newbie

[EWD1]

I am going to be installing a wood gasification boiler to heat my house and detached garage
Boiler to be in garage w/pex underground 20 ft between

House 2100 sq. ft. heat loss 60000btu

Garage 1000 sq.ft. heat loss 20000btu

I was going to use a Woodgun,even visited the factory,then I found this site,now I am wondering ?

Should I use a storage tank?

How long will a Woodgun last?
Would a european boiler be better?
Some salesmen say to oversize for longer between loadings? Does this work?
How is it to get parts for the european boilers?
Anyone know about the Econoberns?
How long does the refractory last in these units?
I have some experience with my fathers Joutul.
How steep is the learning curve?

Thanks

 

[Nofossil]

I am going to be installing a wood gasification boiler to heat my house and detached garage
Boiler to be in garage w/pex underground 20 ft between

House 2100 sq. ft. heat loss 60000btu

Garage 1000 sq.ft. heat loss 20000btu

I was going to use a Woodgun,even visited the factory,then I found this site,now I am wondering ?

Should I use a storage tank?

How long will a Woodgun last?
Would a european boiler be better?
Some salesmen say to oversize for longer between loadings? Does this work?
How is it to get parts for the european boilers?
Anyone know about the Econoberns?
How long does the refractory last in these units?
I have some experience with my fathers Joutul.
How steep is the learning curve?

Thanks

Welcome to the forum. This is the beginning of the off season, so anyone with a life has pretty much wandered off. For lack of anyone qualified, I'll take a stab at answering your questions:

First, those heat loss number seem high for that size building in Connecticut. Do you have some historical basis of oil or gas consumption to validate them? My peak heat load for 3500 square feet in Vermont is 30,000 BTU/hr.

I've got no experience with the Woodgun. I think they had some issues with metal fatigue or corrosion a while back, but I believe they've made changes. Assuming no design or material issues, a properly installed and maintained boiler should last 20 years at least.

The European manufacturers have more experience with gasification. Don't know how important that is, but it doesn't hurt. There is a learning curve for the manufacturer.

The oversize argument is a holdover from pre-gasification times. The most efficient way to run any boiler is flat out. That's especially true for gasifiers. While they can idle, excessive idling will reduce your efficiency and lead to creosote buildup and smoke. A properly operated gasifier is extremely efficient, smokeless, and odorless. Many people add storage so that he boiler can run flat out for a while and then go out. You live off the storage, then build another fire when the storage is depleted. My average is a seven hour fire each day, but on warmer days I can skip a day or even two. However, I had no storage my first season, and others have been quite successful without storage. Plan on daily fires, though.

The learning curve can be long if you have no previous experience and haven't discovered the forum. However, it's really not that much more complicated than a conventional boiler. You just need to develop a pattern.

Good luck....

 

[EWD1]

We used about 800g for complete year w/DHW and three people.
The local paper says 5700 degree days so far 6100 is norm
We have a Burnham oil boiler 150000btu Seems way oversize.

nofossil, how much wood do you use?
Thanks

 

[Nofossil]

We used about 800g for complete year w/DHW and three people.
The local paper says 5700 degree days so far 6100 is norm
We have a Burnham oil boiler 150000btu Seems way oversize.

nofossil, how much wood do you use?
Thanks

Sounds like your heat load is similar to mine. I used to use about 720 gallons a year for heat and hot water for five people. My peak heat load is only about 30,000 BTU/hr, not counting hot water.

I used just over 4 full cords of mixed wood each of the last two years, burning from about mid-October to mid-April. That covers heat, hot water, and hot tub with virtually no oil use durng that period. I've got a writeup on my site - link in my signature below.

My wood was dry enough to work, but not as dry as I'd like. It's a mix of hardwood and softwood, with quite a bit being punky or otherwise less than ideal.

Oil boilers are usually way oversized. Unlike wood, they can start up, run at full output for 15 minutes, and shut down. They're usually sized to accomplish quick hot water recovery, not based on heat load.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Some salesmen say to oversize for longer between loadings? Does this work?

Quick story . . . the first company at my house after my wood-fired hydronic was up and running says to me, "So how often do you have to load it, every 3 days?"

But that type of ignorance is way more than offset by the feeling I get when someone looks at my stack and says, "You let your wood fire go out?" When I know it is burning just fine VSF

I would recommend you tell the salesman right up front you want to minimize wood use and emmissions and are not so concerned with time between loads. If he STILL brings up the extended time between loadings, you need to find a new salesman ;-)