In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Outdoor boiler

Discussion in 'OWB's and Gasification Boilers' started by sam s, Apr 9, 2018.

  1. Farmchuck

    Farmchuck

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    I’d be interested to hear more about any information on wood gasification units. Wondering how much my actual wood consumption would go down if I were to invest in one compared to my CB 6048.
     
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  2. farmer rob

    farmer rob

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    Those Econoburn units are a great looking unit. I was told by the company rep that as good as they are they really do best with extra water storage and the company is working on tanks for that purpose. It sounds like they are built for all out burning and not so much idle time between needed more heat.
     
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  3. Horkn

    Horkn

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    All boilers are more efficient with extra water storage.
     
  4. Horkn

    Horkn

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    I'm certain any gasifier would be more efficient than a central boiler.
     
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  5. nsmaple

    nsmaple

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    That's true - but it also usually requires a change in thinking & operation. You burn wide open until all the storage is fully charged, then the fire goes out until the storage gets depleted. Repeat. 'Batch burning'. So no idle time - what was once idling, is now fire out. So you need to make a new fire about every day. But it's way worth it, IMO anyway. Been 6 years in now with the 'new way' and I wouldn't go back to the old way no matter what. Mine is indoors though, not outdoors.
     
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  6. Farmchuck

    Farmchuck

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    I may have missed but what stove are you currently using & what model did it replace. Also what is the difference in wood consumption? Thank you.:)
     
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  7. nsmaple

    nsmaple

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    Varmebaronen 40UB. It's the only natural draft gasification boiler in the world, as far as I have seen. And simplest - no draft fans or controls at all, it just burns at full speed until the wood is gone. Just finished up winter 6 with it - no maintenance $$ spent yet. Aside from a couple replacement tube brush heads. Replaced a Benjamin wood/oil combo boiler. I spent 16 years with that thing. Didn't know how much of a slave to it I was or that there was such a better way until stumbling on gasification boilers on the net. We went from about 8 cords of wood & 1 tank (200gal.) of oil per year, for all heat & hot water, to about 5 cords of wood and maybe $150 of electricity. And the house is warmer to boot. And my life has been better - haven't been up on our roof (steel, 2 story) to sweep the chimney for 6 years now. No creosote, period.
     
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  8. Farmchuck

    Farmchuck

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    Thank you for your informative response. I’m just thinking bout trying to find something that will handle the heat load of the two houses I have plumbed into my current CB6048 & yet be a bit more efficient & yet use less wood. Sounds like you’ve accomplished that nicely.
     
  9. nsmaple

    nsmaple

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    Yes there's quite a few different basic principles between an IWB for one house and an OWB for multiple buildings. A lot comes down to your situation and preferences. If I wanted a wood boiler out of our house, I would likely put an indoor boiler in a shop or big shed type building that would then be warmish all winter & be able to be used for other things. With room for the whole winters wood. And also storage tanks. Or storage in the basement. Failing that, there are some OWB gassers out there getting good feedback so far. Such as the already mentioned Heatmasters. The underground part is also overlooked a lot of the time, and takes decent $$ to get right. It needs to be closed cell foam insulated, and sized big enough - undersizing is also common. But no matter which way one goes - it won't be a free ride.

    One of these years I might get a garage built next to the house - I should be able to run a line in between to heat it from our boiler if I want to. Or build it bigger & put the boiler stuff out there, if that becomes a desire for some reason.
     
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  10. farmer rob

    farmer rob

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    I will choose between the Portage& Main units or the Polar brand as both can be installed in a shed and they both seem well built ,also Polar comes with a 15 year warranty..
     
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  11. Farmchuck

    Farmchuck

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    Thanks again. I have closed cell insulation around my underground pipe but I’m not sure what you mean by undersized. Diameter of pipe ? Heat exchanger size? I do completely understand there’s no free ride I would just like to reduce my wood usage significantly if possible.
     
  12. Farmchuck

    Farmchuck

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    Are you in the process of purchasing your first owb or are you replacing a unit currently in use?
     
  13. farmer rob

    farmer rob

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    New unit at moment we just have wood stove and kinda tired of the mess
     
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  14. nsmaple

    nsmaple

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    I might have mis-spoke a bit. Undersized pipe would be diameter, yes - but it not likely would affect wood usage a whole lot. More so not enough heat getting to where it needs to go, more $$ spent on pumping power, and maybe increased boiler smoldering or overheating since not enough heat is getting out. Still a somewhat commonly overlooked thing that leads to problems but different problems than causing more wood to be used.
     
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  15. Ikeholt

    Ikeholt

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    I'm considering switching to a gasification type OWB, but the size of the wood has me hesitating. I'm used to putting in big pieces and from what I've read the gassers need 4 to 6 inch splits.

    I hate lighting the stove also, mine burns from October thru May. Sounds like the gassers need to be re-lit fairly often. Maybe my smoke dragon isn't so bad.
     
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  16. nsmaple

    nsmaple

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    Outdoor gassers, are different than indoor ones with storage. I think they go all winter without re-lighting, and might do OK with larger splits. It does need to be dry though. More feedback from guys with outdoor gassers would be good to have.
     
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  17. Jon_E

    Jon_E

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    I'm probably the guy with the Heatmaster G200 with the warped secondary burn door. Last year was my first season. I will say that it's not the door itself, it's the thin stainless plate on the inside of the door that warped due to the extreme heat from the gasification process. I have spoken with a few folks, including a couple of Heatmaster dealers, and their solution was to replace the plate and possibly install a piece of ceramic kiln insulation board in the door. I'm aiming for overkill, so I'm going to install a much thicker plate and fill the door cavity with rock wool or a similar high-heat insulation. The ceramic board is still a possibility.

    I've had my G200 since January 4, 2017, and it has been lit and burning 24/7 since that day. I kept track of my wood consumption beginning in October 2017, and I went through six full cords between October 1 and April 1. One cord a month. I'm about half that, or a little less right now, because I have no heat demand, but I heat domestic hot water for a family of four as well. So I estimate 9 cords a year. I was over 12 cords a year, possibly more, with my old Central Boiler Classic.

    Do I have complaints? Yeah, but they're either my own fault or easily solved. I get some creosote drips on the front of the unit because my door needs to be adjusted and it probably didn't get a good coat of RTV sealant on the gasket. I had some sticking issues with my air intake damper that resolved itself. My fan is noisy and I should probably order a backup. I blew a fuse due to an overheating problem that I caused myself.

    On the other hand, I am really happy with the overall performance, the ease of use, the economy of wood consumption, and the design. I changed my burning habits a little bit, as I used to toss some stuff in my old boiler that's not really acceptable in this one. Things like stumps, wet and punky wood, large chunks, pallets with nails still in them, etc. And a lot of paper and cardboard. None of that goes in anymore, except for an occasional egg carton to relight the fire. During the winter I feed it religiously at 7 am and 7 pm. During the summer, sometimes I can go > 24 hours without reloading, but it may require a 'hot' relight (15 seconds with a propane torch on the dead coals). Had to do that this morning, it still had 1/2 a firebox full of wood but no demand, so the fire went out.
     
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  18. Farmchuck

    Farmchuck

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    Your information is very interesting to me Jon as I’m am weighing the pros & cons of replacing my CB 6048 with something that will consume considerably less wood hopefully. I am heating to older farm houses that have somewhat updated in newer windows & insulation over the years and also some domestic water for our milk house. In months like Jan. Feb. I easily burn a cord( not face cord) of wood per week.Anymore information you can give on comparison of your old vs new stove would be greatly appreciated sir. Thanks again :yes:
     
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  19. nsmaple

    nsmaple

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    Burning wood for DHW in the summer is kind of a one-size-doesn't-fit-all thing.

    I started out that way with my boiler+storage. I got the kinks ironed out and things controlled good to the point that I could stretch out burns to about once a week (barely). But I still eventually decided that it wasn't worth it to me to do that. (Unless I have some junky wood to get rid of - then I will still light up). I just let the electric tank heater do it for the summer. It only costs about $25-30/mo to run it, and I don't have to worry about wood for 6 months. I figure it saves about maybe 1-1.5 cords of wood over that time. And it also doesn't add to heat in the house over the summer. An OWB wouldn't have that issue of course - but I think I would definitely not bother with burning wood if it amounted to say 3 extra cords of wood, and tending the fire every day. As I get older, seems things I didn't think much of when I was younger really turn into being more of a drag every year - putting more wood up & tending the fire constantly being two of them. The summer break is nice.
     
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  20. JCMC

    JCMC

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    Yea! I know what you mean! It never made sense for me to burn just for DHW. I burn enough from Nov. till May give or take
     
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