Availability of automatic fed boiler or furnace

[dwaldmann]

Hi,
I have a small woodworking plant that generates between 2-300 tons of chips/shavings/sawdust annually. It's all kiln dried and mostly hardwood. The building we're in came with a waste oil furnace that we run #2 fuel oil in, but it seems a shame to buy oil when we ship out far more fuel than would be needed to heat the place. Because this is a business, labor is a factor, so I would only entertain the idea of something that could be automatically fed.

Our current unit is a 500,000 BTU forced hot air unit that heats our primary manufacturing area - about 9000SF. It's actually quite oversized for our application - I think because before we bought the building this room was used for bus maintenance so there was a lot of cold steel rolling in and out and the door was open a lot. Additionally, while we're here (and need more heat) our manufacturing adds heat as well, so on a typical 10-20° winter day the furnace hardly runs. If we got something similar or slightly larger (up to 750k) in a boiler format we could run lines to heat exchangers in our two residential style OFHA furnaces as well as dump some heat into our warehouse.

My question is, what brands are there out there that would fit my parameters, and are there any tips or hints you can give me that might help steer me in the right direction with this project?

BTW, I would expect to be working on this through the spring and summer, for the '11-'12 heating season.

Thanks!

David

 

[benjamin]

I think you'll have a hard time finding something in your size, which is probably why you asked here?

You might look at Portage and Main. They make coal stokers for OWB and mention a "sawdust unit".

There's also a simple unit designed for burning green sawdust, Hern Iron Works sawdust burner.

The big reliable systems are going to be way too much $$ and capacity, and the small systems are going to be semi-reliable with the automated feeding.

Maybe you could build a system that burns your wastes as they're produced, that is blown into the furnace, and then siphon off a portion of the heat.

Let us know if you find anything better.

 

[JustWood]

http://www.burnchips.com/

My uncle just installed one of these in his pallet repair business. I'm really impressed with the unit all around. Burns solid fuel and manually fed. Uncle says it uses little fuel for the size of the unit.

http://www.biomasscombustion.com/

 

[NYEDGE]

Just a thought: I know that you said that you are looking for an "automatic" feed unit, but have you contemplated used your shavings and sawdust to make a bio brick?
If you have that much waste material, a bio brick press would be able to incorporate the different size wood waste that you have. The cost of a press unit, whether purchased, or fabricated in house may offset the cost of a big automated unit. A pressed brick or log would burn longer than smaller loose particles, and perhaps you will be able to generate enough for re-sale.

 

[dwaldmann]

Thanks for the info. I will be checking out those sources.

We currently have a good way to get rid of our waste, and getting paid what I think is good money for it, but not anywhere near what we pay for fuel (we net approx $4/MMBTU). I hadn't considered making briquettes and selling the extra... but the problem with a manual system at a business is that you still need someone to load it over the weekend, and the highest demand for heat is when no one is there.

Thanks for the ideas.

 

[NYEDGE]

Another option that is towards an automatic system is a pellet boiler with a hopper system.
If you made pellets with your waste you could have it self feed into the boiler. I've seen a very well made system on this site that even has a wall display of the unit. I'm sure you can find it easily by searching the forum.

 

[djbutt]

The Froling TX-150

Self feeding, burns pellets or wood chips, load with a tractor or dump truck , indoor, super efficient wood boiler. link below

http://www.froeling.com/media/fb/en/TX150/

150 KWH is about 512,000 BTUs

 

[Como]

The local school is going wood chip, their cost per mmbtu is about $4 coincidentally. My rough calculation suggests you have 3,000 mmbtu's plus so fuel supply is not an issue. Their cost also includes sourcing the wood and chipping, you have it all on site.

There are a lot of boiler options, just be prepared for sticker shot, these puppies are not cheap.

Viesmann come to mind and the one that is going to be used locally is Orlan.

And Goliath, do not know much about them: http://www.jeld-wen.com/images/stories/pdf/current_warranties/current-jw-vinyl-window-warranty.pdf

 

[peakbagger]

I expect it doesnt apply to most small commercial installations but be aware that at some point, a commerical wood boiler needs state air emission permits which are potentially very time consuming and may require additional equipment. The requirements vary state by state.

 

[in hot water]

maybe consider finding a pellet mill to purchase or trade your raw material for pellets. Then look for a pellet boiler in your size range. For automatic feeding, pellets seem the way to go.

hr

 

[Como]

If he is looking at 150kw, then wood chip would be the way to go. The cost of processing into pellets would be a lot more than the material handling savings. And he is in control of his heating costs, no outsider to pay.

 

[henfruit]

How big is woodguns largest unit for burning sawdust ect?

 

[JustWood]

If he is looking at 150kw, then wood chip would be the way to go. The cost of processing into pellets would be a lot more than the material handling savings. And he is in control of his heating costs, no outsider to pay.

Agreed.
He has the right product. Don't over complicate things.
More than likely material can be diverted from the production process directly into surge bin type storage to be direct fed into boiler. Thus ,no extra handling.

 

[Fred61]

dewaldmann

Just a heads-up. You may find this out as you question potential heating unit suppliers or you may want to question operators of these wood chip units that are installed in several Vermont schools. The wood chips that are delivered to those units have been graded. In other words, they need to be a specific and consistent size. They don't just chip a tree and blow it into a truck and deliver it to the chip storage bin. So what I'm trying to say is that mixed sizes and sawdust may not work if you were to install something similar to those units. I understand there is a market for the chips that have been sorted out but I don't know where they go. I heard there is a chip supplier in the Bristol Vermont area but I can't say for sure. One of our Moderators (Nofossil) lives in that neighborhood. Perhaps he would have some input.

 

[dwaldmann]

Thanks all for your continued responses. Even though I participate in other (non-related) forums, it never ceases to amaze me how much information can be gathered when you ask a collective body!

Peakbagger: I appreciate the warning. Something I hadn't considered. Even if it doesn't apply I will want to know that. Thanks.

Fred61: That's good info to have. Our chips vary from sander dust up to moulder chips (maybe 1/8" x 1/4" and up to an inch long) and occasional pine planer shavings (a few thousandths by an inch or two wide and an inch long). So there is quite a variety. I would definitely want to see reliable handling of similar product in an operating system, especially after your comments. Our chips currently go to Beede & Sons where they sort them and provide a few different markets including furs and composite decking, so I imagine they could be taking the stuff that doesn't meet the grade for the units you are referring to. They could also be going to a pellet mill such as New England Wood Pellet, which is where ours used to go until we got offered over 5 times the price elsewhere...

Como, Lee: thanks for confirming that I am looking at this the right way.

Will keep looking and listening.

-d

 

[JustWood]

dewaldmann

Just a heads-up. You may find this out as you question potential heating unit suppliers or you may want to question operators of these wood chip units that are installed in several Vermont schools. The wood chips that are delivered to those units have been graded. In other words, they need to be a specific and consistent size. They don't just chip a tree and blow it into a truck and deliver it to the chip storage bin. So what I'm trying to say is that mixed sizes and sawdust may not work if you were to install something similar to those units. I understand there is a market for the chips that have been sorted out but I don't know where they go. I heard there is a chip supplier in the Bristol Vermont area but I can't say for sure. One of our Moderators (Nofossil) lives in that neighborhood. Perhaps he would have some input.

Inline screening systems and small hammermills can be designed into the system to combat this although it does add footprint and considerable $ to the project.
Sounds like many different processes' byproduct goes into a single storage system. I'm thinking that maybe one process could be diverted into a storage/feed system pending adequate volume is available from that single process.
Another consideration and maybe sort term solution could be sourcing waste oil to supplement #2 in the current system.

 

[dwaldmann]

Another consideration and maybe sort term solution could be sourcing waste oil to supplement #2 in the current system.

We looked into that when we first moved in (6 years ago now) and gave up. There is way too much red tape and expense involved in storing and burning waste oil. At least, to do it legally. We felt we were way better off buying #2 than getting waste oil even for free.