Replacing a wood boiler - when?

[Jon_E]

I have been heating my house year-round with a Central Boiler CB5648, 2004 model year. The boiler was installed but not put into service until fall of 2006 owing to when we finished the house and moved in. So it is now on its' 9th year of heating all of our water for both domestic use and heat. I haven't kept really good track of my wood quantities that I've burned, but I'll guess it's between 10 and 13 cords annually. Less if I have good dry hardwood (rare), more if I'm burning softwood or wet/punky wood. My backup consists of the "dual-fuel" propane burner from Central, that has got to be the most inefficient thing on the planet.

I'm now in the process of constructing a 3-bay garage to house 1 car and a woodworking shop. I also installed a pool a couple of years ago and was hoping to put a little bit of heat into the pool water to extend our season. I'm a little bit concerned that my wood use is going to go up so much that I won't be able to keep up. I'm expecting to use an additional 3-4 cords if not more.

An additional concern is that I've gone through a few parts in the CB so far - granted, nothing high-tech. A couple of Taco pumps, a temperature controller, a solenoid, and now the door is cracked badly and needs replacing. I can still get the parts though, so I'm not too concerned yet, but CB is discontinuing the classic so I expect to have a hard time finding parts someday.

I am wondering if it is worth replacing this thing entirely, with something far more efficient, a good backup system, and maybe a secondary water storage system (1000 gallon salvage insulated propane tank). I've also come to the realization that I put the wood boiler in a crappy location and it would be worth moving. I've got until next summer to decide what to do, I have no problem tearing up the yard and putting in new conduit and PEX to a new location, but it is a big project.

What is the life expectancy of a Central Boiler? Am I looking at a replacement at some point in the near future anyway? Would the new E-classic models (or a different manufacturer entirely) give me a much more efficient use of my firewood? I'm also wondering if there is a market for a used boiler. I have been trying to get ahead of my wood supply but the past two years have been a failure. I do have two wood sheds that collectively can store 20 cords, but the larger one (14 cords) is completely empty, so I'm sorta sabotaging myself.

Any advice would be welcome.

 

[GENECOP]

I would think to 2004 can keep on providing you with service.....however mentioning the changes, ( additional demand, better location.) A new more efficient unit might be in your future...

 

[maple1]

What is the location of the garage with respect to the house, compared to the CB?

I think I would try to utilize the opportunity presented by the new garage construction, to put an indoor boiler in there, along with my entire winters wood, and maybe also the storage tank(s). Tanks could also go in the house if possible though. You might have to wall off the boiler in its own space with its own outside entrance. With the problems your having chasing wood now, that will only get worse in the future if you stick with an OWB. Having the boiler inside a heated space along with the wood would pay huge dividends every year going forward in greatly reduced wood consumption.

 

[Eric Johnson]

My advice to anyone considering buying a used boiler is that it's a crap shoot and probably not a good idea.

That said, your old CB may become more valuable on the used market after the first of the year, since the new EPA regs are going into effect, making it illegal for a dealer to sell a boiler with that (non gasification) design. But for a variety of reasons, some people may prefer one, especially if they burn a lot of green wood. I expect there will be some interest if you put it up on Craig's List, classified section, etc. You could then upgrade to a gasifier of some kind.

On the other hand, if you're in a position where you burn a lot of green/wet wood, then you might be ahead with what you've got. A new boiler isn't going to perform very well in the absence of dry wood.

Your best bet by far, IMO, is to start burning dry wood, and do it in a new, gasification boiler. Or, time the new boiler installation to when you will have enough dry wood to get through the winter. You'll burn a lot less than you do now.

JMO

 

[Jon_E]

What is the location of the garage with respect to the house, compared to the CB?

I think I would try to utilize the opportunity presented by the new garage construction, to put an indoor boiler in there, along with my entire winters wood, and maybe also the storage tank(s). Tanks could also go in the house if possible though. You might have to wall off the boiler in its own space with its own outside entrance. With the problems your having chasing wood now, that will only get worse in the future if you stick with an OWB. Having the boiler inside a heated space along with the wood would pay huge dividends every year going forward in greatly reduced wood consumption.

Not gonna happen, unfortunately. The garage isn't big enough and I even reduced the size of it on the fly while I was forming the footings and frost walls. It's about 160' away from the existing boiler and on the opposite side of the house. I have a much better location for an outdoor boiler that is only about fifty feet from where it is now. I can put most of it under a roof to at least have a dry loading area.

 

[GENECOP]

For an outdoor check out the Portage Gasifier....they look pretty interesting to me for an outdoor application...

 

[woodsmaster]

Could do an indoor boiler in a shed, for about the same money as an outdoor boiler. Just an option to keep in mind.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Could do an indoor boiler in a shed, for about the same money as an outdoor boiler. Just an option to keep in mind.

That's what I did--and what I'll be doing again this summer for my mom.

 

[Fred61]

Eric,
With the limited space on the sides, are you able to get your turbulators out to brush the tubes?

 

[Boil&Toil]

That's what I did--and what I'll be doing again this summer for my mom.

Daaaaaang that's snug! I think a common suggestion for the boiler shed approach is to make it big enough to fit a Garn. Then if you opt for anything else later, including a Garn, you don't need to redo the shed. My very slow plan is actually to have a few things out there, compartmentalized - diesel backup generator with the cooling loop set up as a heat source (and an electric water heating element to keep the load on it reasonable if there's not much load - diesels don't like to idle), possibly a wood-gas generator in a very separate, very well ventilated section, boiler, and maybe an evaporator (maple syrup) if I get everything in one go. I figure the sap storage tank can be a thermal storage tank 10 months of the year. But I'm wicked slow, so that's all in my head, thus far.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Eric,
With the limited space on the sides, are you able to get your turbulators out to brush the tubes?

The turbs lift out vertically, so side clearance isn't an issue. As you can see, however, I had to attach an old shovel handle to my turbulator shaker so that I can do that from the front of the boiler. Access to the back is necessary, but infrequent.

It's certainly snug, but it's worked well for the past 8 years.

 

[Fred61]

Seems I remember that I had to remove the side panel when I had that worthless shaker attached in order to disconnect it from the turbulators so you must have made some modification sometime in the past or perhaps it's just my mind slipping away.

 

[cityboy172]

I would be replacing a central boiler, or any standard OWB, as soon as possible. You'll find some one to buy it. I sold an 2006 6048 central boiler for $5,500.

 

[bags]

I have a 2004-'05 first season Woodmaster 5500. It likes to eat. It has been a solid unit with only two replaced parts last season it's 9th year of burning. I replace the thermistor probe and an air intake flapper. The rubber gasket was bad. I was offered $4,500 trade in from a local dealer. Many people prefer these older non-gasification models because they will burn junk wood. Many have experienced less wood use in the newer models but more issues also. The new units are picky on what you feed them and require well seasoned wood. There is no perfect wood burning solution or other bio fuels IMHO. It's what works for each person's preference and situation.Yes, well seasoned wood is always best in any wood burning unit of any type, but you see how that goes at times.

I know my 5500 will last a much, much longer time. I am also thinking of a replacement but I am in no hurry either. I also think the price may somewhat increase or the units will be easier to sell when they are no longer at the dealers. I don't expect a drastic increase however. I like mine because it will eat anything. Wet, green, etc; I am going to do some extensive research before I pull the trigger on replacing it too. Everything has it's pros and cons. I burn between 8-12 cords per season depending on the winter temps and so forth. I opted for pellet stoves this season to make things easier on the wife and myself. Is it the end all solution......? Don't know. If prices of pellets goes too far north the wood dragon comes back to life. I would like to use much less wood.

 

[Jon_E]

Reading some replies, it never occurred to me to put an indoor boiler in a shed. I don't know how I missed that. A friend of mine has an EKO 40 in an unheated lean-to off his kitchen and it works well for him.

I like the idea of building a small sugarhouse (since I have maple trees) and allowing space for both a small OWB and a small evaporator setup. It's starting to get a little crowded around here, I already have five buildings on the property (ok, two of them are basically pole sheds with tin roofs) and another one would probably be frowned upon by the wife.

 

[heaterman]

For what it's worth............
I ran into an insurance guy who was in a booth at a logging show a couple years ago and he was intrigued by the boilers we had there. (Garn and Windhager)
He wanted to know all about them because they were so different than what he thought of when he heard the term wood boiler. AKA outdoor wood boiler......
He wrote insurance for many customers who had OWB's and their boiler was covered under the home owners policy he sold. During the course of the conversation he told me that his company wide statistics showed the average life of an OWB was in the 7-9 year range before they experienced a claim for total failure.
I was not surprised based on what we run into in our travels. Some will last longer but a huge part of the equation is not so much the brand but rather, the care and maintenance the boiler gets. Water chemistry is very important on any open system, keeping it clean, ashes cleaned out etc. Some last 5-6 years, some last 12-13.

 

[jebatty]

I had an OWB that was 10+ years old, saw a Tarm gasifier, and knew right away the old dragon had to go - enough smoke and fire out the chimney to raise worldwide CO2 by a % or two. Never leaked, always treated the water regularly. Quickly sold the OWB by word of mouth, "as is" and buyer to remove. Drained the 175 gallons or so of antifreeze and then sold that separately, keeping some for use in my tractor. One of the best decisions ever.

 

[The Weimar]

If you really need to sell the old CB, whatever you do, do NOT buy a new Central Boiler product. I will not go into details but here is the link...

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/e-classic-2400-probs.137673/#post-1851720

These other manufacturers seem to make quality stuff and stand behind their products also.

The Weimar