New to OWB

[kopeck]

Like others have said it all comes down to efficiency. OWBs simply are not as efficient as their indoor cousins, heat loss being the starting point.

A lot of us here run wood gasification boilers which takes another step towards efficiency. It all boils down to less wood creating more heat.

Now gasification is making it's way into the OWB market, the kicker there is most of it seems to be just as much of a smoke management tools as it is extracting more heat from the burn.

You have to do what's right for your situation.

K

 

[Coal Reaper]

Thanks for the replies and sorry for hijacking the thread!

I'm still trying to figure out what would work best for my situation, still have a lot of reading to do, but so far I'm leaning towards either an outdoor gasifier, or an indoors gasifier setup in the garage (which runs approximately 300 feet from the house - I doubt this would be a smart move considering the heat loss involved in moving the water from the house to the garage).

done right there is not much heat loss. i see ~1.5* drop through 150' underground at 3-4gpm. stay away from "wrapped" insulated pipe. spray foam is the way to go. costs in my area are $1/board foot. fittings and valves are difficult to insulate well and you will also see some loss there. no matter the boiler or your loading/cleaning practices, there will be dust. with MY wife, having the boiler in the barn is PRICELESS. a warm mancave and an excuse to go out there is also a bonus!

 

[macattack_ga]

6000^2ft? have you checked out the Garn?

 

[MarkW]

(which runs approximately 300 feet from the house - I doubt this would be a smart move considering the heat loss involved in moving the water from the house to the garage).

And a tremendous investment in materials/insulation. I'm running 90' ATM and cringed at the costs, alone.

 

[CDA Dave]

FYI

My indoor boiler is located in an unattached garage, now classified as a wood shed. My storage is located in my basement. I was using 1000 gals of oil yr round. I replaced that with 6.5 cord of well seasoned wood. I have a family of 5 that puts a fairly decent dent in the DHW use.

Have you heard of this? http://www.garn.com/ Storage and boiler all in one. Put radiant floor or better yet low temp radiators/emmiters and you'll have a nice set up.

Also, I stack my wood on pallets and move into garage with a FEL. I only stack my wood once and handle with the tractor after that. Woeks good, if you got a bob cat skid steer this would work well. I leave my pallets outdoors for at least a yr.

I'll check out garn. Like the idea of the pallets, thanks.

 

[CDA Dave]

There's no right answer - everyones situation & priorities are different. Generally, the main advantage that an IWB & storage has is that any heat loss (OWBs lose some heat to the atmosphere no matter how well they're insulated) is lost to a space where it will be used. And if set up properly, won't idle. Both of which lead to decreased wood consumption & increased efficiency, and the latter making for very clean burns & no creosote. That has to be weighed against all the other factors for & against and how they apply to you - don't think I'll go any further. Just do all the reading you can here, make like a sponge, and take full stock of your present & future situations & priorities.

I am checking out the IWB's. There are a lot of them. I think I will still have to put it in an outbuilding, my wife isn't easy to distract... The storage really makes sense from the efficiency viewpoint, but it seems to be a major factor in driving up the install price and maintenance. Any ideas about cheap storage? I checked on Polyethylene tanks but they degrade above 120 F. So much for the cheap stuff. Anyone tried concrete cisterns? I'm also going to check on spun fiberglass tanks. There's a factory just east on I-90 that makes them.

 

[Coal Reaper]

I am checking out the IWB's. There are a lot of them. I think I will still have to put it in an outbuilding, my wife isn't easy to distract... The storage really makes sense from the efficiency viewpoint, but it seems to be a major factor in driving up the install price and maintenance. Any ideas about cheap storage? I checked on Polyethylene tanks but they degrade above 120 F. So much for the cheap stuff. Anyone tried concrete cisterns? I'm also going to check on spun fiberglass tanks. There's a factory just east on I-90 that makes them.

Decommisioned propane tanks is the most readily available cheap option for pressurized storage.

 

[CDA Dave]

I would be very leery of combining hot water and a poly tank.

Since you seem to be talking about the electric side of things, and unreliable electricity - well, I just have to bring this up.

Would a gassifier that runs on natural draft (no fans at all) be a consideration? You'd need a tall chimney, and likely a basement installation, and storage. I'll stop there for now.

I looked at the Varmebaronen IWB. Had a lot of nice features. I am going to look into in in more depth. Wouldn't know the dealer would you

 

[salecker]

Thanks for the replies and sorry for hijacking the thread!

I'm still trying to figure out what would work best for my situation, still have a lot of reading to do, but so far I'm leaning towards either an outdoor gasifier, or an indoors gasifier setup in the garage (which runs approximately 300 feet from the house - I doubt this would be a smart move considering the heat loss involved in moving the water from the house to the garage).

Done properly there is virtually no heat loss underground.My runs are 150 ft and if i turn off the loads in the house it is hard to read any difference with an infrared gun.I have 2 runs 1" going both ways with an average of 4-5" spray foam around each line.this is in the middle of winter.
Thomas

 

[maple1]

I looked at the Varmebaronen IWB. Had a lot of nice features. I am going to look into in in more depth. Wouldn't know the dealer would you

Not even if I fell over him.

We have talked by phone & email though - and I sent him a big cheque that one time last year.

(Great service though, even from this far away...)

 

[CDA Dave]

Decommisioned propane tanks is the most readily available cheap option for pressurized storage.

Thnaks, I'll check that out around here.

 

[maple1]

It was not looking good for me for finding tanks until I happened to stumble on a mountain of them at a large scrap metal place here. Or I think someone pointed me there. They had tons of them, and only to happy to part with some -for a nominal fee of course.

 

[Coal Reaper]

My

Done properly there is virtually no heat loss underground.My runs are 150 ft and if i turn off the loads in the house it is hard to read any difference with an infrared gun.I have 2 runs 1" going both ways with an average of 4-5" spray foam around each line.this is in the middle of winter.
Thomas

My ir gun wouldnt give me consistant readings. Better to use thermocouple on a flukemeter or something. Cover with insulation and wait for number to settle.