Methods of heating

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Steve Severance
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2006 3:16 pm
Location: Florida, for now...

Methods of heating

Post by Steve Severance »

Having visited the island for the first time in 25 years, I
re-discovered why I loved it so much in my youth. Luckily my wife fell in love with it as well and we are purchasing some property with the intent of retirement away from the "world".
Currently we are beginning to plan our dream log home and I'm considering methods of heating the house. I'm leaning torward radiant heat from a hydronic source and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this method of heating. My tentative plan is to use a wood fired external boiler for this purpose, but I'm concerned about time spent away visiting relatives in the winter. How will I provide heat to keep everything from freezing while we are gone for a week or two at a time?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Steve
Gillespie
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Post by Gillespie »

Simple, Tom, electric heat for backup or of course you could have a seperate boiler inside. I added a wood fired external boiler to my existing hydronic system.
Steve Severance
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2006 3:16 pm
Location: Florida, for now...

Post by Steve Severance »

Thanks for the input. I had thought of the electric option, but I was concerned about potential for outage. How reliable has the service been? Is there much heating done with natural gas, propane, or fuel oil on the island? I will almost definitely go primarily with radiant heat based on research it looks great, but I'm just looking for the best system for a redundant backup.

Thanks and God bless,
Steve
Kathleen Dvoracek
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Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:55 am

Post by Kathleen Dvoracek »

One of the plumbing contractors on the island picked up the Central Boiler line of outdoor wood boilers. Three of them went over on the barge a week or so ago. You might want to talk to the contractor as the Central Boiler line offers duel fuel (wood/propane, or wood/fuel oil all in one stove) I have a C.B. and would highly recommend one. Dana
Steve Severance
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2006 3:16 pm
Location: Florida, for now...

Post by Steve Severance »

Thanks for the responses, I have been to the central boiler website and the duel fuel option seems to be the perfect answer.

Steve
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