How I heat 7000 sq. ft. for cheap in Canada with a multifuel biomass boiler (portage and main)
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- This is a tour of my LCB300 boiler. I've cut my $10,000/year heating bill to virtually zero dollars with this unit. It heats my 100+ year old, 3000 sq. ft. home, 1100 sq. ft. garage, 3000 sq. ft shop, and my domestic hot water.
Awesome video - I love this setup compared to an outdoor wood boiler, this setup looks so much cleaner & easier to maintain.
This is a neat set up. I live in Louisiana and DON'T need this system, but I totally enjoy folks that take imitative to find better ways to do things. 👍s up to you my friend.
Yeah, but you still live in Louisiana. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'm a heating technician I work on oil and gas a lot but I love this set up it's just like the outdoor wood boiler. I would love to do that for my house and huge barn!
Very cool, I have an American Standard natural gas boiler in my 100 year old house that is 47 years old. On all but the coldest days I set it at 120 and never go over 170.
I'm in Sudbury so we see extreme cold but even with a NG hot water tank and stove my gas bill is around $1200 a year.
Hell ya...I was born and raised in Sudbury now living the acreage life in Saskatchewan but I sure miss all the lakes and especially the cottage
I live in South East Victoria Australia and am involved in the bluegum hardwood chip industry. The chips are exported for pulp . The waste left behind after the trees have been harvested is ridiculous. Waste meaning the limbs and bark after the trees have been harvested and chipped . I see a secondary use for all this slash such as fuel for a heating system such as yours . All these slash piles in the thousands and thousands of tons are just left to rot into the ground . 👍 thumbs up for your setup .
Feel free to send those chips over here for testing ;-)
An issue with biomass fuel is whether you can transport it at a low cost.
Mike you got heating down to a science for sure. Super
Ha! You Canucks! The inside boiler room floor is the "ground" and outside ground area is the "floor".
You do this on purpose due to an insistence to not follow any kind of established norm. And it's funny as hell! We love you guys, please, never change!
Insulating the boiler room, will help by warming up your fuel hopper, thus drying it more, and reducing your heat looses from the boiler and pipes. You can do it rather cheaply and easily yourself, or you can pay a bit more and have it done professionally. I installed expanded foam 50mm insulation in my boiler room and house roof for $8/m^2. It really does make a big difference especially for a roof.
that boiler building is insulated.
@@mikedueck pole barn ftw
This is freaking awesome!
I need this for my rural acreage in Saskatchewan
Same system like my smaller Hedestoker boiler,burning chipped wood and water heated pipes in floors,circulating water from 2000 litres insulated watertank.
Thanks for sharing I like your setup gives me lots of ideas hope you keep doing updates
I'll do a few more soon.
Thats a pretty slick set up and another mans trash is another man heat!!!
Now I got boiler envy!
Nice setup, with obligatory cat tracks. Chase down your air leaks before adding insulation, whether the latter is in the planning stage. Thermal blankets and/or shutters for windows would be more important than upgrading thin insulation anywhere. Spent 25 years in Alberta so I have a good idea what you're up against, and I was an insulator for a while.
Where were you getting your coal from Estevan, SK? It's apparently illegal to burn coal in Manitoba now I was looking in to it recently as I wanted something to heat my shop and my house and water heater but I think a wood boiler will be more cost effective for me at the moment. Hopefully we can get rid of Trudeau soon and his stupid carbon tax.
I never tried the Estevan stuff, I've been told by many that it's poor. Always paid to haul it out of Dodds in Alberta.
@@mikedueck Yeah the coal in Estevan is lignite mostly.
So cool bro, hello from Russia
Fantastic video and heating power source /cheers scrapbongo
Glad you enjoyed it
@@mikedueck /cheers
AND BETTER YET THE ASHES ARE GREAT FOR FERTILIZING FIELD CROPS, GARDENS OR YARD!!
Great !👍, greetings 🇳🇱
Awesome
That’s a great set up. What model of portage and main is that boiler? Does it automatically Re-light or just slow down in idle mode?
Thanks for the video. As a wood boiler guy I’m considering building a wood chip boiler. I’m really interested in the fire break for the auger. Anyone have something they can point me toward?
I heat my 2 story home here in Pennsylvania with less then 3 ton of Chestnut Coal a year as well as our hot water..
Yes
I have a portage and main coal boiler wonder if it will work on it or get Crogged up .
There is a market for those ashes. I think they can be used in concrete if kept bone dry.
Mike.... Where do you get your Rye fines, and what is a B train..?? Thanks Peter
How many bushels did you go through with this winter being so harsh? Looking at doing this at my place but need an idea, we need to heat about the same amount of sq. Ft.
How much was the boiler and where might you purchase one. Thanks
Well, not zero dollars. There's the cost of transport and electricity to keep everything going. Maintenance always costs something. It is a good way of heating if you have access to consumables at a reasonable cost tho.
True. It's not actually zero. Transport cost me $300 to fill both bins. Maintenance...I haven't owned it long enough to say. Water treatment, glycol, etc. Cost to run the pumps. All minor in comparison, but you're right. Nothing is actually free.
This is a great system. I have only saw another system similar to your about 5 years ago on Tuber, and it was in Canada. VERY NICE. Any idea for a backup if you lose electric for a long time ?
If I were to lose power for a long period of time of have to run a generator - which isn't the end of the world.
@@mikedueck OK, STILL LOVE THE SYSTEM !!!
Cool. Ok so you saved $10k a year but you have to have 200k into all that infrastructure! Thats a 20 year break even!
Is that worth it?
awesome
What do you do with the ash? Is there any use for it?
To figure the annual cost and the payback for the investment the cost of the New Boiler is needed. In year one you didn't heat the house for free. Beautiful home btw!!
the boiler cost around $20k.
How is the water temperature regulated?
Great video. Can you give us an idea of a maintenance schedulw for this unit for a week or a month? So much is automated but you did mention having to clean the heat exchanger tubes.
When burning coal the HX tubes stayed pretty clean. I would clean them about once a month. Burning lighter fuel, like the screenings i'm burning now dirties the HX tubes quicker. I'm currently doing it about once every 2 weeks. I could probably do it once a week. That being said, it only takes about 5 minutes.
There is a similar system that I saw a few years ago with a guy heating his car garage with a burner that had a turning burn chamber. Have you seen that video?
i have not. curious to see it though.
I think I know the one you are talking about. He’s Canadian and he was burning cherry pits I believe.
@@BNUTTALL1983 Yeah, it had some kind of gas engine driven gear system that drown a "turntable" burn pit with a gravity fed storage bin outside of his garage. If anyone knows where I can find that I would greatly appreciate it. I cannot find it to save my life.
Here you go. I should have looked it up when I replied earlier. The guy built it all himself. Slick unit.
m.ruclips.net/video/i-nfIfSjglo/видео.html
@@BNUTTALL1983 Ahhh man, YOU ROCK!!! Thanks! I appreciate it. How did you find it? I have looked for several hours and could not locate it.
How many bushels of screenings do you burn in a winter? Do the screenings flow easy from the bin or do you have plugging issues?
This was a much warmer year than average so it's hard to say.I didn't even burn the whole small bin this year. I filled the big one in fall too because I didn't know much I'd burn. I filled the small one connected to the boiler at the end of November and I still have about 1/3 left. The small bin holds about 1300 bushel. So this I I burned maybe 900ish?
@@mikedueck does it plug with screenings?? I have seen that stuff plug just coming out of the truck?
@@renegoudreau8578 my old boiler did, but it was a coal boiler with a head and ring type burn chamber. This walking grate I have now works perfectly. The old coal boiler would plug up in the elbow under the head/ring with screenings. I've had 0 bridging or anything like that in the bin with screenings - unlike coal which would bridge when it got very cold. Aka -35c.
@@mikedueck awesome. Thanks for the information.
The boilers true value will be unlocked if ever the house goes on sale, you can easily redeem your whole initial investment. 👌
I agree, but have no intention of selling. I love it here.
@@mikedueck , ok but remember a house is an investment and therefore a marketable security. Therefor logic dictates that one must never fall in love with a stock (house) that can be bought or sold. Always be prepared to cash in and move on to the next investment when the one you have (stock/house) has reached its peak evaluation and now has limited growth potential. Have a nice weekend.
@@saint2709 yes and in another 10-20 years his farm or "acreage" will be worth almost 2x
OK Saint... Thanks for the investment advice. The man said he's not selling it. Apparently that doesn't make sense to your "logic". Just a ridiculous reply @@saint2709
Mike Where did you buy the boiler and what was the cost and is there someone that will set it up. I also live in Canada and would love something like this to heat my greenhouse and work shop
Sincerely Jane something else could you do a video on cleaning the unit. Thank you again
I may do a cleaning video yet, yes. Stay tuned on that front. Contact heat smart plus in Prince Albert SK for sales.
Im near Edmonton, I would be interested to know where you source your fuel from?
any farmer! the trick is having bins empty and available. they won't keep it forever. get it when you can.
@@mikedueck I got a 1950's coal burner,the kind with the turn table, would you think it could burn that rye?
@@bertvisser6423 it's hard to say. if it feeds into the bottom of the head/ring the issue would be at the elbow. If it's sharp it will likely compact and clog up. if it's a relatively gradual elbow it might work. this was my issue burning the sunflower screenings in my coal boiler. it would jam up the auger at the elbow from time to time. it was annoying and not reliable enough for winter.
Love the set up . being in Manitoba i heat with a wood boiler but the costs if i buy are to high so i am still cutting my own but would love a hopper feed boiler
I'm in Manitoba too
@@mikedueck Was wondering , my mother was a Dueck
@@ericg1971 Manitoba here too, my sister in law's family are Duecks out of Niverville.
@@larryroyovitz7829 Lol thats where i grew up
@@ericg1971 Nice! I'm a bit more south west of Winnipeg, down #2 highway.
How old is that system?
Looks like I found the system I need. What’s the model or size that you have ? Is there a rep that helped build your system?
i was working with Brian and Heat Smart Plus in Prince Albert, SK.
Thanks
This set up probably cost more than what i pay the gas company to heat my house for 20 yrs
How many SQ ft are you heating??
It just might. But keep in mind I heat 7000 sq ft of not-so-well insulated building in Manitoba Canada. Was costing $10,000 annually in coal, which would be somewhere around 15k+ in electricity, and a gas connection is $200,000 as I'm miles from the line. I wish that was a made up number but I inquired about it before going through with this as it would certainly be easier.
@@mikedueck This guy is most likely heating 1300 sq ft home and thinks he has something figured out...Your system is great and multi fuel advantages that his types could not imagine..You are set for what is about to hit us in the near future...Gd on ya..cheers
@@mikedueck how much, roughly, do you have invested in the whole setup?
@@Njennings42 ummm, hard to say. The boiler is around $20,000. The hydronics is probably around $4000-5000. The bins and the building were there when I bought the property.
$35,000 boiler
Closer to 20
@@mikedueck That will payback soon enough !! Good job from an hvac man
Do you wish for heat storage tank?
No, i have no need for one. the system works perfectly as it is. on exceptionally cold days (-40c) it will pretty much call all day without ceasing, but a storage tank wouldn't solve that problem unles it was the size of a swimming pool! haha.
How do you get the material for free?
There's ergot in the rye. Spoiled crop essentially. Useless to the farmer. It costs them more to haul it to a landfill then to give it away for free.
@@mikedueck How much does a system like yours cost if I did the install myself?
@@robertlaird6746 it depends where you stop. Boiler, building, bin(s), hydronics, etc. The boiler was around 20k, I probably spent 5k on hydronics.
@@mikedueck I'm building my home on acreage debt free and am doing all the work myself, without hired labor. The home is in the framing stages but I have plans on building a pond next to the house for a geothermal heat system. I also have plans on installing hydronic in floor heat using possibly a propane powered thankless water heater. I'm also going to build a large greenhouse and was planning on digging out the dirt underneath it, building an ICF foundation and then laying pips mixed with rock and dirt for geothermal air to heat the greenhouse. I was thinking of installing solar to power the fans to move the warm ground air through the pips. I live in western WA around the farming community but don't know anyone that I could contact to get any product if I was going to use a system like yours. I'd like to use two sources of heat that are free and then burn wood. If I was going on vacation, I would know that my home would not freeze with those two systems in place. I'm trying to stay away from getting a bill from the power company as much as possible since that adds up over time and I have a large home with several large out buildings that I plan on building in the future. Decisions... decisions.
@@robertlaird6746 yeah, there's a lot to that. Probably more of a question for a heating contractor. Good luck though.
That's to easy. I have a wood batch box boiler I'm trying to perfect, its so clean a burn. I heat 160gallons of water to move to heat 44by77by 35. Didn't know I could run 2 circulating pumps same line, thanks 4that. Question to u, does system have expansion tank inline or relief valves. Another question, radiators used to heat 🏠, do u also use as domestic water
yes, i have a rather complex system in the basement. this system does to my hot water. it heats floor heat under the subfloor, in concrete, and through a rad in the my furnace. i also have an indirect hot water tank for my domestic.
@@mikedueck how much wood u burn? U heat domestic water by gas?
I don't burn wood. Regarding the rye screenings in the video though, I'm not sure. This is my first winter. I'm guessing around 25 or 30 ton.
@@mikedueck u sayin u burn alot of wood. 4by8by18 a cord. Okay. Do your water temperatures fluctuate in ranges.? How long it take to heat the pad. Must feel GREAT in there. Do u know the out temp verses the return temp difference.
@@columbusjuju5500 I don't burn wood. I don't measure in cords. Understand that please. I have 2 different concrete floors. One is 1100 sq ft and one is 3000. The temperature of the main loop fluctuates based in what is calling for heat. I heat 7000 sq ft. I heat with heated floors(concrete, wood, tile, and carpet) concrete pads, radiators in furnace, Towel warmers, etc. The main loop return temp when everything is calling is probably around 120. That's a bit of a guess.
You are in trouble now ,
Someone ain't gettin paid
10 grand ,
Great idea , but you should have kept it to yourself ,
More people will want to do it and some will succeed ,
More money not spent so they are in trouble ,
You were helping someone's kid go to college where you were buying that coal ,
Now what's little Johnny going to do , haul bags of Rye for you ?
And I'll be needing a schematic diagram of this heating system
You can't thank Justin Trudeau for Johnny not having a job. Lol. The carbon tax is killing the market. I just posted another video of the hydronics details a day or 2 ago.
@@mikedueck , I'll look forward to seeing it and giving you a Thumbs up ,
Carbon Tax ?
What's a Carbon Tax ?
You mean that black stuff that gets in my chimney when I burn Free wood ?
I got to pay Tax for that ?
Who knew ?
If I clean it myself do I still pay Tax ?
And if I do pay a Carbon Tax the money just goes into someone's pocket and the Carbon still exist ,
I'm trying to convert my pellet stove to burn wood chips ,you know , from a wood chipper , it's a way to burn the small limbs that get ground up ,
They are usually free because no one wants them ,
Great Video Mike but you didn't hear it from me
Canada added a carbon tax that really hurt pretty much everyone...but I'll stay on course and try not to get into politics. In the last couple years coal changed from $40/ton, to $100/ton and it's continuing to rise. It applies to gas, diesel, propane, etc. In the end almost everything, but things like coal are impacted really heavily and without changing to this new boiler could have chased off the yard I love so much.
@@mikedueck Meanwhile the hypocrites in government sell it cheap to China by the giga ton, and they burn it up to fuel their economy, global political agenda and military. Yet the average Canadian gets shafted trying to keep his home warm in the brutal winters. It's a predatory tax. Government mostly attracts stupid, selfish, and self serving people.