On the Edge

[kusfamily]

Hello Everyone, This my first post and I want to thank everyone envolved in establishing this forum. I'm a researchaholic and this forum has more than satisfied my habit. We live in a well insulated 3200 sq ft home. We have radiant floor and baseboard
with a propane fired boiler. We supplement our heating needs with a BIS (Security Fireplace) zero clearance woodburner. This keeps our propane consumption to 800-900 gallons of propane per year, including DHW but does not let us take advantage of the hydronic heating. We use 10 to 12 cords (4'x8'x16") of wood per year. The wood is readily available to us, short of the cutting, stacking, splitting, stacking, unstacking, hauling up to the house, restacking and finally carrying into the house to burn. We have zeroed in on a EKO(fits our budget, seems to be well respected, dealer nearby) to be housed in a shed yet to be built. I would prefer not to complicate the system by adding storage. What is keeping me from moving forward is not knowing how much attention this unit is going to need on a daily basis. Can anyone give me an idea of what my daily routine might be to use this unit to heat my home? Am I kidding myself to think I can get by without storage? Thanks for your time.

macgyver

 

[leaddog]

You can get by with out storage BUT why. If you are going to build a shed you can add storage into the plans very easy. If you watch you can buy a tank quite reasonable and put in 500gal for very little money. That will make the boiler run with less cycling and run cleaner. It will beable to refire easier and you will be glad you did. That said, Eric is running now with out storage. I'm working right now on getting some tanks and they will be very reasonable. Stay tuned.
leaddog

 

[Eric Johnson]

Without storage, your firing practices will vary depending upon your heat load and, most importantly, the weather. In typical winter weather around here, (central NYS), I could get away with loading the boiler about twice a day. I do it more because I like playing with it and I'm around most of the time to do it. When I'm not, my wife takes care it, and she puts more wood in less frequently. Like any other wood-burning appliance, you learn what works best in your situation and adapt to it.

I've found the EKO to be relatively free of problems that some other brands seem to have. Overheating has never been a problem for me, it idles fine, and burns clean, unless you try to use wood that's not completely dry. That's the point I'd stress--you need DRY wood to take full advantage of a gasification boiler. It's not really a gradient arrangement--above a certain threshold, it really doens't work very well. If you have access to wood, let it dry for a good 2 years, the last six months under cover. And have enough to get you through the heating season.

 

[kusfamily]

Leaddog and Eric
Thanks for your insight. We will be visiting Cozy Heat in a couple of days and making our decision soon. I will be looking for leaddog's post on the availability of storage.

macgyver

 

[Nofossil]

If the complexity and effort of storage is too much to deal with, you can put it off and see how life is without it. However, I'd plan on adding it when designing the plumbing and controls. Leave connection points, valves, and access so that adding it is easier if and when you decide to do so.

Two big advantages of storage that are not gasifier-specific:

1) The house temperature remains constant.

2) You can skip days (as I'm doing today and have done many times in the past) without getting complaints.

 

[kusfamily]

nofossil

How do you get the results you do out of a boiler rated for 1000 sq ft less than your heating?

 

[atlarge54]

nofossil

How do you get the results you do out of a boiler rated for 1000 sq ft less than your heating?

I've often wondered the same thing. Would you care to let us know insulation and windows used. There just seem to be some special elements to your home. Passive solar?