Thinking of selling my Eko for a garn

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Kemer

Member
Feb 26, 2008
213
Northeast Pa
Thinking of selling my eko for a garn I don't want to break any rules with this post but i want to buy a garn and to do so I would have to sell my two year old Eko 60 super.since it is a boiler can I post it here? and can I get a any Idea of what would be a fair price from you guys?
 
Kemer said:
Thinking of selling my eko for a garn I don't want to break any rules with this post but i want to buy a garn and to do so I would have to sell my two year old Eko 60 super.since it is a boiler can I post it here? and can I get a any Idea of what would be a fair price from you guys?


There is a forum for just what you are doing if you scroll down on the Forum Home page. You should list any items for sale in the Articles for Sale/Wanted forum. Coming out of the heating season shortly---you would probably get a better buck for the Eko at the end of this summer. Of course if your buying the Garn, you want to unload it ASAP!?!? 75% of what you paid--just a wild guess?? Good luck in whatever you decide--both are great units.
 
I like burning wood and would like to have storage.After thinking about things it just seems to make since to move up to 2000 gal. garn
 
Makes a lot of sense.

Price would depend on your local market, how much would you have paid when you bought yours for a slightly used one?
 
Knowing what I know now I would of bought a used one .These don't really wear out unless they are abused.I think what I am asking is a fair if not a good deal
 
Do a price comparison of what you think you will get back(75% of what you paid is fair), minus the price of the garn vs just adding in 1500-2000 gal. storage with your EKO 60 setup.
 
karri0n said:
Do a price comparison of what you think you will get back(75% of what you paid is fair), minus the price of the garn vs just adding in 1500-2000 gal. storage with your EKO 60 setup.

+1. Adding storage to your EKO would cost substantially less than scrapping the EKO and starting all over. A Garn is a sweet unit, don't get me wrong, but so is an EKO 60 with plenty of storage. I personally wouldn't be able to justify the cost of what you're proposing when you have a very capable boiler already...
 
I don't really want or have room for 3-500gal.propane tanks but if I did what do you think it would cost with shipping and instalation? I know it cost 2500.00 for 500 gal plus shipping and install from zenon.I also saved two years of oil usage so far 2000 Gal.
 
Kemer said:
I don't really want or have room for 3-500gal.propane tanks but if I did what do you think it would cost with shipping and instalation? I know it cost 2500.00 for 500 gal plus shipping and install from zenon.I also saved two years of oil usage so far 2000 Gal.

Smokelessheat is right in your state and has reconditioned 500 gallon tanks for $899. That would be $3596 for 2000 gallons of tank, and then you need to add the cost of insulation and piping them. If you are running pex to them though, the piping won't be outrageous. You could also try to source some yourself and find someone to do the welding to get them ready for use as storage. That would cost even less. I too think you should probably add storage to your Eko. The other advantage is that you would have heat with the Eko as soon as the boiler is up to temp, whereas the Garn has to bring the 2000 gallons up to usable. You also would have the flexibility to add storage incrementally as long as you pipe it right. A 1000 gallons now and more later if needed..
 
The only thing I would consider because of my situation would be the square insulated 500 gal tanks and at $3,000 plus shipping ,getting them inside and plumbing them I should figure 10,000
or more.sell my eko $4,000 -1500 gal storage $ 10,000 2 year oil savings 5000. do the math and the fact I would have a garn I'm leaning this way.The payback ain't bad I know some of you will say this is fuzzy math But it's the way Iook at things
 
Nothing wrong with that Kemer... Garns are great units. Do you already have the outbuilding for it with the buried lines? I am sure you will find a buyer for your Eko. Someone is going to get a good deal!
 
I have an attached boiler room with just enough room for a garn with out screwing it up.Plus it is as close as you can get to plug and play since it is in the same spot as my eko.
 
I forgot to include the $1,500 obama is giving me too.
 
Or not taking.
 
Kemer said:
I forgot to include the $1,500 obama is giving me too.
If you can afford the Garn & it sounds like you can, I think it is a great investment. They seem to trouble free great boilers from everything I've read. There can always be piping problems going from a boiler to storage,stratification problems. It's hard to not get good transfer etc when your boiler is inside the tank, Randy
 
Thanks singed eye.My brother had a lot of problems with seperate storage and that is infuenceing my desicion process
 
The garn is a great boiler but I wonder why you can't fit 2-500gal propane tanks in the same space. I have used propane tanks here for $250. It wouldn't cost that much to pick them up here. I'm sure there are other places to find them also. If you picked up four of them I'd even cut you a better deal.
I have my eko-80 in a shed 100ft from my house and four 500gal tanks next to my house. they are working out great. Plus it's a closed system. What kind of problems did you have with seperate storage?????????????
leaddog
 
Leaddog Thanks for for your offer and input.I respect all you guys on this forum for your help. I guess I have to rethink this with the old pro and con list.I always make my decisions on the
saying "Money is'nt always green.I factor in Ease of use,saftey,Resale,resale of house,space consumed,whats the easest for my wife to take care of and how much work there will be to keep
what I have and add storage.Although I have heard all good things about a Garn I'm sure there are negitives about one.Any input on that from anyone?I have already got some offers on my 60 that are fair.So please continue your input and I will make a decision

Harry
 
I've gone back and forth on this as well Harry. I assume that any wood boiler/storage equipment is likely to be a liability as opposed to an asset in the event of resale unless your real estate market is very different than ours. While I have no intention of ever moving, the ability to much more easily move the EKO seems like an advantage. With your attached boiler room, this may be less of an issue than my basement install that will require cutting a hole in the side of the house.
 
every one has to evaluate what will work best for them. The more I learn about the garn the more I like them. But I would probably make the same choise for me because of the money factor. Because I was able to get and put in my own tanks and plumbing it was cheaper to go with the eko. If the money would have been the same it would have been the garn.
leaddog
 
The issue I have with the Garn is I don't have any data regarding the longevity of the refractory package, or a replacement cost. I made a thread a while back to compare the life of refractory materials on different boilers, people's personal experiences with how they wear, and the prices for replacement if it needed to be done. I was hoping to find some data for a garn, but no such luck. Maybe I will bump that thread to see if we can get some new life into it. it seems like a good piece of info for people who are trying to make decisions exactly like this one, or for people who are buying their first gasifier.


Here's a link to the thread:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/52598/
 
BRL said:
Here is the link to the Garn Parts. Replacement cost seems very reasonable as far as longevity I would imagine it is comparable to the other gassers.

http://stores.garnparts.com/-strse-...ath/55111598/start/28/total/40/Categories.bok


"Comparable to other gassers" is my issue; as we've seen a pretty wide variance from refractory material that breaks down after a couple heating seasons, to refractory material that seems like it can't be killed after heating with the unit for 10 years or more.
 
The GARN is not really comparable to other gassers in many ways, including refractory material useage. The GARN does not use small nozzles like in a downdraft gasser. It uses a huge, 6" diameter refractory lined chamber, within which the secondary combuston occurs as the fan pulls the gases from the primary chamber/firebox. I only have two seaons of use with mine, but I see absolutely zero deterioration of the refractory surfaces. The lower portion of the fire box is lined with standard refractory bricks ("thins" or "splits"). I have no indications of any of the bricks cracking or breaking through this point of my second heating season. They are dry laid in place, so replacement is merely a matter of reaching into the chamber and replacing the brick(s).
 
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