More thoughts on the Boiler Room

[Eric Johnson]

We're closing in on 200 threads in the 'room, and I'm very pleased with the quality of information being disseminated as well as the large number of new members who either own, or are considering, a nice selection of wood- and coal-fired central heating equipment. I especially want to thank nofossil and Joe Brown, apparently two of New England's finest minds, for generously sharing their expertise and experience with the rest of us. That's not to take anything away from the many other fine regular posters who continue to help make the Boiler Room the important resource that it has become. This is quickly becoming a one-stop shop for anyone, anywhere, interested in alternative fuel central heat. I know it's helped me immeasurably, and hopefully many others as well.

And speaking of support, please join me in welcoming our first Boiler Room Sponsor, Cozy Heat^^^^^. This is not one of those silly Google key-word ads, but a company that recognizes the value of this forum and is willing to help out. As Moderator, the business end of things is not really my concern, but I've always been impressed with Cozy's product offering and honesty in posting actual prices on its website. If you haven't done so already, click on the banner to see what I'm talking about.

I must admit that I've been keeping a close eye on the other new forum, the Pellet Mill and Corn Crib, specifically their thread count, which today caught up with ours for the first time. I want to congratulate the pellet heads on their continued success.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

Thanks. I think I've gotten as much out of this as I've managed to put in. Plus, while I get to do a few of the "interesting" installs each year, the bread and butter of heating/cooling are pretty basic change-outs of existing systems. I'm in this business because it's something I enjoy doing, that I can actually make a living at, and it's great to have some interesting questions to answer.

Joe

 

[Nofossil]

Thanks for the kind words, Eric. I think these kinds of systems will become increasingly important to more people as time goes on. I view ourselves as the early automobile owners. You had to be a mechanic, and you had to be willing to understand the machine and get your hands dirty. The learning that comes from that is the basis for improvements in the next generation, and those owners don't have to understand as much.

I've learned lots from this, and I hope I've helped others along the way.

I've also been watching the number of topics in the pellet room. Maybe they just need more help.....

 

[Seyiwmz]

Wow, this forum is great. I just started exploring these posts and joined instantly. I've been burning an EKO 40 for the past 3 years. I had a few ups and downs and thought I was kinda all alone trying to expirement with new ideas. You guys seem to have alot of creativity out there. Hopefully I can share some of the experiences I've had, and some of the tricks I had to come up with to smooth out the process. I'm finally going to put in a 500 gallon storage. I have to make a deal to get his 500 gallon propane tank. Hopefully by the end of the week. I should have done so in the beginning. I have some ideas how I'll hook it up, but would appreciate any proven techniques you guys tried. With the set-up I have now, I burn for about 14 days straight before I take it down for a cleaning. Then I fire it up for another couple of weeks. But there is alot of time when the fans are off and it's just coasting without gasifying. I'm probably losing alot of efficiency. And I tried burning some coal with the wood, but the clinker would plug the hole in the bottom. Maybe if it burn hotter it would completely burn up and wouldn't cause the problem. Anyway, I'm glad I found you guys. G-Unit

 

[webbie]

Some topics in here with well over 1000 views - just on a single topic! Not bad for a month or so!

And, like Eric, I am pleased to see some REAL sponsors come on board, because I was getting tired of looking at the ads for nasal sprays and dodge trucks. It might sound corny, but it is sponsors that make the world (and the forum) go around, and those companies are in effect saying "I support this free exchange of information". In the 12 years of Hearth.com, I have NEVER had a sponsor approach me for favors, to remove reviews or do anything else morally compromised. This, again, speaks to the quality of the people we have as site sponsors. The smart ones LEARN from the customer feedback and reviews, or else they simply understand that it is what goes on every day anyway (in stores, neighbor to neighbor, etc.)

So, keep on keeping on - only thing I worry about is whether Eric can take on all the crowds......then again, I did the mod of the whole ball of wax pretty much solo for a couple years!

 

[Eric Johnson]

Welcome to Hearth.com and the Boiler Room, Seyiwmz. It's always good to see new members. I think you're the longest-running EKO user around here, so it will be great to have the benefit of your experience. Feel free to start some threads and get the ball rolling, or jump on in anywhere.

I'm devoting a lot of time to this forum now, Craig, because it's fun to watch it grow and because I have a lot of things I'd like to learn. But I think it's getting to the point where the momentum is going to carry it without a lot of maintenance. I may be wrong about that, but given the group of serious, quality members participating, I think it's a reasonable expectation.

 

[hkobus]

Thanks guys for this forum, I wish I had stumbled onto it much sooner. Like everyone else I greatly appreciate the high quality info shared here and the willingness to experiment.
I hope I can contribute on an ongoing basis as well as learn from everyone here, and many thanks to Nofosil, Joe and you Eric for the many replies and interesting post here.
Keep up the good work.

Henk.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

There's been a lot of good info posted here in a short time period. As fuel prices climb I think there will be lots more interest in wood boilers in the next few years. When I first started researching wood boilers a couple of years ago there was almost no info on the internet other than manufacturer's websites.

Thanks to the knowledgable folks here for all the insight and I hope this website continues to grow.

Reggie

 

[Grover59]

I found this forum about 3 weeks ago and I am very thankful that I did, it has been soooo much help to get real time suggestions and ideas from people that have been there and done that. This is the second season I have had my boiler and I wish I had come across this forum then. I do believe that wood gasification is the way to go, particularly when it comes to wood boilers. With that said I see this forum growing large and fast, I have already told about 5 others about this forum and expect them to be posting soon. It is somewhat a support group so to speak, I find that those people that have the know how really want to offer thier input and I do appreciate that.

Steve

 

[Tony H]

This forum has been great in helping me research and choose a boiler and now with the installation of said boiler. I learn a little more every day and look forward to continued exchange of ideas on how to install use and improve my home heating system. Many of the ideas folks like Nofossil are using would ever have occurred to me on my own with the storage, controls, and solar applications he is using. I see myself working on a storage application next along with some passive solar.
Next we need to generate and store electric power so we can cut off the utilities.