I have to start by saying thank you to all members on this forum for sharing their knowledge and experience.
I started looking into a gasification boiler in the summer and pulled the trigger on ordering one in September.
I was able to visit Mark of AHONA and see a couple of units running live (he said to "....come up and kick the tires on them..")
We'll I glad I did. I contacted a couple of other well known suppliers and I just got the feeling that I was another phone/order customer to them.
I tested the Biomass and the Vigas boiler when I visited Mark. I quickly decided the Vigas was the way to go. The unit monitors the
tank temps, stack temps, and boiler temps while adjusting the primary fans during the burn to optimize the temperature for all three.
You are able to set an "end" temp for boiler, and storage. A maximum flue temp can be set and the fans adjust accordingly to stay within range.
I have been burning wood in the unit for the past 2 weeks (on and off) during the final stages of installation. This past Saturday I finished the
tank insulation and the whole system is operating at a totally higher level now.
On average (after the insulation) I have been burning approximately a 1/2 load of wood for a burn time of 10 hrs. with a starting tank temp of 140-145
and ending at 194 - 195 while having a heat load from the house. On a full load I was able to burn for 15 hrs. with a starting tank temp of 142 and ending
at 194 - 195, again while heating the house and DHW.
It's to early to figure out a true burn schedule, but on average I have been loading the box 1/2 way for a burn cycle, 2 times per day.
I expected 2 burns a day, so I am very happy with the results.
System / House Information:
Heating 4500 SF house with Hydro Air and DHW as well. (I plan on connecting a heat exchanger in the spring to heat the pool)
Vigas 60 boiler (No Lambda control because the 60 and 80 models are not approved for it yet in the States. Hoping for an add-on in the future when approved)
All connections from the Vigas to storage, and to the existing oil boiler was made with 1 1/2" copper.
Storage consisted of 3 vertical air tanks that total 720 gallons.
A "box" around the tanks was constructed with 2 layers of 2" (4" thick in total) rigid insulation with foil on both sides for all walls and ceiling.
All joints were staggered and tapped with reflective foil as well.
All copper lines were wrapped with commercial grade fiberglass insulation (including inside the box) and all joints taped as well.
The box was then filled with blown in fiberglass insulation.
I added two new Wilo-Stratos pumps to my system that run off of 220 volt.
The pumps are so quite that you have to put your ear next to them to hear them run.
An Amtrol Extrol SX-160V expansion tank was added to allow for the additional expansion in the system.
Mark at AHONA designed the plumbing and electrical connections and He is a pleasure to work with.
The Vigas and my oil boiler are connected in parallel and the oil boiler will only turn on if the storage tanks drop below 140.
Here are some pictures of the install.
I started looking into a gasification boiler in the summer and pulled the trigger on ordering one in September.
I was able to visit Mark of AHONA and see a couple of units running live (he said to "....come up and kick the tires on them..")
We'll I glad I did. I contacted a couple of other well known suppliers and I just got the feeling that I was another phone/order customer to them.
I tested the Biomass and the Vigas boiler when I visited Mark. I quickly decided the Vigas was the way to go. The unit monitors the
tank temps, stack temps, and boiler temps while adjusting the primary fans during the burn to optimize the temperature for all three.
You are able to set an "end" temp for boiler, and storage. A maximum flue temp can be set and the fans adjust accordingly to stay within range.
I have been burning wood in the unit for the past 2 weeks (on and off) during the final stages of installation. This past Saturday I finished the
tank insulation and the whole system is operating at a totally higher level now.
On average (after the insulation) I have been burning approximately a 1/2 load of wood for a burn time of 10 hrs. with a starting tank temp of 140-145
and ending at 194 - 195 while having a heat load from the house. On a full load I was able to burn for 15 hrs. with a starting tank temp of 142 and ending
at 194 - 195, again while heating the house and DHW.
It's to early to figure out a true burn schedule, but on average I have been loading the box 1/2 way for a burn cycle, 2 times per day.
I expected 2 burns a day, so I am very happy with the results.
System / House Information:
Heating 4500 SF house with Hydro Air and DHW as well. (I plan on connecting a heat exchanger in the spring to heat the pool)
Vigas 60 boiler (No Lambda control because the 60 and 80 models are not approved for it yet in the States. Hoping for an add-on in the future when approved)
All connections from the Vigas to storage, and to the existing oil boiler was made with 1 1/2" copper.
Storage consisted of 3 vertical air tanks that total 720 gallons.
A "box" around the tanks was constructed with 2 layers of 2" (4" thick in total) rigid insulation with foil on both sides for all walls and ceiling.
All joints were staggered and tapped with reflective foil as well.
All copper lines were wrapped with commercial grade fiberglass insulation (including inside the box) and all joints taped as well.
The box was then filled with blown in fiberglass insulation.
I added two new Wilo-Stratos pumps to my system that run off of 220 volt.
The pumps are so quite that you have to put your ear next to them to hear them run.
An Amtrol Extrol SX-160V expansion tank was added to allow for the additional expansion in the system.
Mark at AHONA designed the plumbing and electrical connections and He is a pleasure to work with.
The Vigas and my oil boiler are connected in parallel and the oil boiler will only turn on if the storage tanks drop below 140.
Here are some pictures of the install.