I am moving to NH and will be getting an outdoor wood boiler. I did a lot of reading about the indoor vs outdoor gasification debate and the bottom line is I do not want any more mess in the house. I am looking at the CB e2400 vs the Natures Comfort GT6000. I know CB has been around along time however their price is 3k more. If quality is that much better I will spend the extra money. Cb has a square fire box while Nature Comfort is oblong. Does this really matter? Any advice would be great. Thanks
Natures comfort or Central Boiler
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maple1
Minister of Fire
I'm likely biased to indoor, but do realize there are preferences that could lead to an outdoor choice. But after a year with my new setup, more mess is not one of them to me - there just isn't any more mess. I get no smoke on reloads or startups (unless I forget to open the bypass - even then it is very little) - the chimney sucks it all right through & up. And what bit of wood mess might be on the floor after a bit of burning just gets swept onto a shovel & thrown into the fire - more BTUs. All of that trumps having to go outside to maintain the heat, for me.
I would, however, not likely be so keen on inside if I didn't have the basement layout I have. If I couldn't roll the wood next to the boiler, I might have second thoughts. But capturing all heat loss inside the building envelope (except for what needs to go up the chimney) is hard for me to pass up.
Sorry, that likely didn't help much. As for the fireboxes, I think round ones are generally naturally stronger - but my new one is square, so I guess I'm putting my faith in the Swedes on that one.
I do think that if I did need to go outdoors for whatever reason, I would do an inside boiler in an outside shed - maybe a Garn. With the whole winters wood supply under the same roof right next to it, and extra space for other 'shed' uses.
I would, however, not likely be so keen on inside if I didn't have the basement layout I have. If I couldn't roll the wood next to the boiler, I might have second thoughts. But capturing all heat loss inside the building envelope (except for what needs to go up the chimney) is hard for me to pass up.
Sorry, that likely didn't help much. As for the fireboxes, I think round ones are generally naturally stronger - but my new one is square, so I guess I'm putting my faith in the Swedes on that one.
I do think that if I did need to go outdoors for whatever reason, I would do an inside boiler in an outside shed - maybe a Garn. With the whole winters wood supply under the same roof right next to it, and extra space for other 'shed' uses.
Coal Reaper
Minister of Fire
BoilerMan
Minister of Fire
I would go indoor setup in outdoor shed if i had to go the outdoor setup as well. That said it is more taxes you have to pay and all, and I realize it's not for everyone.
Having seen the P&M in person several times, that's the OWB I'd get if I were to go OWB and not a shed of any type to house the whole wood/boiler setup.
TS
Having seen the P&M in person several times, that's the OWB I'd get if I were to go OWB and not a shed of any type to house the whole wood/boiler setup.
TS
henfruit
Minister of Fire
From what I've read P&M is going to be the best OWB if you must go that route. Like you I thought I wanted a CB OWB when I started reading this site about 5-6 yrs ago. Many people on this site were in the same boat and went with the gasser route instead. I ended up with a gasser in my pole barn and will finally have storage this winter. If I had to do it all over I would probably go for the Garn Jr. with the built in 1000 gal of storage and put it on a slab and build a small boiler shed around it. Enough to store a cord of wood and also some covered "lean to" area to stack dried wood for the entire season. Instead of a Garn Jr. one could also put a gasser with a 1000 gal salvaged propane tank for a few thousand less but require more labor and piping. Keep reading threads on this site and I bet you will come to the same conclusion.
What is the cost of the Garn Jr? It looks even more interesting than the P@M. It would have to go into an out building. The way I read the installation is that you have to enclose the unit in an insulated structure. This I guess would involve a 6" slab on footings to support the weight. Is this how it is done?
maple1
Minister of Fire
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/just-a-heads-up.111461/
It's in there somewhere on one of the PDFs - a bit over 10k I think.
It's in there somewhere on one of the PDFs - a bit over 10k I think.
heaterman
Minister of Fire
The Jr is $10,995. We have several Garns, both 1500 and 2000 models running in uninsulated buildings. The Garn itself is wrapped up tight but the buildings will run at outdoor ambient temp, whatever that may be.
As far as the 6" slab is concerned, nearly all we've put in are sitting on 4". No problems ever. A loaded Garn puts less PSI on your cement than your own foot.
heaterman
Minister of Fire
Interesting, or maybe Providential that your bring up CB's and warranty questions at this particular time......
I was talking with a guy who works at a local business yesterday who said he had to send his CB in for repair. It was one of their gasifier designs but he didn;t know the exact model. It burned through the lower chamber and started to leak bad. He had to freight the boiler in for warranty repair that involved cutting off the bottom 1/3 of the firebox and refabbing a new secondary chamber underneath it. All told his "warranty repair cost him about $1400 for hiring someone with a forklift to load it, shipping costs and then unloading and re-installation when it came back 2 months later.
If you read the fine print of the warranty papers for OWB's of any nearly any manufacturer, there are enough loopholes in them to make whatever they said nearly worthless.
I was talking with a guy who works at a local business yesterday who said he had to send his CB in for repair. It was one of their gasifier designs but he didn;t know the exact model. It burned through the lower chamber and started to leak bad. He had to freight the boiler in for warranty repair that involved cutting off the bottom 1/3 of the firebox and refabbing a new secondary chamber underneath it. All told his "warranty repair cost him about $1400 for hiring someone with a forklift to load it, shipping costs and then unloading and re-installation when it came back 2 months later.
If you read the fine print of the warranty papers for OWB's of any nearly any manufacturer, there are enough loopholes in them to make whatever they said nearly worthless.
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