Central Boiler 4436...
Installed last year and we are very happy with it. Heating hot water and house with it. Plumbed into 1: pre-existing solar pre-heated hot water heater with a flat plate HX (using convection loop); 2: pre-existing pressurized hydronic floor heating loop with a flat plate HX (with Taco pump) and mixing valve to keep the floor temp at 100 degrees F. Used about 100 feet of PEX each way. I designed a PEX burial/outside insulated waterproof section using Pex, pipe insulation and 4 inch drain pipe. I sleeved the PEX with ten foot sections of foam and then stuffed it all into 4 inch corrigated drain pipe to keep it water-tight. It works great.
More than enough capacity for our needs. I keep the boiler temp set to 165 degrees F., mainly as the hydronic floor loop temp. only needs to be 100 degrees F. We have about 2400 sq ft of house and a 50 gallon hot water heater. The house is 5 yeard old and well insulated. But it has a lot of windows, and a lot of vaulted ceiling areas. 15 degrees F was the low the last 3 years, nothing compared to northeast or upper midwest, but cold for us!
We burned 4+ (real) cords last year, but a lot of that was green, wet, rotten and light wood (lot of willow, cottonwood and grand fir). This year I have 5 cords (10 ricks, or face cords) of wood stored and dry (mostly medium density red alder and Doug fir). So we should have no problems heating this place this winter.
We save $200 a month in electric bills in fall/winter. The unit will pay for itself in 6 years of use. Less if electric rates go up more. We have gobs of free wood here on our 105 acres in eth heart of Oregon timber country. Mixed species; Doug and grand fir, red cedar, bigleaf and boxelder maple, black and white oak, willow, cottonwood, apple, plum, walnut, pear, hazlenut, red alder.. it all burns!
Good rapport with the CB dealer and factory. A few small things failed and were replaced this summer under warantee, no down time last year becasue of them though. A damper door mount warped and the LED display did not read out right. Now fixed. No rust. Simple to manage once installed. Not that much smoke. Far less than we expected. Standard steel. Natural venting damper (no forced air fan).
