I went from wood to gas and this is what I have to say

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bassman

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I was the guy over a year ago that said this
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=109095&highlight=bassman

After a year on just gas I got my gas and power bill to see what the differance was and it was $1600 more in power and $185 more in gas over what I paid last year.

the power is a result of running a water heater to heat my water floor in my kitchen and the gas was a result of taking out a wood stove and installing a gas unit.

the power bill hurt but the gas bill was no problem

I need to find a way to heat my floor without that electric water heater??
 
when i start paying for wood is when i'll stop burning wood and just turn the boiler on.
 
I can't believe that you would have an electric water heater while gas is available. How about switching to a gas water heater? You can do the $/btu comparison to check the payback period.
 
my heat history so you guys can get the whole picture.

I have a 2800 sq ft home with a gas furnace and a wood stove in the living area, I bought the boiler to heat a greenhouse and also plumbed it in to heat my home .

when heating the greenhouse the boiler is at its peak and will not heat anymore , the greenhouse also has me filling it every 4 to 6 hours at night with the outside temp being minus 15 c and the inside kept at 20c.

the house was in need of a kitchen reno so I installed a 12 x 24 heated floor that uses water , this was fine when I was running the boiler but I have a bad back and will be going in for sergery soon so I needed a solution for the floor , In canada they will not let me use a gas water heater to heat a floor and the fastest cheapest way was a elecrtric water heater that I could install myself.

a gas boiler is about $20 000 and overkill for my floor.
 
a gas boiler is about $20 000 and overkill for my floor.
Click to expand...

just put a new one in for $1200...complete and up and running...back in 2006.

i haven't turned it on since i first tried it out. i think it's a little too big (btus-wise) for my house, so, i'm going to down grade to a 100k btu maybe next year. the one i have now is 145k.
 
bassman said:
In canada they will not let me use a gas water heater to heat a floor and the fastest cheapest way was a elecrtric water heater that I could install myself..
Click to expand...

If you need to use electric, I would look into replacing your water heater with a pressurized electric boiler unit. They are more $$$ up front but a boiler is much more equipped to do this type of heating more efficiently than a hot water heater.

I know nothing about canadian electric companies, but the companies offer incentives in my area for installing this sort of unit if it isnt the only heat source in the home. I have a pressurized electric boiler in our dog kennel (20x40). The power company gives us electricity at half price to run this unit (approx 5.5cents/kwh). To keep the kennel around 63 degrees cost up about a hundred bucks/month, depending on the outside temps. I do also have a backup wood stove ;) I can fire up when the temps dive below zero. The power company can and does shut off this power at certain times of the day during peak usages, another reason for the stove. In a home, this wouldnt be a problem.
 
bassman said:
I was the guy over a year ago that said this
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=109095&highlight=bassman

After a year on just gas I got my gas and power bill to see what the differance was and it was $1600 more in power and $185 more in gas over what I paid last year.

the power is a result of running a water heater to heat my water floor in my kitchen and the gas was a result of taking out a wood stove and installing a gas unit.

the power bill hurt but the gas bill was no problem

I need to find a way to heat my floor without that electric water heater??
Click to expand...

ummmm...you should get a wood burning stove and cut and spit your own wood. That's what I did and my heating bill is $0/year and I get great exercise splitting wood all summer.

Just my $0.02 :)
 
bassman said:
I was the guy over a year ago that said this
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=109095&highlight=bassman

After a year on just gas I got my gas and power bill to see what the differance was and it was $1600 more in power and $185 more in gas over what I paid last year.

the power is a result of running a water heater to heat my water floor in my kitchen and the gas was a result of taking out a wood stove and installing a gas unit.

the power bill hurt but the gas bill was no problem

I need to find a way to heat my floor without that electric water heater??
Click to expand...

What is the price difference in your area between electric and gas. If gas is cheaper why not go to a gas water heater or boiler, if you are only trying to heat the kitchen floor? Normally electric heat is one of the most expensive.
 
bassman said:
my heat history so you guys can get the whole picture.

I have a 2800 sq ft home with a gas furnace and a wood stove in the living area, I bought the boiler to heat a greenhouse and also plumbed it in to heat my home .

when heating the greenhouse the boiler is at its peak and will not heat anymore , the greenhouse also has me filling it every 4 to 6 hours at night with the outside temp being minus 15 c and the inside kept at 20c.

the house was in need of a kitchen reno so I installed a 12 x 24 heated floor that uses water , this was fine when I was running the boiler but I have a bad back and will be going in for sergery soon so I needed a solution for the floor , In canada they will not let me use a gas water heater to heat a floor and the fastest cheapest way was a elecrtric water heater that I could install myself.

a gas boiler is about $20 000 and overkill for my floor.
Click to expand...

===

Who says THEY have to know...
 
bassman said:
my heat history so you guys can get the whole picture.

I have a 2800 sq ft home with a gas furnace and a wood stove in the living area, I bought the boiler to heat a greenhouse and also plumbed it in to heat my home .

when heating the greenhouse the boiler is at its peak and will not heat anymore , the greenhouse also has me filling it every 4 to 6 hours at night with the outside temp being minus 15 c and the inside kept at 20c.

the house was in need of a kitchen reno so I installed a 12 x 24 heated floor that uses water , this was fine when I was running the boiler but I have a bad back and will be going in for sergery soon so I needed a solution for the floor , In canada they will not let me use a gas water heater to heat a floor and the fastest cheapest way was a elecrtric water heater that I could install myself.

a gas boiler is about $20 000 and overkill for my floor.
Click to expand...

JUST TO BE SURE IS THAT (15C 20C) IS THE C FOR CANADIAN? LOL:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange: WHAT ABOUT A PELLET STOVE OR CORN STOVE TYPE? MAYBE SAVE YOU FROM SPLITTING AND HANDLING SO MUCH? ALL WE HAVE FOR HEAT IS ELECTRIC IN TWO ROOMS AND WOOD INSERT FOR THE REST.I NEED TO GET SOME KIND OF FURNACE BUT CANT JUSTIFY $$$$$
 
Bob95065 said:
ummmm...you should get a wood burning stove and cut and spit your own wood. That's what I did and my heating bill is $0/year and I get great exercise splitting wood all summer.

Just my $0.02 :)
Click to expand...

I guess you missed the part about the back surgery???

Anyways there is no way a gas boiler is 20 grand, you can get a Weil-McClain boiler for about 1k or so give or take a few hundred. Better yet get a used one. Heck even an on-demand hot water heater should do better than what you have now
 

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