First time posting

[Heritage08]

Hi all, my son recently purchased a home that has a chappee C28 wood /coal boiler that he says is 3 yrs old. He's not using it and wants to give it to me. I have a 3bdrm ranch approx 1800sf. I currently use a natural gas boiler that is 30yrs old. I don't know what is the best way to go, replace the current boiler with the chappee or connect it to current boiler and can put it outside and run lines underground?

I would like to hear your suggestions & ideas

 

[Gasifier]

You should have a primary furnace that is Gas or Oil. Probably required by code, bank, and/or insurance. Talk with your insurance company and make sure you follow what they want so you are covered in case of fire.

If your Natural Gas prices are good(low) your best investment may be a new high efficiency Gas boiler. How is your insulation in the house?

If considering wood burning you probably already know how much work it is. If you like to burn wood, and are going to go for the free boiler, then it’s also time to get to work on next year’s firewood supply.

We don’t know what your experiences are but you will want to get it split and stacked outside on pallets so it has as much time to dry as possible if you plan to start burning next heating season.

Any wood burning appliance needs properly seasoned firewood and it’s own chimney/exhaust.

 

[Heritage08]

You should have a primary furnace that is Gas or Oil. Probably required by code, bank, and/or insurance. Talk with your insurance company and make sure you follow what they want so you are covered in case of fire.

If your Natural Gas prices are good(low) your best investment may be a new high efficiency Gas boiler. How is your insulation in the house?

If considering wood burning you probably already know how much work it is. If you like to burn wood, and are going to go for the free boiler, then it’s also time to get to work on next year’s firewood supply.

We don’t know what your experiences are but you will want to get it split and stacked outside on pallets so it has as much time to dry as possible if you plan to start burning next heating season.

Any wood burning appliance needs properly seasoned firewood and it’s own chimney/exhaust.

You should have a primary furnace that is Gas or Oil. Probably required by code, bank, and/or insurance. Talk with your insurance company and make sure you follow what they want so you are covered in case of fire.

If your Natural Gas prices are good(low) your best investment may be a new high efficiency Gas boiler. How is your insulation in the house?

If considering wood burning you probably already know how much work it is. If you like to burn wood, and are going to go for the free boiler, then it’s also time to get to work on next year’s firewood supply.

We don’t know what your experiences are but you will want to get it split and stacked outside on pallets so it has as much time to dry as possible if you plan to start burning next heating season.

Any wood burning appliance needs properly seasoned firewood and it’s own chimney/exhaust.

Thanks for the info. If I do it, I think ill put it outside and connect it to my current boiler. I would also consider using coal which would be less work than wood. Any thoughts on using coal?

 

[Gasifier]

Thanks for the info. If I do it, I think ill put it outside and connect it to my current boiler. I would also consider using coal which would be less work than wood. Any thoughts on using coal?

If you pipe it as an add on to your boiler, look into piping it in parallel. This allows your heat from your wood/coal boiler to go on past your Gas or primary boiler and into your system. This is the most efficient way to run your wood/coal boiler.

If you pipe it in series, the Wood/coal boiler then heats up your gas boiler and shuts down until it cools enough. This is less efficient for your wood/coal boiler. (Best to run wood/coal boiler flat out as long as possible.)

As far as coal goes, I have no experience with it. We don’t see it up here very often. I’m sure we could order it, but I cut wood off my property and have a couple different guys who cut, split, and deliver at a decent price. So I process about 1/2-2/3 of my firewood and buy the rest.

The other biggest thing I would recommend to you if you decide to heat with wood is a well insulated hot water storage tank. (Say 400 gallons or more.)This increases your wood burning appliance efficiency by letting it run flat out for a longer period of time. Then, depending on your home’s insulation factor and outside temperatures, allows you to coast on the heat in the storage tank(heat battery). The storage tank could be in your home’s basement or in an outbuilding with your boiler.

I wasn’t trying to dissuade you from heating with firewood, but it is a lot of work and time if you try to process your own. There is the alternative of buying it if you can get a decent price in your area. Let’s say you spent $60/face cord and bought 15 face cord. That would be $900 in firewood. Would probably be enough to heat your home for the winter depending on insulation value and where you live. How much money would that save you compared to Natural gas? How much would coal cost you? Save you?

Some guys keep their eyes open for free or very cheap firewood as well. Call it scrounging.