Newbie Tarm Solo Plus 30 vs Harman SF-260...

[1Dtml]

I have a 2200sq ft two story built in 2002 with very good thermal qualities in Connecticut.
I have an oil fired boiler with built in tankless coil, and will have an independent thermal solar DHW system for the warmer months.

My goal is energy independence in stages with as few investment mistakes as possible along the way.
After much study I will admit I'm a bit confused but I'm looking for people that have experience with the two products I've mentioned good or bad.

Any recommendations will be helpful.

As an aside would both of these systems be served with a storage tank, or am I missing something?

Thanks,
1D

 

[Chris Hoskin]

These boilers are quite different from one another:

Solo Plus is a gasifier and the Harman is not.
Solo Plus is wood-only and the Harman can also burn coal.
Neither boiler requires thermal storage tanks, but both would benefit from it.
If you are planning to go with thermal storage with the initial installation, you would choose the Tarm Solo Innova over the Solo Plus.

any more comment and I'm sure to cross the line into self promotion!
(edited post, the first post had a typo that read "sell promotion" - maybe more accurate!)

 

[JrCRXHF]

I have the SF-260 i bought it used and i am just about ready to put fire to it. I wanted to do a gasifier but for 1500.00 and the no room in my boiler room for 1000gallon tank i figured the SF-260 would work.

For me i am running a plate heat exchanger between my Triangle tube 250k boiler and the SF-260 the idea is that the SF-260 will heat the water going into the gas boiler the gas boiler will see the water is already warm and not add any gas to it just keep the pumps running. When the wood goes out the gas boiler will take over.

The SF-260 i got has lots of creosote build up in the back of the stove that i have been cleaning out. It looks like the last owner idled the boiler a lot and i would guess burned green wood in it. But from what i have been told if you burn a little coal every so often in the boiler it will clean a lot out.

But with the new 316Ti liner i guess it has issues with coal.

 

[NHFarmer]

I am entering my fourth season with my Tarm solo 40 and 950 gal. home built non pressurized storage and here is my 2 cents. I have burned zero oil in 3 1/2 years. You can do it for sure. You really do need to enjoy cutting wood, which I do. If you find it too much work than it is not worth it. A gasser is the only way to go as they are much more efficient and are well suited for storage. Storage is not necessary but it sure makes burning wood more enjoyable as you can charge up the tank and leave the house and still heat for a time. If I were to do it again I would go with pressurized storage because you can charge it to higher temps and give you more capacity. I am heating an old farmhouse with cast iron radiators so I can run lower temps and still heat with no problem. If you look at past posts here, you will find tons of info. By the way, welcome aboard