tibikedad
ArboristSite Member
I have the dual-fuel (wood with oil backup) Tarm Excel 2200, the bigger of the two units, with a 820 gallon storage unit. This is my 4th season burning, and as long as I burn dry wood that has been seasoned ~1 year, I have had no problems with it. Except for when the weather drops below 0 degrees at night, I easily make it through the night with plenty of heat left in the storage tank. When the weather is in the 40 degrees F region, I can make it 2 days on a single burn (I have a 3000 sq ft house and keep the temp at 69 degrees everywhere).
The Excel has a separate section for the oil burner / exchange tubes, so there is no mixing of wood and oil. The oil can be set to kick in when the tank drops below a set point (I put mine at 140 degrees, and it rarely fires). However, if I leave the house in the winter for a few days, I don't have to worry about anything freezing.
No matter what boiler you get, you should invest in a storage tank. It makes the whole setup much more efficient, and you are not a slave to the boiler. If I could do this again, the only difference would be to increase the size of the tank to 1200 gallons. That would give me 50% more storage heat.
BTW, I also get all my domestic hot water from the storage tank. I essentially have unlimited hot water, a plus when you have teen-agers who don't care how long they take a shower.
One last thing ... don't trust a plumber to know how to install a wood boiler unless he/she talks to the Tarm technicians first. I had a plumber who "knew everything", and he screwed it up badly. It took me 2 weeks and tons of phone calls to Tarm before we was able to figure out what the plumber did wrong. The technicians were great, and I was thrilled with their knowledge and patience. In the end, the plumber fixed his mistakes, but if he had discussed the installation first, none of that would have happened.
The Excel has a separate section for the oil burner / exchange tubes, so there is no mixing of wood and oil. The oil can be set to kick in when the tank drops below a set point (I put mine at 140 degrees, and it rarely fires). However, if I leave the house in the winter for a few days, I don't have to worry about anything freezing.
No matter what boiler you get, you should invest in a storage tank. It makes the whole setup much more efficient, and you are not a slave to the boiler. If I could do this again, the only difference would be to increase the size of the tank to 1200 gallons. That would give me 50% more storage heat.
BTW, I also get all my domestic hot water from the storage tank. I essentially have unlimited hot water, a plus when you have teen-agers who don't care how long they take a shower.
One last thing ... don't trust a plumber to know how to install a wood boiler unless he/she talks to the Tarm technicians first. I had a plumber who "knew everything", and he screwed it up badly. It took me 2 weeks and tons of phone calls to Tarm before we was able to figure out what the plumber did wrong. The technicians were great, and I was thrilled with their knowledge and patience. In the end, the plumber fixed his mistakes, but if he had discussed the installation first, none of that would have happened.
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