My Portage & Main Optimizer 250 Install (w/Pics)
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OH_Varmntr
Burner of stored sunlight
I'm really liking the 250. The more I read on it, the more I want one.
16 or 17 hour burn time sounds great to me.
Just curious, how big of a heat exchanger did you get (in BTUs)? I see your house is about 2200sqft.
16 or 17 hour burn time sounds great to me.
Just curious, how big of a heat exchanger did you get (in BTUs)? I see your house is about 2200sqft.
MattNH
ArboristSite Lurker
Ordering wood now (late I know) and trying to figure out how much to get. Are you using any green wood or is everything seasoned? I can get green @ 265, 1year seasoned @ 300, and kiln dried @ 335 per cord. I'd love to get green but don't want issues with burning. No worries for next year, but this year will be expensive.
jrider
Addicted to ArboristSite
I got the P&M 250 in October and love it. Hasn't gotten very cold yet here in south Jersey but if I fill the box I can go just about 24 hours on a fill if I had to. I fill it up about half way once in the morning and at night just because I can at this point.
It is recommeded though, that no green wood be burned in it. It supposedly messes up the gasification/efficiency of it.
Those are some pretty steep prices even for green! You will likely go through about 1/3 of a cord a week - give or take. So, conservatively in the Northeast, we're looking at another 17 weeks of heating (that's till mid April). I'm sure you've already done the math, but that's close to $2,000!
I'll agree with the other poster that the gasifiers like seasoned wood - but to save some cash maybe you can go with a 1/2 and 1/2 mix?
MattNH
ArboristSite Lurker
Boiler is on-line, wood is delivered, and it wont go below 40 degrees...At lease I will be ready for when it does. Thanks for all the help.
Anyone looking for a top notch installer, please let me know. I couldn't be happier with job my guy has done and how much he has helped get me up to speed on the in's and outs of my P&M OWB.
Anyone looking for a top notch installer, please let me know. I couldn't be happier with job my guy has done and how much he has helped get me up to speed on the in's and outs of my P&M OWB.
Hey Matt -
Just curious if we used the same guy? One other comment you made and then this one led me to wonder. Are his initials RE? Lives in Southern Maine?
OH_Varmntr
Burner of stored sunlight
You guys are making me want to pull the trigger on a Opti 250.
MattNH, you have any pics of your install?
MattNH, you have any pics of your install?
MattNH
ArboristSite Lurker
His initials are indeed RE. I thought I had recognized his trailer from your install pictures. He is a good guy and we are happy with his work.
Speaking of pictures, I have not taken any but will do so and post here on this thread.
Speaking of pictures, I have not taken any but will do so and post here on this thread.
Yep, he's a good guy.
Regarding pictures...If you had the same guy install yours...Your pics might bear a striking resemblance to the ones I already posted. LOL :jester:
ihookem
ArboristSite Operative
I have an EKO 25 and like it but it seems a very fussy wood boiler. When it comes to gassifiers you need dry wood and there is no way around it. It wont gassify if the wood is moist. The drier the better, if the wood fizzes and water comes out when burning it's too wet.
MattNH
ArboristSite Lurker
Finally wrestled the camera away from the wife, but that is another story.:msp_smile:
I will take some more but here is the start. The OWB sits +/- 175 feet from the house.
View attachment 219998
View attachment 219999
Back of the furnace is has been pre-plumbed to heat the pool come this summer. We will finish with the plumbing & second trench in April/May.
View attachment 220000
...and here is where we enter the house...
View attachment 220001
HX in the top of the FHA plenum.
View attachment 220002
MattNH
ArboristSite Lurker
Unlimited HW...wife plus 3 kids have not come close to denting it.
View attachment 220012View attachment 220013
More to follow...
View attachment 220012View attachment 220013
More to follow...
Ductape
Addicted to ArboristSite
Mind if I ask where LFOD is ?
Nice looking install.
Nice looking install.
MattNH
ArboristSite Lurker
Life free or die...I'm in Brentwood
Ductape
Addicted to ArboristSite
10-4. Was racking my brain thinking of town nicknames so I wouldn't have to ask. :bang:
Hey Matt,
Why did he install the dial thermostats on both the supply and return lines in the back of your boiler? Theorhetically you already know the temperature of your boiler water based on the read out on the digital control, right? Based on the distance from your boiler to your house, wouldn't it have made more sense to install those inside where the lines enter the basement? Then if you're curious about your temperatures, just go down stairs.
MattNH
ArboristSite Lurker
Jim,
I was thinking the same thing...then I cleaned the cast plumbing with the gook-off and got some on the LCD which makes it nearly impossible to read. Now I'm happy to have it.
What I have a hard time believing is that I lose so little heat with the 170 feet run from the boiler to the the house...and then back again. The biggest difference I have seen yet is 13 degrees.
***Note to self, NO GOOF-OFF in back of boiler!!***
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