VanWert600 Vs EFM700

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 12:13 pm

Did I mention that along with heating 1,680 Sq-Ft upstairs (to 70 degrees), we also heat a finished basement (family room) that is 840 Sq-Ft (to 67 degrees) and also an 840 Sq-Ft garage (to 40-45 degrees). Our house has a "walk-out" basement that is half family room and half garage. Bedrooms sit directly over the 40-45 degree garage, so require additional heat for that zone accordingly. Being a "walk-out" our basement is half buried like a normal basement and half fully exposed to the outside cold. We could easily claim to be heating 2,520 Sq-Ft, and 46,000 BTUH output is adequate. But around here a basement is a basement, and it is not included as Sq-Ft for the purpose of listing and selling a house, so "legally" we own a 1,680 Sq-Ft home.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 12:23 pm

fetzner808 wrote: ↑
Sun. Feb. 23, 2020 9:32 pm
From a "real world" (no offense Isayre!) stand point it seems people often have smaller SqFt homes but boilers with around 150,000 BTU. the friend i have who uses one, similar situation. wishes he had upsized.

For about $150 to $200 you could have a certified 'Manual J' home heat loss assessment made and truly know what your real world home heating requirement is, whereas presently you have no clue. That low one time expense could result in thousands of saved dollars up front, and additionally over the long haul as well. The difference will go a long way toward the likes of new and heat efficient windows and doors and wall/attic insulation. All of which enhance home value, and reduce your need for heat energy and expense, so you get more when it comes time to sell.

Years ago oil boilers were known to be as low as 45% efficient. Sizing an 87% efficient modern replacement boiler to the same input BTUH size is in and of itself a huge mistake with a magnitude of nearly 2X.

ncountry · Post by **ncountry** » Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 6:05 pm

lsayre wrote: ↑
Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 12:23 pm
For about $150 to $200 you could have a certified 'Manual J' home heat loss assessment made and truly know what your real world home heating requirement is, whereas presently you have no clue. That low one time expense could result in thousands of saved dollars up front, and additionally over the long haul as well. The difference will go a long way toward the likes of new and heat efficient windows and doors and wall/attic insulation. All of which enhance home value, and reduce your need for heat energy and expense, so you get more when it comes time to sell.

Years ago oil boilers were known to be as low as 45% efficient. Sizing an 87% efficient modern replacement boiler to the same input BTUH size is in and of itself a huge mistake with a magnitude of nearly 2X.

I'm not in the right part of the state to help out,(our company has an energy division)but most NYers can get free energy audits through NYSERDA

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 8:25 pm

ncountry wrote: ↑
Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 6:05 pm
I'm not in the right part of the state to help out,(our company has an energy division)but most NYers can get free energy audits through NYSERDA

Certified Manual J?

ncountry · Post by **ncountry** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2020 6:50 am

lsayre wrote: ↑
Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 8:25 pm
Certified Manual J?

Not sure about the answer to that, not my department,
I know we have to be BPI certified... I know they use a blower door test in the process.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2020 7:42 am

I spent some time searching for the current cost of getting a Manual J heat load assessment done, and the price has come down to the range of $70 to $100.

Dave 1234 · Post by **Dave 1234** » Wed. Feb. 26, 2020 8:22 am

We installed an EFM 700 with a s-20 stoker in a 4000 sf 2 story house this fall. Its a friends house. Nice complement to his heating system. His wife loves how warm it made the house, my buddy loves how simple it is to run.

If there is room a 700 is nice. We live in Ct. Not quite as cold as your area.

Dave

fetzner808 · Post by **fetzner808** » Wed. Feb. 26, 2020 10:35 pm

Thanks for all the input everyone. Lots of info to comb over.

Dave any idea how much they are burning per year? DHW in the summer?

the VA 600 locally sold.

The EFM700 is still up. 3-4 hours away.

On the EFM, is the water capacity being larger of any benefit? if it is over sized some how much of a problem can that be, can it be adjusted down much for less capacity?

Post by **Rob R.** » Thu. Feb. 27, 2020 6:51 am

I would not say the EFM 700 is oversized compared to the VA600. The Van Wert factory setup is a feed rate of 18 lbs per hr (when the stoker is running) of buck. That can be changed if you feel like swapping parts.

It is much simpler to adjust the feed rate on the EFM, and it will be a very efficient rig with the stoker set to match the output to your homes demand. The boiler itself will shed more heat into the basement due to the larger size, but that is easy enough to fix with some insulation.

fetzner808 · Post by **fetzner808** » Thu. Feb. 27, 2020 6:17 pm

Think an EFM would suit that location well?

Ideally vin would go to the left outside the frame.

Not a lot of width due to the staircase. Could always make the exhaust run longer I suppose.

Post by **Rob R.** » Fri. Feb. 28, 2020 9:54 am

It is tough to tell how much space you to work with, but it looks like it should fit. Are you planning on feeding the auger out of a large bin, or using a smaller bin/drum ?

fetzner808 · Post by **fetzner808** » Fri. Feb. 28, 2020 5:54 pm

That Boiler is only 12 inches from the wall. about 32" from the boiler to the staircase.

The wall it is against is into my garage and is only drywall, so the bin could be built out there. Preferably smaller so i do not lose a parking spot for my wife.

Best location for a huge bin is to the left in the picture about 12 feet. the basement juts out under the front porch and could be converted for storage and delivery easier than any other location.

if the boiler is moved that direction is there a rule of thumb for length or distance from the chimney?

Looking like i will go with the EFM 700. tentative for a week from Saturday if our schedules work out.

Dave 1234 · Post by **Dave 1234** » Sun. Mar. 01, 2020 5:57 pm

F,
Sorry, I was away for a few days. The 700 at my buddys house seems to be on track to burn 10 ton 'ish for the year. Tall cealings and lofted family room, plus heavy DHW load. All in all its a nice boiler. Oil unit just sits at rest, and the 700 never works hard. The white price stickers are still like new on the stack. So you know the heat is going to the right places. I really like the 700's . But they are big. They take up a door opening.

Dave

lzaharis · Post by **lzaharis** » Mon. Mar. 02, 2020 12:02 am

To be up to National Plumbing Code neither boiler can share the same chimney flue.
Its more a question of whether you have a second chimney flue in that stone work or intend to remove the oil burner flue pipe and remove the burner control module from the burner and install the EFM fluepipe in its place.

Scottscoaled · Post by **Scottscoaled** » Mon. Mar. 02, 2020 7:04 am

700 is only 2” wider than 700

VanWert600 Vs EFM700

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