EKO basement install?

[oilguzzler]

Hey - a great forum and thanks to everyone for their expertise. I'm about to order the EKO40 for my 3500 sq. ft, 100 year old Victorian house. I really would like to put the unit in my basement but not sure if it is realistic. Basement can take it - concrete floor and tall enough - has existing oil guzzler there now (1500 gal. this past winter). Chimney is there as well. I also bought a used System 2000 oil boiler to be my back-up so hope to be good this coming winter. My challenge is getting this 1212 pound unit into the house and down the stairs. Has anyone done this before? I'd prefer not to build an outside building or take a bay of the garage.

Thanks!

 

[WoodNotOil]

I lowered my tarm plus 40 down the hatchway (with stairs removed) using a large bucket loader tractor. From there we rolled it on lengths of PCV pipe using a winch and crowbars. If you have no direct access to basement, it seems unrealistic to go through the house and down stairs.

 

[free75degrees]

I also went through the bulkhead, but with the stairs in place. I put 2x10 planks to make a ramp on the stairs, then slid the tarm (also about 1200 lbs) down the ramp with a come-along attached to a tree on the outside so that I could slowly control the descent.

 

[DeerMeadowFarm]

I haven't moved a boiler yet and I have a walk-out basement where I live now so it really isn't an issue, but when I moved my gun safe into and out of my old house; I too used planks on my bulkhead stairs. I strapped the safe to a furniture dolly and attached a rope to the dolly and to the bumper of my truck. Kind of red-neck sounding I know, but it worked great.

 

[oilguzzler]

Unfortunately I don't have a bulkhead. Can these unit be disassembled in a way that would help move it? Next issue is pricing the bulkhead vs. new shed & piping.

 

[bigden]

There is a battery operated dolly that is made to do this type of moving. I've seen them demonstrated before and they work great. Not sure of the price. I would think that some furnace or wood stove dealers might have one. If they don't maybe you could work a deal with to split the cost that would be a lot cheaper than a bulkhead. One manuf. is at stairclimber.com. I'm sure there are others. Good luck