Smallest practical Garn Barn

[SolarAndWood]

I've seen a bunch of Garn installs going into good size buildings but am wondering if anyone has built one specifically to house the Garn and do nothing else? My install will be a a few steps outside a walkout basement door.

I am thinking a block building with one side framed for the boiler to slide in and out (should it ever be necessary). Side man door to get in and out to load the boiler with a through the roof loaded wood crib opposite the boiler. So, you walk in the door and the boiler is on the right, wood crib on the left and something like a Bilco door through the roof to dump wood in with a small loader.

For insulation/walls, I am thinking foam board on the inside of the block with some kind of fireproofing. The idea then is to have the boiler in a small highly insulated space with the boiler covered only minimally with a blanket.

As far as height, would there be a big advantage to getting the top of the boiler high enough that it is above the main floor loop or am I going to need a heat exchanger for the whole building anyway?

 

[ewdudley]

As far as height, would there be a big advantage to getting the top of the boiler high enough that it is above the main floor loop or am I going to need a heat exchanger for the whole building anyway?

I've always wondered if you could do this to do away with the HX. Seems like you could do anything that is compatible with the open system side of a normal unpressurized open boiler installation. Do Garns and other OWB type systems require brass pumps and such on the boiler side of the system?

 

[SolarAndWood]

Do Garns and other OWB type systems require brass pumps and such on the boiler side of the system?

Not sure, I haven't looked at the rest of the system yet. I have the rest of my foundation work being done in April and figured I might as well get this done at the same time.

 

[wardk]

I built mine 10x20 if I did it again it would be 12x20 or !4x20.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I built mine 10x20 if I did it again it would be 12x20 or !4x20.

I assume that is the interior dimension? Did you insulate the boiler or the room you slid it into?

 

[Gasifier]

Solarandwood. Do you need the door to be in the roof? How high will your walls be? I wonder if the potential for leaks and damage from loading is worth the roof install? If the walls were high enough, maybe you could load through a wide chute with your loader. Maybe a large, steel, swing open/down chute or door that would just direct the wood into the bin inside. Just thinking out loud. Something I have noticed is when you build you don't want to build any bigger that you need to. Just added cost. Then you figure in everything you can think of and make it just big enough for that. Then you build it and use it for a few years. Then you realize you should have built it a little bigger.

 

[SolarAndWood]

The boiler building will be built into the side of the hill. I'll be able to drive right up to the door in the roof and dump down without even raising the loader. I'm not too worried about a Bilco door leaking especially with everything underneath it being masonry with a floor drain. The boiler building does not need to do anything but house the boiler and its food.

Real estate is real tight where it is going. So, I want to be generous in allowing space for operation and maintenance but this building is only going to have one job.

 

[Gasifier]

Cool. That sounds interesting. What size Garn you going with?

 

[SolarAndWood]

Thinking 2000.

 

[wardk]

I assume that is the interior dimension? Did you insulate the boiler or the room you slid it into?

I thought insulating the Garn would be enough but after the winter with no snow on the barn I decided to insulate the barn . It would have been easier without that monster in the building. You want room to walk around the Garn 14x20 would be nice, it doesn't cost that much to add 4 ft.