Indoor wood boiler

[Reggie Dunlap]

Does anyone have experience with Tarm, New Horizon, Greenwood, or Black Bear?

I'm looking for feedback, warrenty issues, or any other info before I buy one of these boilers. The Tarms seem to be the most expensive but they have also been around the longest. I'm leaning towards them because they are nearby in N.H, but I'm open to suggestions also.

Thanks for any input.
Reggie

 

[webbie]

I was the US importer for Tarm for many years and sold the business to those guys in NH.

They are definitely first rate machines......I have looked at Greenwoods also, and the New Horizons are from Europe...some of them use the same technology as the Tarm.

I think they all are expensive, but when compared to high end wood or pellet stoves, the prices may not look as bad. Check out the weights (price per pound) - I've delivered a LOT of Tarms....some down a couple flights of stairs, and I can vouch for their heavy construction.

I've also been to the plant in Denmark.

Price and capacity do play a role. For instance the Greenwood has a very large firebox.

Whichever unit you choose, keep parts replacement in mind. Many parts can be generic or replaced in the future by creative means....but certain parts, for instance the cast sections in the Tarm, etc......these must be bought from the factory. We had some customers that would buy a replacement set along with the boiler just to be sure.....

 

[begreen]

Does anyone have experience with Tarm, New Horizon, Greenwood, or Black Bear?

I'm looking for feedback, warrenty issues, or any other info before I buy one of these boilers. The Tarms seem to be the most expensive but they have also been around the longest. I'm leaning towards them because they are nearby in N.H, but I'm open to suggestions also.

Thanks for any input.
Reggie

Do a search on Eko, Black Bear, Tarm, etc. on this forum. There have been several discussions about indoor boilers.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

I've searched old posts. Craig, how long do the cast sections last in the Tarm and how expensive is it to replace them? Thanks for the info.
Reggie

 

[Eric Johnson]

There's also a brand called Garn that has an interesting design.

 

[babalu87]

WAY off topic but Reggie, is that your real name or are you familiar with:

"puttin on the foil"
"f#$& old time hockey"
"Het Hannrahan"

 

[wg_bent]

There's also a brand called Garn that has an interesting design.

Nice, great video, but that looks expensive.

 

[Eric Johnson]

There's also a brand called Garn that has an interesting design.

Nice, great video, but that looks expensive.

Finicky, too. But they burn clean and are efficient. Great if you like fooling around with that kind of thing.

Here's one you don't see mentioned too often, but it's been around for years.

(broken link removed to http://www.alternateheatingsystems.com/boilers.htm)

Seems to be similar to the wood gasification boiler technology made by Black Bear and others.

 

[wg_bent]

The one thing about the Garn that seemed to be an issue was that you needed to be able to have 2 hours to spend tending it. I guess not too bad if you tend in the evening.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I think it also has a relatively small firebox, which means that you have to tend it more often. Somehow that's necessary for the clean burn. Plus, it has a whole mess of water around it. I'm not sure exactly how much, but 1,000 gallons seems to resonate in my Monday morning brain.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

Yep, Slapshot is a classic. I like the brown leather suit.

 

[begreen]

There's also a brand called Garn that has an interesting design.

Nice, great video, but that looks expensive.

Finicky, too. But they burn clean and are efficient. Great if you like fooling around with that kind of thing.

Here's one you don't see mentioned too often, but it's been around for years.

(broken link removed to http://www.alternateheatingsystems.com/boilers.htm)

Seems to be similar to the wood gasification boiler technology made by Black Bear and others.

Thanks for the post Eric. My BIL is looking to replace his old Eshlund. What do you know about this company or product? I like that they post lab testing results. 85% efficiency is not too shabby. The unit with 1/4" 304 SS combustion chamber, looks like it was made for the military.

 

[Eric Johnson]

The thing was invented by a guy who sold a lot of them to people who owned sawmills in the Northeast. He probably got his start in the sawmill business. His name was Roger Eshelman, and the people I know who had these boilers really liked them. Now, apparently, Roger is out of the picture and this other company is selling the same boilers. I haven't seen one lately, but I'm sure they're out there.

Looks expensive to me, but it also looks like a premium product. I like the cyclone.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

Eric-I saw your post on the Black Bear forum. I talked to those guys this morning. Seems like they make a nice boiler, but it's only available in 90,000 BTU and I need a bigger unit. They are expensive, $7,500. I also talked to Tarm, they are $6,300 for the Solo 40 delivered to Vermont. I think I'm probably going to buy the Tarm, but not until next summer.
Reggie

 

[Eric Johnson]

The thing that bothers me about the Tarm is the water storage "option," which adds another $3,500 or so to the price. My question is: are all the claims about efficiency, clean burning and long burn cycle contingent upon having a huge water storage? If so, then it's not $6,300 but closer to $10,000--uninstalled.

 

[wg_bent]

The thing that bothers me about the Tarm is the water storage "option," which adds another $3,500 or so to the price. My question is: are all the claims about efficiency, clean burning and long burn cycle contingent upon having a huge water storage? If so, then it's not $6,300 but closer to $10,000--uninstalled.

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. The otherthing about that is the space that water storage takes up. If they had an insulated bladder type thing for crawl spaces, that would be way cool, but otherwise too big. As pointed out, from a sheer economic perspective, 10k is a lot for a boiler... I haven't prices oil burners lately but I know they sure are a lot less than 10k uninstalled, and they're pretty easy to install.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

The water storage option is more like $5,500. It's an 800 gallon insulated aluminum tank with a rubber liner. I'm not going to do it. I may use a couple of hot water heaters as storage.