I'm shopping for an indoor wood boiler to add on to my heating system. Two weeks ago I knew almost nothing about wood boilers. I heated my last house for 10 years with wood (Tulikivi soapstone freestanding fireplace). My new (30-year-old) house has a brand new 134,000 BTU Buderus oil-fired boiler with a 50-gallon indirect water heater. The boiler is oversized, probably only needs to be 80,000 BTUs. House is about 1500 sq ft, but we will be adding on, heating parts of the basement, etc. A wood stove would be simpler, but there's not really a good space upstairs, and the heat system is just perfect for a wood boiler (or a solar hot water system).
Massachusetts requires ASME stamp on boilers. So far I've found only two gasification boilers that have ASME (Wood Gun and Econoburn). I'm also looking at a Tarm Solo Innova 30 with storage, but that (and other European boilers like EKO) would require an open expansion system, what sounds to me basically like a "boil-over" open tank with a drain. It's not clear yet that the open expansion system would pass muster with the local building inspector. As well, I think I would prefer to keep costs down and start without heat storage, maybe add heat storage after a winter or two of oil savings.
Anyone have any advice about which boiler to choose? Or if I should be considering anything other than Wood Gun, Econoburn, or Tarm? I'm kind of out of my league with this, so please go easy on me.
Thanks
Ken Benson
Massachusetts requires ASME stamp on boilers. So far I've found only two gasification boilers that have ASME (Wood Gun and Econoburn). I'm also looking at a Tarm Solo Innova 30 with storage, but that (and other European boilers like EKO) would require an open expansion system, what sounds to me basically like a "boil-over" open tank with a drain. It's not clear yet that the open expansion system would pass muster with the local building inspector. As well, I think I would prefer to keep costs down and start without heat storage, maybe add heat storage after a winter or two of oil savings.
Anyone have any advice about which boiler to choose? Or if I should be considering anything other than Wood Gun, Econoburn, or Tarm? I'm kind of out of my league with this, so please go easy on me.
Thanks
Ken Benson
