indoors bi fuel boiler

[FFLM]

Wondering if anyone is using indoor bi fuel boilers.  I would like to get into a wood and oil combo.  I found Tarm bi fuel boilers but they seem very expensive.  Any help would be great. 

[Holmes]

FFLM  If you want a bi fuel boiler it will be expensive. Try to find a gasifying boiler. I am not sure if a Tarm is, but they have always been a very good product.  New yorker used to make a decent combi boiler but it was not a gassifier. You will be fighting creosote with any combi boiler but less so with a gassifier.  Look at some other European makes. Try to find a boiler that YOU do not have to play Research and Development on.    Holmes

[treetech]

Hi
I would have to suggest that you look at a wood gun from alternate heating systems. Expensive and heavy but the results are amazing. I bit the bullet two years ago and ordered a 140, cut a hole in my basement and installed it. It has the oil backup and I am very happy with the system. It truly is a wonderful way to burn wood. The oil part has only kicked in twice this winter. Once when the wood bridged in the chamber and second when I forgot to put wood in it. Quite a change from being chained to the old one.
Walter 
PS   They can be set up to burn chips and pellets as well.

[beenthere]

I have the two systems separate and can run each independent from the other, or run them in series. When in series, the backup boiler (propane in my case) only kicks in if the water temp out of the wood boiler drops below 100° F.  That maintains 100° water going through the house zones and protects from freezing as well as maintains some minimum temp.

The combinations are just too huge, IMO.

treetech
Any more details on the wood gun you mentioned?  Any pics?

[treetech]

treetech
Any more details on the wood gun you mentioned?  Any pics?

Hi Beenthere
They have a pretty extensive website with pics and videos. I really like the system and was looking into them for some time before I made the leap. It seemed like a lot of money to buy "a pig in a bag" so to speak until I found someone that had one installed. He loves his and I love mine. Just google alternate heating systems and it should take you right to the site. There are also some other forumites who have them installed who can chime in on this.

[beenthere]

For better understanding what treetech is referring to, the name of the company is Alternate Heating Systems, and their wood burning boiler system is the Wood Gun Boiler. These are trademark names.

[treetech]

Questions I would ask myself before I bought any system.
1) Does it make sense for me to burn wood? Availability, price, space requirements, location.
2) Indoors or out?
3) Am I home enough to keep the fire going consistently? ( wood or oil as the primary)
4) Will my insurance go up?   
5) Will a conveniently located fuel wood or pellet stove do me instead of a furnace?

There are many more questions to ask yourself before you take the plunge.

For me the determining factors were
I owned my own woodland.
I always burned wood and I am too cheap to buy much oil. ( I like to know at the start of the heating season what it will cost me to heat my house.)
I don't want to go outside to fill a furnace and my wife said she didn't want to either.
I didn't want to have to put up a large amount of wood.

Why wood gun?
It didn't require a separate hot water storage tank.
It didn't require that you had to split your wood up into small pieces.
Wasn't fussy about length.
Moisture content is a factor, but not as much as some of the other gasifiers.

There are many systems out there and you should take your time and find the one that suits you and your situation the best.

For me the biggest advantage of this system is the burn time. ( FFLM I see you are only thirty years old so this may not be as big a problem as it is for us older guys.) With my old system, in the cold part of the winter, I had to  get up in the middle of the night to stoke the fire. Sometimes I would only get 2.5 –> 3 hours burn time. I had to stay up late, and then get up a couple of times through the night. I had been doing that for years. Now I go to bed when I want and don't even bother to check the furnace until after I have my shower in the morning. It's like being on vacation!
Good luck with your quest!

[Holmes]

Treetech that is a great looking boiler system. Glad to hear how happy you and others are with that system.  I would consider that boiler for myself if it was allowed in Ma. but we can no longer install wood burning boilers inside a residence.  Thank you for the interesting posts.   Holmes

[FFLM]

Thanks for all the info guys, the wood gun looks like a real nice boiler, and I have sent for more info and pricing.  When you said it was expensive do you care to share?
FFLM