greenwood boiler

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mosher

New Member
Apr 22, 2009
5
central ny
i have heard that greenwood boilers have filed for bankruptcy. has any one heard about this?ihave a son who is in the market for the greenwood.anyinfro about this would make adifference in his purchase.
 
You might try contacting Dave at cozyheat.net. It seems a retailer would know and he used to sell Greenwood boilers.
 
Things are not well at Greenwood nor a few more that have not been mentioned here. There will be casualties in the wood heat business through the next few years. New "players" in the high efficiency end of things will be coming ashore here within the next two years also. A couple of them are from very serious boiler companies in Euro land.
 
Can you mention which ones? Windhager?
 
Durango said:
Can you mention which ones? Windhager?

Look for who's missing on the EPA 2010 list for OWB's. That's a pretty good clue.

As for the indoor units I really can't say. It wouldn't be nice.
 
From what I heard....and the little I know....they were funded with "angel" and "investor" money from the start. This usually means a fairly high overhead (as compared to those Salt of the Earth hearth startups I am used to), and also a very high expectation of performance. "Venture" money does not like to wait decades for a return......

I think they started up big - based on an older design - after the big Katrina energy scare back in 06.
I'm sure they did well a year ago, but someone probably pulled the plug. I've seen that happen to a bunch of companies....even successful ones. For instance, that happened to Avalon Wood Stoves. I was offered that company for $175K when the investor wanted out. Now they do tens of millions.

We'll probably hear more from someone who knows more...or, it is always likely we will see the boiler come back.....
 
A friend called the other day. He received an email from someone who called a factory authorized dealer. That dealer said greenwood was looking for investor money. After the investor list dried up, they "Greenwood" filed for bankruptcy as of April 24th 2009. If course this is only a summery of what he told me, I can't verify any of this.
I wouldn't want to be a green box owner!
 
being an owner is not a bad thing. they at the comapny were the bad things. mine works great. nice and simple.
 
The good news is Greenwood style boilers are not complicated. If you are at all mechanically inclined, maintaining them should not be difficult. However, it would not surprise me to see the skins needing replacement 5 years down the road...
 
I agree with Sparke, from day one I liked there design but from day two on, the company was difficult to deal with. I ended up designing and fabricating my own open system expansion tank that worked perfect all winter. The rest of the boiler is refractory and boiler tubes, easy to replace and rebuild. The skins are made using steel from china that is known for having a high corrosion rate. The boiler saved us about $3,000.00 in oil this winter alone. I am pleased with its operation and will do what is necessary to keep it alive. "Anyone who trusts a warranty to fix anything is in for a ride".
 
It is not to hard to replace the skins. I replaced mine this winter with stainless steel. Overall I am happy with my boiler and tank. And like you said, the system will save you many $$$.
 
91220da said:
I agree with Sparke, from day one I liked there design but from day two on, the company was difficult to deal with. I ended up designing and fabricating my own open system expansion tank that worked perfect all winter. The rest of the boiler is refractory and boiler tubes, easy to replace and rebuild. The skins are made using steel from china that is known for having a high corrosion rate. The boiler saved us about $3,000.00 in oil this winter alone. I am pleased with its operation and will do what is necessary to keep it alive. "Anyone who trusts a warranty to fix anything is in for a ride".

I agree with you and Sparke.... I hope your chinese steel lasts more than a year or two before a refurb. I'm guessing you probably paid at least a couple of K more than I did for my Seton clone-- my skins lasted a whole three months before rusting through and releasing smoke into my attached garage. I must have gotten the recycled rusty chinese steel model courtesy of Phillip Dougherty. I find it ridiculous that anyone should have to replace skins on a 5K, 8K, 9K dollar within 2-3 years. I agree, most any mechanical device needs to be maintained. I still don't understand why these refractory boiler makers refuse to build with stainless skins. I thought quite a while ago that Greenfire switched to stainless skins--Is that true Sparke?

Warranty?? You give people the benefit of the doubt that they will do the right thing. Ah, live and learn........
 
Greenfire aka Green Horizon are indeed made with SS skins and a Hx cleaning a access. I got mine at a great price when the company first started. The original skins were holding up OK. My guess on them is 3-5 years so I changed them before it was an issue. And I wanted the access door.
Mark sold me my skins at a very decent price (I agree they should be replaced free). I think he will make skins for anyone if you give him the exact dimensions of your boiler.
 
sparke said:
Greenfire aka Green Horizon are indeed made with SS skins and a Hx cleaning a access. I got mine at a great price when the company first started. The original skins were holding up OK. My guess on them is 3-5 years so I changed them before it was an issue. And I wanted the access door.
Mark sold me my skins at a very decent price (I agree they should be replaced free). I think he will make skins for anyone if you give him the exact dimensions of your boiler.

Yes, Mark will help anyone with what they need. An access door is/would be so much easier to clean these type of boilers. Good price indeed-about what I paid for my rust heap in 07. 3 months of burning and skin rust through--try and reach out to Phillip Dougherty but to no alas--he disappears off the face of the earth. No call-back, no return e-mail, no meet ya half way, no I'll work with ya, NOTHING! Stumble upon this site and lo and behold--Adobe problems here. After more research: Phil had stiffed/taken/stolen TENS OF THOUSANDS from a couple of other people I conclude he really knows what he is doing. My "Where's Phildo" campaign began.........
 
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