I have been thinking of putting an indoor wood boiler in a building in back of my house. I was thinking of putting it 70' fom the house and building it big enough to put water storage in the future. I am thinking the building will not be any higher then 8' to 10' tall. Will I get enough draft with say 10' of chimney? Is there a formula for chimney height before I start building? The boiler room is going to be insulated with a concrete slab. Any other suggestions?
Inside wood boiler in shed outside?
- Thread starter barneshilary
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
Here is a link with a few details on locating the tarm (just as one example):
(broken link removed to http://www.woodboilers.com/sizing.asp)
Keep in mind that there will most likely be some efficiency lost with 70' of pipe. Also, as a general rule you want the storage close to the heat load not the boiler. Is there a spot closer to the house for storage?
(broken link removed to http://www.woodboilers.com/sizing.asp)
Keep in mind that there will most likely be some efficiency lost with 70' of pipe. Also, as a general rule you want the storage close to the heat load not the boiler. Is there a spot closer to the house for storage?
Yes, I do have a spot in the house I can put storage. I probably could get a little closer to the house with the boiler just don't want to get too close. thank for the info.
fishing lineman said:
What's 'too close'? In most ways that I can think of, closer is better. Of course, mine is actually indoors......
I can't get too close becuse of the slope of the land, I would need to get alot of fill or alot of digging.
I've got an indoor boiler in a shed outside...about 60 feet away. yes there will be heat loss in the lines. Mine is not working quite the way I want it too but I am working on it. My water storage is in my garage. maybe I need to move a tank into my cellar?
It can be done..as I know I've read about others doing it. Keep me posted on how your project is going.
Lineman...electrical or communication?
It can be done..as I know I've read about others doing it. Keep me posted on how your project is going.
Lineman...electrical or communication?
ripogenous smelt said:
I am curious what is not working about your setup? Last thing I want after investing in a new outbuilding with slab and underground pex/insulation etc is to find out that the "gasification boiler in a shed" concept really doesn't work very well.
What issues are you having?
My issues are with the boiler operation and I think my expansion tank is too small. I also have setting issues on my oil boiler that cause the showers to be cold when the wood boiler is working. All solvable issues and that's what I am working on this summer instead of waiting till December! I think I have no other issues...the sytem even stayed warm from the oil boiler when I shut it down in February...just like they said it would (thermosiphoning).
Are you using anti-freeze in your setup? Also, do you have any idea what kind of losses in efficiency you are getting with you underground piping? What kind are you using?
No antifreeze. I may someday once I get the sytem running the way I want. But too expensicve to play with so I just used water and kept everything above freezing and circulating.
I am guessing that I had a 10-15 degrees loss. I had a heat exchanger and then the water had to run 60-70 feet to to the house. Abouththe hottest I could get the water coming in was 160 degrees or so. The underground pipes were built when the house was built in 1990 (I bought it 3 years ago) and the owner said its a 6" PVC pipe with 3/4" copper lines running through the PVC pipe with insulation stuffed in the pipe...buried about 3' down.
If I were to build one today...I'd get that insulated PEX tubing and run it through a 4 inch corrugated drain pipe or something similar to that.
I am guessing that I had a 10-15 degrees loss. I had a heat exchanger and then the water had to run 60-70 feet to to the house. Abouththe hottest I could get the water coming in was 160 degrees or so. The underground pipes were built when the house was built in 1990 (I bought it 3 years ago) and the owner said its a 6" PVC pipe with 3/4" copper lines running through the PVC pipe with insulation stuffed in the pipe...buried about 3' down.
If I were to build one today...I'd get that insulated PEX tubing and run it through a 4 inch corrugated drain pipe or something similar to that.
It seems for some reason my building inspector and insurance company does not like my idea as well as I do. So the project is on hold for now. I am going to install a wood stove in my living room for now. Oh, and I am an electrical lineman CMP Co
Whats don't they like about the project? As long as the building meets code, I can't see what the BI wouldn't like it...and with the fire danger 70+ feet from the house I am curious what the ins. comp. concern is?
Well, not real sure what the insurance company doesn't like. My agent is still having a hard time getting to the bottom of it. Then they said something about the smoke? Why the insurance company cares about smoke who knows.
For what it's worth? My opinion is to do some digging (if possible) and build an attached building(to house) with insulated slab and retaining wall up hill from your house. Keep that HEAT close!
These insurance people are enduring a learning curve right now. The time is near where they are going to realize that these boilers, properly installed run very safely.
Always good to plan going in to these projects. Good luck with the project.
These insurance people are enduring a learning curve right now. The time is near where they are going to realize that these boilers, properly installed run very safely.
Always good to plan going in to these projects. Good luck with the project.
- Status
Similar threads
