Forest Expo... HUGE !

[trehugr]

I have never seen so many pickup trucks in one place. In terms of dollars in forestry and logging equipment, astounding. Something I'm glad I didn't miss. Wandered around for quite some time with video cam and camera before I finally found Eric, Craig, and nofossil (Bill) . Yes here we are, These guys are as real as they get, and their knowledge and passion for wood heat is amazing. Eric led us to Econoburn and EKO in respective order, and speaking for myself, seemed at home and comfortable at EKO. Mark was super informative, and knew the product very well. Not to take anything away from Econoburn, as they had some very good reps as well. My mind was already made up before I arrived, EKO helped me understand more the importance of proper sizing.

I wished we had more time together, you know, to burn some meat, have a beer or three and just sit around starting things on fire. Maybe we could organize a Boiler Room gathering some year. Who knows.

Left to right is Eric, Nofossil, Craig, and Trehugr.

 

[antos_ketcham]

I have to agree. What a great show. This was my first and I really enjoyed myself. I brought along two friends and an in-law. It was fantastic. Nice work Eric and company who got this together. Where will the next Expo be in '09?

I looked around for tags to see if I could folks from the boiler room but to no avail.

Perhaps there should be a boiler room table so we have a place to find folks and connect?

Again, great show, and nice job NELA.

Pete

 

[webbie]

That was great that we bumped into each other! I was walking around for 3 hours just thinking about how neat it would be to have that sawmill or firewood processor...but, funny thing, spasms of back pain would act up just as I thought of tons of firewood!

It was great to meet Eric, nofossil, trehgr and the folks from Econoburn and EKO (their reps from NY State). Oh, saw Weigel Tree Service also - from NH. He found us at the EKO booth.

As Tree mentioned, there was a lot of REAL people there - people who seemed like they worked hard - people you probably don't want to get into a fight with, as they are about as thick as a virgin hemlock stump! REAL Axemen! Many folks brought the whole family - little kids with logging T-Shirts on, some in strollers. The next generation of equipment guys.

Nice pic! I have a few to post, but figure Eric will probably have a gallery...after he gets over tonights hangover.

VT is beautiful this time of year also....many shades of green.

I was impressed by the Central Boiler E-Classic - it is in full production from what I hear. I have a few pics to post.

 

[solo40]

It was a great show and it was nice to meet nofossil. His
shirt made it easy to find him.

Ethan

 

[Nofossil]

Pretty amazing show. It was great to be able to put faces with names, and have a little chance to chat. I'll second the idea of burning some meat and having a beer - we'll have to plan more carefully next time.

I bought a few trinkets - a blade for the Wood-Mizer for $10, a little Solo chainsaw, and so on. As usual, the things I really wanted were way out of reach. Fun to see and touch, though. Astonishing number of people, even half an hour after the gates opened.

 

[webbie]

Here are some pics of the Classic model with the EPA rating

 

[Eric Johnson]

It was great seeing you guys.

I'm sure we can set aside a place for Hearthies to hang out at future shows.

Next we're having two Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Expos--one in Watkins Glen at the racetrack in early April. The other one will be at Bass Park in Bangor, Maine, in early May.

Great meeting nofossil, WRWeigel, trehugr, TCaldwell and Craig Issod. Sorry I missed Solo40 and Pete.

Checked out La Casa Nofossil on my way up to the show last Tuesday. Nofo has his act together, both with his heating system and with how to live.

Thanks again to everyone who came.

 

[deerhuntrer]

I will be going to the one in Bangor Maine, its only 2 hours away and my mother in law lives and owns a small mom and pop store on Union St. I would very much be interested in seeing first hand wood gasifier technology. Hopefully I can get somebody to watch my farm animals while Im gone next year. Hopefully I wont bring anymore home this year.

 

[Hbbyloggr]

It was a great pleasure meeting Eric and Graig at the show yesterday. The weather was perfect, the ride up was beautiful, and oh, that shiny new iron. Hats off to NELA for a fine show.

My long time friend and foreman from our land clearing/ whole tree chipping days tried to see all the displays but I guess I spent too much time talking to wood brokers trying to find leads on wood, too much time talking to diesel engine reps trying to squeeze fuel costs, and especially too much time yacking with Oliver Stores and Multitek about the new 2040xp2 firewood processor with it's new slasher saw option. With a check in my pocket I thought it would make a wonderful Mother's Day present, but sadly it was already sold. I limped away with with five assorted 2008 hats from the NELA display table instead. My wife thanked me though for being so thoughtful.

Truly , the VT show has to be the crown jewel of log shows . It's nice to see the firewood industry showing such variety, strength innovative design( all to be tried and tested) for the future wave of wood energy users. Now it's our turn to support those businesses that have made the investments and keep our industry alive.


Kind regards,

Bill Weigle

Weigle Tree Service

 

[Hbbyloggr]

PS> I had a much longer version with heart felt thoughts on the Logging industry as a whole , but my computer timed out and I lost it all. Probably just as well. Craig ( Sorry about misspelling your name in the above post ) would have thrown me into the ASH CAN.

Bill

 

[kenny chaos]

Being secure in my masculinity, or lack there of, I suggest you guys in the picture have got the first quarter covered of the new Men of The Hearth calendar! (The wife loves it!)

 

[Nofossil]

For once, I'm speechless.......

 

[webbie]

You mean like this:
(broken link removed)

 

[trehugr]

Ah yes, are we not all soldier's in one form or another, but I thought more like this

http://morewaystowastetime.blogspot.com/2007/05/mark-your-calendar-world-naked.html

 

[trehugr]

My wife just informed me she would love to take some pictures, she's got a brand new camera.

 

[Nofossil]

I don't see this working when chainsaws are involved.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I second that. As it is, I feel naked when I start my chainsaw without safety gear on. Do two nakedtives make a positive in this case? Doubtful, although I'm sure the black flies would be all for it.

 

[Nofossil]

Ouch.

In a doubtlessly vain attempt to drag this thread back on-topic, I wonder if there's enough critical mass to sustain a wood heat expo. It would be great to have something a bit more focused on small-scale logging, a wider range of boilers, furnaces, stoves, and so on. Is there already anything along those lines in the Northeast?

 

[Eric Johnson]

I don't know about the Northeast, but in Wisconsin there is an Alternative Energy Fair, which features solar, wind, wood gasification, etc.

I suspect that as wood heating becomes a lot more popular in the coming years, we may get a critical mass at some point. Then maybe Craig and I can think about putting on a Hearth.com expo somewhere. That would be fun.

But I don't think we're there yet. In the 25 or so years I've been doing this show, this is the first time we've had any wood gasification boilers on display. Plenty of OWBs throughout the years, however.

 

[heaterman]

We have one the end of June in Michigan. The GLREA (Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association) puts it on and all kinds of stuff was there last year. (me included) Solar, wind, boilers, stoves, biofuel, pellet makers, cherry pit vendors, furnaces, etc etc ad nauseum. If you're in the region the end of June stop by and check our display out.

 

[Nofossil]

The renewable energy / green expos sometimes have some of the things I'm interested in, but I was thinking more along the lines of something aimed more squarely at wood heat consumers and professional installers.

For instance, I'd never actually seen a Danfos mixing valve until last weekend, and I'd love to talk to a Tekmar rep. I'd love to see radiant wall panels and see a range of PEX supplies and accessories as well as wood handling equipment, tools, and so on.

In this corner of the world, there are a LOT of homes that heat at least partially with wood, and a lot more interest.

I'll probably offend about half the readership here, but the last renewable expo that I went to was geared towards folks who want to be 'green' regardless of whether it makes economic or even practical sense. Birkenstocks and ponytails were not actually required, but a willingness to suspend disbelief was helpful.

I want something for people who aren't afraid to look a chainsaw in the eye and who've had grease under their fingernails. Maybe that's too small a demographic - I don't know.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I think it might be now, but probably not in 10 years if energy costs stay high or go higher.

You want to build any show around a fairly narrow demographic of potential buyers, not tire kickers and gawkers. If the Boiler Room eventually had a "membership" of, say, 10,000 people in the Northeast, for example, you could probably attract enough of them to make the kind of show you're talking about work. But if--let's say for the sake of simplicity--that 10K people represented the entire membership of Hearth.com, you'd have trouble attracting enough potential boiler buyers to make it viable.

 

[webbie]

I think you could do a small consumer centered wood heat expo....on a regional basis....especially in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. But it would take some investment and the ability to lose money for a show or two until you got the drill down.

The show would not have to be limited to boilers - could have stoves also and even solar and all that jazz. One problem today is the high cost of advertising and marketing - it costs a lot to do direct mail, etc.

 

[Vtgent49]

I was at the Expo Fri. afternoon, but din't meet up with anyone, except about 1000 Rusty Dewees look-a-likes. Nice fun crowd.

There was a "Going Green" expo on the same weekend Sat/Sun at UVM. I was going to go, but skipped it. Hopefully there was more than the usual compact flourescent salesmen. Did anyone go, and want to report?

 

[Eric Johnson]

Rusty Dewees. Been awhile since I've seen or heard him.

Econoburn exhibited at the Going Green expo. I think they sold a boiler there, too. I would have liked to have checked it out, but was tied up with our show.

Anyway, sorry I missed you 'gent.