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[gmviso]

So I am coming up with all sorts of things to do with the 180 degree water my CL-5036 is going to produce, but maybe I am going a bit overboard.

Can anyone tell me how many BTUs I am going to be able to extract from my 5036 after running 75 feet to the house in ThermoPEX?

For what its worth, here is what I have in mind.

1" ThermoPEX into basement where it runs through some kind of 1" manifold where it connects to sidearm exchanger on DHWH, and then 100k BTU heat exchanger in my forced air furnace. Then returns to boiler.

As for the manifold, I would expect to take 1/2" taps to the following, I expect I will need to use pumps on each tap run.

1) Garage radiant heat
2) Radiant pex for my wifes seed starting station in basement
3) Radiant pex in front sidewalk 3' x 45'
 
I am adding a second pump and Thermopex run but in goes away from the house to the chicken coop and eventually to a greenhouse.

Am I expecting too much out of this?

[Scott7m]

umm... yes..  you are expecting to much.  in the CB line I wouldn't try what your doing with anything less than a 6048, and that might be pushing it hard.  greenhouses suck the wood like crazy.

[gmviso]

So are you thinking that the entire plan is too aggressive, or just the greenhouse?

[Ridgekid]

Here's my two cents. Take it with a grain of salt. Hopefully actual installers can point you in the right direction.

Your building a BIG system. A storage tank might be in line here. I don't think all systems will be running at the same time, so you might have some room without overloading your system. Otherwise you will be constantly burning wood to keep that 200 gallons hot.

NOTES:
1. I agree with Scott. That much of a load you should of bought a 6048. (More water capacity) The 5036 is approx 250,000 btu. But again if properly managed it might be doable. It will take strick management tho.
2. You need to loop the system, not manifold it. Your pump* is only going to push so much water and it will take the path of least resistance. Start with your DHWX, then your furnace, these are your main priorities, then pick the next priority. The more you add on, the more heat will be removed before returning to the OWB. Which means it will have alot of burn time=alot of wood. My estimate 2-3 cords/month.

Pump*- I know you said pumps, but is this the route you want to take? Were you thinking Grunfos Alpha or Taco's? Tacos are approximately 85W each. Don't sound like alot until you run more than one and 24 hours a day.

[Scott7m]

How big of a garage are you talking about? 

Most generally a 5036 is used on a good sized home but often times when people want to run more applications they go to the 6048. 

How many sq ft is your house?
How many sq ft is your garage?

The green house and chicken coop just isnt' feasable at all.  I think you "may" be able to do your house and a bit of radiant heating for a small garage but your going to be using a lot of wood if you try to do more. 

[Scott7m]

Yea....  I keep thinking about this......   The first place the water has to go is your DHW, then to your furnace like ridgekid said. 

If you want to do things like radiant heating in your walks and garage floors n such, you'lll have install an elaborate assortment of zone valves and zone pumps to make all this work.  If half of this stuff is pulling heat at any given time the water back to your stove is gonna be cold, and your stove is gonna run non stop and burn wood like crazy.   

[willieG]

if you are talking radiant heat in a sidewalk that is outside,i would make it a clsoed loop with it's own circulating pump and use a plate exchanger to warm it. in that sidewalk loop i would use antifreeze mixture so if you lost a pump or electricity on a cold night you would not have to worry about a freeze up and split line.

Also, years ago i put a floor system in a car wash. the guy told me later he only had to run it a few hours a day and teh cement would stay warm enough to keep ice from accumilating. so if you were to use an antifreeze mixture you could just run the pump when you needed or even run it on a timer to save money?

[Bull]

if you are talking radiant heat in a sidewalk that is outside,i would make it a clsoed loop with it's own circulating pump and use a plate exchanger to warm it. in that sidewalk loop i would use antifreeze mixture so if you lost a pump or electricity on a cold night you would not have to worry about a freeze up and split line.

Also, years ago i put a floor system in a car wash. the guy told me later he only had to run it a few hours a day and teh cement would stay warm enough to keep ice from accumilating. so if you were to use an antifreeze mixture you could just run the pump when you needed or even run it on a timer to save money?

A very good idea

[gmviso]

How big of a garage are you talking about? 

Most generally a 5036 is used on a good sized home but often times when people want to run more applications they go to the 6048. 

How many sq ft is your house?
How many sq ft is your garage?

The green house and chicken coop just isnt' feasable at all.  I think you "may" be able to do your house and a bit of radiant heating for a small garage but your going to be using a lot of wood if you try to do more.

Home is a newer cape cod with attached garage. Has 6" R-19 walls
Unfinished basement = 1200 sq ft
First floor = 1200 sq ft
Second floor approximately 800 sq ft
Garage is insulated to R-11 and is 500 sq ft with bonus room above

Chicken coop is a small one, only 64 sq ft, and has R-11 walls and ceiling, and I only need to keep it above freezing preferably about 40 degrees. Last winter I just used 4 - 150W heat lamps which were on thermostats (on at 32 off at 42). So that means I only had about 2000BTU. Don't think that is that big of a load for the 5036. But it cost me about $50 a month in electricity last winter.

[RSI]

Can anyone tell me how many BTUs I am going to be able to extract from my 5036 after running 75 feet to the house in ThermoPEX?

You will be able to extract as much heat as the boiler can make.

Are you planning on running thermopex to the chicken coop? Is that going from the house or from the boiler? How many feet of pipe will that run be?

[gmviso]

Yes I am running 75' of Thermopex from pump 1 to the house and another 75' of Thermopex from pump #2 to the chicken coop. They are in opposite directions from where I intend to place the boiler.

By the way thanks to everyone who has chimed in on this and my other postings.

[Scott7m]

As others have said, you'll have a very complex system in doing all of this. 

It sounds like your chicken coop shouldn't be hard to heat if your only wanting it 40.  However, your stilll running a lot of applications, it sounds like your home is well insulated, so you "may" be able to run all of this stuff.  If I was a central boiler customer I would have probably opted for the 6048 to run all of this, but you may be alright!  Best thing to do is give it a whirl and let us know!  I guess the worst thing that can happen is you have excessive wood use and have to feed more than twice a day.

[gmviso]

The reason I bought the 5036 vs something larger is that I got a good deal on it used, and using the Central Boiler sizing chart it looked like it had a lot of capacity beyond simply DHW and heating house, so I bought it.

I have just been coming up with one idea after another as to using it for other applications.

[RSI]

If it were me, I would get cheap insulated pex for the chicken coop loop and run the water temp in that loop as cold as possible. Doing it this way would make it pay for itself years earlier and probably waste less heat.  If you could get by with 60 degree water and the ground is 50, you will have pretty much no heat loss at all.

[martyinmi]

The reason I bought the 5036 vs something larger is that I got a good deal on it used, and using the Central Boiler sizing chart it looked like it had a lot of capacity beyond simply DHW and heating house, so I bought it.

I have just been coming up with one idea after another as to using it for other applications.

Keep in mind also that your water temperature upon return to your OWB should be minimum 150*. If you talk to the tech folks associated with about any of the manufacturers they will tell you that temps. under 150* will cause the inside of the combustion chamber to sweat, and we all know that moisture plus ashes equals corrosion. The 5036 appears to be a dandy little boiler, but I agree with the others, in that the loads you are contemplating putting it might play a huge role in it's premature demise. I'm of the opinion that your heating requirements under roof are already going to dictate more than 2X daily loadings when it's very cold, especially if you live in a state or province that has a similar climate to us in Mi. However, I really appreciate your enthusiasm. You are definitely a thinker!