The Wood Boiler we use is manufactured in Denmark and distributed in the United States by a company called Tarm USA that is located right down the street from us in Lyme, New Hampshire and operated by the local Nichols family. This boiler can either use cord wood or another model can use corn or wood pellets. The concept is similar to the masonry heater. You light the stove once or twice a day in the winter and the 1800 degrees fire heats the 700 gallon super-insulated water storage tank. The hot water is used for the radiant floor heat and to heat domestic hot water for showers and washing. This high temperature, like the masonry heater, efficiently burns not only the wood but the wood gases as well.
Looking to burn wood efficiently and in an environmentally sound manner will allow us to use this resource that is literally all around us without a dependency on anyone. If we can utilize a renewable natural resource like wood from a sustainable forest and use it in a manner that will not add CO2 to our greenhouse issue or acid rain as well as stay away from burning fossil fuels, then we do less harm to our environment and lessen our fossil fuel dependency.
If we are to lazy to either feed the masonry heater or the Tarm boiler with wood or we happen to be away, the Viessmann on demand propane boiler will automatically start if the temperature of the building drops below a preset temperature.
The following is from the Tarmusa.com website:
"HS –TARM Solo Plus boilers provide a convenient, safe and environmentally friendly way to heat your home and domestic hot water with wood. Solo Plus boilers assure the independence and self-reliance that heating with wood provides. Because they use the “magic” of wood gasification combustion, they give unusually high overall heating efficiency. They use substantially less wood than conventional boilers and outdoor water stoves. Solo Plus boilers burn so clean, they are safer (virtually no risk of a chimney fire) and result in cleaner air for everyone. They also help to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. HS-TARM Solo Plus boilers enable you to increase the warm security of your home in a safe, environmentally responsible way. Everyone wins!
For more than 70 years, HS-TARM has been a pioneer in the development and production of residential central heating equipment. HS-TARM's primary objective is quality, function and appearance... excellence on all levels. In fact, HS-TARM has earned the prestigious ISO 9001 certification, which assures consistently reliable product quality.
Operational reliability, unique firing efficiency, total quality, and concern for the environment, are all factors that have been instrumental in HS-TARM becoming an internationally recognized supplier of central heating boilers."
HOW THE SOLO PLUS-MKII WORKS
The combustion system employed in Solo Plus boilers solves most of the problems associated with conventional wood boilers and outdoor water stoves.
Here’s why: The wood gasification combustion process in the Solo Plus boiler begins when the small, quiet draft fan turns on in response to the boiler’s heat controls. The draft fan blows fresh air into the top of the firebox and down through the wood and live charcoal bed. This hot air and smoke mixture is forced through a slot in the top of the ceramic combustion chamber. Super-heated secondary air is then injected into these gases. The combination of the wood gas and smoke with the high temperature oxygen results in a super-hot 1800° flame in the ceramic combustion tunnel. This is the “Wow, that’s unbelievable” process we call wood gasification. The gases stay in this hot, turbulent environment long enough to achieve extremely high combustion efficiency. The resultant heat passes into the vertical heat exchange tubes giving off heat to the boiler water for house heating and domestic hot water demands.
The combination of optimum combustion and maximum heat exchange efficiency is what yields the unusually high overall boiler heating efficiencies of 85% plus.
Tarm Wood Fired Boiler Internal Diagram
Tarm Wood Fired Boiler
Tarm 700 gallon storage tank
TARM USA believes that the best installation of all HS-TARM boilers is one that includes a heat storage tank. Until you burn wood in a TARM boiler that is installed with a properly sized heat storage system, you won't know how easy it can be to heat with wood. By storing boiler heat in an insulated water storage tank, you gain increased operating flexibility and you can easily extend the wood-heating season. When the boiler is operating it is producing heat at full output with the cleanest and most efficient operation, however, the output is usually greater than the heating requirements of the house. This "extra" heat is then transferred to the storage tank for use later. Because of the buffer the heat storage system provides, you are free to fire the boiler when it is convenient for you. On most days in the winter you will be able to load the boiler once in 24 hours. In summer, you will be able to go 7-10 days between firings to heat all of your domestic hot water. You don't need to rush home or get up early to load more wood. There are no problems with creosote or overheating if the boiler is oversized. The insulated storage tank absorbs the heat produced until the wood is consumed and the boiler shuts off. Heat is recaptured from the storage tank as heat and domestic hot water is needed in the house.
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Viessmann On Demand Propane Boiler
The Viessmann On Demand Boiler operates as a backup to the Tarm wood fired boiler for our radiant floor heating system and as an on demand hot water heater for domestic hot water. The Viessmann is used as the control system and will turn on if the heat in the Barn House drops below a preset temperature.
For hot water for showers and sinks it has a separate temperature guage and if the domestic hot water drops below a specific temperature it will operate as an on demand heater and bring the water up to the desired temperature.
