Wood Boiler add on advice

I could never understand why builders/contractors/plumbers install an LP fueled heating system over oil (when natural gas isn't an option).

What is your heating load?
What is the design temperature for the baseboard?
Do you have a place to put the boiler?
Do you have a good supply of dry wood and time to deal with it?

Econoburn seems to have solid reviews, the Empyre is mixed but may be better with the newer SS models.




Tom C, LP is convenient if you already have a tank for a gas range, and in my area LP comes out ahead in terms of cost on a per BTU basis .

Quite a few Econoburn users here, sure they'll chime in. Before I bought what I have, i talked a few times with the Econoburn people. Good service and reputation.


Will you have to buy your wood? If so, whats the going rate for wood in your area?Or have you got your own woodlot?

There are some good load calculators online that will give you a ballpark figure of what kind of head load to expect. I would start from there and be generous but don't overbuild a system...like air conditioners, bigger isn't always better.

arbutus said:

Tom C, LP is convenient if you already have a tank for a gas range, and in my area LP comes out ahead in terms of cost on a per BTU basis .

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That I can understand if a tank is in place already but otherwise I would say no (here in NY). Unless you own your own tank we have to pay a contract/rental fee and you cant shop around and refill with someone else. With oil we can go COD to find a better price and in a jam diesel fuel is always available. Oil parts are easier to come by also IMO.

As Tom says check out some of the online calculators. The builditsolar website is one.

You will be well served downloading the Uponor Complete Design Assistance Manual and the Zurn Radiant Design Manual, both free PDFs and working through a heat loss calculation for your home. With the total BTUs you need for each area in your home you can add up your linear feet of baseboard in that area, and go to the manufacturer's charts to determine what average water temperature you will need to give that output.

This info is needed to size the boiler appropriately.

tomc585 said:

I could never understand why builders/contractors/plumbers install an LP fueled heating system over oil (when natural gas isn't an option).

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I haven't seen anyone heat with oil around here in Missouri. Everyone uses propane if you can't get natural gas. If you own your own tank you can buy propane from anywhere you want. Current price for propane is about 1.60 per gallon delivered which I'm sure is competitive to oil. Really depends on your location.

Propane up here is $3 a gal or more.

I'm not sure about bulk but here they bang us $18-$20 for a 20lb refill (which is only filled to 80% capacity 4gal)
Heating oil is down to about $3 a gal right now.
Wood is between $150-$250 a cord....(I never pay for wood!)

If it's a newer house then it's likely that a small gasifier <= 120kbtu) will be enough. A more difficult question is storage. Actually, this is a series of questions - to have or not to have, pressurized or open, indoors or out, how big, how to insulate.....

trox75 said:

I am sure this is a frequent topic, but I am a newbie and need some advice. I recently moved into a 3000 sq ft home that is heated with a newer LP gas NTI trinity boiler via baseboards throughout. Was wondering what the best option would be for an add-on wood gasification boiler to save money on LP and use the NTI as backup system when we are out of town and so forth. I am in Indiana and have looked at both the Econoburn and the Empyre elitie 200. Not sure what the best fit would be to hook into my current system. Any sort of input would be appreciated.

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If your out of town a lot an outdoor boiler is not a good choice period.

Coal stokers give you the most burn time meaning days, not hours

Leon,
Your my only COAL friend on this site. Luke

Where does one buy coal in Michigan, cheaply? It is $390 a ton locally.

Nofossil said:

If it's a newer house then it's likely that a small gasifier <= 120kbtu) will be enough. A more difficult question is storage. Actually, this is a series of questions - to have or not to have, pressurized or open, indoors or out, how big, how to insulate.....

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Oh dear.......let the opinions fly......play nice boys.