General advice: Where to put an indoor gassifier

[shooterm]

So of course I'm from another country and think I can come to the USA and do anything. But of course building and insurance codes are hideous here

So I was planning to add an attached garage with in floor heating and put a gasification boiler in the far end in a sectioned off area. I get the impression after a bit of reading this won't be insurable (pffft).

I have a basement with no outside access, so getting wood to it would be a royal pain in the rear.

Do you think I could pursue a boiler shed being attached to my attached garage? (seems silly to me!)

The one other question is I see people with their storage system is usually right next to their boiler. Is it a silly idea to have the storage in my basement (30-40 ft of piping away)?

Thanks in advance. Seriously there is some good reading on this forum!

Grant.

 

[flyingcow]

Generally youre boiler room needs to have a separate outside entrance. Should not be able to access from inside the garage. Ins co believes if you have gas motors or store flammables inside garage and they are spilled, the fumes have the potential to combust once it hits the wood boiler.

My storage is in my basement,seems to work for me. There is a little bit of heat loss, helps heat the basement.

 

[maple1]

Don't assume on what is & isn't allowed from reading here. Ask your insurance agent, and check with local code people. There is a lot of variation, you might as well go directly to the people that would say yes or now - although there is likely a natural aversion to doing so by all of us. Then you can start the planning.

Nothing wrong with storage that far away.

 

[Serg]

The primary reason for not allowing any wood, coal, gas, or oil fired appliances in a garage is because we store flammable liquids there, as in our vehicle gas tanks or in small gasoline containers. However, I do believe you can partition off an area using a layer or two of fire rated sheet rock, but you should check with your local code enforcement official and your insurance company before proceeding.

As far as where your storage goes, you will have some btu loss through piping depending on how long your runs are and how well you insulate your pipes. But, as I assume your plan is to heat the house from your storage, your gonna have to have those pipe runs anyway. So why not use any heat loss from your storage tank to warm the floors of your house.

I'm curious as to what type of storage vessel you plan to use since you have no outside access to your basement?

Serg

 

[infinitymike]

Here in NY, a state with what I believe to have THE MOST HIDEOUS RULES around, I was permitted to put mine in my attached garage.
with NO sectioned off room.
I was also in the middle of switching insurance companies when I was doing the install.
The insurance company come out to appraise the house and saw the 25 cords of wood and the boiler in the garage.
All they wanted was pictures of it, and a receipt of a licensed installer.

This has been up for debate here for years.
Bottomline ...check with your local building department and insurance company.

 

[shooterm]

Thanks for the replies so far. They have given me the confidence to at least pursue it further with insurance and local building codes.

Serg, I'd drill through my cinder block basement to get piping access. The primary reason for me having storage in the basement is me liking the idea of having thermal mass down there since I have two stories above it. At the same time I'm new to this game and have not even had time to think it through or do significant research.

InfinityMike. Lucky you! I would love to have that result.

FlyingCow: If I have to I can work with separate access. Thanks for the info.

 

[arbutus]

Your local inspector will be able to tell you if you can put the boiler in the garage or not.
Your insurance agent will be able to tell you how much your rate increases if you have a wood fired appliance in the main structure.

I put the boiler in a shed behind the garage, after calling the state inspection office (no local inspector). My insurance doesn't care what goes into an accessory structure, as long as its replacement value is less than 10% of the value of the home.

Make some phone calls, your situation may be different.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

or ask other insurance companies, they are all different in rules. I switched to allstate and told them about my wood furnace, they did not care, not a single remark or question. It had no reflection on my rate either.

 

[infinitymike]

Funny, Allstate dropped Long Islanders, right when I bought the Wood Gun. Edit; for flooding reasons.
I switched to Nationwide and even with the Wood Gun my rates were cheaper then Allstate.

 

[Woodfarmer1]

Typical code is the bottom of the loading door needs to be 18" off the floor. With some gasses that have the clean out it would probably be measured from there.

 

[infinitymike]

Typical code is the bottom of the loading door needs to be 18" off the floor. With some gasses that have the clean out it would probably be measured from there.

That's why I put mine on a 16" cement block pier