Wood / Oil Boiler - approx 280K mfgr

chuckcarr

Hello - Does anyone know of a current manufacturer for a duel fuel boiler, firewood and oil? It is a farm application, approx 280K Btuh input.

Charlie from wmass

Not sure where you are but they are not approved for use in Massachusetts. The issue is a good wood boiler is not a good oil boiler. And vice versa.

chuckcarr

That is what i am finding, i found some in lesser capacities, but nothing above a 150k.

It is in the area surrounding Philadelphia, Penn.

Thanks for the feedback

Charlie from wmass

Will this be indoor or outdoor?

chuckcarr

It is installed indoors, in a conditioned part of the farm house.

SWEI

Harvey Ramer has some experience with wood gasifiers, and might be able to help. I just pinged him.

Charlie from wmass

Gasifier is the way to go.

SWEI

I have seen them with a full water jacket around the firebox and provisions for a gas gun. An oil burner would certainly fit there, but I don't know whether the chamber design will actually accommodate oil or not.

chuckcarr

Thanks guys. It is appearing as though he may have to separate the fuels, and use wood as a primary and oil as secondary. Or try to rebuild the existing.

Appreciate everyone's comments.

Charlie from wmass

Have you done a heat loss of the stucture? 250 is a lot of square footage.

chuckcarr

I believe he did not, but based on the size of the home and the 5 zones this boiler operates, he felt that the sizing was correct.

Charlie from wmass

House would need to be over 5000 square feet at 50 btus per square foot, and that is heating a wood shed with a loose door numbers.

Steamhead

Charlie's right. Do the heat-loss calc. The results might be a pleasant surprise.

hot_rod

People that buy wood burners often over size just to get a larger firebox, and hopes of longer off cycles with higher water content.

Gasifiers, maybe 75% efficient? Non gasifiers or OWF, more like 40%, IF the wood is dry.

So a 280K input could be well under 200K actual output

Ironman

Heatmor has an ODWB that has a waste oil burner. I believe that it can also burn fuel oil. Still, it's not automatic change over. There's a block off plate that has to be removed in order to place the oil burner into operation.

If you're limited to indoor application, then you'll need two separate appliances since you can't vent a solid fuel burner and an oil burner into the same flue.