First of all, sorry if this is not the right forum section for this post! For any admin reading this, if it's not the proper place please move the thread to wherever it should be instead.
My wife and I recently purchased a house that has a wood-fired boiler installed in the basement. The house was built in 1979 and it is 1,600 square feet but that doesn't include the basement. The wood boiler is a Thermo-Control model 500, I am attaching pictures here. The house also has a very nice 2 years old fireplace insert up in the living room. After reading this forum for a while, it seems like the Thermo-Control boiler is not a very impressive unit, according to some forum members. It is also not currently connected to the baseboard system, which is heated by a nice modern oil furnace, but I imagine it would be possible to connect it using a switch to select oil or wood boiler.
We also own a Fisher Mama Bear that we have in the basement of the house we're currently moving out from. I love that Fisher Mama; it's super reliable, takes in 2 foot logs and you can cook on it very easily (I've made a few stews using a cast iron dutch oven, the stove is great for that). I am thinking about removing the Thermo Control boiler and putting the Fisher Mama in its place instead. Does that make sense? Is that a good course of action? We do have the EPA certified fireplace insert upstairs anyway, and this stove would be just a backup in case we lose power, or for extra heating from the Basement.
The Thermo Control boiler was never used by the previous owners of the house. The house is in pretty good shape and seems well insulated. Any word of advice and previous experience on the matter will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Gustavo![[Hearth.com] Fisher Mama vs. Wood Boiler?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/198/198096-9bc20388bd6d891ba99663d3a3205748.jpg?hash=MW2JinjIgI "[Hearth.com] Fisher Mama vs. Wood Boiler?")
![[Hearth.com] Fisher Mama vs. Wood Boiler?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/198/198093-722692855ea9aadd6f3152db3eae8ce9.jpg?hash=l-NCCFsyUh "[Hearth.com] Fisher Mama vs. Wood Boiler?")
![[Hearth.com] Fisher Mama vs. Wood Boiler?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/198/198094-466a617b6d2697a862e6e41d6703bf73.jpg?hash=DjwHKy1DUX "[Hearth.com] Fisher Mama vs. Wood Boiler?")
![[Hearth.com] Fisher Mama vs. Wood Boiler?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/198/198095-66991bb43017091255bea77d9a1b4f1c.jpg?hash=D3P8SMAYrP "[Hearth.com] Fisher Mama vs. Wood Boiler?")
My wife and I recently purchased a house that has a wood-fired boiler installed in the basement. The house was built in 1979 and it is 1,600 square feet but that doesn't include the basement. The wood boiler is a Thermo-Control model 500, I am attaching pictures here. The house also has a very nice 2 years old fireplace insert up in the living room. After reading this forum for a while, it seems like the Thermo-Control boiler is not a very impressive unit, according to some forum members. It is also not currently connected to the baseboard system, which is heated by a nice modern oil furnace, but I imagine it would be possible to connect it using a switch to select oil or wood boiler.
We also own a Fisher Mama Bear that we have in the basement of the house we're currently moving out from. I love that Fisher Mama; it's super reliable, takes in 2 foot logs and you can cook on it very easily (I've made a few stews using a cast iron dutch oven, the stove is great for that). I am thinking about removing the Thermo Control boiler and putting the Fisher Mama in its place instead. Does that make sense? Is that a good course of action? We do have the EPA certified fireplace insert upstairs anyway, and this stove would be just a backup in case we lose power, or for extra heating from the Basement.
The Thermo Control boiler was never used by the previous owners of the house. The house is in pretty good shape and seems well insulated. Any word of advice and previous experience on the matter will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Gustavo
