Help me understand the setup + cost

[24vcummns98]

Hey guys I'm getting ready to build a home and I'm debating on what heating setup to go with . Currently I have a heat pump setup with a woodstock Soap Stone ideal steel stove in the house. My wood burner is my main source and heat pump being my back up. I would like to continue burning wood and then you home but I'm debating on what my primary source of wood heat would be. Very intrigued by these outdoor boilers a gentleman down the road from me that has one and I've always been a little jealous of it. could you guyhs shed a little light on cost and benefits of the boiler? Thanks!

 

[maple1]

I wouldn't go OWB at all. Too much wood waste for me.

If you are only heating the house, I would go heat pump primary (mini-splits) & wood stove to supplement. Modern building techniques & materials should leave you with something that doesn't need much heat to start with.

If I wanted to heat more than one building, I would maybe then consider on indoor boiler in one of the buildings along with storage and entire winters wood.

Different strokes though....

 

[peakbagger]

My standard commentary on OWBs, They are banned or restricted in many states. In my state, they have to be 300 feet minimum from the nearest neighbor. If the owner is stupid enough to put it next to their house I guess they deserve what they get which is voluntarily breathing in nasty stuff. If you have kids its hard on their lungs.

They may be advertised as clean burn but the way they are operated in typical installation means that they are rarely if ever operated in the clean burn range of operation. Most of the time they are smoke dragons smouldering with out enough oxygen which means incomplete combustion. High Carbon Monoxide and partially burnt gases spewing out a inevitably too short stack. If you have neighbors, hope they live far away so they dont have to put up with the smog in shoulder seasons.

Plan on using twice as much wood and if you believe the salesman you will big green logs so you will burn even more.

Since you are building a house, spend the money on energy efficiency. Building a net zero home should be easy in Va. Its going to save you heating and cooling bills in the long term. If your utility is solar friendly (check this website http://www.dsireusa.org/) look into net metered grid connected solar with minisplit cold climate heat pumps. its the cheapest way to heat as long as your average winter temps stay above zero and you get AC to boot at a fairly high efficiency. If you want add in nice looking woodstove and burn dry wood and you will be far better off.

 

[E Yoder]

A few thoughts-

My experience as a OWB installer for 10+ years- a gasification outdoor boiler is a very different animal than the "smoke dragons" of old. The G series tested cleaner than many EPA certified indoor stoves. Very little visible smoke at all on most EPA certified models.
Anyway, benefits- mess outside, even heat through the whole house, domestic hot water.
Costs would vary quite a bit depending on size and how complex the installation is..

 

[maple1]

On cost.

One often overlooked or underestimated cost is underground pipe. Budget $15/foot.

Someone must have a ballpark for a new GOOD boiler? Say a Heatmaster G200 or the like? I don't really know but had in my head $12k.

Costs for a pad to put it on, or maybe a structure to put it in or roof to put it under.

Other stuff depends on how you want to distribute the heat to the house. Budget maybe $2k for fittings, basic heat exchangers etc. for simple ties to system in place, and DHW. But if there would be no other distribution system in place otherwise (which there wouldn't need to be for mini-splits), then you've got another whole level of costs & figuring to do.

 

[Sukhoi29SU]

On cost.

One often overlooked or underestimated cost is underground pipe. Budget $15/foot.

Someone must have a ballpark for a new GOOD boiler? Say a Heatmaster G200 or the like? I don't really know but had in my head $12k.

Costs for a pad to put it on, or maybe a structure to put it in or roof to put it under.

Other stuff depends on how you want to distribute the heat to the house. Budget maybe $2k for fittings, basic heat exchangers etc. for simple ties to system in place, and DHW. But if there would be no other distribution system in place otherwise (which there wouldn't need to be for mini-splits), then you've got another whole level of costs & figuring to do.

Your $12k figure was a good guess. Cash price for a g200 is $10,300 plus tax. The following link shows installed prices (12k$ +)

https://www.heatmasterfurnace.com/install