Hi All,
Ive been reading the forums for years trying to gather as much knowledge for when the time came to actually build our barn and switch from oil. I originally was going to go with a 'smoke dragon' seeing the appeal of burning wet wood, but you all have educated me to see the light and get a gasser unit.
Right now we have a 2 story colonial with 2,400 sqft with 800 sqft in the basement heated with hydronic baseboards, oil fired, boilermate indirect water heater for the winter, electric HWH for the summer. This spring we will be building a 40'x60' steel workshop/barn with 17' side walls and a 40'20' mezzanine used as an office. (Office will have a miniduct system for heat and AC).
I'm planning to do radiant in the barn, I'm not looking to have 65 degrees in the barn, but warm enough to work on equipment in a sweatshirt during the cold CT winters. We use quite a bit of water in the house (kids) and would like to have the inside temp at 72 degrees (wife).
The barn will be just 4' from the house, and the previous owner had an OWB, (sold before we moved in), so I'll be running PEX through the 4" bore in the foundation and out to the gasser.
What I'm struggling with is whether to get an indoor unit or an outdoor one.
Outdoor ; PROS- out of the way, mess is outside, less work to feed, doesnt take up space in barn, no future insurance issues, easier to get a neighbor to feed it. CONS- more expensive (?), repairs in inclement weather
The indoor is pretty much the opposite but the one big advantage I'm realizing is the unit would help dry the air in the barn. Since its a steel structure I assume there will be ample condensation. Ive read on various forums that during heating season, while running humidifiers in the house, they have to run dehumidifiers in the steel buildings.
Any suggestions or recommendations? I've been looking at the Vedolux, Garn, EKO, Tarm...
Many thanks for your continued guidance and this site!
-George
Ive been reading the forums for years trying to gather as much knowledge for when the time came to actually build our barn and switch from oil. I originally was going to go with a 'smoke dragon' seeing the appeal of burning wet wood, but you all have educated me to see the light and get a gasser unit.
Right now we have a 2 story colonial with 2,400 sqft with 800 sqft in the basement heated with hydronic baseboards, oil fired, boilermate indirect water heater for the winter, electric HWH for the summer. This spring we will be building a 40'x60' steel workshop/barn with 17' side walls and a 40'20' mezzanine used as an office. (Office will have a miniduct system for heat and AC).
I'm planning to do radiant in the barn, I'm not looking to have 65 degrees in the barn, but warm enough to work on equipment in a sweatshirt during the cold CT winters. We use quite a bit of water in the house (kids) and would like to have the inside temp at 72 degrees (wife).
The barn will be just 4' from the house, and the previous owner had an OWB, (sold before we moved in), so I'll be running PEX through the 4" bore in the foundation and out to the gasser.
What I'm struggling with is whether to get an indoor unit or an outdoor one.
Outdoor ; PROS- out of the way, mess is outside, less work to feed, doesnt take up space in barn, no future insurance issues, easier to get a neighbor to feed it. CONS- more expensive (?), repairs in inclement weather
The indoor is pretty much the opposite but the one big advantage I'm realizing is the unit would help dry the air in the barn. Since its a steel structure I assume there will be ample condensation. Ive read on various forums that during heating season, while running humidifiers in the house, they have to run dehumidifiers in the steel buildings.
Any suggestions or recommendations? I've been looking at the Vedolux, Garn, EKO, Tarm...
Many thanks for your continued guidance and this site!
-George