In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Antifreeze Cost for Boilers?

Discussion in 'Non-EPA Woodstoves and Fireplaces' started by LodgedTree, Sep 15, 2016.

  1. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I have a New Yorker Boiler that could easily be installed and hooked up to my radiant floor heating system IF it was located out in a garage with no heat. If I had to insulate and heat my garage now, the boiler project would have to wait for sometime. The other day it occurred to me, if I went with antifreeze in my system, it would not matter.

    My question is, what would that cost?

    Currently I do not use antifreeze because it is a 10% loss in efficiency.
     
  2. Rowerwet

    Rowerwet

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    back in 2008 or so I put in an outdoor pellet boiler, 90 gallons of water just in the boiler, plus the loop inside to the heat exchanger. Back then anti freeze was about $11/gal and I needed 45 gallons minimum. I was actually buying it in gallon jugs, as that was the cheapest way to get it, and finally did the math and realized I could buy a nice generator for about the same money.
    I returned the anti freeze and got a generator, which I still have. That winter we had an ice storm and lost power for 5 days right before Christmas. Not only did I have heat, but we also ran the fridge, deep freeze, washer, dryer, and the Christmas tree!
    From what I read, the anti freeze is eventually going to break down, and then you have to keep adding more. So it is almost like pouring money down a hole.
    In normal operation, my pellet boiler heated the oil boiler, which heated my house. When the pellets ran out the oil boiler kicked in and heated the house, and kept the pellet boiler from freezing up, using the same heat exchanger and loop that carried the heat in to carry the heat out. Whatever oil this cost me was cheap compared to antifreeze.
    PS. what part of Maine are you in, I had the pellet boiler when we lived in Lebanon, ME.
     
  3. Boomstick

    Boomstick Banned

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    Don't buy gallon jugs.

    They do have 50 gallon barrels for cheap.
    Car repair shops could do it for less than 100 if you are "friendly".
    RV juice is the cheapest.

    How much you will need obviously depends on the system.
     
  4. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I am close to Belfast!

    I am glad to hear that it might not freeze anyway because my propane boiler will indeed bee hooked in series to this boiler. As you noted however, a back up generator would be required to keep the pumps circulating. You my former Maine friend, gave me something to consider.
     
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  5. Rowerwet

    Rowerwet

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    The sad part was, I never got around to figuring out how to hook the generator to the house. For the first day after the ice storm we were still heating the house with a kerosene heater in the basement, while the pellet boiler was running on the generator, but not heating the house.
    I finally wired an extra connection on the house boiler circuit to connect the generator in. Of course this was kind of illegal, as I had to shut the house off at the main breaker by hand. My panel was too old to get an interlock for the generator.
    We lived in an area that lost power almost weekly.
     
  6. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    And the saga continues...

    I was rummaging around an old building we have on the farm here and ran across an industrial generator. Interestingly enough it is a gasoline unit which made my heart skip a beat because that I can convert to propane that much easier. Now I just have to dig the silly thing out. I tried too look it over twice now but it is buried under a pile of old siding. I saw it was a gas unit though and in good shape, just parked and forgotten, neither of which is good for the engine nor the jenny.
     
  7. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    Well I dug the silly Jenny out of the cobwebs but I am not sure if it was worth the trouble. Looks to be a World War Two surplus generator, gasoline or propane powered as it has a valve right on the intake header for propane. From what I could tell it is driven by a flat head 4 cylinder Hercules engine and only produces 3KW. That seems rather small considering its size, but it only turns at 1200 RPM. I'll have to see if I can find the 3 phase to single phase conversion box it supposed to have tucked away, but at 3 KW I am not sure if it is worth fussing with.

    This is not mine, but here is the exact same thing I found in an old barn of mine...
     
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