Wood Boiler system in North Carolina

F. Clapp

I am from the piedmont of North Carolina and I am getting ready to build my house. I would like to install a wood boiler heating system with natural gas backup. Also one that has little smoke out put and it can go one or more days without adding wood. I plan to have radiant floor heating on the first floor of the house. If you have any idea what the boiler system you would recommend cost please let me know. To my questions: What boiler system would you recommend for my area and needs? How far away from the house can I place the system and not have a big heat loss while the hot water travels from the boiler to the house? A gentleman in my area that installs wood bioler system told me that if I installed one, that it would smoke up my whole neighborhood and my house would smell like smoke all the time. Is this true? My wife is allergic to wood smoke in large amounts (can not have a wood fireplace in the house). Any help with these questions would be appreciated! Thanks for your time.
F. Clapp

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Excellent questions

but there are no exact answers Wood fired boilers need to be run very hot to keep them in a high efficiency, smokless, mode. This is easier said than done, as the load is always changing, the wood quality varies, the fire tending care varies, etc.

I would look into gasification type units. These burn hotter and have a higher efficiency and lower emissions. I do not know of any currently on the market that are large firebox, outdoor units? Aquatherm "Omega" is hard at work on a stainless outdoor high efficiency unit. It is undergoing efficiency testing currently at an independant lab. It will have a large fire box for extended burns.

I have used a number of the Euro brands of gasification units and installed them in outdoor buildings. Tarm is a very popular brand with a good track record in this country. I have installed a number of brands form Poland and the Czech Republic found at www.newhorizoncorp.com

The EPA is clamping down on dirty burning devices, you are wise to shop for a cleaner burning model. For the sake of all of us

www.woodheat.org is a good site to talk to old time and newbie woodburners. Lots of good info there.

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