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[Mrplow]

Ok, so after dreaming about having one for two years finally pulled the trigger.  CB6048 on the way, did the trenching yesterday, dealer bringing thermopex tomorrow night, then time for concrete slab and setting unit. 
I will be heating 2500 sqft of log house and 2000 sqft of very well insulated new outbuilding.  The run from the boiler to the outbuilding is 70', and 130' to house.  Buried no less than 3'.  House currently uses propane boiler with floor registers and outbuilding has 2500' of pex in concrete split up in seven seperate runs. 
BTW, I have nearly unlimited supply of wood on location, a couple years (guessing) cut and seasoned.
If there are some things that any of you out there learned upon first using a new system that I should know about or watch out for, please won't ya help a rookie out???

[willieG]

i would ask you to consider an antifreeze mixture in your system for the safety of your pex in the cememtn floor in your outbuilding. or make your outbuilding a closed system from your home system.  I have seen on occasion an air lock or a pump failure that could result in the floor on slab getting cold enough to freeze on the outer edge of the slab. I have one time about 5 years ago a neighbour that didn't get his furnace installed untill late december and when he fired it up he sent the hot water to the out building that had been sitting all fall, the cement floor was froze allready and without thinking he sent the water to the building and it froze in the lines about halfway through each loop as teh water cooled asit was being pushed through. there was a business in teh area that had ample supply of hot water and he ordered a truckload and flooded the floor...luck the floor thawed with no apprent damage to the pex lines.

i dont have floor lines in my outbuilding but i have rads, but i use a home built heat exchanger that keeps my outbuilding seperate from my OWB water supply. I use antifreeze in this system and this way i can shut it off when i dont need it or if the power goes out or for any reason the flow may stop in the system, i know it will not freeze.

[Mrplow]

Huh, ya I was not sure of the way to handle the antifreeze.  The first dealer I spoke with recommended it, the second-and one I have ended up going with, stated not to.  I had planned on taking his advise mostly since it saves me the extra cost, so...

[willieG]

mrplow the only reason i say to use anti freeze in yoru floor loop is so if needed you could take it off line and in case for some reason it is off line for any length of time being that big cement slabe may cede to the extreme cold of winter. i am also hoping that with several loops in the slab you have build the slab specifically for floor heat and have at least 2 inches of foam under the slab and also the footing (or the edge of your slab) insulated to below the frost line?

i have a home made heat exchanger  that warms my antifreeze mix for my slab. i have the an expansion tank of about 5 gallons and what is in the loop of underground pipe and the heat exchanger at the OWB and the rad in the outbuilding i think the whole system holds about 7 or 8  gallons mixed 60/40

if i feel i am not going to be in the shop for a week i can turn it off and not worry about it

i know my slab in teh basement of my home is 7 feet below surface, water in it is fine it will never freeze but i can not gaurentee the slab on grade will not so i went this way

a slab on ground level, even with insulation could freeze if for any reason the hot water stopped flowing through it

[jackel440]

words of wisdom from Willie

[plumb bob]

I have 110 gallons  of Cryo-tech waiting to be pumped in, $1000.00 sitting in my yard. IF something would shut down and its -40 out side and considering I/we just made a huge investment in the 5036, anti-freeze to me was a no-brainer. Just my .02

B.B.

[willieG]

i have never worried about my OWB freezing as i am always within 8 hours of it. but my shop i may not go into it for a week at a time in the winter. If i ever decide to take a vacation or something comes up that i have to go away i can just drain the water and the underground lines and start fresh when i return...or go the antifreeze route at that time

[Mrplow]

Right, My instinct tells me to listen to you all.  I am not worried about stuff in my control such as  being gone or whatever, what does worry me is some heavy ice storm or something hitting in the middle of January and not having power for a week or something out of my control. 
So, if I understand this correctly, I have a 6048 that hold nearly 400 gals, 200' of thermopex, 2500' of pex in the outbuilding concrete slab(which was purpose built for this application with 2" high density foam insulation under and vertical on the outside edges).  I am going to need around 200 gallons of antifreeze which is around $2000, dang, that will push this install to the $20k mark... 
Poured the concrete yesterday, boiler on the way this afternoon, very excited

[willieG]

perhap (if you are like me and always around) a small portable generator that is well under 500 bucks would be a good investment. not only would you be able to keep your water from freezing but you could also have your floor heat running and if you were out of power for that long you could sleep in your shed where it would still be nice and toasty?

my small slab in my basement of only 1-177 foot loop and can keep my whole house (basement--1'st and 2'nd floor) above freezing in a power outage. a couple of years back we went three days in feb. with no power. my upstairs stayed around 60, the first floor at 64 and the basment where the floor heat was stayed a compfortable 69.  it may not have been like "normal" but it was livable.

i have since put in a pole top switch so i can get a whole house generator but havent spent the money on one yet.

[Bull]

Like Willie I have a generator (5500 watts) that will run the pump on the OWB and the blower on my furnace and most anything else that I need when my power goes out. I live out in the sticks with many tree limbs hanging over the power lines so I am no stranger to power loss.

[Mrplow]

The eagle has landed...
Have I mentioned that I might be a little excited to get this thing up and running?
Two years of pinching pennies to get to this point.

[Bull]

You will love it, congrats

[stiz22-_]

Congrats fellow 6048 owner. Going into my 4th winter with this unit and it was the best $ I have ever spent.  It has already paid itself off with my savings on heating oil.  A lean to for the wood is always nice, especially when there is 8' of snow. A generator could be handy if power is out for a few days or more. I dont stop burning all winter. My close friend has had his 6048 burning for 6 years straight, summers and all.   Looks Great BTW!

[Dean186]

The anti-freeze will make the whole system less efficient.   I don't use it and most outdoor furnace operators I know don't use it.  The initial cost and less efficient operation is the reason.  If you have a specific situation that would warrant it, then you have to, otherwise keep it as efficient as possible.

[willieG]

plumb your outbuilding as a dsytem and you need only  a few gallons more than your floor and pipes hold (maybe 10 or 20 gallons. teh clsoes system will pick up and realease heat from an exchanger being fed from your OWB, if it is less efficient and does pick up the heat as fast...who cares..the water will return to the OWB hotter and just cycle again. if your design in your radiant heat has been done properly  it will still heat your area and the cost for say 10 gallons of antifreeze is far less than chipping out a floor and replacing it and the pipes or  abanbening yoru floor heat all to gether personally, i love the option of shutting my floor heat off if i am not planning on being out there for a week and not worrying about the pipes freezing.