Plans for a homemade wood boiler

[machinistbcb]

I am planing on making a homemade wood boiler. I am having a hard time finding any good detailed plans to build one. I curently have a MEMCO wood boiler that works ok, but I would like something with a longer burn time and something I can keep out side. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

You talking from the ground up? Very cool idea, I wish I had the Patience for it.

Can you define 'longer burn time', in relation to your expected heat load?

Just for fun, I can't help but wonder if the inside of a ceramic primary combustion chamber couldn't be wrapped in say 3/8 stainless (anyone here know how heat transfer into the ceramic would be affected by the steel?) then go with the more conventional forced induction downdraft secondary combustion chamber. I'm envisioning a BlueForge with more ceramic and also encased in insulation and a steel box like the Seton/GW.

What we need is a huge grant to design this thing so it can have all the bells and whistles. Let's add one of those devices (damn if I can remember what they are called) that converts heat to electricity.

 

[machinistbcb]

What I mean by "longer burn time" is I would like to only have to fill the boiler every 12 hours or so. I currently have to fill my memco about every 4 hours. I understand there is probably 2 routes I can go to build one. A: a tradition style OWB with a very large fire box and water jacket. or B: a wood gasifacation style with a large holding tank. anyways I would like to find some plans to get me started

 

[Nofossil]

Welcome to the forum. Building your own is a worthy and honorable pursuit, but the effort involved is substantial. My brother built a gasifier based on my experience with my EKO.

I don't know of any sources for drawings. What he did was start with the EKO and modify to fit the space and improvements that he had in mind. Based on data that I've seen and my brother's experience, gasifiers burn a lot less wood - as much as 60% less for the same heat. They do seem to be more sensitive to wood moisture, and they're more complex to build and operate. Some things to be aware of:

1) Making a leak-proof water jacket that can be pressurized is hard.
2) You need PERFECT seals in the gas generation chamber. Also hard.
3) The combustion chamber is an incredibly hostile environment. You need really good (and replaceable) refractory materials.
4) It takes some time and tinkering to get the airflows and air flow balances correct.

Good luck - I'll be glad to answer any questions that I can.

 

[rsnider]

Go to rohor.com and look at build your own boiler and click on the images at bottom of page. fred seton is selling plans for his boiler and some of the parts. he says it is a cheap boiler to build.