housing a boiler

I am just starting a 12'x14' shed about 60 feet from my house to act as my boiler room with 500 gallons of storage for my econoburn 100. My boiler has been in my basement for the last 4 years without storage and i have decided to add the storage this summer and move the whole shebang into its own shed. So far cost for the shed on a concrete slab and using traditional framing, insulated and drywalled with a metal roof will be $3000 with me doing all the work. Then the price keeps going up as you add the heating elements-propane tank for storage, insulated pex for the underground run to the house , insulated chimney , assorted plumbing parts (pumps, relays, aquastats etc) to complete the job. I suspect I will be at around $7000-8000 total (remember that doesn't include the price of the boiler which i already own) to add storage and make the move to an outside shed. i will keep a running total if you are interested to see what all the stuff costs to get this done. Bruce

I built a 12 x 14 x 12 tall shed on a footer with a slab, insulted and drywall. Metal roof and siding. I have around 1500 - 1700 in it but got free roofing siding, door and window. So I would guess your going to have 2,500 to 3,000 materials in a nice shed. I have 1000 gal. storage, boiler and can fit a cord of wood all in the shed. there is also a good size area I use for kindling, a 3' x 3' shelf above the kindling for misc. storage and the expansion tank is in there way up high.

If your not using antifreeze , it might be a good idea to wire in one for those wall mount heaters with the fan in it , into the space..

huffdawg said:

If your not using antifreeze , it might be a good idea to wire in one for those wall mount heaters with the fan in it , into the space..

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Shouldn't be necessary unless you will be leaving for extended periods. you can always plug in a space heater should the need arise.
Edit : in four years I've never needed a alternate heater in the boiler shed but it is my only source of heat.

woodsmaster said:

Shouldn't be necessary unless you will be leaving for extended periods. you can always plug in a space heater should the need arise.
Edit : in four years I've never needed a alternate heater in the boiler shed but it is my only source of heat.

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I haven't needed mine either , for the time it takes and the cost it could save you some time and money one day..

I'd hate to see all that (extra) heat go to waste in an outbuilding. Could you attach it (the shed) to the house and possibly scavenge some of the heat?
Either way, I'd insulate the shed well and at least get some extra drying for your wood and a nice warm place to hang out.

711mhw said:

I'd hate to see all that (extra) heat go to waste in an outbuilding. Could you attach it (the shed) to the house and possibly scavenge some of the heat?
Either way, I'd insulate the shed well and at least get some extra drying for your wood and a nice warm place to hang out.

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A little heat loss is a small trade off to keep the dirt and smoke, and carbon monoxide / fire out of the house in my opinion.

woodsmaster said:

A little heat loss is a small trade off to keep the dirt and smoke, and carbon monoxide / fire out of the house in my opinion.

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See "Attached shed". If you got smoke & carbon monoxide, there's issues with your method.
Dirt, brooms are cheap and easy to operate. How much is a little heat loss? Kinda like a little firewood loss esp over a whole heating season.

I will gladly sacrifice the heat off the boiler to keep the fly ash and any smoke spillage out of my house, especially in the summer when I want to heat the pool.

Honestly If I was going to put it in my house I would want it under a sealed concrete porch or room under the garage with span crete floor above. And then it would be a Froling.

gg

711mhw said:

See "Attached shed". If you got smoke & carbon monoxide, there's issues with your method.
Dirt, brooms are cheap and easy to operate. How much is a little heat loss? Kinda like a little firewood loss esp over a whole heating season.

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I had a wood stove in the house for years. I like it much better not being in the house. I can dump my wood at the shed door, I wouldn't want to do that at my house. No fly ash in the house from cleaning it, no bark, sawdust or bugs in the house, and the boiler shed is like a kiln dryer. I can stack a cord of wood right beside the boiler ! ANY fire in the house is a risk.

I know there are different preferences & priorities on the indoor vs. outdoor issue.

But my boiler is in my basement and I have none of the horrendous issues being mentioned above. No smoke spillage, no CO, no bug infestations, no fly ash. Leftover bark etc. gets put in the fire.

Just a matter of preference. I prefer to unload, split and stack my wood all within about 20 feet of the boiler. I didn't have anywhere in the house to house a boiler anyhow.