Anyone heard of the Lil' Powerhouse

[husker]

I have been leaning toward an EKO 40 in pole barn to heat house, barn, DHW, and possibly hot tub but ran across this which doesn't appear to be a standard OWB. Originally thought I wanted OWB for new home/barn but have ruled that out since I found this forum. It doesn't say anything about smoke however and I can't recall anyone ever mentioning it in the Boiler Room before. The EKO and storage tank would take up a fair amount of space in the barn and I know I don't want it in the house. It seems like it would save a bunch on chimney, heat exchangers, and piping vs. going with the EKO however.

Also, anyone have experience or words of wisdom with radiant slab in a pole barn?

http://cgi.ebay.com/LPH-STD-OUTDOOR-HYDRONIC-HEATER-OUTDOOR-WOOD-FURNACE_W0QQitemZ320310747150QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320310747150&_trkparms=72:1424|39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[husker]

-- THIS UNIT WILL PRODUCE UP TO 500,000 BTUS PER HOUR WITH A 3-4 HOUR BURN TIME OR 50,000 BTUS PER HOUR WITH A 26 HOUR BURN TIME CONSIDERING DRY OAK AS A FUEL SOURCE!

I'm guessing it might throw out quite a bit of smoke

 

[deerefanatic]

It looks like a regular OWB to me......... I'm guessing that all they claim would be true if you burned dry seasoned wood in a conventional OWB.......

 

[Eric Johnson]

I agree with Matt. The best line in the whole ad is where they gratuitously point out that dry wood was dried with solar energy.

Other than labeling their competitors' technology as "20th Century" and their technology as "21st Century" I don't see anything to distinguish these boilers from conventional OWBs.

Funny how the "baffle them with bs" approach seems to dominate most OWB marketing efforts.

 

[2.beans]

with all the sold tags on the front of them just makes me want to buy one!

 

[Dave T]

I'm not that smart BUT I would NEVER buy a bolt together boiler,just my 2 bits..

 

[heaterman]

I call BS. Looks like the same old song and dance or maybe in this forum I should say looks like someone is blowing smoke.

Some of the lines make absolutely no sense.

Like this one.

"THE 170 GALLON UNITS WILL DO ABOUT 1/3 THE HEATING OF THE LIL'POWERHOUSE CONSIDERING THE OUTDOOR WOOD FURNACE- BOILER OR WATER STOVE ARE BURNING GREEN WOOD!! AND THE LIL' POWERHOUSE IS BURNING DRY CURED WOOD!!"

So what pray tell happens if you burn dry wood in whatever model they are comparing to?



Or this one.......

"With higher firebox temperatures the heat is transferred at many times the rate into the antifreeze."

Many times the rate of what exactly?



And this statement

"The Lil' Powerhouse helps you the consumer heat in the most economical way, by burning clean, dry, wood."

How exactly does owning a lil pwerhouse automatically make your wood dry whereas a standard OWB does not?


PT Barnum would be proud.

 

[deerefanatic]

Yah, that's what I was thinking.................

 

[Duetech]

My EKO 40 only uses around thirty gallons before my plumbing is added, generates temperatures in excess of 1800*f, produces no smoke at peak operation. It has smaller wood storage because it doesn't need a large one. It's not uncommon for old fashion wood stoves to have internal temps near 1000* or slightly above. Just where are they placing their temperature probe? Most boiler makers tell you the thicknesses of their combustion chamber and water jackets. I think the ad is lacking in essentials, like today's news media, and focused on the glitz.
Granted the cost is lower, but even at today's prices those savings go up in smoke and dwindle to the point and plateau of a financial liability. What will wood prices be in ten years if we continue to consume wood the way we have been consuming fossil fuels? The savings today would be moot. The ad conveniently avoids the "wood smoke" issue that has municipalities enacting their local legislation to ban OWB"s and the federal EPA forcing OWB manufacturers to step up to the plate with catalytic conversions that are adding thousands to the cost of their products but not really improving efficiency.
The choice is certainly yours Husker :coolsmile: but a gasifier (not just EKO) unit would be a move to less work and expense in the long run...Cave2k

 

[husker]

Thanks for everyone's input. It does amaze me how much BS was in that ad. How conviently smoke level was not discussed but all the other crap that made it sound revolutionary. I'm glad someone mentioned that 1000* was normal for conventional stove because I was unaware of that. Those SOLD tags made me chuckle too! My pole barn was just finished (due to zoning & permit delays) but still needs concrete, electricty, insulation, etc. I will probably have to skip the radiant slab heat since the clock is against me now. They building was supposed to be done in June giving me all summer to finish it out, run the insulated water lines to new house being built, set up the boiler, etc. Based on reading the Heath I need to allow time for finetuning and unexpected delays as well. It's kind of tough in this area as well because everybody installs Forced Air (gas/propane) heat with A/C, or Air Source Heat Pumps w/either electic resistance or gas/propane backup. Ground Source Pump & Dump systems make the most economical sense if you have the right water/well properties (i do not) due to cheap electricity and cooling demands. Closed Loop Ground Source Systems cost an additional 10 grand which would probably be cheaper than Air Source HP/EKO/storage

 

[Redox]

And he hasn't sold anything since May! Buyer beware!

Chris