Gasifiers best suited to operate without storage

[muncybob]

I do plan to have thermal storage at some point but it likely will not be in the first year. Several manufactures state that while their gasifier will operate at peak performance with storage they say their units will do fine without. Wood Gun and Solo Plus come to mind. I'm looking for real world experience operating units without storage.....are there some that just won't do well unless there is storage? I hope to have storage in my second year but just in case it goes longer than that are there any models you would stay away from if storage is not in the picture for several heating seasons?

 

[steam man]

I don't why there would be any difference between gassifiers. The issue here seems to be boiler sizing. With storage you can go to a larger boiler. Without-go smaller and possibly slightly undersize so as to keep a full burn going.

Mike

 

[Nofossil]

I ran mine without storage for a year - worked fine. I did build a new fire every day, and the house temperature fluctuated a bit more than I really like. I avoided the temptation to keep it going all the time - that would mean a lot of idling.

 

[hkobus]

I tend to agree with all of the above. I just fired the first load for this season last night. Last winter I did not have storage and still don't. I am in the planning process and as soon as things slow down a bit I will build it. The main reason for the storage, in order of my reasoning: a) WAF and WCF (wife comfort factor ;-) b) Less reloading at times I'm not around c) better efficiency.
I found that is was reasonably easy to control the fluctuations when I was around, by building smaller fires and reducing the burn. ( by reducing the opening in the slot and the input air)
And of course the units can idle, but I try to avoid that.

Henk.

 

[PatrickAHS]

The fact of the matter is that the Wood Gun has a true off cycle. That is why it can operate without storage. There is no smolder in the cycle. The other boilers can not modulate like the Wood Gun, thus heating a large quantity of water is used as a way to avoid anything less than a full burn. Otherwise, they would see detoriation more quickly.

 

[Nofossil]

The fact of the matter is that the Wood Gun has a true off cycle. That is why it can operate without storage. There is no smolder in the cycle. The other boilers can not modulate like the Wood Gun, thus heating a large quantity of water is used as a way to avoid anything less than a full burn. Otherwise, the would see detoriation more quickly.

I'm curious. What is a 'true off cycle'? I'm unaware of any way to stop wood from smoldering once you have a fire started and up to temperature. The EKO turns off the blower, then cycles it briefly every few minutes.

 

[PatrickAHS]

The fact of the matter is that the Wood Gun has a true off cycle. That is why it can operate without storage. There is no smolder in the cycle. The other boilers can not modulate like the Wood Gun, thus heating a large quantity of water is used as a way to avoid anything less than a full burn. Otherwise, the would see detoriation more quickly.

I'm curious. What is a 'true off cycle'? I'm unaware of any way to stop wood from smoldering once you have a fire started and up to temperature. The EKO turns off the blower, then cycles it briefly every few minutes.

We completely remove oxygen from the picture. Without any oxygen, the fuel doesn't smolder, it becomes completely dormant.

 

[trailhound68]

I run my Seton w/o storage for one year so far. Not sure if will add storage. Just keep feedin' it.

 

[brad068]

The fact of the matter is that the Wood Gun has a true off cycle. That is why it can operate without storage. There is no smolder in the cycle. The other boilers can not modulate like the Wood Gun, thus heating a large quantity of water is used as a way to avoid anything less than a full burn. Otherwise, the would see detoriation more quickly.

I'm curious. What is a 'true off cycle'? I'm unaware of any way to stop wood from smoldering once you have a fire started and up to temperature. The EKO turns off the blower, then cycles it briefly every few minutes.

We completely remove oxygen from the picture. Without any oxygen, the fuel doesn't smolder, it becomes completely dormant.

If it goes completely dormant you must have to relight it. I guess I don't understand your comment( The other boilers can not modulate like the Wood Gun, thus heating a large quantity of water is used as a way to avoid anything less than a full burn.)

Glad to see a factory man on the forum. Hope you can share some of the advantages or disadvantages that your unit offers. I myself am a Garn fan.

 

[webbie]

LOTS of earlier Essex Wood Guns rotted through- 100's of them - I'm sure the factory has made changes, but the fact is that it is extremely difficult to build a boiler out of any common materials and have it withstand the condensation inherent in very low firebox temperatures.

The main thing with any boiler - and any downdraft model even more - is proper sizing of the boiler. There are ways to increase the service life of a boiler without storage - for instance:
1. Don't use the boiler during shoulder seasons
2. Install a mixing valve (or two or three) and have constant circulation though some zones - this can add to the storage capability of the system....

But when everything is figured in - storage is probably the way to go.

 

[pybyr]

I read up on and was fascinated by a lot of features of the wood gun- a lot of interesting ideas there

I might very well have "gone for it" if only it could've fit down through my Bilco hatch and in my low-headroom basement-

-or if the company had answered my e-mail inquiries about some of those details, which they didn't.

So now I have an Econoburn (whose customer support has been great) and 1200-1300 gallons of storage on the way, and am playing "beat the clock" with my install and juggling it with my day job