pros and cons of current gasifier makes

[pybyr]

Hello all--

I am in VT and am not new to wood heat, having an existing wood warm air furnace tandemed to my oil furnace

but I am very intrigued with the gasification/ heat storage option as a way to rely much more on wood and much less on oil, for both environmental and financial reasons (right now, even though I burn wood pretty actively, the oil unit still runs a considerable amount when I am at work, and in the "shoulder seasons"). I realize I'd need to either install a water/air heat exchanger or some form of hydronics, but I am a pretty experienced DIY-er, so that alone does not scare me off.

I'd like to solicit peoples' first-hand experiences or observations about pros and cons of the current crop of gasification boilers such as

Tarm
EKO
Econoburn
"Wood gun"
(I recognize that the Garn is an excellent unit, but it is too big to get down into the basement of my existing old farmhouse, and I don't want to get into creating a new outbuilding)

I cannot say that "price is not an factor" as I have no independent wealth (understatement- i'm divorced...) but I do believe in trying to make the best long-term investment based on long run life-cycle-cost perspectives and longevity, not just the cheapest short-run price.

Ability to be flex-fuel capable (such as the ability to some day use pellets not only cordwood) would also be a plus

Thanks everone!

Trevor

 

[Eric Johnson]

Welcome to the Boiler Room, Trevor.

I'm very happy with my EKO. It exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high to begin with.

I think if you take some time to read through some old threads, you'll get a pretty good idea how much people like this style of boiler.

 

[webbie]

All perhaps decent unit, but EKO and Econo might provide best bang for buck....I was the importer of Tarm at one time, and I like them.....but the weakness of the $$ is causing the prices to increase. So they are good units, but you might get more for your $$ right now with Eko, Biomax (US made eko similar) or Econo.

The forum moderator, Eric, has EKO as does our resident engineer and expert Nofossil (he lives somewhere up there in VT).

 

[Nofossil]

So far, I don't see much to distinguish between the Tarm, the EKO, and the Biomax. I haven't talked to anyone with a Woodgun, but in the end I think they're all comparable. As I mentioned in another thread, I think they're all good choices. Wish our presidential choices were as good ;-)

If you weren't a hardcore DIY guy, I'd suggest that dealer support and expertise was a critical factor. As it is, price might be as good a criteria as any.

There was no particular black magic to installing my EKO. There was a bit of a learning curve to get it dialed in, but if I had known of the forum it would have been much shorter.

I think all of them will burn dry biomass of whatever sort you have available, though the Biomax seems to make more claims in that direction.

 

[jebatty]

Agree with nofo. The disadvantages are common to all and primarily relate to heating with wood. As needed have to fuel the boiler, clean out ash, clean the chimney, and some other minor maintenance. Also have to buy/obtain wood, cut, split, stack, season, haul, etc.

As are the advantages: efficient and economical, and free of energy disruptions and price gouging, if you have a supply of wood. Add to this the personal satisfaction, and go with the unit you like.

 

[AndrewChurchill]

Pybyr,

How far north of Montpelier are you? I live in Elmore and I'm picking up my Harman PB105 pellet boiler tomorrow.

 

[WoodNotOil]

I would echo the comments of everyone else about these makes all seeming pretty comparable and I would say again that once storage is added and you are doing long continuous burns, many of the differences seem to become irrelevent. If you get prices on the boiler options you listed, I would be interested to know what they are going for these days. I bought my tarm three years ago and the prices seem to have gone up considerably.

I would add one more advantage to the list: I am in better physical shape after cutting wood for three years than I had been for a long time. I love being outside and working hard for a good reason. Could save you money by replacing gym membership and exercise equipment too! ;-)

 

[pybyr]

Andrew- I am in East Montpelier, near the Calais line, so not far from Elmore

"Wood Not Oil"- where in "Northern Vermont" are you? I would really appreciate the opportunity to see a Tarm gasifier in an installed configuration. And what type of storage tank are you planning on?