HS Tarm Wood Boiler w/Heat Storage
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MuncyBob
Platinum Member
Well I just got another incentive to do something (wood boiler, heat pump, etc.) about the next heating season costs...the "lock in price" locally for heating oil right now in our market is $4.99/gallon!! That's apprx. half the cost of a new wood boiler in the first year.....alternatives are looking better all the time! Wish we could harness some of this 90+ degree heat we have right now for next winter!
charlz
Elite Member
Farmall140 said:
What about geothermal? Have you looked to see how oil versus wood boiler versus geothermal costs look? I switched to a pellet stove a few years ago but might have gone geothermal if I had had really looked into it.
MuncyBob
Platinum Member
The problem with geothermal for me is that I have baseboard heating and not floor radiant or hot air. Baseboard hydronic elements operate around 180 degrees which from what I've read is above the temp that geothermal will produce. Too bad though because the science of geo makes sense to me and a lot less work than cutting wood every year!
greathands
New member
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2008
- Messages
- 2
I just installed a tarm solo 60 with 1000 gal. storage tank. It turned out to breath takingly expensive to install... almost matched the purchase price! However, that said, it would appear to be a remarkably efficient unit and, once you get to know how to drive it, pretty easy. I would ding Tarm for really really bad manuals however. The errors in the manual cost me a extra $1000 of installation time so be aware. I will be willing to help you out when possible.
There are a lot of little things about the process that I learned the hard way, such as that the 1000 gallon tank isn't an easy fit down thru a standard cellar bulkhead. (Take it out of the shipping crate first.)
Back to the unit. It burns really really cleanly. (Once you learn how to close the bypass damper all the way, that is... another manual short coming.) I turned off my oil boiler entirely for the fall; I'll put it back on line as a back up once the cold weather hits us for sure. (It was in the teens here last night and the tarm had no issues keeping the house comfy.) The other thing that the manual doesn't go into is that unless you want your cellar to be really toasty, taking the time to insulate the assorted pipes is worth it. When the tarm came on line my cellar went from being a pretty constant 55 degrees to 71... I've gotten about half the pipes done so far and the temp is down to 64.
Happy to help with any other questions
There are a lot of little things about the process that I learned the hard way, such as that the 1000 gallon tank isn't an easy fit down thru a standard cellar bulkhead. (Take it out of the shipping crate first.)Back to the unit. It burns really really cleanly. (Once you learn how to close the bypass damper all the way, that is... another manual short coming.) I turned off my oil boiler entirely for the fall; I'll put it back on line as a back up once the cold weather hits us for sure. (It was in the teens here last night and the tarm had no issues keeping the house comfy.) The other thing that the manual doesn't go into is that unless you want your cellar to be really toasty, taking the time to insulate the assorted pipes is worth it. When the tarm came on line my cellar went from being a pretty constant 55 degrees to 71... I've gotten about half the pipes done so far and the temp is down to 64.
Happy to help with any other questions
vermonter88
New member
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2008
- Messages
- 1
I have a Tarm solo 200K BTU. I think the manual states you will load the firebox every 4 hours to achieve full BTU per hour., so... to stoke up your storage tank you will need a few fillings. A 60 deg. temperature change would be about 288,000 BTU's. All depends on incoming water temp, wood moisture, BTU/lb of wood species.
Hi this is my first post, just found the board
i have a pretty big home about 3800 finished sq ft and 2800 sq ft of basement and garages, 6 yr old home well insulated, 80,000 btu hvac hot air system that is up to 95% efficient with a small 4 inch pvc vent and a condensation pump to remove excess moisture heated with propane also have a wood stove in the basement. for the 2008/2009 heating season i spent 1000 dollars on 4 cords of wood and 2.72 per gallon of propane times 1800 gallons about 5000 dollars. so i spent 6000 dollars
to keep the thermostat at 68 during the day and down to 60 at night. wife was always feeling cold during the day, so she wood boost the heat to 72 for a half hour a couple times a day. we run a biz from the home office and she is home most of the day. I said that i love our home but 6000 for heat ooooooooouuuch. So by december of 08 i was thinking of how i could turn this around and have a warm home in the winter for about half that cost...I decided that a used TARM could be the solution. I found an old OT-35 WOOD BOILER/OIL BURNER/W/DOMESTIC HOT WATER COIL 1200 pounds of quality.
got it home on a trailer in the middle of january, removed the wood stove and put the tarm in its place. the total cost of the used tarm and the 3 zones of plumbing and heat exchanger to put in the plenum of the hvac pex and connectors pex tool and all other parts like backflow preventers zone pumps shut off valves manifoldsetc used modine heater for the garages $2800 dollars for everything...labor cost ,well i did it all on my own, no i am not a licenced plumber nor have i done such a big plumbing project before this, so after many trips to home depot and the plumbing supply house the project is complete and heating the home, basement, garages very very nicely, as i write this its 73 in the home and we are incredibly happy with the TARM yes it is a 30 yr old steel plate boiler that was well made and may last thirty more years. i have purchased ten cords of wood and paid 175 dollars per cord cut split and delivered 1750 dollars for wood and maybe 500 this year for propane, propane this yr is 1.55 per gallon. total cost will be recovered this heating season. so i would say that tarms are great products but a system like mine would be 12000 new. without labor, that would be a hard pill to swallow...dont be afraid of going used, i have a friend that did the same thing and has had good luck with his old tarm too. thinking of building my own 1000 gallon storage tank, new tanks are very expensive and dont seem worth the cost because payback takes too long... go to BuildItSolar: Solar energy projects for Do It Yourselfers to save money and reduce pollution and you can find a combo solar/hot water storage solution..
good luck and stay warm inexpensively....Ken
i have a pretty big home about 3800 finished sq ft and 2800 sq ft of basement and garages, 6 yr old home well insulated, 80,000 btu hvac hot air system that is up to 95% efficient with a small 4 inch pvc vent and a condensation pump to remove excess moisture heated with propane also have a wood stove in the basement. for the 2008/2009 heating season i spent 1000 dollars on 4 cords of wood and 2.72 per gallon of propane times 1800 gallons about 5000 dollars. so i spent 6000 dollars
to keep the thermostat at 68 during the day and down to 60 at night. wife was always feeling cold during the day, so she wood boost the heat to 72 for a half hour a couple times a day. we run a biz from the home office and she is home most of the day. I said that i love our home but 6000 for heat ooooooooouuuch. So by december of 08 i was thinking of how i could turn this around and have a warm home in the winter for about half that cost...I decided that a used TARM could be the solution. I found an old OT-35 WOOD BOILER/OIL BURNER/W/DOMESTIC HOT WATER COIL 1200 pounds of quality.
got it home on a trailer in the middle of january, removed the wood stove and put the tarm in its place. the total cost of the used tarm and the 3 zones of plumbing and heat exchanger to put in the plenum of the hvac pex and connectors pex tool and all other parts like backflow preventers zone pumps shut off valves manifoldsetc used modine heater for the garages $2800 dollars for everything...labor cost ,well i did it all on my own, no i am not a licenced plumber nor have i done such a big plumbing project before this, so after many trips to home depot and the plumbing supply house the project is complete and heating the home, basement, garages very very nicely, as i write this its 73 in the home and we are incredibly happy with the TARM yes it is a 30 yr old steel plate boiler that was well made and may last thirty more years. i have purchased ten cords of wood and paid 175 dollars per cord cut split and delivered 1750 dollars for wood and maybe 500 this year for propane, propane this yr is 1.55 per gallon. total cost will be recovered this heating season. so i would say that tarms are great products but a system like mine would be 12000 new. without labor, that would be a hard pill to swallow...dont be afraid of going used, i have a friend that did the same thing and has had good luck with his old tarm too. thinking of building my own 1000 gallon storage tank, new tanks are very expensive and dont seem worth the cost because payback takes too long... go to BuildItSolar: Solar energy projects for Do It Yourselfers to save money and reduce pollution and you can find a combo solar/hot water storage solution..
good luck and stay warm inexpensively....Ken
