Hello!
Ive not seen much discussion on Central Boiler HDX series boilers but took a chance and took delivery of mine months early after ordering in March. The local dealer was very helpful and has lots of support for the boilers, all the rest of the dealers seemed farther away or nonexistent so it seemed the best fit for me. Ill be installing and documenting this for the future so that hopefully someone else will have the resource.
I am trying to reduce my electric bill as last winter it averaged nearly $450 per month during the cold months. The home is a 2015 with good insulation and no leaks and I will be heating 4000 square feet (including unfinished basement) along with a 500 square foot garage and hot water. I currently heat with an electric heat pump/electric aux heat with a 19KW heating element and electric hot water tank. According to my home rough calculations I am at nearly 70,000 btu/hr, and if the 19KW heating element is converted to BTU that is about 64,000BTU/hr. The 560 for reference is rated at 92,000 BTU/hr heat output and 200,000 BTU/hr heating capacity. I considered a 760HDX but the extra expense and possibility of the fire going out due to under use was not something I wanted part of.
Central Boilers sizing guide had me assign a heating value to size the boiler. At 3000-4000 KWh/month during winter, which is over estimated because all of my electricity is not just the heat, I am right in the sweet spot of the 560HDX. They assign me a heating value of 148 at 4000 KWh/month (560 is 0-395 and the 760 starts at 250), and if I work their formula backwards for wood, I come up with just under a cord of wood per month.
I will be burning wood that a coworker of mine had logged from his property, which is about half poplar and half assorted "good" hardwoods like hickory, oak, cherry, and a little bit of locust, so I would assume that with the poplar mixed in I will be burning about 1.5 cords per month on average. Ill probably burn majority poplar this year because it is fast drying.
I don't have many questions I can think of at the moment but if any of you have tips, tricks, or advice with any of the process, Id love to hear them. Ill be completing and documenting the install this summer in preparation for the colder months.
Cheers!
![[Hearth.com] New Boiler Day: Central Boiler 560HDX](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/296/296153-b0d2d7be52be1fe49878e73701a3fa7f.jpg?hash=Rlc5gNWgOV "[Hearth.com] New Boiler Day: Central Boiler 560HDX")
![[Hearth.com] New Boiler Day: Central Boiler 560HDX](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/296/296154-485124ed6cb6bd479deaf634fdb1b9da.jpg?hash=gCKoxqwBsV "[Hearth.com] New Boiler Day: Central Boiler 560HDX")
![[Hearth.com] New Boiler Day: Central Boiler 560HDX](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/296/296161-ad0a67aed2772d2d6215c62aece38420.jpg?hash=3s5ord6Zw1 "[Hearth.com] New Boiler Day: Central Boiler 560HDX")
![[Hearth.com] New Boiler Day: Central Boiler 560HDX](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/296/296162-1c63bc08925530edc519730923f2a5bc.jpg?hash=l95PQmNUJ7 "[Hearth.com] New Boiler Day: Central Boiler 560HDX")
Ive not seen much discussion on Central Boiler HDX series boilers but took a chance and took delivery of mine months early after ordering in March. The local dealer was very helpful and has lots of support for the boilers, all the rest of the dealers seemed farther away or nonexistent so it seemed the best fit for me. Ill be installing and documenting this for the future so that hopefully someone else will have the resource.
I am trying to reduce my electric bill as last winter it averaged nearly $450 per month during the cold months. The home is a 2015 with good insulation and no leaks and I will be heating 4000 square feet (including unfinished basement) along with a 500 square foot garage and hot water. I currently heat with an electric heat pump/electric aux heat with a 19KW heating element and electric hot water tank. According to my home rough calculations I am at nearly 70,000 btu/hr, and if the 19KW heating element is converted to BTU that is about 64,000BTU/hr. The 560 for reference is rated at 92,000 BTU/hr heat output and 200,000 BTU/hr heating capacity. I considered a 760HDX but the extra expense and possibility of the fire going out due to under use was not something I wanted part of.
Central Boilers sizing guide had me assign a heating value to size the boiler. At 3000-4000 KWh/month during winter, which is over estimated because all of my electricity is not just the heat, I am right in the sweet spot of the 560HDX. They assign me a heating value of 148 at 4000 KWh/month (560 is 0-395 and the 760 starts at 250), and if I work their formula backwards for wood, I come up with just under a cord of wood per month.
I will be burning wood that a coworker of mine had logged from his property, which is about half poplar and half assorted "good" hardwoods like hickory, oak, cherry, and a little bit of locust, so I would assume that with the poplar mixed in I will be burning about 1.5 cords per month on average. Ill probably burn majority poplar this year because it is fast drying.
I don't have many questions I can think of at the moment but if any of you have tips, tricks, or advice with any of the process, Id love to hear them. Ill be completing and documenting the install this summer in preparation for the colder months.
Cheers!
