Can't figure out what to do; advice needed

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
As a guy with no wood boiler just dreaming, the open storage system seems to offer several advantages. Isn't Tom supposed to be selling this company to focus on other things?

Not sure what Tom's plans are. As the owner of both an open and closed systems in regards to the storage (both are closed as far as the boiler is concerned). The only slight disadvantage of the open storage with heat exchanger route is the usual transfer efficiency loss (not sure loss is the right word here) - in other words when the boiler is putting out 80C water this heat is not all transferred to storage, some is returned to the boiler and the boiler is more likely to go into overheat/smolder mode until return temps drop a bit. This never happens with my other system where all the water in the system (boiler/storage) is shared - (as long as I load the proper amount of wood for the storage temps) Now perhaps I need more open storage capacity or a bigger heat exchanger and this would not happen. As it is it works perfectly because the shop load is always taking some of the heat and I rarely see the boiler go into overheat mode. (overheat mode is not really too hot, it's just the point where the inducer fan shuts off and waits for return temps to drop about 5C). An advantage of the closed/open storage/heat exchanger set up is the closed portion is low volume (boiler capacity+piping +heat exchanger+heat emitter volume)- about 60 gallons in my system. So less volume means smaller/cheaper expansion tank and if you choose to treat the water, only purchase treatment chemicals for 60 gallons, not 1000+ gallons. Another advantage is that low volume heats fast and is available immediately to the heat emitters. Works well in a system for a shop where you really only want lots of heat when you are using it. The storage is there to soak up the excess and helps keep the shop above freezing when I'm not out there working.
 
Kinda what I’ve learned hanging around here. Evaporation requires refills that then needs more chemicals to get water back into proper range. Just like a swimming pool.
Im 100% confident that I could shut off my make up water supply and suffer no ill effects.
My system is closed, and i don't have any makeup water.Original water was filtered through a big ass filter the guy who helped design my system used to filter water for any systems he built.
 
My system is closed, and i don't have any makeup water.Original water was filtered through a big ass filter the guy who helped design my system used to filter water for any systems he built.

I've got it, but it's valved off.
 
Better late than never, they say…I don’t understand why you fellows like to make things so complicated. 😂🙃 Buy a Switzer. It has integrated, pressurized storage, a DHW coil, and I believe he makes them with a back up oil gun. Boom. Done. Admittedly, you will be heating your storage with oil, but if you heat it up good with wood before you leave, that would probably be minimal. But I’m not an engineer, so I probably don’t grasp all the concepts involved…
 
Better late than never, they say…I don’t understand why you fellows like to make things so complicated. 😂🙃 Buy a Switzer. It has integrated, pressurized storage, a DHW coil, and I believe he makes them with a back up oil gun. Boom. Done. Admittedly, you will be heating your storage with oil, but if you heat it up good with wood before you leave, that would probably be minimal. But I’m not an engineer, so I probably don’t grasp all the concepts involved…
Keeping all that water that hot with oil all summer for DHW ? No thanks.
 
Wood, sir, wood. Keep it hot with wood. 😂No, actually I don’t do that either. I use a hybrid heat pump water heater for the summer.
I actually don’t think the way I do it is necessarily the best way. I do like to stir the pot a little to see other opinions pop up, to see if I can learn by them. Life is learning in progress.
 
Wood, sir, wood. Keep it hot with wood. 😂No, actually I don’t do that either. I use a hybrid heat pump water heater for the summer.
I actually don’t think the way I do it is necessarily the best way. I do like to stir the pot a little to see other opinions pop up, to see if I can learn by them. Life is learning in progress.

Heating it with wood is a no thanks also. Mine does that very well but gave it up after the first year of doing it. We just use the electric DHW tank in the summer. All that stand by heat loss (no matter how little it really is) adds to the summer cooling load. And to the amount of wood needed to deal with each year.

IMO though a Switzer would be a very good choice if it meets needs. One of ours was also getting rid of oil all together. I think it would be ahead of Garn on my possibility list. But it would also be ruled out for the same reason - won't fit through my door ways. By a fair amount.
 
Yes, that is a downside. They are big and heavy. You need a machine of some sort to
move them.
This is kind of off the subject, but I have wondered why they use fuel oil on the eastern side of the continent. I suppose it’s because it is more available and cheaper than propane? Fuel oil here was phased out years ago. I’m 40 and don’t think it’s been used much in my lifetime. I lived in Montreal for a bit when I was 19 and remember being amazed even then that they used oil. But I suppose the reason it was phased out here is that natural gas and propane are very available, with natural gas wells around us and an oil refinery 40 miles away.
 
Better late than never, they say…I don’t understand why you fellows like to make things so complicated. 😂🙃 Buy a Switzer. It has integrated, pressurized storage, a DHW coil, and I believe he makes them with a back up oil gun. Boom. Done. Admittedly, you will be heating your storage with oil, but if you heat it up good with wood before you leave, that would probably be minimal. But I’m not an engineer, so I probably don’t grasp all the concepts involved…
To be fair...
You need more storage then what is built into the boiler to really get efficient,and also so you are not a slave to the boiler.
With sufficiant storage you can dictate your firings to match your life.
 
Yes, I realize that 600 gallons is small and not as efficient. I considered getting a bigger one, but could hardly justify it with the kind of winters we have here. If my memory serves me right, I paid $9,000 for this one, probably because no one else wanted such a small one. But it works for me. It is a three pass unit, so I don’t waste much heat when I do fire it.