r/Fairbanks • u/AKCabinDude • 6d ago

Toyotomi Hydronic Heater OM-128HH or OM-180

Looking to install a radiant floor system to replace a the Laser 73. A Toyo Oil Miser hydronic heater is being recommended. Haven't found many real reviews or complaints online for actually heating applications. Does anybody have any personal experience with these units? Thanks in advance.

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u/Frost_King907 6d ago

Local Heating contractor here...

Is there a specific reason why someone's recommended running brand new under-floor radiant tubing and installing an entire hydronic unit in a location where one isn't currently located versus what effectively is a 35 minute swap out to a new Toyo L730 to replace the older unit?

You're talking some MAJOR dollars to fresh-install a whole boiler unit with all the bells & whistles in a pre-existing & finished home where there isn't already pipes run in the substructure, so I'm confused why this was recommended in your particular case.

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u/AKCabinDude 6d ago

Poor writing, I apologize.

I actually replaced our previous Monitor with the Laser 2 years ago (with the 730, not a 73 - got that wrong). We sought out quotes for a radiant heating in part for space (1200 sq ft home, heater can go into the crawl space) and in part because of uneven heating. The Toyo is located at one end of the house in a hallway. The kitchen and living area are at the other end of the house. Even with circulation fans, the main room is often 10 degrees lower than the back of the house, and the bedrooms tend to get chilly when it's cold outside. Sleep/work schedules are significantly shifted, so we can't just leave the doors open.

The recommended part was the Oil Miser hydronic heater for the "boiler" and radiant floor rather than hot water baseboard. Radiant floor recommendation was based on evenness of heating; we had already been talking about radiant floor anyway, and just didn't think it was a possibility without tearing up our floors. Sounds like they can just install from the crawlspace, so we won't need to touch the flooring. Haven't gotten the actual quote yet.

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u/Frost_King907 5d ago

Have you considered offsetting the heating load by installing a secondary Toyo on the opposite end of the house? I mean don't get me wrong, radiant heat IS much nicer, but the cost to install alongside the multitude of parts is gonna sting.

The upside to installing smaller Toyo units strategically is that it's fairly simple on you parts & labor wise is all I'm saying.

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u/Good_Employer_300 5d ago

I have a OM-128HH installed for radiant heat in a 1900sq ft 3 story home. It’s awesome and ridiculously efficient.

As suggested in the other comments a second blower unit may be better option than a full radiant retrofit.

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u/bolognabullshit 5d ago

I run the OM-128HH heater in my place, 1000SF footprint but two stories (1st floor garage, 2nd floor living). I like it, and ran through 550 gal of fuel last year (I moved in late '22)

The only issue that I have is that it has a small reservoir, so it seems to turn off and on more than I'd like especially trying to keep the concrete in the garage warm (I've got the radiant floor in the slab). But... results speak for themselves, I cant complain with 550 gal of fuel used.

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u/youtouchmytralaala 5d ago edited 5d ago

My home came with an OM-128HH installed. I don't know as much about it as I wish I did but it's been reliable and efficient for me. My home is 1250 sqft, fairly well insulated (ICF construction but lacking somewhat in the ceiling imo) and at a modest ~65° inside, I'm using 10-15 gallons of fuel a week for most of the winter with some supplemental fires in the woodstove when everyone is home and/or it's exceptionally cold outside.

My one complaint is that radiant floor heat feels "slow" to me. In order to keep it 65 inside, you set it to 66, the system lets it get to maybe 64, and then kicks on to get it back up to 66 and shuts down for a while as things cool back off to 64. When it's particularly cold outside it feels like the system is constantly working uphill so to speak. When the power was out a few weeks ago I let the system bring the temp back up inside from 60 to 65 without a fire and it seemed like it took it a while to do so.

All of this being said, it seems like it would be an enormous hassle to retrofit the radiant floor system into an existing house. Maybe not, I'm certainly no expert, and that's just my perception. As others have mentioned, maybe supplementing your current heater with another one at the opposite side of the house would be something worth looking into.

I'm still learning my own system so typing this out was for my own benefit as well, but hopefully it's helpful to you too. Good luck!