Tarm OT 50, type B, woodburner on electric?

[Sawyer]

I am trying to help a recent widow. Her husband operated a Tarm OT 50, type B, woodburner. It is Propane, wood, electric. Does anyone have experience with the electric operation? She is looking at new boilers as she is not able to keep up with the wood supply now that her hisband is gone. I thought as long as the electric BTU output is sufficient to heat her house the efficiency on electric would be 100% and she would not have to buy a new boiler but just have to set up the boiler for off peack operation. We tend to think the efficiency of the propane fueled option would be low and cost prohibitive at todays fuel cost.

Thans for any help!

 

[Redox]

I'm not familiar with this machine; is it a boiler or a furnace? In either case the efficiency is not going to be 100% on electricity. You are going to have losses in the ductwork or piping system. If she is going to stick with electric, I would suggest some baseboard in a few key areas to actually get 100% efficiency. I wouldn't suggest portable heaters as I feel they are not safe in continuous use.

I also suspect that the efficiency on LP isn't nearly what can be had with a modern appliance. Condensing gas furnaces typically achieve efficiencies over 90% and might be a good deal if you can get reasonably priced propane, but the price is all over the map right now and my Magic 8 ball is on the fritz. Try out the fuel cost calculator on this site and plug in some numbers and see what you get.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/

What I can predict is that if the Tarm is in good shape, you should be able to put it up on Ebay and subsidize part of the replacement cost. Just about anything that burns wood right now is HOT!

Chris

 

[Sawyer]

It is a boiler Chris, connected to baseboard registers. The manual claims 80% efficiency on propane. Off-peak rates for electricity in our area equate to $1.42/gallon propane. Prebuy propane prices are running $2.27-$2.49/gallon so this rate would be cheaper than a high efficiency propane furnace if my calculations are correct. If she decides to go with a new propane system I will look into your suggestion on eBay.