Pro's con's? The gassification units seem to need tweaking are they worth the work as far as efficiency and less smoke? Thanks for chimming in as that I am new to this and want to purchase the correct unit, Jon
Getting started Gassification vs. non gassification wood boiler
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Jon,
Gasifiers don't require any "tweaking" the fine tuning thread can be a bit misleading/intimidating. Some guys like to play with settings but you can set it to factory specs and go with it. Even if you get a gasifier and never add storage you'll be ahead of the game. Gasifiers do take longer to light because you have to get a coal bed before you can close the bypass and get a good "torch" going. They do work better with dry wood but so does any wood appliance. Don't expect to throw green wood in and get gasification. Good luck.
Gasifiers don't require any "tweaking" the fine tuning thread can be a bit misleading/intimidating. Some guys like to play with settings but you can set it to factory specs and go with it. Even if you get a gasifier and never add storage you'll be ahead of the game. Gasifiers do take longer to light because you have to get a coal bed before you can close the bypass and get a good "torch" going. They do work better with dry wood but so does any wood appliance. Don't expect to throw green wood in and get gasification. Good luck.
I agree. With experience, I can get a good gasification flame in 3-5 minutes. I haven't had to do any tweaking for two burning seasons. I just fill it up and go, with regular cleaning of course.
I cannot stress enough the importance of using DRY wood. Your wood doesn't have to be all hardwoods, etc. It just has to be DRY (less than 20% moisture content). Make the investment in a decent moisture meter and use it regularly. You will soon see the relationship between moisture and performance of your boiler - I know I sure did! Also, split the wood small enough that you don't have to deal with bridging inside the upper chamber, and you will have trouble-free burning. After three seasons I am still very happy with my gasifier choice.
I cannot stress enough the importance of using DRY wood. Your wood doesn't have to be all hardwoods, etc. It just has to be DRY (less than 20% moisture content). Make the investment in a decent moisture meter and use it regularly. You will soon see the relationship between moisture and performance of your boiler - I know I sure did! Also, split the wood small enough that you don't have to deal with bridging inside the upper chamber, and you will have trouble-free burning. After three seasons I am still very happy with my gasifier choice.
Gasser all the way. The only thing that would sway my decision is if someone gave me a conventional wood boiler for free. Otherwise, if you are going to invest burning wood for the next 15+ years, you will make more than the price of the boiler back in fuel savings or if you wood is free like mine, chiropractor bills.
If you want to avoid the creosote & potential chimney fire buy the gasser. The dust that goes into my chimney is non combustible. I had one chimney fire in my life with a conventional boiler & didn't need another one, Randy
And a gasser will burn any wood species. Mine are pine and aspen -- no creosote, no issue, no problem.
Definitely a gasser. It is more efficient for you and is a lot less smoke (most of the time). Follow the instructions and it will work for you. If you can swing the storage at the outset you will be way ahead of the curve. I am very satisfied with my Paxo 40. Work now to get ahead on your wood storage requirements. If you get behind, the smaller the splits the better the burn.
I've had 4 problem free winters with my Tarm. The only tweaking happened during and right after install and I haven't changed anything since. I get good gasification within 5-10 minutes after lighting. My opinion is that you would be making a mistake buying a non gasifying boiler.
The only con I see to a gasifier is the price. other than that I can't think of any. Pros - burn less wood, less creasote, less ash, very easy to clean ash out, at least on mine.
About the only tweaking I've done is in how I operate the unit....aka the learning curve. I suspect every new wood burner owner will go thru this...esp the first time wood burners such as myslef. Other than insulating my pipes and stack my unit is 100% unmodified stock....some of the best $$ I've ever spent.
A definate pro to a gasser is the reduced wood usage which leads to reduced time spent accumulating wood and in mind this equals more play time for me!
I know several people that have non gasser outside wood burners and they seem to be happy but they burn a lot more wood than me...and that seems OK to them. But, I have probably spent about the same amount of time "processing" firewood as them in the last 12 months....the diffreence is that they only accumulated 1 season's worth of wood and I have 2+ years worth! To each his own....
A definate pro to a gasser is the reduced wood usage which leads to reduced time spent accumulating wood and in mind this equals more play time for me!
I know several people that have non gasser outside wood burners and they seem to be happy but they burn a lot more wood than me...and that seems OK to them. But, I have probably spent about the same amount of time "processing" firewood as them in the last 12 months....the diffreence is that they only accumulated 1 season's worth of wood and I have 2+ years worth! To each his own....
jebatty said:
I agree. After initial set up, i haven't tweaked it since.
It takes maybe 10 minutes to split kindlin', fire up and walk away. i don't wait around to see if it gassify's. It does. It is fun to play with at first. But I did just what the manual said for flame length and color. That was a couple of yrs ago. AND as pointed out dry firewood and dry kindlin' makes the world of gassifiers a better place.
Also, a stack temp thermometer is a very useful tool in running the unit. Couldn't imagine not having one.
Agree. I finally went the "eye candy" route on this and got a K type digital panel meter with high temperature probe inserted into the flue. Now on my monitoring panel I have a continuous digital readout of stack temp in bright red LED numbers.
Had to set my gasser aside for the winter, (Long story), and went with a temporary set up (OWB style). The gasser went year round for home heat and DHW on about 6.5 to 7 full chord. The OWB style is at around 8 chord and chugging right now just for the heating season and pracitcallity precludes the use of the OWB for summertime DHW so fossil fuels will be utilized for that part of the year $$$. The OWB runs cooler by design and is slower to respond to heat demand when the unit gets cool from a lack of fuel. My gasser ran without storage and still ran on a par of around 40% less wood. Compared to some OWB's the gasser is no more expensive to buy but it will pay back with interest in work and wood savings. I miss the gasser.
Just thought of another con for the gasser. You have to split your wood smaller, but you use less so I guess it equals out.
jebatty said:
Amen. Burn it dry. Makes a ton of heat.
You'll learn the ins and outs of small fires and big fires, of re-starting fires that have gone out, and maybe, if you want to play, tweaking some of the electronic controls and water flow controls.
I had a non-gasser before. It was small (60K btu) and couldn't hold a candle to my new Econoburn (150K btu). Not because my new one is bigger and badder, but because I'm getting such better control and efficiency. I'll confess that my wife doesn't like to feed it, but she loves the heat it makes! I used to be cool when it was
-20C, and cold when it was -25C. Now I'm toasty no matter what the temperature. And my chimney is not packing up with creosote.
Happy burning.
barkeatr
Member
jebatty said:
Interesting can you tell me what you use the stack temperature for? is it just to keep an eye on gassification, if it is happening or perhaps you need to clean your turbulators?
A stack/flue thermometer provides a very good indication of boiler performance. The probe is inserted to be positioned in the middle of the flue and often about 12-18" above the flue exit port from the boiler. Unless recommended otherwise by the mfr, temperatures of less than 300F are not desirable due to condensation in the flue. Typical temperature range, depending on the boiler make, may range between 350-600F, and temperature likely will vary over the course of a burn. Each 40F change in flue temperature equates to about a 1% change in efficiency. My Tarm does really well within the 380-450F range, low to high burn.
You don't necessarily want to aim for the lowest temperature, rather a temperature range that sustains good gasification, and then when you learn that, the gauge will tell you at a glance how your boiler is performing. Gradual to sudden increase in temperature over the normal range may indicate dirty hx tubes, unusual draft conditions, change in your wood, bridging in the firebox. Kind of as a rule of thumb, a gradual upward drift (over a month or so) with regular burning usually means the hx tubes are getting dirty, and when the upward drift is reaching towards 100F, good time to brush those tubes. You then should see an immediate drop in flue temp.
You don't necessarily want to aim for the lowest temperature, rather a temperature range that sustains good gasification, and then when you learn that, the gauge will tell you at a glance how your boiler is performing. Gradual to sudden increase in temperature over the normal range may indicate dirty hx tubes, unusual draft conditions, change in your wood, bridging in the firebox. Kind of as a rule of thumb, a gradual upward drift (over a month or so) with regular burning usually means the hx tubes are getting dirty, and when the upward drift is reaching towards 100F, good time to brush those tubes. You then should see an immediate drop in flue temp.
Good explanation jebatty. My boiler flue temp never goes over 425 unless the bypass is open. With a full fire box of wood and ramped up to full tilt It usually runs around 390 F as the wood burns down The flue temp slowly
drops. with a med to small fire the flue temp usually runs about 325. If the flue temp drops below 300 the boiler needs refilled or I have bridging.
drops. with a med to small fire the flue temp usually runs about 325. If the flue temp drops below 300 the boiler needs refilled or I have bridging.
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