Boiler Purchase need Advice

[Gus]

I have been looking at boilers for a while and still confused as to which one to buy. I really like the wood gun and econoburn. Does anyone have any advice for me? I wouldconsider other boilers as well. I will have a seperate oil boiler as backup and water storage is not an option at this time but maybe, maybe in the future. This new wood boiler will be located in my garage and I have forced hot water baseboard heating. Longevity, ease of use, efficiency etc are my concerns?
Thanks,
Gus

 

[stee6043]

Do you have room for a Garn? If not, I don't think you can go wrong with Eko, Tarm, Biomass, Woodgun and some other well known brands.

Read, read and read some more. Loads of information on this site...

 

[Gus]

Do you have room for a Garn? If not, I don't think you can go wrong with Eko, Tarm, Biomass, Woodgun and some other well known brands.

Read, read and read some more. Loads of information on this site...

Do you have room for a Garn? If not, I don't think you can go wrong with Eko, Tarm, Biomass, Woodgun and some other well known brands.

I don't have room for the garn. I have been reading and reading and talking just trying to get as much info before I pull the trigger. Is there a benefit to the woodgun being constructed inside and out of 304 stainless steel? Do other boilers have corrosion issues.
Read, read and read some more. Loads of information on this site...

 

[stee6043]

I'm not aware of any corrosion issues on our typical downdraft gassers. I've read a lot of opinion on the SS construction of the wood gun. The commentary goes all the way from "pure marketing evil" to "best material ever, highly recommended". I personally have no opinion. Since my non-SS boiler has a 20 year warranty I'm going to assume the manufacturer does not feel a need to use stainless steel in my case.

 

[flyingcow]

Gus, pull up a chair and enjoy this BB. You've come to the right place. multiple users of gasser boilers.

When do you want to buy/install unit? And my next question is.....have you got seasoned wood ready to go?

Very nice group on this site.....

 

[Gasifier]

Hey Gus. Welcome to the boiler room. Take your time. You will probably not be ready to heat with your new boiler until next year. Do you have wood already cut/split/stacked and seasoned? You do need wood that is dry. Seasoned for at least 6 months outside if quick drying wood like Ash. Seasoned for a year for most others, two years for Oak is best. Getting what fits your needs best is the most important thing. Tell us what you are going to be heating. Sq. ft. of your house. Insulation - poor, fair, good, very good? Are you hoping to heat anything else with it? Domestic Hot Water (DHW), like many of us do, and you could do as well. Garage? Give us a little more information. You want to make sure you size your boiler correctly. Have you done a heat loss calculation?

 

[JP11]

I'll repeat what others have said.

Get wood NOW!

Then worry about a boiler. Hit some trade shows or county fairs.. go with an open mind... and a healthy dose of skepticism.

I bought my boiler completely based off the GUY who was selling and servicing it... not on brand at all.

Read, read, then read some more.

JP

 

[emesine]

Gus,

I'm on season #3 with a woodgun. If you need more info, I can give you my experience.

 

[BoilerMan]

Do it once do it right, most of us have alot of expierence with burning wood. Some with different boilers, gassers and conventional, and stoves as well. We have all been where you are now. Read and ask away, and getcha some wood! We have all made our share of mistakes and had successes, great bunch in here for sure!

TS

 

[Gus]

Gus, pull up a chair and enjoy this BB. You've come to the right place. multiple users of gasser boilers.

When do you want to buy/install unit? And my next question is.....have you got seasoned wood ready to go?

Very nice group on this site.....

 

[Gus]

I have 3 chords ready to go...my close friend is a tree guy so getting wood is not a problem even if I had to buy some for now that would still be cheaper than burning oil...I would like to buy soon and install when we get a warm spell

 

[Fred61]

I don't know where you are but around here "seasoned" or "dry" wood is cut from the logs that have been in the vendor's yard the longest amount of time. In order to meet my criteria for dry wood, it would need another 18 months of drying. It doesn't start drying until it's split and put undrecover.

 

[Gus]

Hey Gus. Welcome to the boiler room. Take your time. You will probably not be ready to heat with your new boiler until next year. Do you have wood already cut/split/stacked and seasoned? You do need wood that is dry. Seasoned for at least 6 months outside if quick drying wood like Ash. Seasoned for a year for most others, two years for Oak is best. Getting what fits your needs best is the most important thing. Tell us what you are going to be heating. Sq. ft. of your house. Insulation - poor, fair, good, very good? Are you hoping to heat anything else with it? Domestic Hot Water (DHW), like many of us do, and you could do as well. Garage? Give us a little more information. You want to make sure you size your boiler correctly. Have you done a heat loss calculation?

I will be heating 2500 sq ft of the house and 500-700 sp ft of the finished basement. I do not need to heat the garage because I am planning on puttung the boiler in there. The house is well insulated built in the early 80s with 2x6 framing. I live north of Boston, Ma and heating the DHW with the boiler is an option. I would love to have water storage but its probably not going to happen as this increases the price bigtime and loss of space in the house or garage. Iam looking for ease of use, reliability, efficiency and something I dont have to tweak all the time. I grew up burning wood in an old vermont castings as this was our primary heat source. I think my parents had me just so I could split wood for them Ha.Preparing the wood is a pain but I love doing it. New Horizon has the Biomass 40 for $6380, Woodgun is going to cost close to $9000, and the econoburn is going to cost clost to $10,000. I dont want to cheap out and not be happy but the Biomass 40 seems to be the best return on investment. Thanks for help so far everyone and please keep your thoughts coming this way. Gus

 

[Gus]

I don't know where you are but around here "seasoned" or "dry" wood is cut from the logs that have been in the vendor's yard the longest amount of time. In order to meet my criteria for dry wood, it would need another 18 months of drying. It doesn't start drying until it's split and put undrecover.

Sorry about the confusion. I was trying to say that for the future I have acces to free wood so I can stack it and start seasoning it on my own. For now even if I was to buy seasoned dried debarked wood itwould still be much cheaper than heating with oil.

 

[Fred61]

Sorry about the confusion. I was trying to say that for the future I have acces to free wood so I can stack it and start seasoning it on my own. For now even if I was to buy seasoned dried debarked wood itwould still be much cheaper than heating with oil.

What I was trying to say was that it is virtually impossible to purchase dry wood in my neighborhood. What the vendor calls "dry" is "wet" using my criteria.

 

[mikefrommaine]

I will be heating 2500 sq ft of the house and 500-700 sp ft of the finished basement. I do not need to heat the garage because I am planning on puttung the boiler in there. The house is well insulated built in the early 80s with 2x6 framing. I live north of Boston, Ma and heating the DHW with the boiler is an option. I would love to have water storage but its probably not going to happen as this increases the price bigtime and loss of space in the house or garage. Iam looking for ease of use, reliability, efficiency and something I dont have to tweak all the time. I grew up burning wood in an old vermont castings as this was our primary heat source. I think my parents had me just so I could split wood for them Ha.Preparing the wood is a pain but I love doing it. New Horizon has the Biomass 40 for $6380, Woodgun is going to cost close to $9000, and the econoburn is going to cost clost to $10,000. I dont want to cheap out and not be happy but the Biomass 40 seems to be the best return on investment. Thanks for help so far everyone and please keep your thoughts coming this way. Gus

I'd say buy the biomass and use the savings to put in storage when you have time.

 

[JP11]

You say you don't want to mess with it.. but STORAGE is what makes these boilers so much more convenient and removes the guess work of how much wood and when.

keep reading.. there's a lot of info on here.

JP

 

[Fred61]

I dont want to cheap out and not be happy but the Biomass 40 seems to be the best return on investment

You won't be cheaping out. The Biomass is a good boiler. You'll get more than your money's worth. If they had a smaller unit' the Biomass is what I would have.

 

[flyingcow]

Also, if you plan on trying to buy some seasoned wood, get a moisture meter. Not much money for one anyways. But i would not buy "seasoned wood" unless it passes below what????20%? It will be worth the time.

 

[hobbyheater]

Longevity, ease of use, efficiency etc are my concerns?

Gus

I have have been operating a high efficiency boiler for about 30 years A boiler that has a lot of refractory but that is fairly easy to maintain and the nozzle is easy to make and change.

The refractory component of these boilers can be expensive to maintain. The nozzle where the secondary combustion takes place can see a lot of wear.

One aspect I would be looking at as part of the criteria for purchasing a boiler, would be the degree of difficulty involved in maintaining the refractory and if the nozzle can changed.
Below are examples of two such boilers. The first one is the Empyre Elite 100 that has a simple system of fire brick in both chambers. The second one is a Vigas with a changeable nozzle in the primary burn chamber and a simple arrangement of fire brick in the secondary burn chamber.

 

[BoilerBob]

One aspect I would be looking at as part of the criteria for purchasing a boiler, would be the degree of difficulty involved in maintaining the refractory and if the nozzle can changed. Below are examples of two such boilers. The first one is the Empyre Elite 100 that has a simple system of fire brick in both chambers. The second one is a Vigas with a changeable nozzle in the primary burn chamber and a simple arrangement of fire brick in the secondary burn chamber.

+1

 

[Tennman]

Someone here recently priced biomass 40 and 60 and it was less than your price. Agree with all biomass comments above. I took a chance 4 years ago when the BioMass was far less known and am still happy with my choice. Just received all new ceramics to replace the nozzle and one lower chamber after 4 years. I think it is still the value leader in low cost east European wood boilers but EKO is still very loved here also. Haven't run across dissatisfied biomass owners... Newbies... But all end up happy once the kinks are out and your learn how to run it. It's not one of the "smart" lambda designs, but a solid, reliable design. Enjoy your research and take your time. You're gonna spend a good bit of time with your choice.

 

[willyswagon]

Take your time, and read as much as you can.
Picking a boiler is as important as chosing a new dog, it has to be the one that fits your family.
I'm happy with my Empire so far.
My wife calls it "My Girlfriend", as I spend so much time with "Her".
Cleaning "Her", feeding "Her" only the best of food, cleaning 'Her" room....
She (my Wife) seems to enjoy the heat we ("Her" and I) provide.