About two weeks ago I called the folks at Greenwood. Seemed friendly enough and educated me on the ceramic/gasifier type. My house that I would like to retrofit next year is an 1840 farmhouse about 2200 sq ft. At present the house has steam and radiators which I am not using since it would take atleast 2000 gallons of oil per year. I am using a wood stove in the kitchen and a toyostove(kerosene) in the living room as a backup. Half of the house is closed off which is not good. I have an unlimited supply of wood on the hill. It sounds like the Garn would be a great choice if price wasn't a concern. I am assuming it would be better to take out the radiators and replace with hot water baseboard. Also I'm a little confused on the hot water storage?? The fire can be out for how long and still have the system heat. If I wanted to leave for a few days can I have an oil backup?? Sorry for the ignorance.
outdoor boiler
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Eric Johnson
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Welcome to the Boiler Room, catskills. Beautiful Delaware County.
I'd seriously consider converting that steam system to hot water, or at least saving the radiators and repiping them into a wood-fired gasifier with an oil or gas backup. In my opinion, there's no better radiant heat than cast iron radiators, and most steam rads can be used with water. If you decide to get rid of them, give me an opportunity to take them off your hands.
Hot water storage is a nice addition to any wood gasification boiler, but if you size the boiler right, you can probably do just fine without it at first, and add it later if you like. The amount of time that the tank can heat your house without help from the boiler depends entirely on the size of the tank and your home's heat load. Some people can get a day or two with a modest (1,000-gallon) tank in moderate winter weather.
Some kind of backup is always a good idea. A bare-bones oil boiler piped in parallel with a gasifier is one good solution, but there certainly are others.
If you have any more questions, just ask. But I think if you poke around in here and read a few recent threads, you'll get a pretty good idea where you want to take it. Unlimited free wood is a heck of a good start.
I'd seriously consider converting that steam system to hot water, or at least saving the radiators and repiping them into a wood-fired gasifier with an oil or gas backup. In my opinion, there's no better radiant heat than cast iron radiators, and most steam rads can be used with water. If you decide to get rid of them, give me an opportunity to take them off your hands.
Hot water storage is a nice addition to any wood gasification boiler, but if you size the boiler right, you can probably do just fine without it at first, and add it later if you like. The amount of time that the tank can heat your house without help from the boiler depends entirely on the size of the tank and your home's heat load. Some people can get a day or two with a modest (1,000-gallon) tank in moderate winter weather.
Some kind of backup is always a good idea. A bare-bones oil boiler piped in parallel with a gasifier is one good solution, but there certainly are others.
If you have any more questions, just ask. But I think if you poke around in here and read a few recent threads, you'll get a pretty good idea where you want to take it. Unlimited free wood is a heck of a good start.
Nofossil
Moderator Emeritus
catskills said:
I second the welcome. Eric's right on track as usual. If it helps any, I have a system with a gasifier, oil backup, and storage. I ran for a year without the storage and added in time for the second season.
I have a writeup on my site - link is in my signature below.
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