Other items of interest

A small project that I did is to wire in two lights into my zone pumps. I did that during the time we were running our boiler to do our domestic hot water 100%. Our electric hot water heater was shut off. Currently we are using the boiler as a pre heater to the electric hot water heater. More about that later.

My trouble was the pumps run so quiet, you really can't tell which one is running. Putting in the lights so they turn on when the pump is running lets me see which one is pumping water to what zone. So, for instance, if I want to take a bath, if I am using the corn boiler for 100% of my domestic hot water as well, I have to check the boiler temp before I can take a bath. For unlimited hot water the boiler must be 180-200 degrees. If the boiler temp is low, and the closest pump is running, that's the main part of the house. The boiler temp isn't going to be coming up any time real soon. You have to wait, and take your bath later, sometimes much later. But, on the other hand, if the farther pump is running, that is just the office. A smaller, better insulated space that warms up pretty quick. Stop back and check in half an hour and there might be hot water aplenty. ...Unless of course the close pump kicks in just at that time. Do I need to cover, going down and seeing both pumps running? You see why we have the electric hot water heater on during the holidays.

Another thing that just got wrapped up tonight. I talked to my neighbor down the street. He is the guy on the block who knows people with skills. I asked him if he knew anyone who welds stainless. He told me he did, and took my cracked burn pot away with him. He brought it back tonight, two nights later, with a really great weld. It looks so much stronger now than what it did before. I know this burn pot has a short life ahead because I feel like the sidewalls are getting warped and brittle. At some point in the not too distant future this pot will need to be replaced. I have just exactly one season on this pot now. I think doing this weld will get me through the rest of the season. So, that is something to consider as an expense on the corn burning project.


What I had been doing is using High Temperature Furnace Cement, or sometimes called Boiler Cement. I picked up a jug of it at my local True Value Hardware. It can fill a heck of a crack. You fill it in with a putty knife. It is black and very sticky. It sticks bad to your hands if you touch it. Put it on, throw this burn pot up on top of the smokebox on the Traeger, patch side up, for a few days. This will buy you two burning/cleaning cycles. The cement will be burned away and you have to do it again. I was able to do this three times with this pot. Then the hole got too big, it had to be welded or replaced.