Switching from Propane to Wood boiler.

woopud

My wife and I bought this awesome huge 240 year old brick house and absolutely love it. The previous owner had cut of all the pipes of the radiators flush with the floor and disregarded the radiators for whatever reason.... She did install a 120,000 BTU propane boiler and had some radiators in only two rooms. I added baseboard radiators in one upstaris bedroom and newly build bathroom. To heat just these areas is about $500 in propane for 1 month. i'm seriously thinking about installing a woodburning boiler in my basement and hope it will be cheaper to heat. Any comments on my ideas?

hot_rod

There is quite a bit involved to do a wood boiler properly. It will take a buffer tank, backup boiler properly piped and some properly installed controls to maximize and allow automatic switching. There are not a lot of contractors around that do these hybrid systems the best, most efficient way. cost is one of the drivers.

I have plenty of piping and wiring schematics if you decide to go this route.

woopud

hot rod 7,

Thanks for the reply, I'm a general contractor myself, but untill I moved out East a couple of years ago I wasnt' familiar with hydronic heating at all. I'm not afraid taking on the challenge and doing the installation myself but just need some guidance on what all I need so your help is appreciated!

Bert

GroundUp

Plenty of ways to make this work. What's heating the rest of the house if there's only 2 rooms with radiation? Indoor wood boilers can be a real pain in the butt if not properly designed and installed, as hot rod pointed out. Buffer tanks are seldom necessary if the rest is done properly, but it will all depend on boiler and load. Have you had a heat loss calculation done?