Garn or EKO, TARM etc...

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Morgan,

I've been contemplating replacing my Seton with a Garn 1500 and was quoted high shipping prices also. Get ahold of me if you haven't already bought a Garn and do make the drive this summer, I'll probably be on board for a unit and can split the trans costs.

Erik Paul
Wasilla
907-350-9573
 
Before I forget, a new Garn would presumably ship with the new controller. This takes care of shutting the fan off for you...no more timer! To start a fire, you push a button. Then start the fire. The controller turns on the blower for 10 (or 15) minutes and after that time, it starts looking at the temperature of the flue gas and the water tank. When the flue gas is within 5 degrees of the water, the blower is shut off. So, no longer do you need to guesstimate with the timer. Kemer on here has installed it and been using it...I think he's the local expert...and he is very pleased. Mine is still sitting in the shop awaiting installation!

Point two before I forget....others from Alaska have been looking at a Garn recently and have been choking on the shipping price. He was a fellow that was replacing a boiler (maybe a greenwood) and was planning to go Garn. Search for Alaska and Garn perhaps....and maybe you can indeed share the load with another.

I installed my Garn in Nov of 2010. I'm very pleased. I did buy the 1500, and yeah, for another 2K or so, it would probably make more sense to get the 2000. Though, 2K is 2K....that's more than half of my new winch!

Anyways, I have over 20K easily in the system, the garn, the burried microflex, all the copper, HX, pumps, valves, etc. But it sure is simple....and I'm very pleased at the moment. I used to burn a Lopi Liberty woodstove in the house. I would burn about a cord a month of hardwood in the stove. The house would be hot...about 75 or so...too warm often...a real PITA in the shoulder seasons. I have radiant in the floor and I'd burn oil in my boiler to keep the floor at a minimum of 66. Didn't use much oil for this. But I also burned oil for DHW. Now the Garn is burning about the same amount of wood, the radiant floor is keeping the house at a constant 73, and the DHW is all heated as well. SAme amount of wood, much more controlled comfort, and DHW to boot. I'm happy!


As for moving the beast around....I was a bit concerned about this. I planned to have a local excavator help move it with his front end loader (too big for my tractor at 3500 pounds or so) and set it on pipes, then roll it into position. Well, he suggested using his brother in laws all terrain extenda-forklift lift. What a piece of cake. We picked it off the trailer and set it 15' inside the building. Very sweet. $100. No problems there. Now, I did want to wiggle it around some after we set it (of course!) and I found that jacking the beast up with a floor jack, and placing 4" PVC underneath, it was very easy to roll it around. I placed a 2x6 in the "fork lift holes" and jacked that up....on one side lifting an entire end...and it was flawless. Not as bad to move around as you might think...once it is on a concrete surface.

LOL....looks like the last post is the guy I was referring too! I didn't notice....

Good luck!
 
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