Gonna try to build it myself BUT,

[salecker]

What is the pressure and why do you pressurize the system? Are you not worried about this extending to the house?

The complete system is pressurized, unlike some that are open to the atmosphere
The pro's are no yearly water tests and additives needed for the water. Going on year 17 i think, water has never been added once i got enough expansion tank volume.

 

[salecker]

How many gallons of oil does it take to bring 1000g back up to temp?


Not terrible but my open stove has 20yrs on it and I almost never put chemicals in it but that is definitely not the correct way of things. I assume the boiling point rises with pressure if he asks to run at 220f. Do you not have any concerns of 220 @ 30psi inside your house?
What kind of maintenance do you do on this stove? I have no experience with these gasser type stoves but hear they really are hard to maintain?

The backup oil boiler only heats the house not the storage. There is a bit of heating of the storage with ghost flows through the heat ex-changer when the oil boiler cuts in occasionally.
If i am going away and the house is being heated by oil i will close a valve on the heat ex-changer to avoid the ghost flows and partial heating of storage.
The laws of thermodynamics are always in play, so work with them for a more efficient system.
No maintenance other than cleaning the turbulators, and ash removal. This summer i will replace the nozzle going from the smoke chamber to the burn chamber.
I would never go to an open system after having a closed pressurized system.
I have never worried about hot pressurized glycol in my house, should something spring a leak everything is valved so if i am home not a big deal to shut off a valve. If i am gone then there will be some cleanup i have to deal with.

 

[RufusToad]

Completely agree but SS right now is outrageous in cost. The old boiler I have isnt ss and it has still lasted 20+ years.

Boy I a really struggling with this decision. My wife is adamant I purchase a new one but I really think I could save 8-10K$$. I have enough machinery to build this but time is not something I have a ton of. 😡

 

[RufusToad]

No maintenance other than cleaning the turbulators, and ash removal.

Sorry but I could have miss read your post earlier, did you fabricate just the storage tanks or the entire system? Did you buy a boiler then fab the tanks?

 

[Tonty]

I brush the tubes on my boiler once or twice a season. It takes about 20-30 minutes. That’s really the only routine maintenance that I have.
Yes, the boiling temperature of water changes according to the pressure. Water will boil at room temperature in a vacuum.

 

[Tonty]

A good OWB is made of 409 stainless. Rust is pretty much a non-issue these days. You still have to run boiler treatment because you want make sure the water in the boiler has the correct pH, and has the correct nitrite levels.

I agree that a good OWB is built of stainless. Some of those on the market now look like very nice units, and I think I could get along quite well with them. However, the type of boiler I am talking about includes water storage. Neither Garn nor Switzer (the only two manufacturers with built in storage. Please let me know if I’m mistaken.) build theirs out of stainless. They would be even more expensive due to the size of the tanks.