Working on new boiler project, looking to check assumptions

[adirondacker]

I have 8 acres in the adirondacks with alot of popular, and acces to alot of pine or hemlock that has been dead for a while.

I've done the woodstove in the basement, but allergies to me and others forced the sale of the stove and an end to that chapture.

House built in 2002, well insulated, burns 400 gallons of kero a year. About 200 gallons propane for hot water.


Looking to put a gassifier in a shed 20 feet from the house. Buring mostly soft wood, some hard.

Storage to be in the basement. I might as well have the heat losses go into the basement and heat the house indirectly.

Assuming I season the wood a year, will this work?

For a well insulated house, would you go with 500 gallons or 1000 for storage.

Pressurized or not?

What size EKO or Tarm?

Again the demand will not be very high, even during the coldest times, the house is heated with the heater on 10,000 BTU output, and it still cycles on and off.

1250 sf ranch, walk out basement, Insulated concrete wall foundation, 1/2 exposed walkout.

I really recomment the ICF walls for foundations, and would consider it for a full house with a ventilation exchange system. Very nice .

Eric

 

[WoodNotOil]

The eko has a low btu unit which may be suitable for your application. (check out the gasifier tab on my web page in my signature) You will probably not need a lot of storage, however more would last longer between burns. The storage should be close to the heat load, so you are on the right track there. Pressurized vs. not is really your preference. Both work. Soft wood does not get as many btus as hard wood. As a result you may burn more wood, but I think it would work.

 

[Nofossil]

I'd think it would work fine. If you have radiant floors, 500 gallons would probably make you happy. Otherwise, 1000 would make you happier. Softwood is fine, and in fact pine works better with higher moisture content than hardwood does. Just expect to burn a higher volume of wood, and expect shorter burn times per load.