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[Clueless]

Glycol, can it be used in a owf? I have a wood Doctor furnace for the time being. My guy out here mentioned you could not because of evaporation issues? Is this correct? Also I have 100% inhibited glycol, the 100 means I can dilute it, right? How much does glycol cost?

[idahohay]

Glycol is less efficient at transferring heat than water.  So if you are circulating water through your heat exchanger and it puts out 50,000 btu/hr, that amount will decline when you introduce glycol in the system. The more glycol, the greater the decline. There are formulas out there for calculating this.  I don't think evaporation would be an issue but I am no expert.  I assume that 100% glycol is undiluted and glycol is commonly used in a ratio of 30-50% depending on how much protection you need.  I plan to use it in my in floor tubing only and drain my boiler if I need to ( i.e. go someplace warm in the winter) since the un pressurized boiler portion would be easy for me to drain, not the in floor tubing though.

What type of glycol do you have? Automotive type is lethal so I wouldn't use it. What if your sidearm or fphe developed a small leak and you didn't know it?

[mlappin]

To further prove the point, when my brother in law still ran stock cars on the weekends ran straight water in it. No antifreeze, but they did have another additive to help cool better, just a little bottle. Made the water wetter just like dishwashing detergent without the suds.

I'm not sure how attracted to the newer antifreezes animals are compared to the new stuff. The old stuff would taste sweet to em.

[Sprinter]

No worries about evap, problems. Nothing more than straight water, if anything it would be less. Cryotek is very good quality and there's test strips to check it as it will degrade over time like any antifreeze. If you shut your system down its always a good idea to cap or cover any open water overflow if yours has that, also to turn on the circulators atleast once a month to prevent circ lock up or fluid stagnation issues. Obviously Check with manufacturer also.

[Clueless]

I will be posting more often as I get this system up and runing. I will be using water in the meantime. The unit has been idle all winter, the house is a repo. I'll light it up next week, see how things go. Its a wood doctor, I've budgeted a replacement for next winter. I have a heatmor rep a hundred miles from me.

I am also considering backup boilers when I am away, has anyone ever piped in an electric boiler, just to heat in floor and keep the outdoor boiler from freezing, can i just loop it in direct or should I isolate the backup from a stove with an exchanger?

Thanks

[idahohay]

Hopefully your Wood Doctor didn't suffer any freeze damage. I guess the first step is to see if it holds water.
If you tie in a pressurized back up system, you probably will be considering a fphe.  I attached a schematic from idronics magazine which free online.

[LittleJohn]

I will be posting more often as I get this system up and runing. I will be using water in the meantime. The unit has been idle all winter, the house is a repo. I'll light it up next week, see how things go. Its a wood doctor, I've budgeted a replacement for next winter. I have a heatmor rep a hundred miles from me.

I am also considering backup boilers when I am away, has anyone ever piped in an electric boiler, just to heat in floor and keep the outdoor boiler from freezing, can i just loop it in direct or should I isolate the backup from a stove with an exchanger?

Thanks

DING DING DING - You say you will potentially be adding a back up boiler (non-OWB) my guess is it will be required to be closed loop, otherwise warrenty is shot as soon as you power up unit, so a FPHE would be required.  Then it will make more sense to use a FPHE, and glycol the pressurized side; and back feed the OWB with the back up, or even use as a boost when temperatures go crazy and it BEYOND design day requirements.

Also, gylcol does transfer less heat, but it also harder to pump - stuff is super slippery (so pump must be design appropriately).  I personally like Cryotek - just don't like paying for it ($$$), DO NOT use RV anti-freeze, its not properly formulated for radiant applications;

Also most boiler and pipe manufactures give recommendation on type of glycols to use and percentages (generally not to exceed 50% or 1/1 mix)

[hoardac]

Was going to put this in for a backup this summer just to keep the house from freezing. Not sure about wood boiler probably just drain it if I am away to long.

http://www.amazon.com/Ecosmart-ECO-24-Modulating-Technology/dp/B005NM3K2K/ref=sr_1_4?s=kitchen-bath&ie=UTF8&qid=1395797749&sr=1-4

[LittleJohn]

Hoardac - Wait for the lights to dim when that puppy turns on.

I you though u hated the gas/oil man - wait til you see an electric bill, with an instananeous.  Had a neighbor run a bathroom and kitchen (so MAYBE 500sf) and it was like $100 minimum to run.
I would do the math 24kW = 80k BTU/hr; so what would that cost you in electricity to run.  In my neck of the woods, electricity is about $0.10/Kw-hr - so lets say you are running wide open, for an hour, to heat house and keep OWB from becoming an icecube -> 24kW *$.10 = $2.40/hr for every hour of operation, and since it only puts out about 80k BTU my guess is it will be running ALOT

By the way did you look up the Tech Specs on that unit - max amp draw is 100A , and it required 3 seperate 40A breakers to run the unit - Electric company would when you fire this bad boy up

Might be better off to use a standard hot water heater; will act as a buffer tank, cause less pressure drop and potentially not cost an arm and a leg to operate/control. JUST MY THOUGHT