Wood Boilers for Carwash ????? for hot water

[tdlconceptsllc]

Hey guys had a crazy Idea but good I believe and seeing if anyone has actually done this or is it stupid?. I have a 10bay SS and a laser and wondering since natural gas and propane keep steadily rising every year it seems, Has anyone tried or done a outside wood boiler for there carwash/closed loop system to heat the water at there place and equipment rooms,floor heat ect. I currently have two old ray pack boiler systems with circulating pumps and 100gal holding tanks each and wondering if I could tie this in with a wood boiler to make this work. Think about it 10mins worth of work a day loading wood to heat all the carwash is like free money. Or maybe I am crazy...just seriously thinking about it everyone I talk to people that have them and they say have a endless supply of hot water at there homes that have them and love them. Thanks for all inputs. Yes I have unlimited wood chainsaws,wood splitters, ect all ready and plenty of room at my carwash for this.

Thanks for all comments. Just wanted to know has anyone thought about this or did this.

 

[Reds]

I have a wood boiler that heats my house heat and domestic hot. I use zero oil or propane. I love it. But it needs to be fed a lot of wood twice a day - I have an ideal setup for it (woodshed, splitter, pavillion, 140 wooded acres, etc). And you have to store and handle the wood. It would be nice to have one at my wash, but it would create a lot more work - and two extra trips a day to feed the fire. Do you have neighbors that may complain about the smoke? Any local ordinances regarding outside boilers? Comrade Obama's EPA just issued a rule making 80% of wood burning stoves illegal. The rule has to do with particulate emmisions. One thing I can tell you for sure is that a stove with a combustion fan will emit less smoke than one without.

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

I go to my site at least twice a day to clean up have to because it gets nasty, especially if doing alot of bussiness. You know Obama just has to ruin anything for the blue collar business man sucks. I am worried about city ordinances more than anything.

 

[Greg Pack]

On the surface it sounds neat. But nothing is free. I think you will get sick of cutting wood in short order. I mean- what are we talking here- 20 cords a year, or maybe more? The true cost in time(even if you calculated that you paid yourself minimum wage) probably isn't worth it. Then when you get sick of cutting, stacking, and splitting and start buying wood you'll have to do some math.

I haven't done the math but A cord of hardwood emits somewhere between 20-30 million BTU. Compare that with the BTU's of nat gas or propane. Then add in the acqusition cost of wood- gas and time.

Have you considered something more passive, like soiar water heating?

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

Will solar even get hot enough and I already sell tractor trailer loads of wood every winter anyways nothing to it with correct equipment

 

[2Biz]

Will solar even get hot enough and I already sell tractor trailer loads of wood every winter anyways nothing to it with correct equipment

That changes the equation immensely! So IF there are no city ordnances and your not worried about them adding an ordnance after you install the boiler and plumbing, then I say its a hell-ova good idea! I've thought of the same thing since I heat my house with wood. Although I heat it with a forced air furnace in my garage.

Just an FYI...Since my furnace was getting some age on it, (20 years old) I just replaced it this winter with a Firechief (Top Rated) forced air....2 months after I installed it, my insurance company wanted to do a house inspection and then sent me a letter of cancellation because of the furnace. Even though I had a wood furnace for 20 years, it made no difference. Change of policy they told me! I had bounced back and forth between just replacing my old furnace with a similar furnace or going with an outside boiler. Well I decided to replace what I had so I could use all the existing ductwork and such...So the moral of the story, whatever you do will be right today, and wrong tomorrow. If I didn't have a mortgage on our house, I'd tell them to pound salt. BUT...Right now this has put me in a bind! I have since learned some Insurance Company's won't even insure outside boilers. Unbelievable!

So given that, I would look strongly at Solar! I just read solar panels can heat water to 212°. So yes it can work...

 

[Greg Pack]

Will solar even get hot enough and I already sell tractor trailer loads of wood every winter anyways nothing to it with correct equipment

Yeah, that changes the equation just a bit. I guess you know your acquisition cost of cord of hardwood is already. Whats the cost of 25 million BTUS of natural gas in your area? (I have no idea what my cost is) Also might want to check with the insurance company to see if that changes anything.

Depending on your demand solar would do a pretty good job- maybe tie it in as a pre heater and the existing boiler could pick up the slack.