Finally made the decision and a gasification wood boiler will be in our basement soon!

[muncybob]

Wife and I made the trip to AHS today and after my numerous questions were answered by Patrcik and a quick tour of the facility there, we put a deposit on the E-100 oil/wood combo boiler. My wife was not very keen on this purchase until she saw the boiler in person....then she was asking all sorts of questions on the way home. I think she is finally ready to burn some wood! Hopefully I'll remember to take lots of pictures as this will be slid down some concrete stairs into the basement bulkhead and rolled to the far side of the basement. We should be picking it up by August 7th.

 

[deerefanatic]

Good deal. You won't regret it!

 

[Hydronics]

Congratulations. I still think the Woodgun although pricey, may be the only gasifier which could last a lifetime.

 

[muncybob]

The fact that I have spoken to a few people with the SS product and have had them running for over 15 years and had basically good things to say is why I went with the Wood Gun. Apparently AHS has addressed several of the problems the product had in the past. It was a toss up between the Wood Gun and the Tarm Excel(almost identical in price)....the basic mechanical design of the AHS product(most of the parts are available from local suppliers), fairly close proximity to our home to save on shipping and the wife really seems to like it(that stumped me!) is why we made the purchase. If it works as they say it will so far as not needing storage(but yes, they say I will benefit from it) and the reignition from a dormant status during low demand periods then we'll be happy campers. The unit we will be getting has the 4 hour cycle timer to aid in the "reignition" and auto oil back up(hope to use this only once in a blue moon!). I still plan on storage for possibly next year unless it really surprises me without it.

 

[muncybob]

Today is the big day...well maybe. We are off to the AHS facility that has the finished product. Going to bring her home in the back of a friend's pick up. Plan to lower it into the basement with a skid steer but that may not happen until tomorrow. It's a crystal clear sky today so looks like we won't have any rain for a change...perfect for the road trip! Will post pics. Install scheduled for Tuesday and chimney liner is sometime next week.

Looks like summer is finally here in PA...but we plan to be ready for winter!!

 

[stee6043]

I hope it's a 3/4 ton pickup at least! Congrats...and enjoy the trip. The adventure starts - now!

 

[muncybob]

Yep, we drive some "beefy" pick ups! Took my friends Dodge diesel...3/4 ton with helper springs(normally hauls horses with this truck). Pic is from at the warehouse just before loading. They are geared up for a large demand as there must have been close to 200 units sitting in that building...all sorts of boilers!When the WG was set into the bed the springs hardly moved so I knew we were good to go! 3 hours down and back but she set in my driveway overnight unscathed. Very grateful we found 2 consecutive days without rain!! The trip went so well I told my buddy if he gets laid off he should do this for some pocket change.
Saturday we had somebody come by with a large skid steer and after removal of my basement doors and some creative use of 2X4's with a pallet jack we got it into her new home. A few very minor scrapes,but it was a tight fit. Installer is expected here Tuesday to start removing the old oil beast and probably start the WG install on Wednesday. I'm happy to be at this point after researching for so long. Now I just hope the local guy with "dry" wood is actually dry! I'll be making a visit with my newly acquired moisture meter.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Alright Bob! Looks like you're in business.

 

[Singed Eyebrows]

Great boiler Bob. I would have gone with the WG over the Atmos if the WG wasn't 3 times the money. The only thing you might want to add is the smoke hood. They make 2 sizes, Randy

 

[muncybob]

The Atmos was on my list too. Had a bit of a problem with the height of it. Looks like a good unit though! Shooting for this Saturday for installation. Disconnecetd the old oil beast last night...will be glad to see it leave the premises!

 

[68dodgeramman]

Hey Bob. Do you have install pics, or at least, after install pics?

 

[muncybob]

I have some post install pics that one day I will remember to post when home. I didn't get any pics when lowering into the basement as the procedure required all hands that were available at the time. We used a large Bobcat loader to lower it into the bulkhead onto a pallet jack. Some tricky (and nervous) travel from there to it's permanent location. Only a minor scrape or two getting it into position. My installer's hourly rate of $20 was great but I found after he was done that his expertise was not in hydronics as I have had another person come in to redo some of the work. I think I still got it all done at a decent price though.

 

[68dodgeramman]

Cool. Thanks Bob, I can't wait for the pics. Oh yeah, almost forgot, I ordered ours this morning!