Eshland Wood Gun 140. Please Help! New operator with zero gassifer experience

[mskinboston]

Cyclone/fan motor removal and cleaning should not be any more than an annual deal. I didn't pull my fan until the 3rd year to clean the heat exchanger area. Is it possible the 140 is too big for your application and you are cycling off way more than you should? Have you actually check the moisture content of the wood you are burning?

Honestly, I haven't. But it's mostly ash, it was cut and split in June, it's been kept in the barn and it's checked.

 

[avc8130]

I dunno...I run an E180 in a 2500 sq ft ranch in Sussex County NJ. 1980 standard 2x4 construction. I can make this house whatever temp I want. I empty my ash pan every ~3-4 days. I CHECK my lower tubes ~weekly, and probably clean them ~monthly. I take the fan off and clean the cyclone annually. My chimney generally has a light dust in it.

Wood cut/split in June? WAY too wet to use in a gassification boiler. Your wood needs to be c/s/s at least a year.

Are you trying to run the thing like an outdoor boiler?

What does your daily routine look like?

ac

 

[mskinboston]

Another WOW,

I keep the 1st floor (1500sf) at 70 from 5:30am to 11:30pm and set back to 67* over night
The 2nd floor (500sf) at 70 from 9pm to 11:30pm then set back to 67* and back up to 70 from 5:30 am to 8am then back to 67*

My house is VERY poorly insulated.
My E100 seems to keep up.
One full firebox from 10pm to 8am on average.
1/4 firebox from 8am to 2pm
1/4 firebox from 2pm to 6pm
1/4 firebox from 6pm to 10pm

But as we all know that varies and could be more or less depending on outside temps.

Hey there is a guy with a WG in Canada who keeps his house at 80* and only burns 5 splits a day.

I'm wondering if we didn't do significant damage some how some where during the first year when we were burning a lot of maple. It's wasn't super green, but it wasn't as dry as the wood we are burning now. Maybe there are pin holes in the tubes, or something. Has anyone ever had probelms with tube erosion?

 

[mskinboston]

I dunno...I run an E180 in a 2500 sq ft ranch in Sussex County NJ. 1980 standard 2x4 construction. I can make this house whatever temp I want. I empty my ash pan every ~3-4 days. I CHECK my lower tubes ~weekly, and probably clean them ~monthly. I take the fan off and clean the cyclone annually. My chimney generally has a light dust in it.

Wood cut/split in June? WAY too wet to use in a gassification boiler. Your wood needs to be c/s/s at least a year.

Are you trying to run the thing like an outdoor boiler?

What does your daily routine look like?

ac

We are burning ash. Depends on the temp. Fill up around 9:00 p.m. If the temperature outside is below 20, I usually have to fill it at 6 or 7 a.m. I'll add more wood around 5 or 6 if needed. Then fill up at 9 again. If the wood was too green, I don't think we'd get the huffing. The wood is likely aged longer. We trade hay for wood and he cuts pretty much year-round. I was actually concerned it might be too dry. I suppose I should have it measured, but honestly we've burned a lot of dry wood and haven't fared better.

What's the proper moisture content, about 25%?

 

[infinitymike]

What's the proper moisture content, about 25%?

Yeah, I guess, around 20-30% max.
I stopped checking mine.
The skinny splits I'm burning are 2 years old and if I split them to check the MC they will be splinters. LOL
The big stuff 6x6, 8x8 is only 8 months old, I should split one of those and see.

 

[mskinboston]

Yeah, I guess, around 20-30% max.
I stopped checking mine.
The skinny splits I'm burning are 2 years old and if I split them to check the MC they will be splinters. LOL
The big stuff 6x6, 8x8 is only 8 months old, I should split one of those and see.

That's pretty close to what were are burning. A good mix of large and small. And ash is suppose to be a wood you can burn green isn't it? (I know, not in a wood gun, but its moisture content must be pretty low.)

 

[avc8130]

You really can't burn ANY wood green in ANY gassifier. The WG is more tolerant than most of the Euro boilers, but still prefers a reasonable moisture content.

I'm still baffled you can't heat your house. The WGs put out TONS of btus. Are you SURE the rest of your system is working properly? Is your Wood Gun cycling, or is it running 100% of the time?

ac

 

[maple1]

I know the WG is a popular boiler to banter about here - but the only other guy I know within 100 miles of me with a gasifier, has a WG, and he has been VERY happy with it in the 4 or 5 years (maybe more now) he's had it. His is in his basement, and unless he added one since I've been there, doesn't even have a smoke hood.

I would bet wood that is too wet is most of the problems I'm reading about in the past few posts.

 

[muncybob]

The majority of my 1st year frustration in burning wood for heat was exactly what you are describing mskinboston. The wood was 25% plus mc and I was having all sorts of issues. Since then my wood is around 20% and some probably a bit lower, they are mostly larger sized splits and I've had no problems. I'm surprised you have not mentioned excess moisture in your ash pan, I was getting a lot of that with wetter wood. As stated in this thread and many times in other threads in this forum, c/s/s minimum of 1 year and preferably 2 years and you should be good to go. Oak needs 3+ years esp. if they are not small splits. Yes, ash starts out with a lower mc than many woods but it still needs more than 6 months to season good enough for a gasser to operate properly. I'll bet if you got some of those eco bricks mixed with your wood or could find some kiln dried wood you would see a BIG difference!