still dreaming: what to buy

I went with the Tarm and I have been real happy with it. One thing that I like is that they are right here in NH. I took a ride up and had a look at the units close up. I like the fact that if all else fails, I can hop in the truck and drive up and pick up any parts I might need. Although I haven't needed a thing.If you want to check out my system shoot me a PM.

Adios Pantalones said:

I have hydronic baseboard heat and had a new oil boiler with an indirect tank installed this past spring. I have a 1600 sq ft 2 story log home with a full basement- reasonable insulation value.

I have an open flue next to the oil system (housed an ancient Kerr boiler) just asking to be populated.

So I guess with an indirect water heater, I could hook a wood fired boiler into that as my heat exchanger for DHW if it didn't come with a coil, correct?

If I don't have room for storage right now, what would be a reasonable wood fired boiler (thinking gasser) for heat and DHW, and what sort of cash are we talking for the furnace and for someone to do a soup to nuts installation? I was entertaining and EKO 40, but now I see all these options that I never heard of just a few years ago, so it's a bit confusing.

Thanks

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I don't know that EKO has the smoke leakage problem fixed yet & you want to install indoors. Someone just posted that his(installed in outside shop) made the entire shop smell like smoke. These are well made boilers, some have this problem. The Lambda boilers are here & it would be nice just to light the boiler & walk away as these can. If I were going to buy, it would either be a Wood Gun or Lambda boiler(Froling would be very nice!) Randy

AP; I'm refering to the controller/sensors on some of the new boilers. There is no Lambda brand that I am aware of that I can give you a link to. Europe is already heavy into these boilers & I think this is the near future of wood burning here. I have heard of about 4 that are over here now with the Froling being one of them, Randy

Singed Eyebrows said:

Adios Pantalones said:

I have hydronic baseboard heat and had a new oil boiler with an indirect tank installed this past spring. I have a 1600 sq ft 2 story log home with a full basement- reasonable insulation value.

I have an open flue next to the oil system (housed an ancient Kerr boiler) just asking to be populated.

So I guess with an indirect water heater, I could hook a wood fired boiler into that as my heat exchanger for DHW if it didn't come with a coil, correct?

If I don't have room for storage right now, what would be a reasonable wood fired boiler (thinking gasser) for heat and DHW, and what sort of cash are we talking for the furnace and for someone to do a soup to nuts installation? I was entertaining and EKO 40, but now I see all these options that I never heard of just a few years ago, so it's a bit confusing.

Thanks

Click to expand...

I don't know that EKO has the smoke leakage problem fixed yet & you want to install indoors. Someone just posted that his(installed in outside shop) made the entire shop smell like smoke. These are well made boilers, some have this problem. The Lambda boilers are here & it would be nice just to light the boiler & walk away as these can. If I were going to buy, it would either be a Wood Gun or Lambda boiler(Froling would be very nice!) Randy

Click to expand...

I can tell you from past experience, I had a Paxo 60 that had smoke leaking issues, in my outdoor boiler room, strong smoke smell everytime I walked in to check on the stove. Mark from AHONA supplied me with beautiful silicone gaskets. I did both the upper and lower doors. Never any smoke smell after that. Worked 100%

Adios Pantalones said:

Thanks- I did a search and there seems to be a brand in the UK called Lambda. I'll look into these.

Been reading the archives- not excited about replacing firebrick at $2-500 every couple/few years, but that may have changed. (plus- I can make my own)

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AP; www.ahona.com carries a Vigas boiler with Lambda controls so you don't need to just find a Lambda brand unit. You are much better off buying a unit that is over here already(I imported my Atmos & wouldn't do that again). I hear some of the Tarm people going 7 years on firebricks. Whats is nice about the Lambda boilers is that the computer operates 1 or 2 servo flaps that control the burn & all you do is light & walk away. What is not real reassuring is that if you have trouble with it, chances are a man with a suit & laptop computor will need to "fix" your boiler, Randy

Make sure the BioMass is in your trade study. Numerous features were incorporated in its design to respond to feedback from wood boiler users. I had my mind made up to go the low risk approach and purchase one of the very popular brands discussed extensively here. Went to pick it up and couldn't ignore the obvious features I saw in the BioMass vs some of the other imports. Took a chance buying a unit that is relatively new to the market. We all know what happens with the first model year cars, but I thought it worth the risk. One season is hardly enough time to predict long term reliability, but so far pleased with my decision. As best I can tell the American made brands seem very well made and designed. At the time I bought the cost difference was so large I just couldn't justify it. I think that has closed significantly now two years later and would try to buy American. Lots of happy EKO 40 users here that will chime in. Enjoy the research process!

Heard that AP. Kind of like the difference between shopping for a push mower and a 5' rider. The other challenge for me is that if you don't like a wood stove, you replace it and aren't out that much. Same situation with the boiler and you are out some cash or living with something you don't like.

I had my mind made up to buy a Biomass. Very similar to Eko but with induced draft. I ended up buying a Varmebaronen after I looked at
them in person. Looks to be very well built and is the easiest to clean of any I have looked at.

For what it's worth.... I would not even consider a forced draft for inside the house. With the induced draft even the dust from cleaning ashes goes up the pipe
no mess in the house.

xclimber said:

Singed Eyebrows said:

Adios Pantalones said:

I have hydronic baseboard heat and had a new oil boiler with an indirect tank installed this past spring. I have a 1600 sq ft 2 story log home with a full basement- reasonable insulation value.

I have an open flue next to the oil system (housed an ancient Kerr boiler) just asking to be populated.

So I guess with an indirect water heater, I could hook a wood fired boiler into that as my heat exchanger for DHW if it didn't come with a coil, correct?

If I don't have room for storage right now, what would be a reasonable wood fired boiler (thinking gasser) for heat and DHW, and what sort of cash are we talking for the furnace and for someone to do a soup to nuts installation? I was entertaining and EKO 40, but now I see all these options that I never heard of just a few years ago, so it's a bit confusing.

Thanks

Click to expand...

I don't know that EKO has the smoke leakage problem fixed yet & you want to install indoors. Someone just posted that his(installed in outside shop) made the entire shop smell like smoke. These are well made boilers, some have this problem. The Lambda boilers are here & it would be nice just to light the boiler & walk away as these can. If I were going to buy, it would either be a Wood Gun or Lambda boiler(Froling would be very nice!) Randy

Click to expand...

I can tell you from past experience, I had a Paxo 60 that had smoke leaking issues, in my outdoor boiler room, strong smoke smell everytime I walked in to check on the stove. Mark from AHONA supplied me with beautiful silicone gaskets. I did both the upper and lower doors. Never any smoke smell after that. Worked 100%

Click to expand...

Get any smoke when you open the door while burning?

I had a draft inducer that Mark from AHONA supplied. That came on as soon as the door opened to load the stove, worked pretty good, also had a nice draft hood built that hung from threaded rods over the top of the door and vented any other smoke outdoors, was like 30 inches wide by about a foot deep. I had that hook up to a wall timer, so it clear any left over smoke out after I left the boiler shed.You can see it in the picture of my set up on Mark's site. Once you learned to load the stove, and when , smoke wasn't really and issue. Yes a negative draft stove would be much better along with a built in smoke scoop like some of the new stoves have.

I think smoke issues have a lot to do with your draft. When my draft is low, as in a cloudy warm day, I do have some smoke but when I have a strong draft, smoke is no problem at all. Mine is in the basement so smoke is not as big a deal. As for storage, I went with a home made tank lined with EPDM. I didn't have the ability to get a tank into my basement so I had no choice. If I had the option I would go pressurized for sure. A lot less complicated in my opinion. The problem with EPDM and a home made heat exchanger is the max temp I can get the tank to is about 170*. So I loose out on total BTUs stored. Overall, however, I have been real happy with my setup.

How hard is it to get the wood into the house?

I have a walk out door so lugging in wood is no problem. I often load wood on pallets and I have forks on the tractor so I can pull right up to the door to unload. I live in an old farmhouse and there was no easy way to get a pressurized tank in place. Also when I was in the planning stage, pressurized storage was not as popular as it is today.