My Geothermal Installation in Photos

[assateague]

I ask only because the life expectancy of my $300 woodstove is about 200 years. I can cut, split, stack, and store a lot of wood for $22,000.

[jehler]

Geothermal units last forever...
50/50

[tucker]

What is the life expectancy of the handling units for the geothermal system?

I just saw someone post on facebook that theirs was installed in 1987 and is still going strong.
Obviously the newer systems would be more efficient, but they're still happy with theirs.

[3legged_lab]

I ask only because the life expectancy of my $300 woodstove is about 200 years. I can cut, split, stack, and store a lot of wood for $22,000.

Most manufacturers put a 10 year warranty on their equipment these days if that tells you anything.

[tucker]

I ask only because the life expectancy of my $300 woodstove is about 200 years. I can cut, split, stack, and store a lot of wood for $22,000.

It's a matter of free time. I'd rather charge for my free time these days than spend it doing physical labor.
You'll probably outlive me.

[assateague]

It certainly doesn't feel like it at the moment. I was caught in a tree stand in a thunder storm (yes, in January) tonight, and re-screwed up my back climbing down. Sucks.


If I remember right, you were only looking at about 10 years to recoup the cost though, right? If so, that's not bad. I have a friend down here who put one in three years ago, and didn't think it through. After he did the math, he was looking at almost 25 years, which sucks since he's almost guaranteed to have to replace everything but the wells at least once in that time.

[tucker]

7-10 years is a conservative cost recovery estimate.
However, our old systems were crap, so we would have spent 2/3 of that either way.

The installer makes all the difference.
I had another guy look at it, and he wanted to dig up acres of land with a trackhoe and lay the pipe in trenches, even though the pond was right there.

My installer does trench installations, but they use a directional boring rig, and the cost is much less.

[(MT)Montanafowler]

I ask only because the life expectancy of my $300 woodstove is about 200 years. I can cut, split, stack, and store a lot of wood for $22,000.

how much wood do you have to cut for a winter?

personally, i like outdoor chores like splitting wood. it's relaxing for me, if that makes any sense.

[assateague]

I don't know. I've never actually managed to have enough to get through a winter

I would suspect about 3 cords, but our winters are far from severe.

[tucker]

3 cords is all?
That's not bad at all.

I'll bet you could heat one of these with a box of toothpicks.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... tNCp_RDt8E

[(MT)Montanafowler]

I don't know. I've never actually managed to have enough to get through a winter

I would suspect about 3 cords, but our winters are far from severe.

you have a jotul stove right?

[assateague]

No, it's an old Quadra Fire.

[jehler]

No, it's an old Quadra Fire.

is that the one that looks like a 8 sided die?

[one2many]

I might just put in a big assed outdoor boiler too

the main machine shop and main office is heated with an outdoor boiler. i feed it large round bales of corn stalks.
always nice to crawl around on warm concrete when it -10 outside.
my new shop will be heated the same way.the new house will be using a wood stove or maybe another outdoor boiler

[aunt betty]

So how much would it be to geo thermal heat my Unabomber shack, and how long til it pays for itself?

[assateague]

No, it's an old Quadra Fire.

is that the one that looks like a 8 sided die?

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1390099199.639195.jpg

[aunt betty]

No, it's an old Quadra Fire.

is that the one that looks like a 8 sided die?

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1390099199.639195.jpg

Damned AT...that old stove was in my grandparents house. Wow. How did u get it to Maryland. I have one kind of like it in my parents abandoned shed.

I'm going to build my Big Lake hunting camp around it like this..

[tucker]

It's a couple of years old, but here is a good resource for information on the cost of geothermal vs other heating methods.
http://www.vermontgeo.com/geothermal_op ... costs.html

From the page above, this chart assigns 100% efficiency to electricity as baseline. $1.00 worth electricity = $1.00 worth heat.
With the baseline established, geothermal gives you $4.00 worth of heat for the same $1.00 spent.

[assateague]

I'll still take wood. Since my $/Unit is $0 instead of $180, I'd say the efficiency percentage is far higher than 60%. Or even 400%, for that matter

[tucker]

I'll still take wood.

I figured you were like that.

[tucker]

But seriously, you can't assign a zero cost to wood.
Even if you cut it and split it with hand tools, you're still taking marketable forest products off the land.
Unless you're only cutting deadfalls, that's sellable product.

I've got some 50 acres of hardwoods, but their future value greatly outpaces their current value in firewood.

[assateague]

Not my land. It's the neighbor's. Therefore, free.

[assateague]

I'll still take wood.

I figured you were like that.

I tried at least three different ways to say that, and finally just said fuck it.

[jehler]

Explain what adjusted efficiency is representing in your table, in having a hard time with that

[tucker]

Explain what adjusted efficiency is representing in your table, in having a hard time with that

All of the efficiencies are adjusted as they relate to electricity being represented as 100% efficient.

Of course, electricity is not 100% efficient, but they are using that as a baseline by which to compare the other fuel types.

[jehler]

Hmm. Fuel oil should be closer to 65 and natural gas closer to 95, odd data

[aunt betty]

In AT's defense. ..
Firewood heats you THREE TIMES.
There is fourth benefit as well. Doing the work yourself is fantastic exercise. He has a free gym membership at Club Firewood.

[tucker]

Just got the latest bill.
This year was colder, but we still used about 30% less energy.
The bill was only down by 25%, because of a rate increase.
Still a decent savings, and I'm running the stats higher this year.

[3legged_lab]

Can't argue with that. How many degrees warmer are you running the house than before?

[tucker]

Can't argue with that. How many degrees warmer are you running the house than before?

+2 usptairs and downstairs.
Also, my wife informed me that she used our account to test some new software at the power company, so the bill was actually $10 less than what's shown.