So which way would you go?

S Ebels

Doing another barn job.

The milk inspectors are getting really nasty about air exchange between the milkroom and the rest of the barn so more guys are asking about hot water heating. This is a good thing since it's about the only venue that HWH is growing in around here. (Off the subject already)

Here's the system layout. For the milkroom, bathroom and office I'm using three panel rads with a total of 41,000 btu output. I'm going to kick the circ and the boiler on with an outdoor sensing t-stat and lett the TRV's on the rads do their thing. They don't need or want any heat in the building til it hits about 40-45* outside. For the milking parlor area, I'm going to hang a couple Modine hot water unit heaters that will deliver about 140,000 btu's into that room. Total of around 180-185,000.

What I'm debating in my mind is whether to use a heavy commercial water heater (Bock) or a boiler for the heating system. The reason is this. The three rooms with rads will be heated pretty much constantly so there will be a small steady draw on the heat source. The Modine's in the parlor will run only to maintain 40* or so and get kicked up to 55-60 when occupied about 8 hours per day.

I like the stored btu content of the water heater due to the steady but small draw from the panel rads. I'm thinking that a 200K boiler would short cycle like mad when just the rads are delivering heat. It would be basically 4-5 times too large for the connected load until the parlor heaters kick on.

What I'm wondering about AFA the boiler goes is would a basic CI boiler (CGi Wiel or a Dunkirk of some type) deliver a longer service life at the temps required by this system? (180-200*) Bock's are about the heaviest tank you can get but water becomes very corrozive as you begin to crowd 200*. How long would a water heater last as opposed to a boiler in this application.

PS Price for the Bock with a power burner and an induced draft boiler are darn near the same.

Floyd

Oil or NG???

Also are you going to use the boiler to help the freeheater make hot water?? What size bulk tank are you going to need to wash?? That is usually the biggest need for hot water.. I hav had some very bad experiences with the Bock in barns... just plain don't last!!!! Less than two years and than they say Jeez, we don't warrranty them in barns....
You are right you will need enough BTU's for the total load, because when they are milking the unit heaters will probably not cycle at all... Sounds to me like a large boiler with a buffer tank, or, a small boiler for the small load and a big boiler hooked in to help out when the big load kicks in. Hook the two boilers up P/S and they will work just fine. Just make sure if you are making hot water, that you go plenty big on the indirect, trying to make 180* water gets tough and needs a big HX as the diferential shrinks.

Floyd

ScottMP

Yes

I was thinking a buffer tank also. More money but that never seemed problem for you before Steve. I am Sure you can explain the benefits.

Scott

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S Ebels

Details

The fuel is LP which btu-btu is the same cost as oil here.

There is a seperate water heater taking care of the washdown and sanitizing needs so the equipment I'm refering to will be just for heating. Not the way I'd set it up but hey,......what do I know?

Not to worried about the Bock or boiler, whichever we wind up with as they will both be in a mechanical room isolated from all the nasty corrosives found in modern dairy facilities. Going to be using one with a power burner on it that we can directly connect to outside air if we go that way.

S Ebels

I've lost the midas touch.

> I was thinking a buffer tank also. More money but

> that never seemed problem for you before Steve. I

> am Sure you can explain the

> benefits.

>

> Scott

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 237&Step=30"_To Learn More About This

> Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in

> "Find A Professional"_/A_

S Ebels

I've lost the midas touch.

Remember that job with the 5 Vitodens?........ Some day when you've got about 3 hours to listen to a guy cry, I'll tell you about it. Learned a few things on that one. We'll need a good comfortable place to sit and a liberal amount of libations to get the whole sordid tale told. Bring a couple boxes of Kleenex for me.