econo burn 100

[NCFord]

In few weeks I am getting my econo 100 and have a few newbie questions. I am planing a very simple setup. I have forced air and am simply going to add a heatexchanger to it, nothing more at this point, perhaps later hot water. My main question can I operate the econo 100 without any storage. From my reading I can operate it without any extra storage but for greater efficiency and longer burn times a storage tank would be better. Is this the case? My ideal plan would be to use the boiler this winter without storage then add it the following year.
I have many more questions but I want to take care of the big ones first.

Thanks,
Tim

 

[jashcroft]

I have an Econoburn 150 and have used it for two years with no storage and have not had any problems. I have been extemely pleased with its overall performance.

 

[killick]

Hey Tim, I also am running a EBW 150 with no storage. Just one winter though and it worked fine although there is a definite learning curve to burning it properly. I found, starting out last fall, that in all but the coldest weather ours would idle a lot with the result being smoke and creosote. Here on the East coast of Canada our average winter temperature is around minus 10 Centigrade with occasional dips to minus 20. The Econoburn worked really well in this weather heating our 2700 sq. foot house without a hitch. My wood was not seasoned the best so that added to some of the warm temperature burn issues. These units like well seasoned wood. I found that smaller fires worked best but then you have to be around to feed it every couple of hours. For me larger fires would gassify for a while until the house stopped calling for heat and then idle. Not the most efficient. I have plans to add a wing on the boiler building and install around 1000 gallons of storage. This should allow me to burn the boiler more efficiently and hopefully feed it less often. Forum member wantstoburnwood has been burning his EB 150 for three winters with no storage and seems quite happy with the arrangement.

Earl

 

[willworkforwood]

Welcome to the forum - always nice to see another new Econoburn owner (but there's nothing wrong with the other guys either ;-)). E.W. already mentioned the seasoned wood, and I'll just add that you should split (small) and stack as fast as you can, unless you already have one or more years supply of well-seasoned wood. Also, + 1 on the small fires for efficient running without storage. Will your boiler be installed some distance from the house? That can work against smaller loads, due to the inconvenience. Also, will someone be at home during the day? This is also be a factor for more frequent loading. One very important thing in your storage decision is the use of a mixing valve in your boiler piping. EB has been using a separate pump (supplied), which gets piped into a near loop, in order to provide return water protection (very important). However, within the past year or so, EB has been suggesting (according to other posts here) that installs using storage are likely to need a mixing valve instead of the extra pump, due to the large volume of cooler return water from storage. Also, Econoburn has switched controllers, which may also be a factor for systems using storage. You should call Dale at the EB factory, and tell him that you plan to install without storage, but then add it in later. He may suggest you use a mixing valve from the start, and stub for the storage, in order to avoid any redo on the piping. Good luck with it!

 

[NCFord]

Thanks for the help! My total distance from my boiler to my heat exchanger is olny going to be about 20 feet. Out house is only 1400 square feet so it sound like without storage should be fine. Would an old 80 gal water tank work for a small easy and free storage? It would triple the boiler storge.

 

[willworkforwood]

... Out house is only 1400 square feet ...

Nothing to be embarrassed about - that's much larger than our small 2-holer. An 80 gallon tank is usually referred to here as a buffer tank. There have been a few threads from folks with experience using them, and the feedback is generally good. They can reduce idling by providing a place for some of the BTUs to go when the call for heat is less than what the boiler is producing. You would want to design it such that the buffer tank can be replaced by the storage tank(s) when the time comes, without having to make big piping mods. Post a diagram of your proposed system, and the pros and semi-pros will sniff out the problems with it - they can't resist looking at a system diagram ;-)

 

[wantstoburnwood]

I am very pleased with my eb 150 Storage would allow me to burn larger fires but without I only have to have a fire in the morning and 1 in the evening,overnight. Dry wood is the key. I cleaned my boiler last weekend and all there was is soot in the tubes and secondary firebox . Never been so comfortable.