- Dec 9, 2009
- 1,495
This isn't exactly non-hearth, but I couldn't figure out where else to put it--mods, please relocate if there's a better forum for this.
Had planned on replacing my boiler this fall, but the money is just not going to come together for that. I got through the winter with the woodstove last year, but would like to have a fallback system (the woodstove was supposed to be my fallback/backup heating system--funny how that worked out). I'll have to travel a bit during the winter for work for 3-4 days, leaving my teenage son on deck. All said and done, I don't want him wood-dependent while I'm gone--last year I asked him not to use the woodstove at all--just felt better about that.
It occurred to me yesterday that there's options between shelling out for a 10K+ boiler system and just getting by with wood. Thus this thread--looking for options.
My situation: well-insulated two-story 2Ksf house, lots of solar gain, central Alaska. NG is not an option, but oil and propane are. If I go this route, I want to get something that isn't `just for now'--something that will continue to be useful down the road.
My previous boiler was out in the garage, connected to the house w/30 feet of utilidor with glycol-filled hose. I am thinking about going the route of moving the boiler indoors--either propane or oil with assisted exhaust. This should cut back on the need for glycol and save a lot of heat. So I could get a Toyo-type heater for the house that could eventually be moved out to the garage to provide supplemental heat there. Or I could get a cutesy little propane heater that could live in the sunroom, and eventually retire to just being the occasional PRN heater. But for now, I need something I can turn on and leave running this winter that will help keep things at an even keel.
I've had really bad luck with wood dealers this summer--the first shorted me by a cord-and-a-half, the second has plenty of excuses and reasons, but not the wood I prepaid for (I know, stupid--thanks), and the one I hired to cut wood on my property hasn't come when he said he would, turned up as it was getting dark the other night (and ran over a full oil pan sitting in front of my garage, and his output has been miniscule. My stress and frustration has been growing, and I finally decided I have to do something different so that I'm not counting on these no-shows.
This house heats really easily. I've got no problem keeping it warm at -30 with just the Heritage, and before I had the woodstove, I was keeping it heated, along with the garge, for about 830 gallons of oil a year (that might sound like a lot, but it's phenomenol around here). So I probably don't need anything jinormous--just something that will ensure that the plumbing doesn't freeze up, nor the kid.
Winter's galloping rapidly this direction, and suggestions for a solution to this would be most appreciated. Especially specific ideas to look at--brand names, models, sizes, etc. I'd prefer to stay away from punching big holes in the house, and from running another stack up. Also looking for something relatively simple to implement in terms of tanks, tubing, etc. I have a 300 gallon oil tank that could be moved closer to the house, and am already plumbed for propane into the kitchen.
Thanks for reading this, and for ideas.
Had planned on replacing my boiler this fall, but the money is just not going to come together for that. I got through the winter with the woodstove last year, but would like to have a fallback system (the woodstove was supposed to be my fallback/backup heating system--funny how that worked out). I'll have to travel a bit during the winter for work for 3-4 days, leaving my teenage son on deck. All said and done, I don't want him wood-dependent while I'm gone--last year I asked him not to use the woodstove at all--just felt better about that.
It occurred to me yesterday that there's options between shelling out for a 10K+ boiler system and just getting by with wood. Thus this thread--looking for options.
My situation: well-insulated two-story 2Ksf house, lots of solar gain, central Alaska. NG is not an option, but oil and propane are. If I go this route, I want to get something that isn't `just for now'--something that will continue to be useful down the road.
My previous boiler was out in the garage, connected to the house w/30 feet of utilidor with glycol-filled hose. I am thinking about going the route of moving the boiler indoors--either propane or oil with assisted exhaust. This should cut back on the need for glycol and save a lot of heat. So I could get a Toyo-type heater for the house that could eventually be moved out to the garage to provide supplemental heat there. Or I could get a cutesy little propane heater that could live in the sunroom, and eventually retire to just being the occasional PRN heater. But for now, I need something I can turn on and leave running this winter that will help keep things at an even keel.
I've had really bad luck with wood dealers this summer--the first shorted me by a cord-and-a-half, the second has plenty of excuses and reasons, but not the wood I prepaid for (I know, stupid--thanks), and the one I hired to cut wood on my property hasn't come when he said he would, turned up as it was getting dark the other night (and ran over a full oil pan sitting in front of my garage, and his output has been miniscule. My stress and frustration has been growing, and I finally decided I have to do something different so that I'm not counting on these no-shows.
This house heats really easily. I've got no problem keeping it warm at -30 with just the Heritage, and before I had the woodstove, I was keeping it heated, along with the garge, for about 830 gallons of oil a year (that might sound like a lot, but it's phenomenol around here). So I probably don't need anything jinormous--just something that will ensure that the plumbing doesn't freeze up, nor the kid.
Winter's galloping rapidly this direction, and suggestions for a solution to this would be most appreciated. Especially specific ideas to look at--brand names, models, sizes, etc. I'd prefer to stay away from punching big holes in the house, and from running another stack up. Also looking for something relatively simple to implement in terms of tanks, tubing, etc. I have a 300 gallon oil tank that could be moved closer to the house, and am already plumbed for propane into the kitchen.
Thanks for reading this, and for ideas.