Starting Out

[loghome7]

What a great website to get real knowledge about wood burning gasifiers and other options. Here is my story:

Our family purchased a log home last year that is 13 years old. It is a large log home (and needed a lot of work) at 4600 sq ft with 2 forced air furnaces (one in the basement and one in the full attic). My propane cost this past month was $1,000! Something has to change.

I have not burned with wood in the past, but have been researching different types from fireplace inserts, OWB and gasification boilers.
My basement is a play area for the 5 kids and has easy access through the garage and enough room for a storage tank, or I could put the boiler outside. I hope to fuel the 2 furnaces, water heater and someday my dream gym (pole building) of approx 6000 sq ft.

What advice does anyone have about a system that would work best in my situation?
Thanks!

 

[Eric Johnson]

Welcome to the Boiler Room, loghome7.

What's your wood supply look like?
How about a chimney?

I would recommend a gasifier of some kind, mainly because they burn with no smoke and use about half as much wood as a conventional indoor boiler or OWB. But the initial investment is higher.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

First up, Welcome aboard!

5 kids, eh? Must be up for anything so . . .why not just get a mini-nuclear system?

But seriously, have a look around. Don't buy into everything salespeeps tell you. And don't do anything hasty. I am sure paying the fossil man sucks :zip: but so would rushing into a purchase that you will be new to for the next couple of months. If yer semi-new or getting reacquainted to wood, prepare for some frustrations along the way. One year learning curve, more or less.

Burn on

 

[Nofossil]

We've all been through the same decision process - welcome to the club. It can be a bit intimidating, and there are a LOT of tradeoffs and issues.

I've been trying to pull together a summary of all the tradeoffs and decisions that we went through and put it together with what I've learned. It's not ready for prime time, but it might be helpful to you, and I'd appreciate feedback in any event.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I considered the mini-nuke, Jimbo, but couldn't find a reliable fuel supplier. Mostly eastern Euro types, and I got a bad vibe from some of them. All this hush-hush cloak & dagger stuff. Who needs it? And the installs can be a little tricky, but nothing a top-notch stainless steel welder with an x-ray machine couldn't handle.

That's a nice summary, nofossil. I think you covered it pretty well. BTW, just LOVE the retro website look (insert sarcastic smiley).

 

[loghome7]

I know this will be a big decision. Most likely nothing will be done until spring/summer...but these heating bills are crazy.

Our home has a separate flue in the chimney which starts in the basement--8" diameter.

Wood: My 10 acres has limited trees...but the family farm has a good supply of wood and I may have a couple connections with contractors/excavators who can help, too.

Here in northern IL we don't have a lot of HVAC guys familiar with such boilers. I have gotten a lot of information from Cozy Heat on the EKO, as well as Econoburn, Tarm, Sequoyah and Greenwood. They all claim to have the right product for me...

Another question I have: For my 2 forced air furnaces, I understand I would install water to air heat exchangers. Do they need to be removed for air conditioning in the summer months?