Pellet Boiler Direction

[Attila]

I am looking to remove the 2 pellet stoves that I have in my house and replace them with a pellet boiler. I want to tie the pellet boiler in with my oil fired boiler so it can act as a back up if I run out of pellets or the pellet boiler can keep up with hot water demands. Any guidance or direction would be great. I tried the search feature on this site but it didn't work well for me.
Thanks in advance
Attila

 

[Attila]

Anyone?
Any suggestions?

Thanks
Attila

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

Being in Mass, I believe you need an ASME-stamped boiler, which limits your choices pretty dramatically. The Pinnacle/Traeger units are the only ones I've dealt with that have an ASME stamp. If you search for either name, you should find some threads discussing them.

Joe

 

[Mack The Knife]

Vision Mechanical, Inc. (508)864-7995 546 Fowler Road Northbridge MA
George is a certified Maine Energy Systems Bosch Janfire installer. We had the pleasure of having him to our home.
He brings the right ethics and philosophy. He may suggest other alternative ideas too.

 

[Sting]

Wisconsin has a similar silly rule

Yet 4.0 Tarms are in the some basements! And doing well!

There is an old Treager in mine.

Might -could depend if you want to self install or how you feel about "bending" the rules.

Hey JOE! What do you think about rule bending
-- Never mind -

 

[hoth2oguy]

ASME is not currently a requirement in in MA (please don't hijack the thread - I really don't want to get involved in a back and forth on this one. If you are really curious, please contact the MA Boiler Board). One boiler to consider is the Tarm Multi-Heat which you can see on our website. You can also find a local dealer and plumbing diagrams which show how to integrate the pellet boiler with your existing boiler. If your project is planned for Summer, and you are considering bulk fuel delivery (pellet bin or silo instead of bags), you may want to wait a bit and look into the Froling P4 which will be available later this year. Good luck with your search, there are more and more good choices out there every year!

 

[Sting]

Wait for the Friling thing???


Sorry -- I don't have an extra 20 grand to dedicate to that!

 

[Former Farmer]

May want to consider what your insurance will cover. If you install a unit that is not approved for your area, it may be a problem.

 

[hoth2oguy]

Sting, maybe Attila does? Sure a better return than spending $20k on PV and lots of people are doing that.

 

[sinnian]

ASME is not currently a requirement in in MA (please don't hijack the thread - I really don't want to get involved in a back and forth on this one. If you are really curious, please contact the MA Boiler Board). One boiler to consider is the Tarm Multi-Heat which you can see on our website. You can also find a local dealer and plumbing diagrams which show how to integrate the pellet boiler with your existing boiler. If your project is planned for Summer, and you are considering bulk fuel delivery (pellet bin or silo instead of bags), you may want to wait a bit and look into the Froling P4 which will be available later this year. Good luck with your search, there are more and more good choices out there every year!

Sting, maybe Attila does? Sure a better return than spending $20k on PV and lots of people are doing that.

THIS is a hijack, Chris Hoskin are you here as a member or a dealer?



Attila,

PM me if you wan to know anything specific about the Traeger. I can also enlighten you on a few other tidbits of information too.

~Jeff

 

[Sting]

Ahh Jeff

Chris is ok

I am the one that should be spanked for my remark

not the one about JOE -- I pm'd Chris with my regards today

 

[solarguy]

Joe is correct in his statement that any solid fuel boiler installed within the Commonwealth must be ASME construted & UL Listed. In the 7th edition of the single & two family buidling code that took effect in July of 08 it states that all boilers including those manufacturered outside of the USA must meet these guidlines. I spent many hours discussing this issue with state building code officials & got nowhere. Mark Mooney, the head boiler engineer for the state building dept. said the only way around this issue would be to install a boiler as an open system with a vent to the atmosphere. If a boiler is not pressurized, than it is not considered a "pressure vessel" & therefore the code section does not apply.

Bob

 

[Sting]

This esteemed group of building code officials are bent on taking modern wet heating back 100 years to when there were open expansion tanks in the attic, holding one atmosphere pressure on the system -- Whats next ??? Gravity flow?

 

[rowerwet]

Are you looking at an indoor install or outdoors? I am very happy with my maxim, and as far as I know it is legal for MA, we have the same rules up here in ME. You can add a hopper to the maxim also it is an option from central boiler, and some people use thier own hoppers with them.
Even if you go the indoor route the plumbing diagrams from CB would work for the connection to your boiler. Good luck

 

[solarguy]

Indoors/outdoors it does not matter, pressure is pressure.
Your Central Boiler is an open system therefore it is not a "pressure vessel boiler"
It is my understanding that Maine does accept a TUV/CE certification in lieu of ASME/UL for pressurized systems.

Bob

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

Hey JOE! What do you think about rule bending

Personally, or in terms of advising someone as to the liability they incur by violating building codes?

Joe

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

Mark Mooney, the head boiler engineer for the state building dept. said the only way around this issue would be to install a boiler as an open system with a vent to the atmosphere. If a boiler is not pressurized, than it is not considered a "pressure vessel" & therefore the code section does not apply.

I believe this is what Chris was referring to.

Personally, I'm very glad that I don't do work down in Mass, because I'm not willing to jump through their arbitrary hoops.

Joe

 

[mass hills]

I read the part about being ASME in the MA building code but nothing about being UL listed. Econoburn and Woodgun are now ASME . Are tarm, EKO, or any other companys thinking about being ASME ? Thanks for any info. Tough being in a state with so many rules. It is time to move to LIVE FREE OR DIE (n.h.). But wife does not feel the same way.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

I read the part about being ASME in the MA building code but nothing about being UL listed. Econoburn and Woodgun are now ASME . Are tarm, EKO, or any other companys thinking about being ASME ? Thanks for any info. Tough being in a state with so many rules. It is time to move to LIVE FREE OR DIE (n.h.). But wife does not feel the same way.

I doubt many other companies are considering it. ASME is extremely expensive, and serves no functional purpose in a low-pressure, residential boiler. The few states that require it do not represent enough of a market to make it cost-effective for the manufacturers.

As noted in another thread, the ASME option for boilers like Econoburn and Woodgun adds $1000-$2000 to the price of a boiler ordered that way.

Joe

 

[rowerwet]

I read the part about being ASME in the MA building code but nothing about being UL listed. Econoburn and Woodgun are now ASME . Are tarm, EKO, or any other companys thinking about being ASME ? Thanks for any info. Tough being in a state with so many rules. It is time to move to LIVE FREE OR DIE (n.h.). But wife does not feel the same way.

don't bother, to many other Mass_ _ _ _ s have all ready move there and ruined NH. It is now just New Massachusetts and has the taxes fees rules and laws to match. I can't afford to live there even though I work in Manchester, NH, it is cheaper for me to drive 50 miles one way from north Massachusetts (Maine) than to move. Give it another few elections and the state will be taxed worse than MA.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

don't bother, to many other Mass_ _ _ _ s have all ready move there and ruined NH. It is now just New Massachusetts and has the taxes fees rules and laws to match. I can't afford to live there even though I work in Manchester, NH, it is cheaper for me to drive 50 miles one way from north Massachusetts (Maine) than to move. Give it another few elections and the state will be taxed worse than MA.

Having lived in all three states, I have to disagree.

Despite some setbacks, there have also been victories, and NH is the place to be, for anyone who values John Stark's "Live free or die; death is not the worst of all evils" sentiment. In my opinion, of course.

Joe

 

[stoveguy13]

ASME is becoming a standard in alot of staes i would not be surprised if this hits most new england staes with in the next few years all the boiler manf. will be in real trouble when the building inspectors all figure this out.