As a newbie, I have a question. Please help!

[thsu01]

Bought the house last Oct., Installed a wood pellet stove Harman P52, Lived in a small quater of the house ca. 900 sf over the winter, thermostat set at 70 oC for living quater and 50 oC for the rest of the house.

Used 900 gallons of oil and 3 tons of pellet.

Will do the insulation work this summer.

 

[flyingcow]

Also, you've got an oil boiler in place. Use that as backup. Control guy can set that up. Combo units are not the best.

Again I ask, why a combo unit,? I have a wood boiler separate from my existing oil system. Oil will kick in when storage gets too low.

 

[JP11]

JP11:
Vigas 60 / 1000 gal storage
Heating 6k sf radiant and 80gal DHW tank.

How many Cords did you burn this past season?

I heat all 6k sf to 70. DHW for just my wife and I. I used just a bit over 10 cords. Some softwoods in there. Also about 150 to 200 gal of oil. We went on vacation in the middle of a cold snap and had a house sitter. Just let the oil run.

JP

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

JP11: that is a respectable savings for you. Very nice!

thsuo1: Sounds like you maybe in an old house? Insulation would be a better investment at this point. For whatever system you go with.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

There is lots of information here regarding insulation also. Air infiltration is a big topic.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

FYI:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/ma-doer-expanded-heat-loan-program-for-pellet-boilers.128547/

 

[thsu01]

Thank you all very much for your information.

If I go for pellet boiler, do I still need storage? If I go away, do I need to switch to oil?

Can anyone suggest to me a good pellet boiler that has ASME? TARM Froling P4 was actually my first choice before giving it up due to lack of ASME stamp.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

I think your first choice is a good one. I would call them and ask questions about mass. installs. A good plumber will also know the rules. Reading good things about the windhager boilers also. I sent you the link that has the mass rep. for them. also Sandri has a line of boilers not familiar with but they have the pellet supply.

 

[JP11]

No storage for pellet boiler. It ramps firing rate for heat required.

They don't need backup. Very infrequent required cleaning.

Windhager seems to be a good choice. I'd be looking at one if I didn't own woodlands.

 

[maple1]

Can you explain why your backup NEEDS to be OIL?

Especially if you are getting rid of your existing oil boiler.

It has been asked more than once.

I would go directly to a Windhager person, and investigate the possibilites of running it open.

I am quite sure there are pellet boilers installed in Mass., don't give up on the first choice.

 

[Fred61]

I see you're in Lenox Mass. I don't know where that is in relation to Bilerica but there is a member here that is a dealer for Winhager. His screen name is "Passion for fire and water". I'm sure he could answer many of the questions on pellet boilers.
Most of this discussion has been about heating a structure with a huge demand. As NEWOODBURNER mentioned above, insulation would be a better investment of time and money at this point. I mean taking it seriously and not a couple rolls of fiberglass used as patches. An investment here pays you back every year in fuel costs no matter what fuel you use and perhaps will allow you to install a smaller, less expensive boiler.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

the distance between Lenox and Bilerica is140 miles+/- about 2 1/2 hours Bilerica is East of Lenox.

I met PFFW and Chris from Tarm @ the Hanover NH Life show. Both units where on display. Both where Serious about pellet boilers and shared knowledge freely.

Your ASME requirement seems to be hanging you up. A 5 minute call to Sandri in Greenfield, MA will give you your install answer.

FYIbroken link removed to http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/1/prweb10293721.htm)