Photos of my new Effecta boiler installation

[EffectaBoilerUser (USA)]

I wanted to share some photos (and first hand experience) of my new effecta lambda 35 boiler that I installed in my northern Michigan house last month.

I have been using this boiler (with 1,000 gallons of storage) for approx. one month and am extremley happy with its performance and ease of use. Prior to this boiler I had been using an EKO40 with the same 1,000 gallons of storage that I installed in 2008.

The Lambda sensor and stepper motor system for the automatic control of the primary and secondary draft is really fascinating and does a great job at maintaing the preset CO2%. By the middle of a burn my secondary draft opening is usually at least twice as large as my primary draft opening. On my EKO40 I had added an external adjustment for the priamry draft control but could never really make it work like I thought it should (many on this forum have also made this mod. to their EKO boilers).The effecta constantly adjusts both the primary and secondary drafts continuously/at the same time and thus I think that is why I could never make the EKO operate like I thought it should.

I remember that Hanson (a regular forum member from Sweden) has been asked about the effecta boilers on this forum in the past but had no direct feedback regarding these boilers.

I will keep everyone posted as to the short and long term performance of my new effecta boiler and just hope that the weather remains as cold as it was this morning (-1 F) so I can put it to the test.

NWM

 

[sdrobertson]

Wow....those are nice looking units. Can't wait for the reports as the winter goes on. I'm getting boiler envy :coolmad:

 

[DaveBP]

Are these coming in as 250V 50Hz appliances? Or have they gone to the extent of adapting them specifically for North America?

 

[Singed Eyebrows]

Looks real nice with a very neat install. From what I have read these are great boilers, Randy

 

[EffectaBoilerUser (USA)]

These effecta boilers will accept both 120/60 HZ (US) and 240V/50 HZ power (Europe)

They have an onboard converter/inverter that allows it to accept both voltages.

In addition, the stepper motors used for the automatic draft control use 24V.

I have laddomat 21-60 loading valves that go with each boiler and the circulation pumps on these are 120/60 hz even though they were made in Sweden. These loading valves come complete with the circulation pump and thermostat loading feature in one insulated unit., They also include ball valves and unions at all three 1-1/4" connections. I used to operate my EKO40 with a Danfoss valve and seperate circ pump but now have the effecta 35 with laddomat 21-60 and it's working great.

The only item that needs to be converted from 240V/50 hz to 110/60 hz is the fan. To do this I am using a 500 watt step up transformer and a RIB relay.

NWM

 

[ihookem]

Cost of stove? Btu's per hr?

 

[henfruit]

What did you wrap your pipes with? I just did mine with amourflex works nice. tank insulation is next.

 

[taxidermist]

These effecta boilers will accept both 120/60 HZ (US) and 240V/50 HZ power (Europe)

They have an onboard converter/inverter that allows it to accept both voltages.

In addition, the stepper motors used for the automatic draft control use 24V.

I have laddomat 21-60 loading valves that go with each boiler and the circulation pumps on these are 120/60 hz even though they were made in Sweden. These loading valves come complete with the circulation pump and thermostat loading feature in one insulated unit., They also include ball valves and unions at all three 1-1/4" connections. I used to operate my EKO40 with a Danfoss valve and seperate circ pump but now have the effecta 35 with laddomat 21-60 and it's working great.

The only item that needs to be converted from 240V/50 hz to 110/60 hz is the fan. To do this I am using a 500 watt step up transformer and a RIB relay.

NWM

Hello Brian,

Cool looking setup. Is the laddo the only pump you are using to send water to storage? I want to get rid of my ball valve and danfoss but I need that big pump to send water to storage.

Rob

 

[Singed Eyebrows]

These effecta boilers will accept both 120/60 HZ (US) and 240V/50 HZ power (Europe)

They have an onboard converter/inverter that allows it to accept both voltages.

In addition, the stepper motors used for the automatic draft control use 24V.

I have laddomat 21-60 loading valves that go with each boiler and the circulation pumps on these are 120/60 hz even though they were made in Sweden. These loading valves come complete with the circulation pump and thermostat loading feature in one insulated unit., They also include ball valves and unions at all three 1-1/4" connections. I used to operate my EKO40 with a Danfoss valve and seperate circ pump but now have the effecta 35 with laddomat 21-60 and it's working great.

The only item that needs to be converted from 240V/50 hz to 110/60 hz is the fan. To do this I am using a 500 watt step up transformer and a RIB relay.

NWM

Hello Brian,

Cool looking setup. Is the laddo the only pump you are using to send water to storage? I want to get rid of my ball valve and danfoss but I need that big pump to send water to storage.

Rob

Rob, With that 60 you might want to consider the Lado 21-100, get Brians opinion. These tank chargers do not have strong pumps. My 32KW boiler can easily outrun the 45KW Lado 21G on full fire. Brian has the 21-60(next size up), on a 35KW boiler though. Randy

 

[goosegunner]

These effecta boilers will accept both 120/60 HZ (US) and 240V/50 HZ power (Europe)

They have an onboard converter/inverter that allows it to accept both voltages.

In addition, the stepper motors used for the automatic draft control use 24V.

I have laddomat 21-60 loading valves that go with each boiler and the circulation pumps on these are 120/60 hz even though they were made in Sweden. These loading valves come complete with the circulation pump and thermostat loading feature in one insulated unit., They also include ball valves and unions at all three 1-1/4" connections. I used to operate my EKO40 with a Danfoss valve and seperate circ pump but now have the effecta 35 with laddomat 21-60 and it's working great.

The only item that needs to be converted from 240V/50 hz to 110/60 hz is the fan. To do this I am using a 500 watt step up transformer and a RIB relay.

NWM

Hello Brian,

Cool looking setup. Is the laddo the only pump you are using to send water to storage? I want to get rid of my ball valve and danfoss but I need that big pump to send water to storage.

Rob

What's wrong with your Danfoss set up?

gg

 

[Como]

I am going to guess that the 60 refers to KW, about 200,000btu's

It would be nice if you could source a fan to replace the original and avoid the transformer.

 

[taxidermist]

These effecta boilers will accept both 120/60 HZ (US) and 240V/50 HZ power (Europe)

They have an onboard converter/inverter that allows it to accept both voltages.

In addition, the stepper motors used for the automatic draft control use 24V.

I have laddomat 21-60 loading valves that go with each boiler and the circulation pumps on these are 120/60 hz even though they were made in Sweden. These loading valves come complete with the circulation pump and thermostat loading feature in one insulated unit., They also include ball valves and unions at all three 1-1/4" connections. I used to operate my EKO40 with a Danfoss valve and seperate circ pump but now have the effecta 35 with laddomat 21-60 and it's working great.

The only item that needs to be converted from 240V/50 hz to 110/60 hz is the fan. To do this I am using a 500 watt step up transformer and a RIB relay.

NWM

Hello Brian,

Cool looking setup. Is the laddo the only pump you are using to send water to storage? I want to get rid of my ball valve and danfoss but I need that big pump to send water to storage.

Rob

What's wrong with your Danfoss set up?

gg

Goose,
I am looking for a little more automated set up. I am always moving my ball valve to keep my boiler from idling.

 

[EffectaBoilerUser (USA)]

Greetings to all,

Yes, I am using a laddomat 21-60 loading valve to charge my storage tanks. The Laddomat valve does not require a ball valve set at 1/3 open on the bypass line running from boiler supply to top of laddomat/bypass. Rather, I go directly from the boiler supply line to the top of the laddomat with no valve used/closed.

The laddomat is a very nice unit as it has the circ pump, (3) ball valves, (3) unions, (3) temperature gages and (1) two piece insulation cover included in the one unit. The 21-60 model has 1.25" threads and the 21-100 model has 1.5" threads. However, we currently do not have a 110V circulator for the 21-60 and I am being told that the 21-60 will work well for the effecta 60kw boiler as long as 1.5" piping is used and the distance from boiler to tank is not extremely long.

Regarding the BTU output of the effecta 35, it is 122,000 BTU. However, I have the independent, 10 page, 3rd party test report which shows that the effecta lambda 35KW is conservative and could actually be 37-38kw.

The effecta 60 kw has been tested by effecta and was found to put out 60kw (205,000 BTU). However, the independent test lab is performing the official, no-biased testing on this unit next month.

The effecta boiler does many things different than many of the currently available European boilers:

1.) This boiler is not allowed to burn/idle (i.e. the temp. on the control cannot be set so that the fan shuts off when the high temp. is met and then turns on once this temp. drops a preset amount). Thus, when the storage tanks/boiler are up to temp. (I'm running mine around 195-200F) the fan shuts off and the primary and secondary draft controls fully close (so as to not allow any oxygen into the boiler combustion chamber). The EKO for example can be set to 195 and the fan will turn off and on as the boiler temp. lowers and raises. At first I thought I was not going to miss the ability to load the boiler with wood and have it trun on and off much like an OWB but having used the effecta 35 for a month now I don't miss this feature a bit. For optimum efficiency and environmental friendliness (which is what gasifiers are supposed to provide) effecta and the country of Sweden do not allow this cycling to occur.

2.) The combustion fan is on the rear of the unit and thus sucks the oxygen through the boiler (negative pressure system) and thus the "smoke out the front door issue" is practically eliminated. In addition, there is a smoke evacuation port directly above the door opening that is vented directly to the chimney and sucks out any smoke that may escape from the door opening.

3.) There is no chimney by-pass lever present/needed when first starting a fire (like the EKO has).

4.) The ceramics encase a stainless steel burner (which has over 150 holes in it) through which the secondary air is completely mixed with the gases coming down from the primary chamber.

5.) The lower half of the primary chamber is wider than the upper half so as to eliminate the common "wood bridging" issue.

6.) The secondary chamber is fully water jacketed (there is no refractory cement in the floor of the boiler) and thus the 2,000 F heat is able to transfer to the water much more efficiently (this results in a chimney smoke temperature of between 275-375 F all the time). There is a removable stainless steel "half pipe" flame difusser that is similar to the EKO ceramic one but since it is stainless steel it heats up much quicker (to burn the gases) and will not crack.

7.) The primary and secondary drafts are controlled automatically/continuously via. the lambda sensor once the smoke temperature reaches 100C.

I realize that effecta is not a common name in the US (however, Hanson who is a hearth.com member living in Sweden has heard of them). They have been around since 1983 and thus have almost 30 years experience with these boilers. The Lambda model has been out since 2000.

NWM

 

[colcarlmiss]

What's the price for the unit?

 

[Como]

With regards to 1. maybe if it cycled it would not meet emissions levels?