I always have a problem when people talk about how much wood. the variables are so great that it is very hard to put apples to apples. Every house is different as to size, insulation, wind, windows, and all the other variables. then you have dhw, hottubs, pools, baseboard, radiant, snowmelt, etc. Then to really mess things up you have to consider wood species, dryness, how old (punkess),how it is measured, and I’m sure other things. I’m sure that two identacal houses setting side by side with two different families and you would get different amounts. I have people ask me all the time and I really can’t give a good answer, only that I’m using less with my eko that I did with my OWB. This is the first year that I have stacked my wood. Always before I had it in wire baskets and on two 25ft trailers with slats and I just backed them up to the boiler and took it off there. It made for alot less handleing and it dried well as it was off the ground. I used my loader and just dumped it in and didn’t split it. But even if I had weighed it I don’t think it would tell any one what they would burn.
I think a better indicator is to see how the boilers are efficency wise, how You use it, and compare brands for the use and way you will use it. I think that all of the gasifiers will use about the same amount of wood for each use of the same type as long as you use them the way they were designed.
leaddog

Lead: All good pts. I like the idea of dumping onto the trailer. A guy could split (if necessary to split) right there, then move the whole pile. Do you have a loader-splitter? If so, I’d be interested in the specs thereof. Thanks. j

I have a Century 40hp 4x4 tractor with loader. I made a 3pt splitter for the back. It has two cyl on. One on the bottem is a 6x1/2in and it runs really slow but I back up to the BIG pieces and lower it down and it will split ANYTHING. Then on the top I have a 4in cyl that I split the big small ones down to small ones. It works ok with two people but not as good as I had hoped. It does save the back when I have to split those 36in ones. When I had the OWB I just split down to a size that I could ROLL into the boiler as it had a 34x34in door but now I split every thing. With the loader I could roll then into the loader and dump it into the trailer. The smaller stuff I would put into industrial wire baskets that would hold just under 1/2 rick and I could move them with my forks. The tractor really helps as I don’t have to carry the wood much and since I’m getting up in years I like that. The trailer is a mobilhome frame. I put one frame on top and on the bottem I welded cross pieces with 2in gaps so air could pass. this keeps the wood off the ground, air drys, I could just back it up to the stove. It’s setting out front now for sale as I’m splitting and stacking for the eko.
leaddog

I totally agree that wood consumption is a really bad basis for comparison and evaluation for all the reasons you stated. And it’s kind of a personal question, to boot!

Lead: (I am pushing this off-topic, so if you’d care to reply you can PM if you’d like.) Do you have any pics of your splitter? I can imagine that the 6” cylinder will split anything. At 2,000 psi you are cranking out 56,500 lbs of force. Why does the splitter not work like you wanted it to? I am building one soon (4” at 3000 psi --> 37,000 lbs) and would like to avoid any mistakes others have run across. Mine will be on the front of my skid steer, so I can easily stand on a trailer, pick up wood I dumped there, and split/deliver. I am thinking of using a 4-way splitting knife, too; with our small, non-narly, softer woods, I think I will be able to quarter the wood in one pass. Have you an opinion on whether to push the wood, or push the knife? Thanks for any info. john

All good points Leaddog

Wood itself is so variable, usage, the structure, wind, lots of stuff.

The Garn was on my final 2 list.  While looking at the budget I chose the Tarm because for about the same money I could put a 12 x 16 addition on the house.  Half for the boiler and half for utility space, laundry folding, etc.

I work for a government environmental agency and a few of us have been bantering around how to utilize several Garns to heat our building.  Just water cooler talk but very interesting.

I use a very large amount of domestic hot water partly due to a child with a disability.  So my system as been very good for me.

On tuesday I got a fuel oil delivery.  $3.779 from Surburban propane, Plattsburgh NY (on wed we called and said never come back, their price is exactly 50 cents higher than a guy that advertises in the paper)

This delivery was the first since mid october and we only took 32 gallons.  That made me smile you can bet.

I don’t have a good accounting of wood consumption but looking at my shed and looking at how much cold weather we have left I’m in real good shape.  Again, smiling.

So which ever system works for you, any of the gasification units installed reasonably well will save a ton on fossil fuels.

Eric

I had a inside wood stove and I used to burn 8 full cords a year and then went to a outside wood stove (Wood Master 440) and went to burning 10 full cords. I would like to see if anyone had a outside wood stove and then changed over to gasification boiler if there was any savings on the wood consumption. The less I have to mess with the wood the better, no splitting, cut, pile, and burn.

I’ll be able to give you some idea at the end of the season, Fredman. I went from a conventional indoor boiler in my barn to a gasifier in the same spot. That should have cut my wood consumption in half, but this winter I’m heating more space (a greenhouse) and keeping the house a lot warmer, in addition to neglecting some insulation until after New Years, so I’m not burning half as much--yet. I am getting more heat from less wood with the gasifier, I can verify that.

When you think about it, the smoke that’s not being produced by the EKO is staying in the system as heat, so it’s kind of a nobrainer from that perspective.

Do you have your storage tank in the barn also or is it your house?

The tank is in the basement.