Suggest 3 or 4 brands for new indoor gasifier?

Eko and Paxo are good and popular brands. I purchased from Mark at AHONA in MY.

cbb said:

I am rethinking that and now considering an indoor modern gasifier. I am considering one of Tom in Maine's storage units.

Click to expand...

Having operated a gasification boiler for near to 30 years and over that time, refractory repairs have worked out to around $30.00 per year! The prospective that interests me in some of the new units is how difficult and how expensive will it be to maintain the refractory?
One of the boilers that looks interesting is the " Vigas ". Its refractory nozzle looks easy to replace and if necessary, would not be to hard to make.

http://www.ahona.com/Vigas/Vigas Manual Feb 2010.pdf Section 14.3 shows this nozzle. Below is a picture of a Jetsream nozzle that is easy to make and replace.

Another boiler that again looks interesting from the refractory standpoint is the "Empyre Elite 100". A very simple system of refractory brick in the fire box and secondary burn chamber. Pictures attached.

Tom in Maine would be able to tell you if these boilers would be compatible with his heat storage tanks.

The Empyre looks like a good design, and they can be had on the cheap on ebay. It is a non-pressureized open system however, with 60gal of capacity.

You can also get a cast iron nozel for the vigas.

I have a biomass and like it. A couple nice features it has are induced draft, and silicone door seals. the nozzle refractory was showing some wear after around 16 cord. I bought some refractory cement for $15.00 and repaired it a couple months ago and it looks like new again.

I like the varm boilers like clark bug has. They look very easy to clean. I think it would make less of a mess cleaning it than most other boilers. I cant think of the full name of the boiler so I call it a varm for short. The thing
About the varm I wonder about is the weight. they are a lot lighter than most other boilers.

A lambota controlled boiler Would also be one to consider If you want a high end boiler. It's not nessacary but is a nice option. - Frolling, Effecta

cbb said:

Gentlemen; Thank you for the help!

Hobbyheater, The pictures are of the Vigas boiler? Or is it the Empyre?

"

Click to expand...

The pictures are of the Empyre Elite .

If you'd like to see a Wood Gun, we're prolly not more than an hour from each other. Send PM if your interested.

My long winter of research left me with the Varmebarronen as top choice.

Second would be perhaps the Biomass.

The Wood Gun is up there as well.

The Empyre was up there, but I ruled it out because of its open design that would require a heat exchanger. If I had low temp emitters or in floor heat, it would still likely be up there.

A LOT depends on your personal situation & current system design - you can't pick a boiler based on just boiler designs & specs themselves. Otherwise we'd all have the same boiler, whatever that might happen to be.

Hunderliggur said:

Eko and Paxo are good and popular brands. I purchased from Mark at AHONA in MY.

Click to expand...

This is an important post! You're buying FROM someone. I've never seen anyone on here say a bad word about Mark. People will try and nock any boiler.. It's ford vs chevy on the internet on any topic.

In my mind and for my dollar.... I buy from PEOPLE! I liked Mark and talked to him for a couple of years at the fair before I bought my boiler. Answers the phone, and answers my questions. Sometimes more than once! I still haven't quite got that balancing valve idea in my head yet. But I gotta wait till everything is up to temp and then call him.

JP

JP11 said:

This is an important post! You're buying FROM someone. I've never seen anyone on here say a bad word about Mark. People will try and nock any boiler.. It's ford vs chevy on the internet on any topic.

Click to expand...

Mark was very helpful in my decision making and after sale support. I was fortunate to be able to go to his facility to pick up my boiler and tanks. I was able to see his two installations (fixed and trailer) and ask questions. Seeing an installation in person helped me figure it out better. Maybe someday I'll do a photo essay of my installation and perhaps help others who can't visit a good installation (not that mine is perfect by any means). The are other vendors who have been referenced on this list and it is also the personal touch that seems to make the difference between a satisfied wood burner and a frustrated one.

I really like my Tarm Solo Innova now that I've had some time with it and worked a few minor bugs out. It may be a bit more money but it's very simple to run.

K

Well I might as well chime in. Here is my list with qualfiers:

#1 - Garn - if you have the room for a large unit
#2 - Froiling - if you have the budget to buy what seems to be the best money can buy
#3 - Tarm/EKO - great solution for limited space in a typical basement or out building, flexible installation options for remote storage, large installed base, sound companies and designs, great user support on this site, plenty of dealers for local support.
#4 - Insert new model here - There are a number of newer models out there that seem to be gaining popularity. There is risk in buying brands/models that have only been around a few years. Don't always believe the marketing hype. There is only so "efficient" a non-condensing wood burner can be. Each of the boilers above should operate pretty darn close to this efficiency ceiling.

stee6043 said:

Well I might as well chime in. Here is my list with qualfiers:

#1 - Garn - if you have the room for a large unit
#2 - Froiling - if you have the budget to buy what seems to be the best money can buy
#3 - Tarm/EKO - great solution for limited space in a typical basement or out building, flexible installation options for remote storage, large installed base, sound companies and designs, great user support on this site, plenty of dealers for local support.
#4 - Insert new model here - There are a number of newer models out there that seem to be gaining popularity. There is risk in buying brands/models that have only been around a few years. Don't always believe the marketing hype. There is only so "efficient" a non-condensing wood burner can be. Each of the boilers above should operate pretty darn close to this efficiency ceiling.

Click to expand...

You might also want to take a recommendation from someone who has just operated his boiler for only one season with a grain of salt. Also I am seeing people recommend boilers that they have never operated.

Fred61 said:

You might also want to take a recommendation from someone who has just operated his boiler for only one season with a grain of salt. Also I am seeing people recommend boilers that they have never operated.

Click to expand...

I'd agree with your first part 100%. But I actually suggested two brands before my own in spite of the fact that I've never operated a Garn nor a Froiling. Those recommendations were based on the experience of other users and other information readily available to interested parties. We'd be lost if we could only have and share opinions on things we've experienced first hand.

Effecta