a Woodchuck made by Myers Farm Equipment.

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&amp;current=woodfurnace1.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

Thanks, yes I do have a seperate circulator to move the water for the wood stove threw the baseboard, as the water has to be moving all the time. If the power were to go out it will thermoshipon, so at least it wont blow the pressure release valve. I think its a 30psi valve. My father has the hot water 500 hooked up the same way, his house it about the same size as mine, but heats his house better than mine. Now as you said the 500 has more coils and a larger fire box, and takes a 24" log. Thats what I should have gotten in the first place. lol I was gonna take out the water tank, thinking the wood stove would have less water to heat, thus keeping the water hotter.

I dident think to show the pumps. The green circulator is for the wood stove. the blue one is for the oil boiler, and only comes on when the oil boiler starts up. As I said befor the oil boiler will heat the water in the silver tank, or I can close the valves and bypass the tank and wood stove if the stove is off lets say. Or leave the valves open, stove off and heat the water in the tank by the oil boiler and leave the green circulator running so it circulats the water threw the house after the oil boiler shuts off. Eventually the water will cool back down again but I can keep it warming the house, were as befor I installed the tank the oil boiler would get the house up to the temp the thermostat was calling for then shut down and the blue circulator would stop also. So no water would be moving. Oh well,, thanks for the info.