How loud are the gasification boilers

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ktm010

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Dec 23, 2012
38
Albany, NY
Starting to research boilers and was able to see two running side by side. A econoburn, and a greenwood frontier the econoburn was surprisingly louder. Although the blower I believe is in the front on the econoburn. might sound like my oilburner just running all the time
 
My WoodGun hums about the same as my oil burner.
Which by the way I never hear anymore ....since it NEVER runs anymore.
Thats the best sound ever. Next to the sound of the oil truck passing my house.
 
I can stand in front of the Vigas and have a conversation with out raising my voice.I did not know the green wood had a fan? My neighbor has a econoburn and it is louder than the Vigas.
 
Our boiler is directly below the living room. You can barely hear it, can't notice it at all if the TV is on.
 
Mine is likely the quietest of the gasifiers as it operates without any fans. It works off of the natural draft created by the chimney. Mine is extreamly quiet just a slight rumble during the middle of the burn. Of course if you run with storage they do not make any sound when you are coasting on the storage :)


I have not seen any that have been really loud at all though.
 
I first must admit that I'm a little hard of hearing. I can hear my oil burner throughout the house with no problem. With the EKO in my unfinished open basemen,t I need to be half way down the stairs before I can hear it running. But it only runs about 3.5 and 4.5 hours a day and then is off for the next 20 hours.
 
When standing next to my boilers the wood and oil boilers are about the same noise level. Can have a conversation no problem. But I have my wife convinced I can't hear her over the noise when she hollers down the stairs for something. :)
 
The noise level of my WoodGun E250 is considerable and can be heard throughout the house. Though the 240 V fan utilizes outside air, the sizable throughput of air lets the ducting, gasser and double walled chimney vibrate. Maybe I would have chosen a different brand if I would have known.....
 
Mines pretty quiet - a bit smaller version of arngnick's, no fans running or making noise. Ours is also right under our living room - the only thing that can be heard is a slight gassification rumble during a burn. A very comforting sound. :)
 
Most gasification boilers I have heard are overall pretty quiet.

I personally operated an EKO40 for 2 years and have operated my Effecta Lambda 35 for 3 years.

Having operated both boilers, I would say there is a difference between boilers which are positive draft (fan in front of boiler) versus negative draft (fan in rear of boiler). The negative draft boilers tend to be quieter and I would say this is because the fan motor is mounted in the boiler at the chimney exhaust and thus a considerable amount of the fan noise goes out through the chimney itself.
 
I would say there is a difference between boilers which are positive draft (fan in front of boiler) versus negative draft (fan in rear of boiler).​
You woud add some "exceptions" to that statement if you were in the same room as a Wood Gun.
 
I surely like my negative draft solo innova, but one issue i think may come up is build up on the impeller blades. I know buildup is very low, but just a little can put it slightly out of balance and then you get a bit of a cyclic sound. I guess i can only describe it as wah wah wah.
 
I think negative draft is the only way to go! having operated a positive draft boiler for 2 years I would never go back...
 
You woud add some "exceptions" to that statement if you were in the same room as a Wood Gun.
Apparently not ALL Wood Guns. I don't have the E250 so I cannot speak to that, but I can be right next to my boiler and carry on a normal conversation. The only sound other than the "rumble" of gassification is the actual sound of the fan which I barely hear when I'm directly above it in the house and do not hear with the TV on(at a fairly low volume).

Jake, does the 250 have the same fan as the 100?
 
My Wood Gun 180 is very quiet. It is in my unfinished basement about 15' from the bottom of the stairs. In order to know it is running I have to open the door and stick my head down. I could hear the oil burner running from any room over that portion of the basement.

I expected it to be loud and obnoxious, but it really isn't at all. No different than having any other burner or boiler really with relation to noise.

ac
 
The noise level of my WoodGun E250 is considerable and can be heard throughout the house. Though the 240 V fan utilizes outside air, the sizable throughput of air lets the ducting, gasser and double walled chimney vibrate. Maybe I would have chosen a different brand if I would have known.....

240V fan motor HOLY COW. That's gotta be a belt driven fan and bound to make more noise. Actually that sounds more like a compressor than a fan!!!
 
For sure. I was just saying with the cyclic humming,i think my negative draft Tarm is slightly louder than my dad or brother's positive draft Tarms.

whoops, meant to quote arngnick in that. Oh well.
 
That must be one change to the Wood Gun that I wasn't aware of. I had a 140 and it was in a boiler room just off my mud room and it could be heard throughout the house. It sounded like a 12 inch table saw running.
 
My Wood Gun gassification boiler is no louder than my Peerless Oil boiler. Both are pretty quiet in my opinion. There is a controlled intense fire going on in each one, but all you are really hearing is the noise of the fans on each unit. The oil boiler has a power vent on it and that makes more noise than anything. All are a nice hum I enjoy hearing while I know they are keeping me and my family warm. But now I only hear the Wood Gun, because the other never runs anymore. ::-) Sa-a-a-a-a-a-weeeeet.
 
From what I gather, there might be quite a few of those changes you aren't aware of...and a few things that never changed that we owners chalk up to "character". LOL

ac
That could be so but it appears that the Wood Gun gang is experiencing the same problems that I had with my Gun. Brings back alot of memories. It's unfortunate that you need your "underground" to discuss all the problems and patches you are having to perform. Bringing these problems to the large mass of readers on this forum could help educate more potential owners and make them realize how great the unit is.

Although fires in the smoke pipe and hot embers on the roof and explosions are some things that most people would not find appealing.
 
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That could be so but it appears that the Wood Gun gang is experiencing the same problems that I had with my Gun. Brings back alot of memories. It's unfortunate that you need your "underground" to discuss all the problems and patches you are having to perform. Bringing these problems to the large mass of readers on this forum could help educate more potential owners and make them realize how great the unit is.

Although fires in the smoke pipe and hot embers on the roof and explosions are some things that most people would not find appealing.

At least they aren't loud any more.

ac
 
That could be so but it appears that the Wood Gun gang is experiencing the same problems that I had with my Gun. Brings back alot of memories. It's unfortunate that you need your "underground" to discuss all the problems and patches you are having to perform. Bringing these problems to the large mass of readers on this forum could help educate more potential owners and make them realize how great the unit is.

Although fires in the smoke pipe and hot embers on the roof and explosions are some things that most people would not find appealing.

I was thinking the same thing...I was seriously looking into a woodgun because they do seem to offer a really nice unit but it seemed to good to be true. After reading about them I decided it would require to much tweaking for me. Simple is better sometimes.
 
I was thinking the same thing...I was seriously looking into a woodgun because they do seem to offer a really nice unit but it seemed to good to be true. After reading about them I decided it would require to much tweaking for me. Simple is better sometimes.

I took a tour with Dean from Smokeless. That VB50 looks pretty neat. I bet it's REALLY quiet :)

ac
 
At least they aren't loud any more. ac

One time mine got so loud it blew my ear drums out. Now my wife knows why I don't "hear" her half the time. :p
 
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