Gasifiers?

[jamorris]

My Dellpoint Europa 75 is a gasifier. How many other pellet stoves are gasifiers? Any informed opinions on the gasifier concept?

Just about through my first ton of pellets. So far, so good.

Jerry

 

[littlesmokey]

Jerry,

Don't think you will get much response. I am not aware of any other gasifier that is not a commercial unit. May be wrong, but in the US DellPoint is the only one. Tell us how you like your stove and what you think the real advantages are, I think personally that DP is a little optomistic about it's ratings for clean burning, but the ash issue is imagination. There may be little fly ash, but if it is in the wood and won't burn, it is either a "clinker" or it's ash. It doesn't just disappear.

 

[jamorris]

My only other experience is with wood and coal stoves. The Europa 75 is beating the heck out of them for user friendly. There is a learning curve, so it is likely to get better.

The gasifier aspect was not something I was looking for. I wanted a stove I could keep going in a grid failure and the DP fit the bill.

As for the ratings, aren't the tests check over by the EPA? I know one thing, I can stand right over the end cap and I smell no wood fire. It sure seems clean to me! Not much heat, either. I suspect there was not much stretching of the truth, if any. I am somewhat resistant to heat. I can hold my hand of the flue pipe and not get a burn. It does get pretty warm. But, no burns on my skin.

Jerry

 

[littlesmokey]

There needs to be a certain level of heat out the exhaust for it to properly work. I can hold my hand over my exhaust and it's very warm, but tolerable. When you are quoting efficiency of 88% that is unusual in a pellet stove, and hard to reach. Mine is quoted at 86%, and I know that's optomistic. The testing is done by EPA as I understand it for relative efficiency and for particulate emissions, Don't think the emphasis is on efficiency.

 

[jamorris]

I know my clothes dryer is putting out more heat to the outside than the pellet stove. I have done enough work on a roof to know a stove pipe is something you generally want to stay away from.

Any way I look at the Europa, I am impressed. I find more heat coming out of the heat vent than anywhere else. And the door does radiate heat. Some does radiate from the forward sides. Top and rear are slightly warm.

I am pretty much satisfied. My only remaining issue is durability. Only time is going to answer that.

Jerry

 

[webbie]

Stoves are usually not tested for AFUE efficiency. The EPA is more concerned with particle output, and even then I don't think Pellet Stove are required to have this. As far as manufacturer quoted numbers, I would take those with a grain of salt. My 90% efficient furnace uses PVC....which I don't think pellet stoves use yet. So it only makes sense that they are somewhat less than that......the fact that they need stainless venting.

Without an independent lab, it will be tough to ever put numbers on these things. Until then, I would use 75% as the total efficiency number when doing calculations. Some may be better, some may be worse.

So when you say Gasifier, what exactly does that mean? All pellet stoves burn the gases from the wood fairly well. Does this one use completely different chambers to do this?

 

[jamorris]

So when you say Gasifier, what exactly does that mean? All pellet stoves burn the gases from the wood fairly well. Does this one use completely different chambers to do this?

All I can say is when it is burning, there are "jets of flame" coming out of the sides of the pot. Some are 90 degrees towards the middle, some are at an angle. It looks like a vortex. A little tornado. I think this is where the EPA stuff comes in. Gases seem to be ignited by these jets of combustion air and this likely cause the particulate reduction. The combustion air comes from many directions through the side of the pot. There are many inlets arranged in a spiral of levels.

Jerry