Welcome any suggestions on which gassifier to buy

[Frozen Canuck]

Re: wet aspen, I dont burn it I pile it until dry then burn it. Some peices take 2-3 years to dry out or longer. Log form un split 48" long. I have approx 10 cords in this form now busy drying. I typically burn 20-23 cords of dry deadfall each season.

Re: wicking up moisture. Here not so much unless in contact with ground. Very low MC in the air here compared to most ppl that are great lakes eastern seabord states. Think Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico etc, just not as hot.

I am in Colorado so pretty much the same conditions, very different to most on this site I think.

I may be wrong, but it may be much more helpful to think of wood better in terms of weight. Just got to shift a lot more of it.

However Boilers are not designed for our conditions.

I agree, my available species wont change & to be honest I don't know if I could handle a piece of oak 16" in diam x 48" long. Probably break my back/rip out my spleen. Either way not good. I also view wood by weight, esp when deciding if a piece has too much moisture to burn. After 9 years of loading I feel that I can judge MC of a piece of wood by how it feels in my hands.

That's right they don't design boilers for our conditions, we need bigger fireboxes due to species we have available to feed in. Thanks

 

[Frozen Canuck]

If ya got that much 'good' dead wood. . . . sell it to the mill and buy oil/gas.

LOL... good one. Lots of locals have sold their trees to the mill. Not me, huge mess left when they leave, think Hiroshima with trees... now you get the picture. Besides Pulp/Paper very depressed sectors right now & prob for the next 20+ years so trees worth very little. Thanks for the idea on the economic opportunity, just not for me.

 

[Como]

I have looked at other options.

The obvious one is to chip, and then you can auto feed, as you store the energy in the wood you only need storage for stratification. Whilst it is common elsewhere there seem to me to be 2 distinct issues:

1. Limited equipment available, may be different in Canada.

2. Storage, probably keeping it dry ish and not rotting is not so much a problem, but stopping it tuning into one solid block at such temperatures is. Seems to be quite common in UK, and whilst they are probably north of you, the temperatures only just get below freezing.

PS I think the Garn 1500 and 2000 have the same size firbox. I have seen one burning pine, green pine, they just were filling it up a lot.

 

[DaveBP]

That’s right they don’t design boilers for our conditions, we need bigger fireboxes due to species we have available to feed in.

Maybe this one would be something more along your line:

http://www.herlt-holzheizung.de/engl/HSVE.html

 

[Frozen Canuck]

I have looked at other options.

The obvious one is to chip, and then you can auto feed, as you store the energy in the wood you only need storage for stratification. Whilst it is common elsewhere there seem to me to be 2 distinct issues:

1. Limited equipment available, may be different in Canada.

2. Storage, probably keeping it dry ish and not rotting is not so much a problem, but stopping it tuning into one solid block at such temperatures is. Seems to be quite common in UK, and whilst they are probably north of you, the temperatures only just get below freezing.

PS I think the Garn 1500 and 2000 have the same size firbox. I have seen one burning pine, green pine, they just were filling it up a lot.

Yes I have considered this too. It gets pricey. Chipper = Vermeer. American company if memory serves. Sizes from 30hp 6" to OMG 1600HP 30" feed the whole tree in & Shazam instant chips & lots of them...lol. Problem you must either chip dry wood, very hard to do, it doesnt want to cooperate, or dry out wet/green chips. Trust me we use 2000 hp chippers in the pulp mill & they hate dry wood, they eat wet/green wood all day long not even a single burp. After a 12 hour shift changes chipper knives & repeat. Note: absolutely no rocks/dirt allowed or you will changes knives all day long & make very few chips. Storage will be an issue, chips pack in tight, very hard to dry. Only way i see this working is too start with dry wood then chip it, stop any more moisture from getting in, then you need a feed system to transfer from storage to burner, cheap system=operator, shovel & wheelbarrow. All other systems prob pricey for net $ gained/saved.

Maybe ask the ppl burning corn how they manage their systems & the equipment they use. Corn & wood chip pretty close in size, maybe minor adaptation & bingo wood chip auto feed system. OMG we are lazy. Only have to leave the house once per month to clean boiler with this system. Hmm... suits retirement very well. LOL thanks for the idea.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

That’s right they don’t design boilers for our conditions, we need bigger fireboxes due to species we have available to feed in.

Maybe this one would be something more along your line:

http://www.herlt-holzheizung.de/engl/HSVE.html

Yes I agree. I have seen these used before, homemade version. Any farm, ours included has lots of straw. Wow they are all huge boilers. I could heat the entire town pop 3000 with the big one.
Just wait I have to go hide my wallet before I ask them for a price...lol prob a real jaw dropper. Thanks for the info & the link.

 

[Como]

That’s right they don’t design boilers for our conditions, we need bigger fireboxes due to species we have available to feed in.

Maybe this one would be something more along your line:

http://www.herlt-holzheizung.de/engl/HSVE.html

Yes I agree. I have seen these used before, homemade version. Any farm, ours included has lots of straw. Wow they are all huge boilers. I could heat the entire town pop 3000 with the big one.
Just wait I have to go hide my wallet before I ask them for a price...lol prob a real jaw dropper. Thanks for the info & the link.

Their largest wood gassifyer meets your requirements. I have seen their products on an Irish site, not available in N America as far as I am aware.

I think the biggest issue with chips is storage, I was thinking you could cut them damp, dry using summer sun and wind, but then you have to store them. There are plenty of handling solutions, but most are aimed at commercial systems.