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In the process of building 2-level home w/walkout basement/garage on lower level and 2 bd 1bath/approx 1000 sq ft on main level. Radiant PEX hydronic heat under floors. 2 zones. I've rec'd the following 3 proposals and wonder which is best:
1. Cast iron boiler (HGSmith) used with Rinnai on-demand hot water heater.
2. Prestige on demand gas boiler which also heats domestic water.
3. Baxi on demand gas boiler which also heats domestic water.
I was told the big plus of the cast iron boiler is that a mix of 50/50 antifreeze can be used, which would be beneficial for those times we are away for a length of time, since the freeze point is -25. The Rinnai would be drained of water if we knew we were going away for an extended period.
The on-demand boilers can only use 20% mixture of antifreeze, which makes system/house more prone to freezing issues in event of power or mechanical failure.
On demand boiler: possibly more efficient, no need for separate water heater such as Rinnai, but would not need boiler to run during summer months for heat, so it would heat more domestic water than necessary.
Was told that Baxi has had problems, and that on-demand boilers are less reliable than cast iron boilers (though probably more efficient use and of energy, and less cost to run). Don' t know anything about Prestige brand.
Look forward to your feedback and advice.
BTW: cost is lowest for on-demand Prestige, greatest for Smith boiler, with Baxi in the middle.
In the process of building 2-level home w/walkout basement/garage on lower level and 2 bd 1bath/approx 1000 sq ft on main level. Radiant PEX hydronic heat under floors. 2 zones. I've rec'd the following 3 proposals and wonder which is best:
1. Cast iron boiler (HGSmith) used with Rinnai on-demand hot water heater.
2. Prestige on demand gas boiler which also heats domestic water.
3. Baxi on demand gas boiler which also heats domestic water.
I was told the big plus of the cast iron boiler is that a mix of 50/50 antifreeze can be used, which would be beneficial for those times we are away for a length of time, since the freeze point is -25. The Rinnai would be drained of water if we knew we were going away for an extended period.
The on-demand boilers can only use 20% mixture of antifreeze, which makes system/house more prone to freezing issues in event of power or mechanical failure.
On demand boiler: possibly more efficient, no need for separate water heater such as Rinnai, but would not need boiler to run during summer months for heat, so it would heat more domestic water than necessary.
Was told that Baxi has had problems, and that on-demand boilers are less reliable than cast iron boilers (though probably more efficient use and of energy, and less cost to run). Don' t know anything about Prestige brand.
Look forward to your feedback and advice.
BTW: cost is lowest for on-demand Prestige, greatest for Smith boiler, with Baxi in the middle.
What kind of construction and what level of insulation does this house have?
We have used on-demand water heaters in 2 of our previous homes. We like them.
When I got to Maine and was in the same boat of looking for heating methods. I also wanted to use Radiant floor heat with PEX tubing.
A Rinnai salesman told me that not all towns supply water up to their minimum standard. That I would need to be supplied municipal water, and they would test it to ensure the Ph and ions would not corrode the water heater's interior plumbing. Otherwise their warranty would be voided, and the unit would need to be replaced frequently. Private wells would not even be considered for their warranty.
I spoke with an appliance repair shop in Bradley for his advise. He has rental homes where he has installed tank water heaters, both to supply radiant floor heating and domestic hot water. He said that one of his rentals is a 2 bdrm house with 3 zones, and that he was in the process of upgrading it to 4 zones. He did not feel that his current tank heater would support 4 zones, so he would be replacing the old tank with a larger one. He offered me the old tank. It is larger than the tank water heaters on display at Sears, it has plumbing for home heating [an inlet and an outlet] and it has plumbing for domestic hot water [another inlet and outlet].
We have it supplying our domestic hot water and our radiant heated floors.
We have 1 zone in a significantly larger house [2400 sq ft]. Our water heater is okay by itself so long as outside temps stay above 30 or so. Once below freezing it can keep our home at about 50.
I have added a wood stove that heats water, which also supplies our radiant floor loop. And I have added a large thermal bank to retain some of this heat.
Through the winter, our home temp drops to about 50 if we are not home. Obviously this could be adjusted if needed.
We have a fire burning in the morning for an hour, and again in the evening; which is enough to keep our home temp comfortable.
We will be making a few changes to our home heating system this summer which should completely divorce us from using any heat from the water heater [unless needed strictly as a back-up].
Tank-type hot water heaters can be used successfully in this region for small homes to provide both domestic hot water and radiant heated floors.
Our home is too big for such, we wanted our heat system to have multiple sources of heat. So we could be flexible as the market changes. Rather than relying solely upon one fuel source.
Since our system is 'home-made' it has required a series of tweaks. And it will require on-going tweaks. Before we have finally settled on a system that we are completely happy with.
Our land has a lot of tree stumps. I am thinking that I might like an outdoor kiln / furnace that I could roll tree stumps into in the summer, pack it full of stumps. And light it off in the coldest part of winter, to provide household heating for a week. And a nice mid-winter opportunity to clean our woodstove during a week when we would not need it to be burning.
Good idea about the stump burner. I recommend pressure hosing the stumps before adding them to the burner. They will dry better without the dirt and you'll have more efficient burning. After all, you have an endless water supply.
Good idea about the stump burner. I recommend pressure hosing the stumps before adding them to the burner. They will dry better without the dirt and you'll have more efficient burning. After all, you have an endless water supply.
I sure hope we get a long slow thaw.
Thanks!
It seems that a lot of folks have stumps. I think a concrete bunker filled with stumps should burn for a really long time.
I figured that this idea would be a method of side-stepping the problem with all the rocks held within the root ball.
Stick construction, sprayed foam insulation 5 - 6" thick so it is very well insulated. Drilled well water.
I love spray-on foam.
I did my own spray-on in our house, it is wonderful stuff!
I did between an inch and 1 1/2 inches, on all of our walls and roof. Before I hung 9 inches of fiberglass batting.
I would not recommend doing 6 inches of foam though.
Foam is more expensive. It seals great, it becomes structural, and is great. But after the first inch, all of the sealing is done. Foam is so expensive that to spray more than an inch [or so], gains you no further benefit.
Foam is sticky as all get out, it sticks to everything. It will bond together siding, studs, girders, purlins. It is an epoxy, once the components are mixed it will bond everything it touches. So it is great for sealing drafts, vapor-proofing, and just making a shell 'monolithic' or one solid continuous mass which allows no penetration.
A second inch gives you no further benefit. It is all done by the first inch.
As for increasing the R-value, there are cheaper methods. Fiberglass batting for example.
Foam costs you according to it's cubic inches. 600 linear feet sprayed one inch thick, will cost you exactly half of what 600 lf sprayed two inches thick will cost you.
Obviously more inches of thickness will give add more 'R', 8 to 9 per inch.
But you can get that from using batting at half the price.
I recommend a layer of spray-on to get all of it's benefits, and then batting to get to your desired R-value.
Spray on foam is the best isulation you could do. The guys on Hot and Cold highly recomend it. The next best would be cutting and fitting foam, then filling the cracks with some canned foam.
The third best would be cellulose. It is tighter, with less air infiltration than batts.
I used fiberglass in my house because of cost. I'm planning on adding some more of something.
The Rannai on demand is great.
Charging the system with antifreeze is questionable.
The last time I had my system charged, due to evaporation of coolant in my boiler, it cost me $500. Unless you check yourself or have a technician check during servicing, you will not know how much you have lost.
Spray on foam is the best isulation you could do. The guys on Hot and Cold highly recomend it. The next best would be cutting and fitting foam, then filling the cracks with some canned foam. The third best would be cellulose. It is tighter, with less air infiltration than batts.
I used fiberglass in my house because of cost. I'm planning on adding some more of something.
Much of the benefit of spray on foam is lost entirely when you shift over to hard foam board.
When you try to cut and fit foam board it is not epoxying itself to anything. It does not become structural.
Trying to use canned foam to squirt in the cracks to fill them is not even close to the level of sealing the drafts that spray-on foam does.
I have heard great debate between cellulose and fiberglass batting. Neither are capable of stopping drafts. It is not among their physical capabilities. Who manufactures the cellulose determines it's fire-susceptibility; and there is a lot of variation as to settling, and pests nesting in it.
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Heating Advice: Boilers?
