installation estimates

[Carl Webber]

I have a Tarm OT-50 boiler that i am installing without storage for now. I currently have a weil mclain oil boiler. I'm going to upgrage to the tarm and i am also going to install a superstor. I also plan on adding a modine in the basement. Currently i have 2 zones. When the new boiler is installed i will be adding 2 more, for the modine and superstor. I have most of the components except for a larger expansion tank and the copper or black iron pipe. Can anyone give me a rough idea what it should cost to have someone design my system and then plumb in the new boiler? Even just some examples of what it cost to have your system installed minus the cost of the boiler or any other major part of the system would be helpful.

I should add that the rough estimates i have been hearing from plumbers is $1300 to $2000 for labor. Then of course the cost of materials on top of that. Roughly somewhere between $2200 and $3000 total. I have no experience as far a converting systems between oil and wood and what is truely involved in it so i don't really know what it should cost. I'm just trying to figure out if what i'm looking at for numbers is somewhere in the ballpark of if i'm getting taken advantage of.

Any info would be helpful.

 

[pbvermont]

You can try and get estimates here, but I'd say its quite a c---shoot effort. You need to do your own homework. Establish some relations with plumbers in your area. Good luck with the wood heating component. Most conventional plumbers run the other way. As much as you may think you have provided information here on your set-up, its really not enough to answer your "bottom-line" question. Yes, the internet and forums are amazing things. But REAL life is different. You are talking about real money, real hardware, and real heating needs. Find a real person where you live, to get the job done. You be the judge of his character. Anonymous people here (myself included), cannot tell you the "magic number" your system is going to cost. Generally: more than you think. You can't really ask what is it going to cost, UNTIL you have a design. WHO will design? You should pay for THAT--FIRST. THEN the hardware and the install. Do I sound "a little" miffed? I do this for a living. You prob. will pay a lot of money for a fancy car that will lose money the day you drive it off the lot. How about your home's heating system? How much will you pay for THAT? How much will you pay for the priviledge of getting off the "fossil fuel teat?"
Sorry for the rant. I just lowered two heavy dangerous boilers in houses with no outside cellar entrances. I will then design and install. What a bargain--for the homeowner.

 

[Bob Rohr]

You can try and get estimates here, but I'd say its quite a c---shoot effort. You need to do your own homework. Establish some relations with plumbers in your area. Good luck with the wood heating component. Most conventional plumbers run the other way. As much as you may think you have provided information here on your set-up, its really not enough to answer your "bottom-line" question. Yes, the internet and forums are amazing things. But REAL life is different. You are talking about real money, real hardware, and real heating needs. Find a real person where you live, to get the job done. You be the judge of his character. Anonymous people here (myself included), cannot tell you the "magic number" your system is going to cost. Generally: more than you think. You can't really ask what is it going to cost, UNTIL you have a design. WHO will design? You should pay for THAT--FIRST. THEN the hardware and the install. Do I sound "a little" miffed? I do this for a living. You prob. will pay a lot of money for a fancy car that will lose money the day you drive it off the lot. How about your home's heating system? How much will you pay for THAT? How much will you pay for the priviledge of getting off the "fossil fuel teat?"
Sorry for the rant. I just lowered two heavy dangerous boilers in houses with no outside cellar entrances. I will then design and install. What a bargain--for the homeowner.

Great advice from pb. If possible have the design and piping all spelled out so all the bidders are looking at the same job. If you are patient and willing to do some number crunching a design is fairly simple.

This journal has some good planning advice and piping options.

http://www.caleffi.com/sites/default/files/coll_attach_file/idronics_10.pdf

Heat load
Type of boiler
Type of heat emitters and temperature requirements
Storage or buffer
Back up heat source type and piping and control logic, searching here you may find this to be the biggest challange for installers
Control logic and wiring, not usually a strong suite for plumbers or pipefitters, I'd shop for that talent first

 

[Carl Webber]

I understand where you guys are coming from. I'm just new to a lot of this and i was hoping for some reassurance but i do realize that every system is different and the cost will always change with the system. I have done a lot of research and i have picked a guy to design and install my system that does this sort of thing all the time. He is not just some joe shmo plumber. I'm just a little nervous about things because he has given me a rough idea off the top of his head before really sitting down and designing me a system. He has told me that he will give me a much better estimate once he designs the system. My real problem is that i have had several people come to me and tell me that what he has told me is way too much and that they have had boilers installed for way less. The people that are telling me this are friends of mine that work construction and have a lot of plumber friends. The problem with plumber friends is that you don't always get the best service from them. But, never the less, because i've heard it from several people it makes me question weather i'm being stupid with my money and throwing it away or if things really do cost that much.

 

[pbvermont]

Your last post describes your plight. You have "too many cooks." You came here seeking good advice? You got it: Listen to Bob Rohr. A well-designed and built system will be money well-spent. Will pay back--unlike badly conceived and executed systems.

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

Where you are located you have many experienced installers within less then 1 hour drive.

You wrote that you will upgrade that the Tarm....
So, hire Rene or Chris at Tarm Biomass to design your system properly.

As others said before, a well designed system will pay off even more then just switching to burning wood.