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[yoderheating]

 I wouldn't worry about mice ect in the insulation if you will be burning it in the colder parts of the year. No mouse is going to last snuggled up to a 180 degree water jacket.
 I only recommend glycol if there is a high chance of freezing. In other words only if you will be allowing the furnace to be out a lot when it is below freezing. Glycol doesn't transfer heat as well as water and will degrade over time. If you let the furnace go out when its just below freezing the running pump will keep it from freezing up. 
 The plumbing on a boiler hookup is very simple and most homeowners could do it themselves. The wiring is a little more tricky, there are several ways to do it depending on how your gas boiler is set up. You want to be sure both systems can work and switch back and forth automatically. Do you have multiple zones and does your gas boiler maintain heat 24/7 or is it on demand?

[caprice_96]

My propane boiler is on demand, and we have multiple zones and it covers the domestic hot water.  We have radiant floor for the basement and garage (each independant), a forced ares system for the main level, and the domestic hot water.  I wasn't overly worried about the plumbing, more how to wire this all up so the two boilers work together.  I am not sure how that works, maybe I will have to pay a professional for that part.  It is an NTI Ti 150 boiler.  Here is a link to a page with a PDF that has more information:

http://www.hvacforlife.com/gas_boiler_NTI.html

I will probably have to invest in that glycol, because our winters are cold, and we've been away for more than a week sometimes during winter.  How much does this stuff cost?

[yoderheating]

I would have to see a detailed wiring diagram to determine how to do the wiring. You preferably use a aquastat on the furnace to automatically switch between propane and outdoor furnace. It may take a relay or two as well but a good boiler guy should be able to do it easily. The key is for it to happen automatically, don't let someone tell you it can't be done and you will have to manually switch it between the two. I'm surprised if it is doing the domestic hot water it doesn't maintain heat. 

[caprice_96]

Maybe I will have to get a professional for that part of the install.  The wiring by our existing boiler looks pretty complicated.  Our hot water is held in a 60 gallon holding tank.  So it kicks on when we use some hot water.  The tank is pretty well insulated and holds the heat pretty well.

[baldwin racing]

Maybe I will have to get a professional for that part of the install.  The wiring by our existing boiler looks pretty complicated.  Our hot water is held in a 60 gallon holding tank.  So it kicks on when we use some hot water.  The tank is pretty well insulated and holds the heat pretty well.

they do sell glycol in 55 gal drums.....ask around in your area.....

kelly

[baldwin racing]

Maybe I will have to get a professional for that part of the install.  The wiring by our existing boiler looks pretty complicated.  Our hot water is held in a 60 gallon holding tank.  So it kicks on when we use some hot water.  The tank is pretty well insulated and holds the heat pretty well.

they do sell glycol in 55 gal drums.....ask around in your area.....

kelly

http://www.dynalene.com/HeatTransferFluids/glycolregionalsales.html here is a web site that sells all over the usa....maybe this can help

[slimjim]

We have a 3 year old home about 1750 sq ft main level and same in the basement, along with a 900 sq foot garage (12' ceilings).  The house is currently heated with a NTI Ti 150 propane boiler, forced air for the main level of the house, radiant floor for the basement and garage.  The boiler also does the domestic hot water (we have a 60 gallon holding tank).  The house is fairly well insulated (R-40+ Attic, R24 exterior walls house and garage).   We live in northern Ontario Canada climate and have lots of wind exposure.  Propane bills are getting expensive, so I am looking at a OWB to save money in the long term.  At this point I am thinking of sticking to a non-gasser stove, to have the ability to burn anything and to keep the stove simple.

I can easily get a Portage and Main, Central Boiler or Heatmor boiler (so far).  I was looking at the Portage and Main BL28-40 (new model), the Central Boiler 5036, or the Heatmor 200 CSS.  Any opinions or experiences with any of the above?     I can comment on the new Portage and Main brick lined models but I will tell you that I sell them so there is no confusion. what I like about the new models is the impressive amount of firebrick and refractory cement to help insulate the fire from cold water temps, this helps the fire get hotter and burn the smoke then the hotter exhaust gasses go through 2 more passes in the water jacket to extract more heat resulting in less wood consumption. Another thing I like about the BL is that it is a modular boiler meaning that it can be easily broken in half and welded if it ever developes a leak in the firebox, More expensive to build but if you have ever had to weld a boiler from inside the door you would understand, it is not fun, we realize that someday all boilers will fail from corrosion or cracking and we simply wish to make repairs as easy as possible.

The new Portage and Main model looks impressive with the brick lined fire box and its claims at burning a high efficiency rates without being a gasser.   But it is a new untested model, not sure hoe different it is from the old ML-30.

BL28-40 Outdoor wood furnace by Portage and Main

The Central seems to be a tried and true design.  A good friend has had one for 10 years and swears by it.  It seems to be an old and proven design, but maybe inefficient.

The Heatmor is stainless steel which sounds good, but then the competitors say that stainless has cracking problems.

How much smoke does a non-gasser produce?  Does the chimney's on these hae to be higher than the house peak if the unit is close to the house?  We have strong winds, and the location I am thinking will have the house down wind (generally) from the stove.  The garage is on this side and is very tall.

I am sure I will have lots more questions as time goes on, looking forward to some discussion.

[woodywoodchucker]

I have a Baxi luna 330 and I use that for heat during the shoulder months.real effecent. and I use it for my demestic hw year round.I like to use it just to make sure it is operating properly. as for heating hot water i think the baxi or any gas boiler is cheep to run and not worth the expence to hook up the wood boiler. My system is not an automtic set up like mentioned earlier.I do have to change the valves around.