Central Boiler

[Fbdrake]

Long time viewer first time poster. I was wondering your recommendations on a Central Boiler. My house is 3000 sq. ft main floor 1800 sg. ft upper floor 2000 sq. ft basement ( 6800 total), well insulated 8 year old house in Iowa with a furnace for each floor, lots of windows, 2 water heaters. Would also like to heat a 36 x 36( 1300sq. ft ) new shop. I had a Central Boiler dealer over to discuss what option would work the best for me, before I tell you what he recommends please tell me what your thoughts would be regarding size? If any additional info needed, let me know.

Thanks

 

[ihookem]

He told you an E classic is just the owb you need, right?

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

I'll take a guess. He said the Classic was the cleanest burning boiler on the market and that you could heat your house on a wheel barrow load of unsplit wood for the winter. Do I get a prize?

 

[rowerwet]

my sister heats her two family in lake placid, NY with the next to smallest CB, they burn 8 cords a year. It doesn't do her hot water though (super cheap electricity there) you would want a larger one for all that load. It sounds like the e-classic is having teething problems (from the forestry forum alternative methods page) so not the best idea right now most likely.

 

[intc97]

Last fall I installed a CB6048. Looked at the Classic but since it was new technology, needed a higher quality wood and was more expensive, I opted for the 6048. I have a very large house, heat my hot water with it and plan on heating a greenhouse eventually. The hook up was simple to my existing boiler. I live on the Canadian border in upstate NY. I have no neighbors and there are no laws currently governing OWB. I like the fact I can mix in greenwood with seasoned wood. Besides burning good hardwood, I also burn alot of popple and grey birch since I have little use for it anyway. I don't split much wood as it takes pieces as heavy as I can lift. I did put one extra length of chimney pipe on so the smoke is higher during the summer and I get a better draft. So far I'm very happy with the unit.

 

[rpote]

The E-Classic has had some teething issues, but sounds like CB has figured many of them out. I found that burning seasoned wood (yes it takes some planning - like buying it in the spring and having it for the next fall) is the best option. Lots of BTUs lost in heating the moisture in green wood to get it to combustion dryness. Burning dry hardwood is a winner. When I burn the proper wood in my E-Classic it has done really well and very little smoke is a blessing since I am in the hamlet/village. I can't really compare wood consumption but it does pretty well, even though I know I need to re-run my underground piping and go ahead with the investment of ThermoPEX to maximize thermal efficiency. Overall, I'd say I am pleased with my E-Classic (and the $3000 I saved on fuel oil this year!)

PS - check with others who have purchased from the CB dealer you are talking to. I wish I had. There are good ones out there and some really poor ones who offer little/no support to customers...I'll leave it at that. (oh yeah, I picked a bad one!).

 

[Eric Johnson]

Dry wood seems to be the Holy Grail for downdraft gasifiers (which is what the E Classic is, even if they won't admit it). Part of the problem is that it's hard to be honest and still sell somebody a boiler if they have only green or marginally dry wood to get them through the first season. "It'll burn green wood" is an accurate statement, but it's pretty misleading. Most potential customers hear what they want to hear, anyway.

Actually, all wood burners will burn green wood. Some just do it a lot better than others.

 

[sdrobertson]

PS - check with others who have purchased from the CB dealer you are talking to. I wish I had. There are good ones out there and some really poor ones who offer little/no support to customers...I'll leave it at that. (oh yeah, I picked a bad one!).

I'll second this as there are individuals out there who become a "dealership" just to purchase their boiler cheaper and then just meet the minimum requirements.

 

[Ulybagger]

I put in a 6048 in september and currently heat 2000sq ft house and dom. hot water. Will be heating 18x33 pool in the spring. I have 3 sections of chimney and will add 2 more in the spring. Fired the boiler up about Oct 3 and have burned between 4-5 cord. Hardwood is the way to go. Dry wood is best. Mine is not completely dry and some is green. I have a blower on the draft that is on a timer. I would definitely recommend that add on as well. There are a lot of OWB haters out there. I used to use an all nighter to heat the house. Last year was 9 cord and no dom. hot water. I'm way ahead of the game with my central and haven't burned a drop of oil. As with anything, garbage in, garbage out. I've heard some test that have been run to test efficiency are not very accurate. They'll burn 2x4's dried out in a stove then throw a regular log in an OWB and then compare the results. I believe the St of Ct did this. Put a log in a wood stove and see how much it smokes till it heats up and dries out. I have some real real dry wood. When I put that in the boiler the smoke is very minimal. All my neighbors woodstoves make more smoke than my boiler. And they burn oil. Just my .02 cents.