Mind almost made up

[e60982]

Well I did a lot of research, looked at gasifier how they burn and what they burn. Compared it to CB. I have 160 acres with all types of wood on it. not all great wood as I will burn only down or dead wood first. That wood will out last me. I know the OWB will burn more . but I dont want to be tweaking all the time with a gasifier.. I was reading where one guy had to beat on the flu cleaner due to creosote build up. Plus I would have to put it in a building. Said he was burning dry wood to. If I could afford storage I may consider it.. The nearest home is 40 acres from me. I like the clean burn idea. Perhaps in a few years. I can use the existing lines for a gasifier. Who knows what will be out there by then. one thing for sure this is my last year for propane and electric h/w. I did burn wood for 15 yrs before so I do know what is involved. I also have the equip. to harvest the wood. Any input appreciated. Thanks Steve K. Posen MI

 

[Hydronics]

I currently have a used updraft indoor boiler in an outbuilding 6 cords/year. I almost went CB when I put it in 3 yrs. ago -glad I didn't. I know a guy who had a CB, replaced it with a Heatmor & cut 20 cord wood use in half.
This summer I'm going to replace mine with an EKO 60 ($7000), tough to beat quality for the dollar. Even if you never do storage you'll be ahead compared to an OWB. An OWB needs a roof over it anyway or you'll be loading wet wood & standing in the rain/snow.
Get an EKO 80 if you want the large 39" firebox.

 

[e60982]

Point well taken I still ve some thinking to do Steve K posen MI

 

[Piker]

windy,

you are more than welcome to check out the FAQ page on my website. (see link below this message) There's some general information there on gasifier operation. It's all geared towards the Econoburn boilers, but most of it applies to all the gasifiers. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

cheers

 

[pybyr]

What about something like Greenwood's "Aspen" which is the stand-alone "hut" like an OWB, but picks up some of the significant efficiency gains of the Seton-updraft-gasifier design over the OWBs' "box of water with a fire in the middle" technology? OWB's tend to have a voracious appetite for wood, and even if you have a lot of wood at hand, there's still some benefit in time (and fuel for saws, splitters, etc) to not needing as much wood to get the same heat.

 

[pybyr]

Well I did a lot of research, looked at gasifier how they burn and what they burn. Compared it to CB. I have 160 acres with all types of wood on it. not all great wood as I will burn only down or dead wood first. That wood will out last me. I know the OWB will burn more . but I dont want to be tweaking all the time with a gasifier.. I was reading where one guy had to beat on the flu cleaner due to creosote build up. Plus I would have to put it in a building. Said he was burning dry wood to. If I could afford storage I may consider it.. The nearest home is 40 acres from me. I like the clean burn idea. Perhaps in a few years. I can use the existing lines for a gasifier. Who knows what will be out there by then. one thing for sure this is my last year for propane and electric h/w. I did burn wood for 15 yrs before so I do know what is involved. I also have the equip. to harvest the wood. Any input appreciated. Thanks Steve K. Posen MI

PS, you don't _need_ to tweak a gasifier- it's just that lots of us in the boiler room are tinkerers--

sort of like no one needs to do special upgrades to their vehicle to get the most of some particular aspect of performance, but some folks enjoy that....

 

[Piker]

Well I did a lot of research, looked at gasifier how they burn and what they burn. Compared it to CB. I have 160 acres with all types of wood on it. not all great wood as I will burn only down or dead wood first. That wood will out last me. I know the OWB will burn more . but I dont want to be tweaking all the time with a gasifier.. I was reading where one guy had to beat on the flu cleaner due to creosote build up. Plus I would have to put it in a building. Said he was burning dry wood to. If I could afford storage I may consider it.. The nearest home is 40 acres from me. I like the clean burn idea. Perhaps in a few years. I can use the existing lines for a gasifier. Who knows what will be out there by then. one thing for sure this is my last year for propane and electric h/w. I did burn wood for 15 yrs before so I do know what is involved. I also have the equip. to harvest the wood. Any input appreciated. Thanks Steve K. Posen MI

PS, you don't _need_ to tweak a gasifier- it's just that lots of us in the boiler room are tinkerers--

sort of like no one needs to do special upgrades to their vehicle to get the most of some particular aspect of performance, but some folks enjoy that....

Well said. There's quite a few tech junkies, engineers, and inventor types lurking about this forum as well. Their abundance of knowledge seems to take many of the discussions into territory that the average wood burner person doesn't really concern themselves with... or at least shouldn't concern themselves with. The bottom line is that gasifiers are alot like any other wood stove or boiler... you put wood in, you put a match to it, and you stay warm... just at 90% efficiency instead of 30 or 40. Tweaking is not necessary... but it's an option if you don't have better things to do.


cheers

 

[Piker]

One more thing... don't underestimate the cost of cutting all that extra firewood for a conventional boiler. That extra wood has value that could be redeemed either as cash or just free time.

cheers

 

[flyingcow]

As pointed out, you do not need storage with a gassifier. Just make sure you get one that's designed to run without storage. Most are. For the $$$'s for a CB e-classic, I could have bought a gassifier and built a nice shed to put it and the wood in. As posted above, you really need a shed or something to keep your wood dry from the elements. I've got a farmer that has a CB 6048 with no shed. The woods hissses and doesn't burn well with ice and snow on it(which with your experience with wood you know).

But you will need to split the wood smaller with a gassifier.And really needs to be seasoned for a year. Obviously the OWB you don't. I'm guessing I'll burn about 6 cords year round. My buddy who has a 6048, big azzed,leaky house will burn about 15+ cord. I don't think he will have much more time into splitting than I will. But he loads some big chunks of wood in.

This group on this site can help you design your own storage in the future. As far as tweaking, i've only messed with mine a couple of times in the last 3 weeks, just getting it set up. Shouldn't have to do much with it now.

 

[Piker]

You don't necessarily need to season your wood for a full year if you have the right species and can keep it out of the elements while it dries. If you cut split and stack your wood in the spring, it should be ready by fall. All of the wood that I am burning this year was delivered as green logs the first of august. Mostly ash and soft maple. I cut and split it immediately, and moved about 1 cord into the basement. By the time I started using it, most of it was well below 25% moisture content... ash is well known for burning pretty well right off the stump. Now I try to keep about 1 cord ahead in the basement. I burn off one pile, while the other pile dries out a little more. You would be suprised how quickly wood will dry when it's stacked in a warm dry basement... usually the air in your home is pretty dry in the winter... it sucks the moisture right out of the wood in a hurry.

To be fair, there was some oak in that load of logs that's not quite as dry as I would like it... about 30% by the time it dries out in the basement and I am ready to use it. Apparently it requires a little more seasoning to reach optimal moisture content. The few pieces of hickory that were on that load burn fantastic. It dries out much better than the oak... and seems to last forever.

I do tend to split my wood fairly small. 5" splits probably on average.

cheers

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I avoid the term 'gassifier' because it's hard to qualify. The company that made my unit (GreenWood) calls it a gassifyer. But it's natural draft so does not burn down through the coal bed as many others here do.

But when it comes to 'tweaking' . . . the only 'tweaking' I do is adjusting the aquastat setting when the weather gets extreme. And that's not a requirement, it's just that I can't help but mess with stuff.

Actually, two of the big draws I though when I bought the green beast were the simlicity of it, and the ability to burn wood with a higher MC sucesfully.

If I were making the decision over again today, I have a Viessmann Vitolig 200. The funny thing is, it's WAY more complicated . . . and, like the GW, runs pretty well WITHOUT storage.

I nearly boght a CB, the year B4 I bought the GW. I have never operated an OWB. I have talked to many who have. If I had to cut as much wood as that thing would have eaten, my back would give out.

Why would you rush a purchase of this magnitude this late in the season???

Jimbo

 

[myleakywooddoctor]

If your set on an OWB at least pick one that's as close to a gassifier as you can get, cause take it from me, it's allot of work feeding the beast's! hh:

Just cause you have access to an endless supply of wood doesn't mean you really want to kill yourself gathering up the multitude of cords of wood that a standard OWB will chew threw! :gulp:

Think about it! . . . it's like slave labor keeping up the wood supply! :-/

I agree . . . take your time . . . pick an OWB that likes you and isn't trying to put you out of your misery.

Leaky :down:

 

[Duetech]

Windyhill,
I have an EKO40 and am burning 6-7" dry elm getting good results once I have a bed of coals in it. The secret to efficiency in a gasifier is dry wood. I don't have storage that is why is sounds like I am doing things different. I am. With storage I would want smaller splits but without storage my unit idles more. Depending on weather I get 8-12 hour burns so the larger pieces get a better chance to burn and gasify correctly. With storage you want high output fires so you burn your wood faster than without storage where you want lower level sustained output. I heat my domestic hot water all year long with my unit and have to have a fire every day. With storage during the warmer months I could probably get by with one fire every 5-7 and up to 10 days. There are a lot of not so costly storage options out there and there is a lot of experienced people here to help you sift things out.

 

[ezoffshore]

I have an E-Classic. I know that I have burned half as much wood as the guy down the road who has a 6048. He is heating only his house and I am heating my house and barn. Looking like i will end up at about 10 cord this year but I was also strapped for time and never had my barn insulated until mid January. Heat pouring right through the roof.( That was an ice nightmare) I havent had to tweak anything and all my wood was cut and split in July. I think it should have been seasoned better but I didnt decide to put this in until June when I got my rate notice from my propane supplier. I am very happy. 75+ in the house and 50 in the barn when I am not in there working. 65 when i am.

 

[lawandorder]

I am running Solo 40 as compared to neighbor with OWB. He has gone through at least three times as much if not more of wood so far. Most of his time and his sons time is spent either picking up or loading large pieces of firewood. In the summer he was cutting and stacking from july to november. His massive pile that I thought would keep him going for a few years is 2/3 gone already. Thats a lot of wood and the house is not overly large. I have gone through 14 face cords to date (marginal wood) since startup in October. And this was 16 inch wood that is not dry enough so I am burning through more than I should be. I know I paid more for the gassifier but to me the efficiency combined with low wood usage and the time spent splitting stacking etc.... was a large and important point for me. Its one wheelbarrow trip a day from the shed to the boiler room. Plus I keep a face cord in the garage to draw from during those days that its below zero and my desire to go outside is not present.... There is a learning curve to when to fire etc.. and a few bugs that had to get worked out with draft but those were my mistakes with the chimney install and poor wood selection. I will have my wood cut split and stacked in May of this year and probably ordering more to get a bit ahead for the upcoming year. Good luck

 

[pybyr]

Here's something I was sent- apparently Greenwood has a discount on their "Aspen" outdoor unit right now.

This would give you gasifier efficiencies, or close, but give you the outdoor option, if that's where you prefer to locate a unit:

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/365736/ace50d9602/1516500655/8e82e48591/