Hello, Were new to the boiler room. In fact were new to the internet. Ha Ha. The kids 9 and 11 years old know more then we will probably ever know. We are looking for information on choosing the best system for our situation and needs. Garn or EKO that is the question. Were heating a 5400 sq. ft. house two story walk out, well insulated. two 90 efficiency furnaces one on each end. Lots of Anderson windows and doorwalls, little R factor. On demand demestic Hot water system. Also want to heat a 32x48 two story pole barn. Pole barn does have a 9x48 over hang for possible location of boiler and wood storage. No heat source in barn as of yet. Boiler would set inclosed, 225 ft. from the house. We have a plentiful supply of wood. My wonderful wife of 17 years and I built the house and are not afraid of the work of cutting trees or installing the heating system. We are in need of any information to help us make a informed decision as well a properly designed install. If not for this web site , we would probably own a OWB, "Thanks"
Garn vs. EKO
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Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
Welcome to the Boiler Room, linkolog.
The Garn has a higher initial cost, but it includes hot water storage, which you will probably want eventually. It's a much bigger, heavier unit than the EKO, and it needs to be well insulated, which is something you have to do yourself. It may have higher electrical consumption, but I'm not sure about that. The Garn is also an "open" system (vs pressurized), so it has special maintenance considerations and requires a heat exchanger to get the heat into your existing hot water heating system. Burns clean and efficiently.
The EKO is a much smaller, pressurized system that also burns clean and efficiently. It's made in Poland and imported by New Horizon Corp. of West Virginia. Most people recommend connecting a boiler like the EKO up to hot water storage (say, 1,000 gallons) to maximize its benefits. You can put an EKO in your basement or in an outbuilding. Hooks right up to your existing system. Remote storage (vs. the onboard Garn approach) allows you to put the tank where you want (such in the basement where any heat loss contributes to heating living space) and can by bypassed if you like.
Both would be good choices, IMO. The best one for your situation will depend on the variables I mentioned above, and probably on some others, as well.
The Garn has a higher initial cost, but it includes hot water storage, which you will probably want eventually. It's a much bigger, heavier unit than the EKO, and it needs to be well insulated, which is something you have to do yourself. It may have higher electrical consumption, but I'm not sure about that. The Garn is also an "open" system (vs pressurized), so it has special maintenance considerations and requires a heat exchanger to get the heat into your existing hot water heating system. Burns clean and efficiently.
The EKO is a much smaller, pressurized system that also burns clean and efficiently. It's made in Poland and imported by New Horizon Corp. of West Virginia. Most people recommend connecting a boiler like the EKO up to hot water storage (say, 1,000 gallons) to maximize its benefits. You can put an EKO in your basement or in an outbuilding. Hooks right up to your existing system. Remote storage (vs. the onboard Garn approach) allows you to put the tank where you want (such in the basement where any heat loss contributes to heating living space) and can by bypassed if you like.
Both would be good choices, IMO. The best one for your situation will depend on the variables I mentioned above, and probably on some others, as well.
Moderator, Thanks for the information on Garn vs. EKO. I spoke with the Garn rep. in Quency, Michigan. He was kind enough to have us out to his house to look at his Garn set up. What a sweet and clean set up it was. We've decided on the Garn system. Now we just have to find the best price. The man we spoke to said Garn sold 100 units last year. I was kinda supprised. They are a bit pricee,with what we want to heat he suggested we should go with the 2000 mod. He gave us a price of 14,900.00 for the basic unit. Any ideas who might have the best price? Thanks again you've been most helpful.
Rick Stanley
Feeling the Heat
heaterman
Minister of Fire
linkolog said:
You won't find a lot of variation in Garn prices, in fact anything you save buying one place or another will likely be a matter of freight, not the actual cost of the unit or one dealer selling for less than another. Garn doesn't give it's dealers much to work with as far as markup on the unit. Much lower percentage than an EKO for instance.
My advice would be to go with a dealer you establish a good rapport with and who is knowledgeable about piping and control methods that would be used to interface the Garn with you existing system. That will be worth far more in the long run in terms of your ultimate satisfaction with the unit, its service life and efficiency of the system.
As far as the 100 units last year; that was basically the limits of their production capacity. They have since added capability to over double that this year. I would still get my order in soon as people are starting to find out just how simple a Garn is and how well they operate. I wouldn't be surprised with long lead times as early as June.
Rick Stanley
Feeling the Heat
So what should I expect, I wonder, from the dealer, for the initial $14,900, other than an address to send the check to?
What is the ballpark cost on an EKO? I did not realize that the Garn was that much more. For integrated storage and ease of use, that seems like a large jump from what I remember
Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
Cozy Heat (top banner) lists current pricing for the EKO line. When I bought mine last summer those were the best prices I could find. That may have changed; I don't know. I do know that prices for most--if not all major brands--have increased over the past year, in part due to increased shipping costs and in part due to the weaker U.S. dollar.
Wow! Didn't realize there was that much difference. Even if I bought storage designed for a gassifier (not just rigged up lp tanks ,etc) and the controls that go with it, I think I still wouldn't be very close to the cost of a garn. I guess being user friendly is not always pocket-pbook friendly. Just when I think I've got my mind made up........
Biomass grower said:
" Dollar foolish and penny wise." After seeing downdrafters in action and personally operation a Garn style boiler, I wouldn't think twice about spending extra for the Garn. Remember the warranty that heaterman taked about with the Garn. Not only is that a damn good warranty offer, I have seen two units still in operation for over 20 years with only draft induce motors replaced. Buy the DD, get or make storage, get a few pumps,mixing valve, hx, more valves,etc..etc..
In the heart of winter I was getting by with one burn for 24h. I took me @ 10 minutes to: put in cardboard, start timer(3 hrs.),load wood, start fire, close door ,fill up wheelbarrow, and open door once more to check fire,done!
And if that ain't enough motivation, The Garn is built right here in the Midwest!
Rick Stanley
Feeling the Heat
That $14,900 is for the 2000 gallon model. The smaller 1500 gallon unit is $12,400. These are current prices I was quoted last week and do not include freight. That will be another $800-$1200 I was told.
Biomass, have you actually gotten a quote from Dectra for a Garn? Our monastery paid $9700 for a Garn 1500.
If you plan on buying storage "intended for a gasifier" (which I presume means STSS or the like) the bill can quickly add up to more than the cost of a Garn, especially when you make all your connections between boiler and storage, and acquire your flat plate hx.
The way to save money is to buy an Eko and rig up the storage yourself.
If you plan on buying storage "intended for a gasifier" (which I presume means STSS or the like) the bill can quickly add up to more than the cost of a Garn, especially when you make all your connections between boiler and storage, and acquire your flat plate hx.
The way to save money is to buy an Eko and rig up the storage yourself.
Rick Stanley
Feeling the Heat
They did say that prices recently had gone up.
Father John,
Did your dealer help you with system design at all for the $9700 or did they just deliver it and leave it up to you?
Father John,
Did your dealer help you with system design at all for the $9700 or did they just deliver it and leave it up to you?
Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
That's the third time I've heard the $9,000 figure (more or less) over the past year, and every time it involved a factory-direct sale.
Most companies try to support their dealers by not undercutting them in the marketplace, but it doesn't always work out that way.
Best to check with the factory and see if you can get hooked up at the lower price.
Most companies try to support their dealers by not undercutting them in the marketplace, but it doesn't always work out that way.
Best to check with the factory and see if you can get hooked up at the lower price.
We bought our Garn through a dealer, who spent I don't know how many hours on the phone helping me through all stages of design. He also visited and helped us roll the Garn into place, and spent an entire day making sure we understood what was required to have a textbook installation.
If Dectra is sometimes annoyingly slow to answer the phone, their dealers more than make up for this.
If Dectra is sometimes annoyingly slow to answer the phone, their dealers more than make up for this.
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