My Dilema

[Industry]

Well, I am building a new home. 2500ft.sq, with radiant in the slab. 2x6 wall framing and good quality windows. there is a high ceiling in about 500sqft of the house. It will be well insulated. I'm looking for advice on indoor versus outdoor Gassification units. I don't want to take up lots of space inside for water storage, and I get a fair amount of wood being an arborist. these things have me leaning toward a wood doctor(Gassification) OWB. On the other hand I don't want to be tied to the house for the entire winter. I would like to be able to leave for 3-4 days and come back to the house and have it be warm. This has me thinking Tarm Excel 2200. Can a OWB be plumbed up so an oil(propane preferably) back-up exists? Thanks in advance


Josh

 

[kshultz]

Hi There Josh,

Not sure about having the oil backup with the OWB. If it is a new house I would get a good interior unit plumbed in. I built 18 months ago & didn't think ahead. I have 3,200 living space, 3 floors (first floor radiant, 2nd. & 3rd. HW baseboard). I burned about 1050 gallons oil last year including hot water zone. I am getting a QHT Biasi 3Wood installed next month, plumbed in line with my current oil boiler. The new wood boiler has its own flu. This fits me the best, with a big cost savings. I have heard that the outside wood boilers are expensive & sometimes get complaints from neighbors.?? anyway the Biasi 3-Wood although not as efficient as the TARM, only costs about $3,200 wholesale and lifetime warranty on cast iron fire box.

Any questions let me know.--Kevin

 

[Industry]

I forgot to mention that we are considering a Rinnai tankless hot water heater for DHW. Could that take care of a slab that size if I go away for a few days?

 

[kshultz]

Not sure about that, need to ask some other people.

 

[heaterman]

Well, I am building a new home. 2500ft.sq, with radiant in the slab. 2x6 wall framing and good quality windows. there is a high ceiling in about 500sqft of the house. It will be well insulated. I'm looking for advice on indoor versus outdoor Gassification units. I don't want to take up lots of space inside for water storage, and I get a fair amount of wood being an arborist. these things have me leaning toward a wood doctor(Gassification) OWB. On the other hand I don't want to be tied to the house for the entire winter. I would like to be able to leave for 3-4 days and come back to the house and have it be warm. This has me thinking Tarm Excel 2200. Can a OWB be plumbed up so an oil(propane preferably) back-up exists? Thanks in advance


Josh

Just a thought but I think you'll find that building codes require any new construction to have an automatically fired heat source. There are no boilers that use cord wood which will meet that criteria so you'll have to have a gas or oil boiler tied into the system.

Think long and hard about the insulation in your house while you have the chance. A 2x6 wall only averages about R-12-14 when you factor in the studs and even less if you have a lot of windows. That is not nearly enough in this day and age IMHO. Shoot for a wall with an average value of R-20 including windows along with an air change per hour of .2 or less. Ceilings should have a minimum of R-44 and that doesn't happen with many of the ceiling roof combinations. If you design it like that you can probably heat it 90% of the time with passive solar along with a couple panels and skip the wood. Sell it to someone who needs it.

AFA heating with a tankless water heater.......... Yes it can be done but bear in mind that these units have no controls on them that are made to integrate with a heating system. If you do use one, please isolate the heating side of the unit from your potable water for the health and safety of you and your family. The bacteria that causes Legionaire's disease find perfect growing conditions in a combo heating and DHW piping layout. I have a good friend who almost died of that crap last fall and he's still not back to 100%.

 

[Industry]

AFA heating with a tankless water heater.......... Yes it can be done but bear in mind that these units have no controls on them that are made to integrate with a heating system. If you do use one, please isolate the heating side of the unit from your potable water for the health and safety of you and your family. The bacteria that causes Legionaire's disease find perfect growing conditions in a combo heating and DHW piping layout. I have a good friend who almost died of that crap last fall and he's still not back to 100%.

Is this the same set-up as plumbing an oil boiler into the system? thanks for your help.

 

[deerefanatic]

For Insulation, might I suggest Corbond? That's what I have around my underground lines.... R value of 6.6 per inch of thickness.... 6 inch wall would be R-39.6

 

[heaterman]

AFA heating with a tankless water heater.......... Yes it can be done but bear in mind that these units have no controls on them that are made to integrate with a heating system. If you do use one, please isolate the heating side of the unit from your potable water for the health and safety of you and your family. The bacteria that causes Legionaire's disease find perfect growing conditions in a combo heating and DHW piping layout. I have a good friend who almost died of that crap last fall and he's still not back to 100%.

Is this the same set-up as plumbing an oil boiler into the system? thanks for your help.

You mean plumbing in the tankless to provide DHW and heating?

 

[Industry]

Yes heaterman. I don't want to have any bacteria problems. That sounds pretty nasty to have to fix.

 

[Industry]

For Insulation, might I suggest Corbond? That's what I have around my underground lines.... R value of 6.6 per inch of thickness.... 6 inch wall would be R-39.6

When I talked to the local Spray foam place they told me $1.00/Board foot. That works out to almost $14,000 to insulate my house! I can't afford that kind of cost. I will look into corbond to see if it is more reasonable. Thanks.

 

[deerefanatic]

well, corbond is $.85/board foot from the guy that did my lines....... BUT, he's a general contrator. He had a guy build a house with all Corbond, no foam board or fiberglass insulation.. Here in Northern WI his 500 gal propane tank lasted him TWO winters.... (Although, to be fair, the guy had dual-fuel with electric at night as the off-peak electric is like 2 cents per kilowatt-hr.... So that 500 gal propane tank might have only lasted 1 winter by itself.) Still though, that will pay for itself mighty quick. Even though wood is cheap, big wood stoves are NOT!