Just ordered an Effecta, boy the wife is gonna be mad

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

rpmm70

Member
Apr 12, 2011
43
NW Ohio
Just ordered an Effect Lambda 60kw....and I don't think my wife wants to talk to me anymore. Lol, just kidding. Arrival day can't come soon enough...anyhow, a work in progress. I almost have the storage ready, two 1000 gal. Ammonia tanks, horizontally stacked.

FYI, its amazing how many people are unaware of the concept of storage AND gasifiers...
 
Just curious, how do those ammonia tanks smell? Congrats.....its a great way to heat with wood!
 
Well naturally, they smell like ammonia. Lol. It doesn't take too long for the ammonia to evaporate. Then they don't really smell like anything. Plus you can weld, grind, and cut on them without having to worry bout blowing yourself to pieces. I have had the two tanks vented in my shop for bout a month and a half and no ammonia smell after bout a week.
 
My 1000 gallon ammonia nurse tank had absolutely no smell whatsoever and was immaculate inside even though the tanks had seen years of agricultural use being towed around to spray ammonia on fields. Ammonia sure kept it clean.

Mike
 
Spoke with Brian yesterday, and the Effecta 60 w/laddomat is ready for me to pick up. Can't wait to get it. I hear there is about 10 of these boilers are in operation. (The 35 and 60 kw models). So far so good.
 
rpmm70 said:
Spoke with Brian yesterday, and the Effecta 60 w/laddomat is ready for me to pick up. Can't wait to get it. I hear there is about 10 of these boilers are in operation. (The 35 and 60 kw models). So far so good.

Congrats, Brian is a great guy and I'm sure you'll be pleased with the unit. If I had to do it over again I'd go with Effecta also.
 
where in north west ohio are you located ? I'm near defiance. I'd like to see it in action after you get it hooked up if you don't
mind and it's not to far from here. Not to many gassers around here but I think there are a few in nw Ohio.
 
rpmm70 said:
I hear there is about 10 of these boilers are in operation. (The 35 and 60 kw models). So far so good.
That is, in the U.S. and Canada. I think they've got something like 40% market share for cordwood boilers in Sweden and they are exporting to other countries as well.

My Effecta 60 kW shipped from Michigan last Thursday. I'm waiting to hear from the freight carrier. I'm really excited to get mine as well, although it will be quite a while before I get it all set up. I still need to build my woodworking shop where the boiler and tanks will reside. The ground can't thaw fast enough.
 
You guys will love them! Mine has been in operation since mid Oct., except for a week in Dec. when it was down while the relay circuitry was corrected. Have seen a HUGE reduction in N.Gas usage. Now all I use is for drying clothes and cooking, about 8 cu. ft/ month! will Nov.& Dec where above ave. temps compared to last year I have saved over $300!
 
This year the ground hasn't froze more than an inch here in NW Ohio. People putting up buildings as I type.
 
rpmm70 said:
Well naturally, they smell like ammonia. Lol. It doesn't take too long for the ammonia to evaporate. Then they don't really smell like anything. Plus you can weld, grind, and cut on them without having to worry bout blowing yourself to pieces. I have had the two tanks vented in my shop for bout a month and a half and no ammonia smell after bout a week.

Maybe not blown to pieces, but under the right conditions, you can get quite a fire going. Be careful when cutting on one of these, a small vent hole and the proper ppm of nh3 will be flammable. Rare but it does happen, and you need to take the proper precautions, as along with any damage done by the fire, your shorts will turn quickly brown by the blowtorch effect of the flame.

Taken from an msds of anhydrous ammonia:

UNUSUAL FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARDS: Vapors in the range of 15-28 percent ammonia in the air can explode on contact with a source of ignition. Use of welding or flame cutting equipment on or in an ammonia container is not recommended unless all ammonia has been purged, rinsed with water and any oil residue removed.
 
Do either of you guys mind sharing what the Effecta lambda 60 costs, just the boiler?

gg
 
Ya your wife will be more than mad. She will be jealous of the time you spend with the boiler. I Know mine was, probably
still is.She does really like the heat and the electric bill though.
 
rpmm70 said:
Spoke with Brian yesterday, and the Effecta 60 w/laddomat is ready for me to pick up. Can't wait to get it. I hear there is about 10 of these boilers are in operation. (The 35 and 60 kw models). So far so good.
You will like the Laddomat also, Randy
 
Well so far I have been pretty lucky with the cutting/welding on the tanks. No boom yet,lol. I flushed them. Filled them roughly half full with water, sloshed the tank half full of water with a front end loader then drained them. The tanks sat in my shop for one month before I began cutting and welding on them.
 
Woodmaster, I am near Toledo. Once this this system is up and running, you are more than welcome to stop by and check it out.
 
hiker88 said:
Also to the Effecta users...

What factors made you chose this boiler over the other Lambda boilers (such as the Froling)? The price of the Effecta 35kw appears to be about $4,000 less than the Froling 30kw.
Price certainly was a large part of my decision. Also, my understanding was that if I purchased a Froling from TarmBiomass, that it had to be installed by one of their certified installers if they were to warranty it. That would have pushed the overall cost well out of my reach. I also didn't feel like arguing with a heating installer over how things should be done. Even though I haven't seen a Froling first hand, I have no doubt that it's one of the best boilers on the market and the folks at TarmBiomass were very friendly and helpful when I spoke to them.

Brian has been great to talk to about the Effecta boilers on the phone and has been extremely helpful as well.

The Effecta boilers are designed and manufactured in Sweden, where they have a large market share. All of their products - cordwood boilers, pellet boilers, heat storage tanks and solar panels appear to be very well designed. Effecta produces user manuals and marketing materials in English and you can communicate directly with Effecta employees in English. That overall made me feel much better about getting one of their boilers than say a Slovakian boiler.
 
Peter,

Thanks for the quick reply. The price is definitley a factor for me as well. I really need a convenient boiler if my wife is going to load it - so that is why I am looking at a Lambda type boiler - plus I will be burning very differnt wood types (pine to oak). I went to see a local Froling install and that was one thing the owner really liked about the Froling - it handled different wood types without the "fiddling".

I'm going to search around the forum to see if you have any other posts, but do you have any recent thoughts you can share?
 
hiker88 said:
Peter,

Thanks for the quick reply. The price is definitley a factor for me as well. I really need a convenient boiler if my wife is going to load it - so that is why I am looking at a Lambda type boiler - plus I will be burning very differnt wood types (pine to oak). I went to see a local Froling install and that was one thing the owner really liked about the Froling - it handled different wood types without the "fiddling".

I'm going to search around the forum to see if you have any other posts, but do you have any recent thoughts you can share?

I don't think there is really much fiddling with the non lambda boilers when burning different types of wood. From reading here the areas where they shine vs my Econoburn are;

Cold start Lambda allows full load light and leave it. My Econoburn it is best to use a small load to start and get it nice and hot.

Induced draft= no smoke when loading or starting

Does the added complexity of controls out weigh the negatives of non lambda? Not sure yet but those features sure would be nice at times.


gg
 
Convenience is big for me. I get home in the evening later than my wife. I need somehting she can light and leave (within reason) or else the oil thermostat is just going to get turned up till I get home.

I went to see a local install when he did his first burn for the day - the previous burn was night before so there were some coals in the bottom but not glowing or anything. He loaded the boiler full, put in about 5 or 6 wads of newspaper, light it, closed the lighting door after about 10 seconds and said "that's it". We had some coffee and came back about 10 mins later to the jet engine sound.

That would be really beneficail in my situation :)
 
hiker88 said:
Convenience is big for me. I get home in the evening later than my wife. I need somehting she can light and leave (within reason) or else the oil thermostat is just going to get turned up till I get home.

I went to see a local install when he did his first burn for the day - the previous burn was night before so there were some coals in the bottom but not glowing or anything. He loaded the boiler full, put in about 5 or 6 wads of newspaper, light it, closed the lighting door after about 10 seconds and said "that's it". We had some coffee and came back about 10 mins later to the jet engine sound.

That would be really beneficail in my situation :)

Yes that would be very nice indeed! Was there any smoke in the first 20 minutes?

My wife lights our Econoburn but it is more like;

1.Light coals with torch

2.news paper and kindling then 5 or 6 small splits damper open for 3-5 minutes, close damer

3. 15-20 minutes later fill with splits


We can load initially but it seems to struggle with smoke until it gets hot if we do that.


gg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.