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[PapaTango]

I live in southeast Michigan and I'm researching the purchase of a Central Boiler OWB.  I am new to OWB and want to get off propane and off the grid.  Still haven't yet decided between the Classic or E-Classic, but leaning toward the Classic model for the simplicity and learning curve.  One neighbor is about 300 feet northeast of us and I'm trying to be considerate of any smoke that may go their way. 

I have a few questions on sizing and amount of smoke produced by the these units:  Do I need to be concerned about smoke when they are 300 feet away?

Our home is 2200 sq. feet with an additional 1500 sq. feet of finished basement.  We have a two car attached garage with a bonus bedroom above the garage.  We have four kids and go through a lot of hot water (laundry, dishwasher, showers/baths).  We average about 1350 gallons of propane per year.  Go through about 350 gallons in the summer just for water.  We have forced air furnace for heat.

I would like to be able to heat our home, hot water, space heater/baseboard heater in bonus room, possibly heat exchanger in garage, and maybe a space heater in the finished basement.  In your opinion what would be the better model to go with 5036 or 6048?  Could I get away with doing all of the above on one loop or should I run two lines/pumps to separate it out?

Any information would be appreciated as I try to determine what will be the best in the long run as this is a big investment.

Thanks

[fireboss]

I have the 6048 and love it iam heating 3,000 sq  and dhw  sounds like you will need the 6048 ,should handle  it no problem . the 5036 is to small for what you have listed!

[MattyNH]

  Your should really find out where the prevailing wind blows..That will tell you where 95% of your smoke will blow most of the time..At the same time you might have to raise your stack up..The E-Classic is a cleaner burning boiler than the reg classics…And what Ive been told all gassers burn half the wood that a conventional boiler would burn..If your worried about the smoke issues..Id be looking into the   E-Classic from the gecko..

[Jeff5036]

On my 8th winter with winter with the 5036. My closest neighbour would be 200 feet from my furnace. I have 3 lengths of chimney on my furnace. Smoke tends to go straight up from there. Have had no issues at all with smoke and less problems with the classic units compared to the gassers from what I have seen in our area. I live in a smaller subdivision and have only had once in which the smoke was hanging low and filled the neighbourhood.  Lol.

[PapaTango]

Thanks for the feedback....I'm leaning toward the 6048 to be sure I have enough size to handle everything.  I like the gasser concept, yet I'm hesitant as someone who is just getting into this.  Rather have a basic unit that burns more wood and reduce the chances of complications or operator error with the gasser.  We primarily have a westerly wind that may push some smoke northeast toward my neighbor, but being 300+ feet away I think I should be OK.  Straight east of us is nothing but woods.

When adding such things as a garage heat exchanger, space heater in bonus room, space heater in basement on top of DHW and the furnace, should I be looking to run two lines into the house from the boiler or will the one work?  If one line is sufficient do I need to add any additional pumps inside the house?

[Roger2561]

I have the E-classic 1400 due to the dictators in our state (NH) government requiring we install nothing but the gassers.  This was my first OWB purchase.  I'm into my 3rd season with it and I like it a lot.  Granted there is some maintenance involved but I have accepted that fact.  The only problem I had with it was early in my 1st year with.  I was lazy and didn't clean it for a whole month and the primary air holes clogged.  When they clog the fire goes out so I clean it.  It takes me no more than 40 minutes once every 2 weeks to give it a good cleaning.  I clean it very early in the morning so I have the rest of the day to do what's needed to be done around the house.  The E-classics aren't that difficult to maintain as long as you pay attention to it.  That's my take on the e-classics.  But, whatever you decide to do, remember to be polite and wave to the propane man as he drives by your house looking for another unsuspecting victim.     Roger     

[muffin]

As far as loops.  Most people bring in the main loop and then use a manifold to branch off to each device/heater.  You typically have a pump for each one that is controlled by the thermostat.  You do not want to daisy chain a bunch of devices off one loop as the return temperature will get too low.

Some people will run the loop through the air handler all the time and just use the thermostat to turn the fan on.  This works OK, but on the milder days, can overheat the house due to the radiant heat all the time.

You can put the DWH off the main loop (no extra pump), and then run a pump/loop for each heating element.  This will give you the best control over your system.  To save money you might be able to series the garage with the bonus room.

I would also recomment the 6048.  Both will probably do the job, but you will have to load the 6048 less often and that is really nice.

[PapaTango]

Trust me I look forward to day the propane man just drives by the house.  Thanks for the information about the loop and pumps, makes sense. I think I'm leaning toward the 6048 and just hook up the DHW and furnace the first year. I can then plan appropriately for additional loops to the garage/bonus room and basement. Better to get knowledgable about the system and plumbing first before getting too complicated. Your feedback is appreciated and I see there is a wealth of information on this forum to learn from others.
Thanks again.

[patton acres]

I have a 5036 but according to the cb chart I was borderline 6048. I didnt get it because it was $1800. extra.There are times it would have been nice (burn times) I get by with the 5036 since I work from home I am near it often so I just toss a few pieces in when needed.
    I am heating a 2000 sf house (was all electric and well insulated) and a 44x48 well insulted shop. I keep the shop thermostat off when I am not in there and it stays around 50 if the temps dont go below 10-15 deg. I turn it up to 60 all day when I am working.
   
      smoke all depends on the wood cond. your burning .burn dry wood and you get very little smoke

[fireboss]

the trick is not to over load it