The Econoburn has landed!

[pybyr]

Yesterday afternoon, my Econoburn dealer Jim Crawford brought my Econoburn. With great help from Jim (who's been great to deal with throughout my process of shopping for, choosing and then getting a gasifier boiler), and with a borrowed tractor with large loader, the Econoburn made its way into the cellar of my old farmhouse without a scratch to the house or the boiler.

Hookup is next, but I need to get a couple of other promised projects out of the way before I dive in full tilt on the install of this.

The build quality on the boiler is superb, in both sturdiness and fit and finish.

Thought the photo might be of interest or inspiration to others embarked on or considering a project like this; I'm the bumpkin in the boonie hat.

 

[antknee2]

Congratulations , It must feel good to know the boiler is in the basement in one pc , and can be hooked up even without thermal heat storage for the first winter . That's one heavy boiler
Great job Anthony !!

 

[Eric Johnson]

Cool, Anthony. The boiler almost matches the tractor.

 

[mysticfalcon]

Looking good. I know I sure feel a lot better with the cold nights we've had lately with a wood boiler half installed down in my basement. Now if only I could get some free time to finish the hookup.

 

[Sawyer]

Congratulations Trevor, I am anxious to experience the excitement of having my boiler in place so I can start on the install. You are fortunate to have hydraulics to help with the project! Someday I will have to get out to the east coast, your area looks similar to a lot of spots in Wisconsin.

 

[pybyr]

You are fortunate to have hydraulics to help with the project!

The sizeable tractor w/ loader was a loan from a nearby friend- and it made ALL the difference. All of it wouldn've been a lot less tricky if I'd had a bigger opening into my cellar, and not had a bay window (doesn't quite show up in this photo) so close to/ above the cellar hatch.

My own tractor with loader is about 50 years older and a fraction of the size (1956 JD 420W w/ #35 loader- all orig., but no show/trailer queen), and would not have been up to lifting the amount of steel here...

 

[WoodNotOil]

I put my Tarm in the same way but with a slightly smaller tractor. It didn't quite reach the floor so we had to get the rollers underneath it in order to release the chain. I remember the feeling of getting it up in place. I ran mine for 3 seasons without storage and am looking forward to this season with it. My tank is done now and I just have to adjust one corner of the liner that is pulling down too much. I hope to have it charged by the end of the weekend. Good luck with the install!

 

[deerefanatic]

Congrats! The only problem is see in that picture is that the tractor is blue!! Being an owner of "Green Power" I'm sure you felt the pain as I did in seeing this picture! :D LOL!!

All kidding aside, our loader tractor is blue too... But, it shall yet to be seen whether it moves my boiler when I'm done building it or if I'll need to get the neighbors 2940 JD with loader.......

My boiler is now at least sitting upright on it's own...

 

[pybyr]

Congrats! The only problem is see in that picture is that the tractor is blue!! Being an owner of "Green Power" I'm sure you felt the pain as I did in seeing this picture! :D LOL!!

All kidding aside, our loader tractor is blue too... But, it shall yet to be seen whether it moves my boiler when I'm done building it or if I'll need to get the neighbors 2940 JD with loader.......

My boiler is now at least sitting upright on it's own...

The "REAL" green tractor in my barn is a 1957 520 (Waterloo) wide front, which is the best combo going of built for stout + modern electricals+hydraulics . But it has no front loader .... Modern JDs pale, in my opinion, compared to the pre-planned-obsolescence models that pre-dated about 1960.

 

[pybyr]

I put my Tarm in the same way but with a slightly smaller tractor. It didn't quite reach the floor so we had to get the rollers underneath it in order to release the chain. I remember the feeling of getting it up in place. I ran mine for 3 seasons without storage and am looking forward to this season with it. My tank is done now and I just have to adjust one corner of the liner that is pulling down too much. I hope to have it charged by the end of the weekend. Good luck with the install!

WoodNotOil- you are a practical + philosophical inspiration & trail-blazer for the rest of us - please keep us posted on our progess

 

[nicoflyer]

Pybyr when you get your econoburn up and running I curious if you have any problems with smoke .
I saw one in a warehouse and it let out smoke whenever the door was opened to load wood.

Nicoflyer

 

[pybyr]

Pybyr when you get your econoburn up and running I curious if you have any problems with smoke .
I saw one in a warehouse and it let out smoke whenever the door was opened to load wood.

Nicoflyer

Nicoflyer- having fooled with wood and other alt-fuels for 20+years, it's a rare non-corporate-derived heat source that won't give you _some_ minor sense of its presence. My existing heating systems (waterford stanley cooker for mild weather + Sam Daniels wood furnace for serious cold weather + oil [ThermoPride] for when I am away] usually give some little whiff of woodsmoke when loading or starting up. not a big deal, to me, at least.

It doesn't bother me at all unless the back-puffed-smoke becomes so hugely-substantial that I and everything I own starts to smell -heavily- like wood-smoked bacon for months on end, as occurred during 1991 when I rented a place with a poorly- installled early 1970s Tarm and a woodstove with a bad chimney that wouldn't draw if its life depended on it. At that time, I didn't even want to think of wood or bacon for the better part of a year (or two) later.... but an occasional whiff of woodsmoke-- who cares?; it's kind of cozy. If you do happen to be one of those who cares. consider rigging or retro-fitting a "hood" to catch the smoke that comes out when you load the firebox, as comes standard with the Woodgun, or as some others, like the EKO owner who is "liquiddinner" on YouTube improvised for himself

 

[pybyr]

Pybyr when you get your econoburn up and running I curious if you have any problems with smoke .
I saw one in a warehouse and it let out smoke whenever the door was opened to load wood.

Nicoflyer

Nicoflyer- having fooled with wood and other alt-fuels for 20+years, it's a rare non-corporate-derived heat source that won't give you _some_ minor sense of its presence. My existing heating systems (waterford stanley cooker for mild weather + Sam Daniels wood furnace for serious cold weather + oil {ThermoPride] for when I am away] usually give some little whiff of woodsmoke when loading or starting up. not a big deal, to me, at least.

It doesn't bother me at all unless the back-puffed-smoke becomes so hugely-substantial that I and everything I own starts to smell -heavily- like woodsmoked bacon for months on end, as occurred during 1991 when I rented a place with a poorly- installl-ed early 1970s Tarm and a woodstove with a bad chimney that wouldn't draw if its life depended on it. At that time, I didn't even want to think of wood or bacon for the better part of a year (or two or three...) later.... but an occasional whiff of woodsmoke-- who cares?; it's kind of cozy. If you do happen to be one of those who cares. consider rigging or retro-fitting a positive-draft"hood" to catch the smoke that comes out when you load the firebox, as comes standard with the Woodgun, or as some others, like the EKO owner who is "liquiddinner" on YouTube improvised for himself

 

[nicoflyer]

pybyr

What if I install a draft inducer on a switch and use it on start-up and when loading with wood.
Also do you think that a fresh air makeup would help?

Nicoflyer

 

[antknee2]

Pybyr when you get your econoburn up and running I curious if you have any problems with smoke .
I saw one in a warehouse and it let out smoke whenever the door was opened to load wood.

Nicoflyer

You might want to try open the bottom door a 1/4'' after you shut down the blower and open the blast gate , then open slowly .
Hope this helps
Anthony

 

[pybyr]

nicoflyer-

a lot depends on your details of installation- such as how well your chimney draws, how close your boiler will be to living space, and how air/ weather tight the overall dwelling is,

draft inducers add their own aspects of cost, complexity, and possible adverse consequences, so I would only consider adding one after the fact if you find you really have no other options

as far as fresh air makeup, if you are in a really recently-built, highly air-sealed/ insulated home, you may want to consider it - in my case, with an 1830 +/- farmhouse, even after much effort at insulation and air sealing, there's no shortage of available intake air, so I have not had to do any "heavy thinking" there. My chimney, which I rebuilt from cellar to roof in 1999, draws like a banshee, because I carefully designed and built it to be that way (8" round tile lined flue exclusively for the wood unit)- so I have few worries about how much draft I'll be able to get to pull the smoke upwards through the firebox

if you are totally new to wood, there will inevitably be some new "learning curve" compared to oil, natural gas, or propane.

If you want a heating system that is a set it and forget it appliance that you never have to know about or interact with, no wood system (yet) will be that.

There's well known saying that heating with wood is not only a fuel choice, it's a way of life.

The good news is that the better systems available now (better gasifiers like Tarm, Econoburn, EKO + heat storage) will come a lot closer than anything else to date to being something that, if you "do it right" (with both install and operation) will be pretty efficient, clean, and easy to use

 

[Willman]

because I carefully designed and built it to be that way (8” round tile lined flue exclusively for the wood unit)

Trevor, Did you install the 8" rounds in a standard lift ? If so did you use anything to insulate it ? Did the flue have the tongue and grooves on the ends ? Thanks.
Will

 

[pybyr]

because I carefully designed and built it to be that way (8” round tile lined flue exclusively for the wood unit)

Trevor, Did you install the 8" rounds in a standard lift ? If so did you use anything to insulate it ? Did the flue have the tongue and grooves on the ends ? Thanks.
Will

the 8" round flue tiles were standard-manufactured, though at the time, non-stock/ special ordered. it's generally-accepted, although infrequently-bothered-with, that round flues create and maintain a better draft than rectangular or square ones

they had the standard tongue and groove mouths, and were buttered and butted with refractory goo at the joints between tile sections.

they are not insulated, as such, but the structural chimney around them is 8" chimney block in the cellar, and then chimney brick from there up, with relatively little solid contact from the tile flues to the surrounding chimney structure, except for some "dollops" of scrap brick and a bit of excess mortar here and there to make sure the chimney tile stay straight and true, during install and in the future.

that way the tiles are well-supported, physically, by the chimney structure, but the chimney does not act as a "heat sink" that would take heat out of the tiles and spoil the chimney's draft.

 

[Willman]

it’s generally-accepted, although infrequently-bothered-with, that round flues create and maintain a better draft than rectangular or square ones

Thanks for the reply. All prefabbed chimneys are round so why shouldn't masonry be round ? I have already checked out my local supplier and they carry the rounds, although they said they are not as popular as the squares. Prolly a square peg round hole deal with the masons. Round is most efficient though.A little more in cost. He told me that with a lift and a half I could stack 3, 6" in one chimney. Spendy but worth it for multi use. Another poster here used a pour in insulation in his chimney. That IMHO is the "hot setup"

Will

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

it’s generally-accepted, although infrequently-bothered-with, that round flues create and maintain a better draft than rectangular or square ones

Thanks for the reply. All prefabbed chimneys are round so why shouldn't masonry be round ? I have already checked out my local supplier and they carry the rounds, although they said they are not as popular as the squares. Prolly a square peg round hole deal with the masons. Round is most efficient though.A little more in cost. He told me that with a lift and a half I could stack 3, 6" in one chimney. Spendy but worth it for multi use. Another poster here used a pour in insulation in his chimney. That IMHO is the "hot setup"

Square tiles are easier to breach. I think that's pretty much it, in terms of the benefit that folks see in them...

Joe