Empyre Elite 100.

[john84]

I am looking for reviews from anyone who has this unit. Is it really as simple to operate as they say? I currently am using a wood stove but am very interasted in a boiler. I am looking to heat a 2400 sq foot house and a 26x26 garage. Also are these units running good without storage?

Thanks

 

[maple1]

Do some searching - been a few threads in the past. Should be a couple guys along to maybe give more input.

 

[willyswagon]

The 3 main points I need to stress are
#1 you can't process wood like your fellow wood burners, you must get ahead of it and burn DRY WOOD
#2 You don't load it up so you don't have to relight the boiler(relighting is no longer a chore because you have DRY WOOD)
#3 Clean your boiler tubes and remove ashes every week( very little ash because you're using DRY WOOD)
Look for the V2 or second version of the boiler. You can tell if it is a V2 if it has a small inspection plate on the inside of the door(right hand side)
It will also have a stainless steel firebox. Although I don't have storage yet, everyone says they work even better with storage.

 

[john84]

I understand about the dry wood. I have some oak that's around 15%. Just split some maple for next year. So you feel that the boiler works as advertised? No creosote in the chimney and low flue temps? The boiler would be hooked up to a hydro air system. I'm not against looking at a different boiler, I just liked the simple design and operation of the empyre.

 

[willyswagon]

I can't comment on how it would work with a air system. Just keep in mind that they work best when burning WIDE OPEN!
So to do so I load just enough wood to get me through to the next available time for a loading.

 

[treefrog359]

well I have a elite 200 and you do not need storage with this stove. I have had both versions and I hate them both. when they make changes to the stove they go the wrong way and make it harder to operate.

 

[john84]

Not to touch a sore subject but what don't you like? And what did you like if anything. Any info good or bad I'd like to hear

Thanks

 

[timbur]

I am looking for reviews from anyone who has this unit. Is it really as simple to operate as they say? I currently am using a wood stove but am very interasted in a boiler. I am looking to heat a 2400 sq foot house and a 26x26 garage. Also are these units running good without storage?

Thanks

[ Is it really as simple to operate as they say?] Yes
[ I am looking to heat a 2400 sq foot house and a 26x26 garage.] You'll want to step up to the Elite 200
[ Also are these units running good without storage? ] Yes

I am using a XT 100 to heat my 2600 sq ft shop to 68 deg with in floor radiant .
Just for kicks I filled it about 3/4 full last night and didn't need to refill it until this evening . I normally load it with 4pc 6" [approx] x 24" splits twice a day .

For a full disclosure I am a dealer , but beings you're in Mass I'll not be selling you a stove . The other 2 brands I sell are only conventional outdoor units . From my experience in burning standard units , the Elite used 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of wood while burning with no smoke .

Now I want to sit back and listen everybody else's response , especially treefrog359 , tell us what you didn't like about your unit's .

 

[CUCV]

I have a 200 pro and it was easy to install and is easy to operate. I purchased a new/used home last December and purchased the 200 pro because I could install it indoors our outdoors. Being from NH and already in the heating season I quickly installed it outdoors even though I have the space and wanted to eventually install it indoors. Growing up we heated 100% with wood in wood stoves and indoor furnaces. I absolutely love having the boiler outside, I handle the wood so much less.
I agree that you may be better off with the 200 model for your location and heating area.
I only have one heating season under my belt. I had great success burning dry pine and it pruduces significantly less ash than when I burned hardwood.
The only problem I encountered was a failed blower near the end of the season.
I do not have storage at this time.

 

[john84]

Timbur what's the current price on the 100/200? I thought the 200 might be to big. The house is only 3 yrs old and well insulated. And the garage I probably would only heat to 50 or so unless I was working out there. What's a ballpark for the actually install not including the boiler. Thanks again for any feedback

 

[Woodfarmer1]

i'm heating a 1500 sf slab and another 1600 sf with tubes in my floor joist and a 40 gallon hwt tank. i cannot get any more than an 8hr burn. I'm burning seasoned beech.
does anyone think i need storage?

 

[maple1]

Trying to get long burns in a gasifier will hurt performance & increase maintenance by generating more creosote from increased periods of idling. Not sure I'd say you'd 'need' storage, but it would improve things - likely a lot.

 

[Woodfarmer1]

So how would i run this more efficiently? two hot fires in 24hrs, its my first year with the boiler, i grew up on woodstoves and wood furnaces, pour the wood to them

 

[maple1]

What do you have for a boiler?

Pouring the wood in generally isn't good if there isn't demand for the heat it will make. If you don't have 'real' storage to store the heat, some get by by making smaller fires, and also sort of using their house & slabs for storage - say maybe when you're buring at the hottest, running the house up a couple degrees more than usual & then letting it coast to a couple degrees less than usual after the fire goes down/out. Maybe also heating your DHW tank up higher when you're burning - but you'd likely want to mix the hot out to avoid burns at the tap if you don't already & started doing that.

 

[Woodfarmer1]

Elite 100, i'll try that

 

[arbutus]

i'm heating a 1500 sf slab and another 1600 sf with tubes in my floor joist and a 40 gallon hwt tank. i cannot get any more than an 8hr burn. I'm burning seasoned beech.
does anyone think i need storage?

Do you have a good heat loss estimate?
You might be at the limit of the machine's capacity.
Profab claims and 8 hour burn output of 66,000 btu/hr.

 

[pelletdude]

Dealers in Massechusetts
SJB Construction- Charleton
Lawton Sugarhouse in Williamsburg
Higgins Energy - Barre

 

[treefrog359]

[ Is it really as simple to operate as they say?] Yes
[ I am looking to heat a 2400 sq foot house and a 26x26 garage.] You'll want to step up to the Elite 200
[ Also are these units running good without storage? ] Yes

I am using a XT 100 to heat my 2600 sq ft shop to 68 deg with in floor radiant .
Just for kicks I filled it about 3/4 full last night and didn't need to refill it until this evening . I normally load it with 4pc 6" [approx] x 24" splits twice a day .

For a full disclosure I am a dealer , but beings you're in Mass I'll not be selling you a stove . The other 2 brands I sell are only conventional outdoor units . From my experience in burning standard units , the Elite used 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of wood while burning with no smoke .

Now I want to sit back and listen everybody else's response , especially treefrog359 , tell us what you didn't like about your unit's .

there are many things I do not like about the new 200. lets start at the back of the stove. the back door is not deep enough and I have to bow mine in order to get it to close around the pump. then between the first model and second model they changed the heat exchanger clean out door location. it is now a knuckle buster when you clean out the heat exchanger tubes. then pro fab dose not learn from past problems and covers the hole stove in powder coating. locations such as the heat exchanger cover gets so sticky that you can not take off. in the front of the stove the run load lever is getting very sticky and hard to open and close. now for my biggest problem with the new stove. my lower chamber keeps filling full of embers in 3 to 4 days. I am getting very sick of cleaning embers out and recycling them. I am just waiting for the next problem to pop up. I can not get any help from profab

 

[CUCV]

treefrog can you post pictures of your problem areas like lack of area for the pump behind the back door? A friend who also has a 200 which is way oversized for his heat load, he has also had problems with the lower chamber filling with embers. He found he was overloading the stove, by partially loading he solved the problem. I have not encountered the problem probably because my heat load is well sized for the boiler. I was disapointed after purchasing the boiler then finding that I needing to purchase and install the optimizer and circulator pump on the back of the unit. I really feel this should have been done by the manufacturer.

I figure I spent about $3000 in materials to install my boiler. Since its is outside I have 40' of insulated pex, 16' of chimney and a cap which account for about half the install costs. Then we have the two pumps, wire, optimizer, black iron pipes and fittings to mount the optimizer, heat exchanger, copper pipes and fittings to tie in the heat exchanger, 4 valves and pump flanges.

 

[john84]

Who is actually burning an elite 100 how many square feet are you heating? Do you think the boiler is handling it ok?

 

[mustash29]

1st generation Elite 100, factory refurbished with SS firebox liner, not installed or firing it yet, still burning the old way.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/gasser-about-to-pull-the-trigger.111869/

 

[willyswagon]

Elite 100 V1 heating 2700sq ft plus a 66sq ft garage. It has been doing everything I need it to do.

I'd love to have storage for weather like we are about to have for the next 5 days! To dam warm out!

 

[john84]

Willy do you have yours installed indoors in the basement? Fairly easy install?

 

[willyswagon]

Mine is in the attached garage, up on cement blocks to meet insurance regulations. The install took them half a day to put in the flue, place the boiler and secure the Hx to the wall. And then one other day to plumb it and hook up the pumps to my oil boiler 50' away.

The install is here.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/the-time-has-come.90243/

 

[Woodfarmer1]

last night finally got all the air out of the system, as arbutus suggested i do a heat loss calc. just havnt had time to find it. i'm hoping once i get everything up to temp. that the boiler will carry the laod.