EKO Wood Boiler

[rreihart]

I've been looking into wood boilers and came across this forum. I've seen that a few here either own or expect delivery soon on Orlan EKO boilers. I'm interested in what made you decide on the EKO instead of others like the Econoburn. I've also recently seen a different boiler at newhorizoncorp.com called the NextGen BioMas. Anyone have any input on this model? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Rob

 

[keyman512us]

R-T...
First and foremost, welcome to the forum. Glad to hear of your interest in wood boilers. Grab your favorite beverage and use the search function here like you would use google and you might be pleasantly surprised with the information you can gather. Having said that I'll leave model specific thoughts to the other members of the forum..

 

[Eric Johnson]

Hey Rob. Welcome to the board.

One of my major considerations in deciding to go with the EKO vs. the Tarm was that all my wood is around 24 inches long, and the Tarm maxes out at 20 inches, vs. 25 or 26 for the EKO. Another consideration was price. And the EKO has one feature lacking in the Tarm, which allows it to idle better and longer. The EKOs being sold now by New Horizon are all the "Super" models, which feature a lever for cleaning the heat exchanger tubes by moving the handle when you load the stove, instead of having to clean them out by hand every couple of weeks. I'm not sure how you clean the hx tubes on the Tarm.

I'm not sure about the other boilers you mention. My main concern was getting a chunkwood gasifier that would burn the wood I have.

Mine is being shipped today, so I'll know a lot more in a couple of days.

If you're serious about the EKO, check with dave at cozyheat.net. I think his pricing is better than New Horizons (they're the U.S. distributor and he's one of their dealers), and he's a very knowledgeable and helpful guy. Say hi for me.

 

[rreihart]

Thanks keyman. This is my first post, but I've been searched and read quite a bit from the forum. I guess I didn't state this, but my main interest would be in the gasification boilers. So I've found some information, but its not nearly as prevalent as other types of wood burners.

Thanks,

Rob

 

[Eric Johnson]

I think the main consideration with gasifiers is having dry wood, though there are a few that claim to burn green wood, too. You might want to Google the following:

Black Bear Boilers
Adobe Boilers
Greenwood Boilers
Garn
Tarm USA

There's also an outfit in Western New York State that manufactures a conventional gasifier similar to the Tarm and EKO (the classic European design). Another one in Pennsylvania. There are threads about both around here somewhere.

 

[rreihart]

Eric, In my mind, one plus for the EKO is the fact that you bought one. I've read many of your posts and appreciate your thoughts (along with many of the other members).
The Econoburn that I mentioned, I believe is made in NY by Alternative Fuel Boilers. It looks very similar to the EKO and I like the fact that its made domestically. I would think there might be better customer support from a domestic supplier.
The thing I found interesting on the NextGen BioMas is that it says it will burn a variety of fuels (Seasoned Wood, Corn Cobs with Kernels, 50% of Coal, Saw Dust, Wood Chips (50%), any kind of pellets) according to the newhorizon website.
I see this as a one time purchase, so I'd like to make this best decision possible.

Thanks for the replies,

Rob

 

[Eric Johnson]

OK, the Ecoburn is the one manufactured in Western NY. I looked at their website and talked to their sales rep, but the price for the 200K btu model was about $2000 more than the EKO ($8K vs 6K) and it voids the warranty if you do the installation yourself, which in my case would take all the fun out of it. The rep did give me some good information on tax rebates available in NYS for buying a high efficiency boiler ($400). And no sales tax if it's for your primary heat source. Other states may have similar incentives.

One EKO dealer (not Cozyheat) told me that the EKOs do a nice job burning corn cobs. I'm trying to picture what a winter's worth of corn cobs would look like, but an image of a silo is one place to start. That said, I suspect that with all the corn being grown for ethanol now (and into the foreseeable future) you might be able to pick up corn cobs pretty cheap in places. I know you can also burn coal in the EKO, and I assume that's the case with most of the other gasifiers on the market. Bottom line, I think any form of dry biomass will work in these things.

As to service, it's proven, relatively simple technology. Tarm has been selling gasifiers in this country for decades, I believe. There are some technical differences in how you set up a gasifier (to avoid low-temp return water corrosion in the firebox, for example), but nothing fancy, and it's a really good idea, from all I read, to have some form of hot water or heat storage.

 

[rreihart]

Eric, Did your EKO arrive? First impressions?

I found out there's an agricultural show close to me next week that New Horizon will be at. I plan on looking at them there.

Thanks,

Rob

 

[Eric Johnson]

It arrived yesterday:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/8564/

I'm really happy with the build quality and now that I can see the thing, I understand the technology better. The refractory chamber and door is plate steel filled with refractory cement, so it's heavy and very tough. The paint is a beautiful powder enamel finish. Everything seems to work the way it should. One nice feature is that you can't open the door to the firebox while the bypass damper is closed, which is sure to save some eyebrows and other facial hair.

I'm deep into piping the primary loop/manifold with black iron and wiring it all up. I've got a 1" copper and a 3/4-inch pex loop coming off the boiler, both running through heat exchangers and directly connecting to a gas-fired boiler in the basement.

The boiler should be piped and wired this weekend, barring some unforseen delay. I'll post a pic or two when it's done. Then I'll probably figure out a better way and do it all over again.