Boiler/gasifier? Need help deciding which unit best fits our needs.

[Schleppy Sr.]

Looking for a wood based hot water solution that will work with our existing baseboard heating setup and not sure which direction to take. I've been reading about outdoor wood boilers and gasifiers but can't say I'm in love with any of the options I've found so far.

Spoke with a Central Boiler dealer who can install a system for about $17k however am running into ordinance obstacles which would place the unit in an undesirable location with all sorts of restrictions. Open to getting an indoor gasifier but fairly ignorant on what kind of venting I would need for exhaust or who would even be a good dealer/installer to provide that service in central PA.

Venting is an issue since I have limited space to put a chimney which coincides with available indoor boiler locations.

Any/all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[hobbyheater]

Looking for a wood based hot water solution that will work with our existing baseboard heating setup and not sure which direction to take. I've been reading about outdoor wood boilers and gasifiers but can't say I'm in love with any of the options I've found so far.

Spoke with a Central Boiler dealer who can install a system for about $17k however am running into ordinance obstacles which would place the unit in an undesirable location with all sorts of restrictions. Open to getting an indoor gasifier but fairly ignorant on what kind of venting I would need for exhaust or who would even be a good dealer/installer to provide that service in central PA.

Venting is an issue since I have limited space to put a chimney which coincides with available indoor boiler locations.

Any/all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Garn does not need a flu ,can go with a horizontal flue.

 

[hobbyheater]

Looking for a wood based hot water solution that will work with our existing baseboard heating setup and not sure which direction to take. I've been reading about outdoor wood boilers and gasifiers but can't say I'm in love with any of the options I've found so far.

Spoke with a Central Boiler dealer who can install a system for about $17k however am running into ordinance obstacles which would place the unit in an undesirable location with all sorts of restrictions. Open to getting an indoor gasifier but fairly ignorant on what kind of venting I would need for exhaust or who would even be a good dealer/installer to provide that service in central PA.

Venting is an issue since I have limited space to put a chimney which coincides with available indoor boiler locations.

Any/all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

A Garn junior may be a good fit .

 

[maple1]

Can you do a boiler in an outbuilding? That could maybe also serve as a work shop and storage for all your winters wood?

 

[brenndatomu]

I think HeatMaster and Polar both are approved for indoor use...about anything you look at will need standard insulated class A 6" chimney pipe (same as most any modern stove)

 

[hedge wood]

The next call I would make would be to my insurance company and find out what is going to work for them. Sounds like your township is already has lots of rules. Are you ready for the wood life style? Myself I wouldn't want the mess of wood in my house. With all the problems and expense I have had with my Garn I wouldn't own another one. I had to put a vertical chimney on my Garn because of too many fire calls on certain days on start up. Folks on the highway would think my shed was on fire and would call it in. It got to the point I would only start it after dark.

 

[brenndatomu]

I had to put a vertical chimney on my Garn because of too many fire calls on certain days on start up. Folks on the highway would think my shed was on fire and would call it in. It got to the point I would only start it after dark.

Wow, what a PITA!

 

[salecker]

I have my gasifier in a separate building with my storage and back up oil boiler.
I would never have the mess of a wood fired boiler in my house,now after having it in it's own dedicated building.
It also is my fire insurance as i live in a rural town with a volenteer Fire Department,as far as the insurance company's are concerned there is no fire department in my town.

 

[flyingcow]

The next call I would make would be to my insurance company and find out what is going to work for them. Sounds like your township is already has lots of rules. Are you ready for the wood life style? Myself I wouldn't want the mess of wood in my house. With all the problems and expense I have had with my Garn I wouldn't own another one. I had to put a vertical chimney on my Garn because of too many fire calls on certain days on start up. Folks on the highway would think my shed was on fire and would call it in. It got to the point I would only start it after dark.

My Gatn jr was vented straight thru the wall too. And I had to run a vertical pipe up above my roofline for basically the same reason. No fire calls but people would stop and wonder if I had a building fire in the garage. 😏

 

[flyingcow]

My house boiler is a solo innova 30. It’s a gassifier. That is located n an unattached garage. 50ft from the house. Underground insulted pex between the buildings. In the basement of my house I have my thermal storage. Typically in the winter I do one fire a day. If we get a cold snap like we did a couple weeks ago I do a fire morning n night. -25f on thermometer with 20mph sustained winds plus gusts up to 45mph. That was brutal.

Anyways, the building is now called a wood storage building. Look at the avatar on my post. That’s how I store my wood in the garage. I move those pallets with a tractor. The wood is cut/split/stacked for 2 yrs before I burn it. AT A MINIMUM YOU WANT WOOD SEASONED 1 YEAR. That’s important with any boiler. But especially important with any type of gasser.

IMO do not buy an EClassic. Especially new. You should be able to find a used one for $2500. And there’s a reason why you can.


For that same money(17k) you should be able to buy a GARN. Or get a price on Switzer.

Or go traditional gasser with storage. But that can run into serious money. Froling is EPA certified for the rebates. But you can push 25k for the equipment n storage. And if you’re a DIY’r you can make your own storage. And this group on this site is a great source of help.


Got a question. What do you heat with now? And how gallons of oil/propane do you use in a year? I prefer to look at a 3 yr average. That volume can be loosely converted to hardwood that you may need each year. Which will give you some real numbers to look at on ROI time.

Hopefully that all makes sense

 

[hobbyheater]

Looking for a wood based hot water solution that will work with our existing baseboard heating setup and not sure which direction to take. I've been reading about outdoor wood boilers and gasifiers but can't say I'm in love with any of the options I've found so far.

Spoke with a Central Boiler dealer who can install a system for about $17k however am running into ordinance obstacles which would place the unit in an undesirable location with all sorts of restrictions. Open to getting an indoor gasifier but fairly ignorant on what kind of venting I would need for exhaust or who would even be a good dealer/installer to provide that service in central PA.

Venting is an issue since I have limited space to put a chimney which coincides with available indoor boiler locations.

For Sale - GARN 1500 VERT FOR SALE

I HAVE A GARN 1500 fOR SALE THAT I CAN NOT USE ANY MORE DUE TO HEALTH PROBLEMS. I,m in north east Pa.This will be complete with pumps, heat ex. and flue.Also the new digital control panel. still hooked up but must remove Asking $8,000

www.hearth.com

This is in the classified section of this forum and may not be all that far from you.

 

[Schleppy Sr.]

For Sale - GARN 1500 VERT FOR SALE

I HAVE A GARN 1500 fOR SALE THAT I CAN NOT USE ANY MORE DUE TO HEALTH PROBLEMS. I,m in north east Pa.This will be complete with pumps, heat ex. and flue.Also the new digital control panel. still hooked up but must remove Asking $8,000

www.hearth.com

This is in the classified section of this forum and may not be all that far from you.

Thank you so much for the recommendations! My apologies for the delay for some reason I'm not getting any notifications about replies in this post. Might be difficult with my door ways getting into the basement but I'll look into some more options with them.

 

[Schleppy Sr.]

Can you do a boiler in an outbuilding? That could maybe also serve as a work shop and storage for all your winters wood?

I'd love to but the options I have available which fall within local ordinances are less aesthetic to the property. We live out in the country but have a surprising amount of detail regulating these things (I believe it comes from the state level).

 

[Schleppy Sr.]

The next call I would make would be to my insurance company and find out what is going to work for them. Sounds like your township is already has lots of rules. Are you ready for the wood life style? Myself I wouldn't want the mess of wood in my house. With all the problems and expense I have had with my Garn I wouldn't own another one. I had to put a vertical chimney on my Garn because of too many fire calls on certain days on start up. Folks on the highway would think my shed was on fire and would call it in. It got to the point I would only start it after dark.

Thanks for the tip, already went down that path and found much less red tape with insurance than we have with the township (seems kinda backwards to me). As for the wood life, that's what I grew up with and the loading area would be in the basement so that should help with the mess. Interested in your experience with Garn? How much smoke were you getting with a horizontal pipe? I'm thinking folks out here (a few of the Amish out here have wood boilers) would probably recognize the difference between a working fire and a chimney but it's likely I just have too much faith in humanity.

 

[Schleppy Sr.]

My house boiler is a solo innova 30. It’s a gassifier. That is located n an unattached garage. 50ft from the house. Underground insulted pex between the buildings. In the basement of my house I have my thermal storage. Typically in the winter I do one fire a day. If we get a cold snap like we did a couple weeks ago I do a fire morning n night. -25f on thermometer with 20mph sustained winds plus gusts up to 45mph. That was brutal.

Anyways, the building is now called a wood storage building. Look at the avatar on my post. That’s how I store my wood in the garage. I move those pallets with a tractor. The wood is cut/split/stacked for 2 yrs before I burn it. AT A MINIMUM YOU WANT WOOD SEASONED 1 YEAR. That’s important with any boiler. But especially important with any type of gasser.

IMO do not buy an EClassic. Especially new. You should be able to find a used one for $2500. And there’s a reason why you can.


For that same money(17k) you should be able to buy a GARN. Or get a price on Switzer.

Or go traditional gasser with storage. But that can run into serious money. Froling is EPA certified for the rebates. But you can push 25k for the equipment n storage. And if you’re a DIY’r you can make your own storage. And this group on this site is a great source of help.


Got a question. What do you heat with now? And how gallons of oil/propane do you use in a year? I prefer to look at a 3 yr average. That volume can be loosely converted to hardwood that you may need each year. Which will give you some real numbers to look at on ROI time.

Hopefully that all makes sense

Excellent input, thank you very much. Will be looking into Froling, Garn, and Switzer. I do have a 250G water storage tank leftover from the old rooftop solar which came with the house I could possibly use for hot water storage.

As for current heating we have geothermal. This is great in the summer but in the winter we can easily run a $600+ electric bill with extra issues when it hits extreme lows (-25 +20mph winds, wow!) One of the big reasons we're interested in doing wood is because we'd like to be less dependent on the grid which has become much less reliable with multiple power outages in the last year.

 

[TimfromPittsburgh]

I would urge you to prioritize an indoor wood boiler, particularly if you have a basement with space for the boiler. The heat emitted from the boiler's exterior surfaces will help keep your basement and floors of the living space above it comfortable during the winter months. Pay close attention to the boiler manufacturer's installation recommendations/requirements. If they are not met, it is unlikely that the wood burner will operate satisfactorily.

 

[salecker]

Having a boiler in it's own building with my backup heating system...
I will personally never have a wood fired boiler in my home.
My boiler building was bright white when i installed the boiler,13 years later it's various shades of gray.Everything on my shelves is covered with a coating of fly ash.
Originally when i built the system there was no choice as my wife and daughter both suffered with asthma.
Now i see even more benefits from having a dedicated boiler building. 24/7 warm work shop, it's my fire insurance, and the mess.
Because the boiler is in it's own building i have zero concerns about any smoke rollout,or fly ash.
If it was in my home,reloading without smoke rollout would be a chore.I live in a town that isn't pavement and concert and the amount of dust inside the house is plenty without having a dust producing environment in the basement.
125 ft walk one way, even at -40C or colder i have yet to complain to myself about the walk.It is a good place to enjoy our legal consumables without stinking up the house.