greenfire gasification boiler fortkent maine

[keith]

The website greenfirefurnaces.com is not running yet but they emailed me photos and some details....
several models:
24" LOG ;2800pounds;5000sf;300psi hi-temp refractory;heating water returns in back creating thermal siphonhaust lower rear <300degrees;claim water vessel unit is safer than fire tube designs. cost $4400

The combustion chamber appears, I repeat appears, to be in 3 large refractory pieces which may prevent problematic cracks such as those mentioned in the greenwood units? I do not know the thickness/type of the metal? How thick are the Tarms or Eko?
Any stainless steel on them? Any data out there from you Tarm/Eko owners to compare apples to apples is appreciated...
Is this too simple a design and in a lower league than the more expensive Tarms? What special gadgets does the Tarm come with?
What happened to the BlackBear company? Any owners out there? Is this another situation where the warranty will be useless
if the company goes out of business....


ps. Why can't we download photos/attachments for others to view....

 

[sparke]

I just bought one. I spoke to the company several times and I am comfortable it will be a solid build. It got shipped today. I had them ship it in pieces so I could get it in my cellar. Should arrive Friday. Guess what I'm doing this weekend

 

[Eric Johnson]

Black Bear is out of business. But I think most of these refractory boilers look to me like they're based on the Seton design. That's a pretty good price. I think the Black Bear was about twice that, and for a 90,000 btu/hour unit (the only one they offered). One of our members, Maine, has one working and seems to like it. Others in this category are the Adobe, Greenwood, and maybe the Blue Forge, though I'm not very familiar with that one.

The EKO is made out of 1/4-inch boiler plate. No stainless. I believe the Tarm and Econoburn are similar.

I can't speak for the Tarm because I don't own one. The EKO has some nice features. The controller can run pumps and can be hooked up to a room or outdoor thermostat. It is programmed to modulate the blower speed at temps approaching idle, which is pretty nice. It has a time-adjustable "puff" feature that periodically starts up the blowers during idle to keep the fire from going out during prolonged idle periods. It also has a lever that allows you to move the turbulators up and down in the heat exchanger tubes by yanking on a handle. This keeps the tubes clean and saves you the dirty job of taking the back of the boiler apart and cleaning them by hand. So they've got some bells and whistles, but they cost a lot more than $4,500, too. EKO pricing and specs can be found at the Cozy Heat website (top banner).

Sounds like you'll get all the information you need on the Greenfire from Sparke, shortly. Congrats, Sparke. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

That's a nice feature-to be able to clean the heat exchange tubes without taking the back cover off. It only takes me 10 mins to open the cover and do it but I wish the Tarm had a similar system.

 

[Bartman]

Sparke,
Can you post some pictures when you get it?

 

[SteveJ]

Wow! Looks just like my $8000 Seton W-130 that I bought last June!!

 

[sparke]

Pics coming soon...

 

[rsnider]

love to see the pics. and how easy is it to put together? post back soon.

 

[sparke]

Boiler came in today. It was dropped of at local warehouse. I could not find a trailer or heavy duty truck so I decided to see how tough the ole GMC is. Loaded the 2400LB skid into my truck and brought it home. Promply put a jack on the rear end to ease the load. The ole gril took it well...
Anyway, I started to take it apart. (They shipped it assembled but caulking and finish touches not done. So far I have removed the outter skin. I am amazed how simplistic the design is. A good welder could easily build one of these. Tomorrow I will finish taking it apart and bring it down into the cellar in pieces. I will need to find some help for the refractory pieces. Tomorrow I will try to post pics of the boiler with the skin off and the install process...

 

[Bartman]

Congratulations and good luck with it!

 

[antknee2]

Boiler came in today. It was dropped of at local warehouse. I could not find a trailer or heavy duty truck so I decided to see how tough the ole GMC is. Loaded the 2400LB skid into my truck and brought it home. Promply put a jack on the rear end to ease the load. The ole gril took it well...
Anyway, I started to take it apart. (They shipped it assembled but caulking and finish touches not done. So far I have removed the outter skin. I am amazed how simplistic the design is. A good welder could easily build one of these. Tomorrow I will finish taking it apart and bring it down into the cellar in pieces. I will need to find some help for the refractory pieces. Tomorrow I will try to post pics of the boiler with the skin off and the install process...

Congradulations on your boiler , you will love the potential heat output if set up properly . I would NOT put it in the cellar . Please read some of the threads on the Greenwood boiler problems and Seton problems . Just advice from a Seton boiler owner and operator . Anthony

 

[wsurfer49]

Wow that is a fantastic price, that is for a brand new unit? You could build one but let me tell you that steel is pretty high and I can't even imagine what it might take to cast the refractory. Not saying it can't be done just that for $4400 you could buy the furnace and then build a yacht in your nice warm basement.

I would also like all the info and pics as you get the furnace together and running. If you have a phone # I would appreciate it too.

Thanks Rob

 

[kuribo]

If it weighs 2400lbs, estimating that 2000 of that is refractory, you could buy 35 or so 50lb bags of refractory for around $1500. Maybe another $400-$500 for all the steel....I would think someone handy could build one of these for $2500 or less....They are really simple. The heat exchanger is the most complex part, and even that could be simplified...

 

[Eric Johnson]

What do the nozzles look like on that boiler? Does it even have a nozzle?

 

[kuribo]

There are no nozzles. It is simply a large, single combustion chamber. The flue gases flow out and around the back, past/through the heat exchanger. It is claimed by the maker that the large volume of refractory stays at high temperatures and ignites the volatile gases at the top of the combustion chamber, thereby burning cleanly. With all the reports of creosote from this design, I would have to wonder if either it only burns cleanly and efficiently when running flat out or if it has a natural tendency to burn dirty if airflows, etc., are not dialed in tightly...

 

[machinistbcb]

I think there is some type of nozzle. You can see the 4 or 5 holes on the refractory right where the draft door opens in the back. I think there must be some type of steel tubes that connect to the draft door and force the intake air into the firebox. I haven't been able to see any pitcures of these though. If any body has one I would like to see what it looks like.

 

[antknee2]

Very cool to see the mass off all that refractory cement .Anthony