Which heating boiler is best suited for a summer residence?

Dacha for many of us today is not just a garden plot located in the countryside, but in most cases, a full-fledged housing. Gone are the days when country houses were a modest shelter in which it was hardly possible to hide from rain and wind. Today, for many of us, a dacha is a capital structure in which, if desired, you can make it a year-round dwelling, both in summer and in winter. Solid fuel boilers for summer cottages allow to solve this problem. Today, these are no longer ordinary, primitive metal barrels of the “potbelly stove” type. Today, in the country, you can put a heating unit, which is a high-tech equipment.

Solid fuel boiler equipment for summer cottages is the most suitable option. No one will stay in the country for a long time in the winter, but spending a weekend in the countryside, in the bosom of nature, is quite acceptable. Pulling the gas pipeline to your site, connecting a gas boiler in this case is not cost-effective. For temporary heating and creating comfortable conditions inside the country house, a wood-burning heater, or any other available form of solid fuel, is quite enough.

Which heater is best for summer cottages

One desire to equip your country house with an autonomous heating system is not enough. For this purpose, not only funds will be required, but also technical skill and ingenuity. As a rule, in dachas quite often they solve the problem of heating, using for this purpose fireplaces or conventional stoves — heaters. This method is quite simple to operate, but inefficient and extremely uneconomical.

On a note: when operating a fireplace in a residential building with an area of ​​30-50 m², almost 50% of thermal energy is wasted. The Russian stove is able to heat a fairly large room, and for a long time, but doubts are caused by high fuel consumption and the dimensions of the structure itself.

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A boiler, a heating device, whose task is to purposefully heat the living quarters in the house, will work much more efficiently. The heating boiler is designed in such a way that the design itself is already focused on the fact that it would be better to use the resulting heat to heat the room. Autonomous heating of a summer house using a solid fuel boiler, according to the principle of operation and in its essence, is no different from similar systems installed in private households. The only condition that you should pay attention to is related to the type of heater and the dependence of the heating system on other communications.

When choosing a solid fuel boiler for your dacha, consider the following aspects:

• what speed of heating the room will suit you;
• what is the duration of the boiler with a single bookmark;
• is it possible to connect a hot water system to the boiler;
• what is the fuel consumption;
• whether it is convenient and practical to operate the equipment in a suburban environment.

As a rule, the most common boiler connection schemes are used, with forced and natural circulation.

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Most modern models manufactured by domestic and foreign companies are compact and economical products. The units are specially designed for quick heating of residential premises in the field, if you can say so about the cottage. In terms of price-quality ratio, foreign models look preferable to domestic products. In terms of their functionality, solid fuel boilers for summer cottages can vary greatly, depending on the model chosen.

We recommend that you read: how to make heating in the country?

We are considering various options for heating equipment for summer cottages

Pyrolysis boilers

For reference: in foreign models, the burning time of a pyrolysis boiler from one refueling is 100-120 hours, while domestic units are able to operate smoothly for exactly half the time.

But domestic heating equipment is unpretentious to operating conditions, this is especially important in terms of the low quality of the fuel resource. Often, domestic models are also equipped with a hob, which is very convenient and relevant for a country house. Most solid fuel products are pyrolysis boilers or, in other words, gas generators. In boilers of this type, combustible pyrolysis (wood) gas does the main work on heating the coolant. The principle of operation of heating devices of this type is quite simple and understandable.

For reference: The main heat is obtained not as a result of the combustion of the fuel placed in the combustion chamber, but as a result of the secondary combustion of the air-gas combustible mixture. Solid fuel at this moment only smolders, releasing a large amount of gaseous volatile matter under the influence of high temperature and a small amount of air. This process is called pyrolysis.

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This method of combustion is characterized by a high intensity of the process, and the heating temperature of the coolant is correspondingly high. What is no less important is the low fuel consumption. One bookmark is enough for long-term operation of the boiler without human intervention. Pyrolysis boilers have great power, so if you decide to equip a full-fledged autonomous heating system with hot water supply in your country house, such a unit will be the best choice.

See also: which stove to choose for a summer residence? Overview of 10 options.

It is possible to increase the efficiency of pyrolysis-type units by installing a heat accumulator in the system. Hot water from the boiler will flow into the storage tank, giving out a coolant of a certain temperature to the system. If there is still a desire to get hot water in the house, put a container with coils located inside, through which water will be heated for domestic needs.

On a note: the recommended storage tank capacity is 400-500 liters. (at the rate of 25 liters per 1 kW of thermal energy).

Such heat accumulators are usually installed in all autonomous heating systems where high-power solid fuel units are present and hot water is supposed to be used. Tanks play the role of a buffer, cooling or heating the coolant in the system, at the same time being a source of hot water. A significant disadvantage of the units operating due to pyrolysis is the need to lay only dry firewood. In the country, this issue is not always possible to resolve quickly.

Long burning boilers

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Another type of heating equipment that can be successfully used in the country is long-burning solid fuel units. A pyrolysis boiler can also be attributed to this type of equipment, however, from a technical point of view, there are serious differences between the units in terms of the method of loading fuel.

For this category of heating devices, there are two types:

• solid fuel boilers of pyrolysis type;
• top loading machines.

The main difference is in the principle of combustion. In pyrolysis units, combustion can be divided into two stages: fuel smoldering, gas formation, and subsequent combustion of the air-gas mixture. In long-burning boilers, everything happens quietly and calmly.

For reference: Fuel, unlike classic and pyrolysis boilers, burns from top to bottom. In the process of burning firewood, burning firewood occurs in layers. First, the top layer, then the next one, and so on until the entire bookmark is completely burned.

This technique is characterized by high productivity and has significant technological characteristics. Typically, long-burning boilers are installed in large-scale houses where heating of large areas is required, there is a large consumption of hot water for domestic purposes. Firewood, charcoal or fuel briquettes are usually used as fuel.

As expected, a storage tank must be present in the boiler piping. A warm floor can be connected to this type of heating device. The ability to adjust the intensity of heating of the coolant, the presence of a heat accumulator provide the necessary temperature conditions for the operation of the entire heating system.

For reference: One load of fuel is enough for a day or more. This is very convenient, especially at night, and due to the complete combustion of the fuel mass, a high efficiency is achieved. To avoid premature boiling of boiler water, do the first load at half the volume. After 30-40 minutes, fill the entire combustion chamber with the remaining fuel.

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A significant drawback of this technique is their large inertia. A heated boiler that has reached the optimal operating mode cannot be immediately stopped. Therefore, for the purposes of fire safety, it is necessary to allow the boiler to cool down completely before leaving. This will take an average of 8-10 hours. During this time, the heating in the house will work due to the coolant accumulated in the storage tank.

Air solid fuel boilers

Probably, this is one of the options for a heating device that is best suited for a country house. The main advantage of air heaters is a quick heating and reaching the required air heating temperature. Not each of us can invest a sufficient amount of funds necessary for the installation of a solid, capital heating system in the country. Complicated installation, the presence of a large number of additional devices and mechanisms, all this and much more makes the water heating system in the country inefficient.

Air solid fuel boilers are another matter. Working on the principle of a fireplace or stove, such a unit is able to fill the house with the desired warmth in a matter of minutes. Installation of equipment is not associated with significant costs. In rooms with a small area, it is enough to simply continue the air ducts through which warm air will circulate. Such a boiler is absolutely not afraid of severe frost. The absence of a liquid heat carrier as an intermediary greatly simplifies the heating task itself, reduces the cost item associated with heating equipment.

Boilers of small power, working on wood and warming up the air, are very practical and easy to use.

On a note: to obtain the required temperature in the room, 20-30 minutes are enough, in contrast to 2-3 hours, until the solid fuel water boiler reaches the calculated values.

Moreover, often such units are equipped with a hob. In the country, this fact is of great importance. Given the short stay in the country during the cold period, an air boiler on wood or coal will be a good help in everyday life.

Conclusion

When considering heating appliances that you can install in your own summer house, you should approach the issue in a practical and pragmatic way. If the duration of your stay in the country is quite significant, you should not skimp on the installation of a powerful heating unit that will fully supply the country house with heat and hot water. If for you the dacha is only a temporary shelter, for one or two days for the purpose of relaxation, then it is better to get by with the simplest and most reliable models.

Air heating boilers, a solid fuel boiler for long-term burning, traditional pyrolysis-type boilers, all this equipment is capable of solving exactly the range of tasks for which it is designed. It is not worth overpaying and buying expensive equipment if you can get by with an affordable, simple and reliable device. It is important to consider fire safety and the degree of equipment controllability.