Mass building inspector says non amse boiler and propane tank ok in barn

[4acrefarm]

I just talked to my building inspector, he says he cannot allow non amse/ul boilers in the house. He said he would look at and probably approve a plan putting boiler and propane tank in out-building. He also said he would look at my design for a homebuilt boiler and that may be a posibility. I is nice to deal with someone who uses common scence and will listen to reason.

 

[heaterman]

I just talked to my building inspector, he says he cannot allow non amse/ul boilers in the house. He said he would look at and probably approve a plan putting boiler and propane tank in out-building. He also said he would look at my design for a homebuilt boiler and that may be a posibility. I is nice to deal with someone who uses common scence and will listen to reason.

Sounds like you have a rare bird there. Treat him like a king and keep him in the loop on whatever you choose to do. Some of them will work with you pretty well if you keep them informed and ask for their input before you do something. Actually,........ the non UL thing has me scratching my head more than the ASME side of things. I have been told that insurance companies will not cover any loss resulting from a non UL listed appliance of any type. 'Course........that would depend on if they found out about it............just sayin'.........

 

[4acrefarm]

To keep myself safe from the insurance co I plan to not have a los caused by the boiler (I know everybody thinks that). Concrete floor steal roof and clearance all around for starters.

 

[pybyr]

I just talked to my building inspector, he says he cannot allow non amse/ul boilers in the house. He said he would look at and probably approve a plan putting boiler and propane tank in out-building. He also said he would look at my design for a homebuilt boiler and that may be a posibility. I is nice to deal with someone who uses common scence and will listen to reason.

Sounds like you have a rare bird there. Treat him like a king and keep him in the loop on whatever you choose to do. Some of them will work with you pretty well if you keep them informed and ask for their input before you do something. Actually,........ the non UL thing has me scratching my head more than the ASME side of things. I have been told that insurance companies will not cover any loss resulting from a non UL listed appliance of any type. 'Course........that would depend on if they found out about it............just sayin'.........

Do a friendly confirmation in writing of what he's told you, and what you are relying on, in moving forward, before you start spending time and $$. Otherwise, if he retires, moves, etc., or if someone 'higher up' issues a differing edict, some official may think otherwise, and when it's merely your word against an officials, with no paper trail, you can guess how it'll go. Even the paper trail will not shield you completely, but it's a lot better than nothing.

 

[Gooserider]

Note also that he is not being completely accurate as far as I can tell... There is NO requirement in MA code for an overpriced ASME stamp boiler installed in a house if it is an "OPEN" system - i.e. a "European Open" style system with an open tank in the attic... If this is not accurate, I'd love to know what code section it is that says so...

Gooserider

 

[4acrefarm]

Goose, so what you are saying is that you could put it inside with an open system? I never asked that question , i want presurized.

 

[stee6043]

Goose, so what you are saying is that you could put it inside with an open system? I never asked that question , i want presurized.

You can run a quasi-open system with what most folks consider "pressurized" pressures. You just need roughly 30' of vertical pipe above your boiler with a catch vessel of some sort at the top. Do a search, it has been discussed a bunch of times here. The down sides include running the pipe and supporting the catch basin in your attic (or wherever you end up)...

 

[Gooserider]

Goose, so what you are saying is that you could put it inside with an open system? I never asked that question , i want presurized.

You can run a quasi-open system with what most folks consider "pressurized" pressures. You just need roughly 30' of vertical pipe above your boiler with a catch vessel of some sort at the top. Do a search, it has been discussed a bunch of times here. The down sides include running the pipe and supporting the catch basin in your attic (or wherever you end up)...

Exactly... It's a very common setup in the EU, and everything I've learned says that it is "legal" and it works, doesn't even need 30 feet, as long as you get the open expansion tank up to 4-6' higher than the "highest radiation" (many of the references use SI, and say 1-2 meters...) 24' will give you a system that is "pressurized" to 10-12 psi, 30' will get you closer to 15psi. In theory, if you had a 5-6 story house, you could even get an open system that exceeded the boiler's safe operating condition, perfectly "legally" - isn't law wonderful????

I don't see any big disadvantages other than needing the pipe and expansion tank over a "true" pressurized system, and one can argue that its a reasonable tradeoff to get rid of the no longer needed big expensive sealed expansion tank in the basement.... It is worth considering if you want an inside install.

Gooserider