The Garn is finished. So what to do now. Not for sure how much I want to invest in burning wood. Have a fair amount of wood on hand. Don't want another Garn or a OWB. Had the Garn 2000. Would only look at a indoor boiler to put back in the Garn barn. I do have another 2000 gallon stainless tank that was a old milk pickup truck tank that could be used for storage. Do I dare look at a used boiler? What is out there for bigger indoor style boiler and what is the cost? Propane and electric are my back up.
What to do now.
- Thread starter hedge wood
- Start date
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That sucks as wood burning time is approaching
What is your expected life of burning wood where you are living now?
Garn was a system on my short list then i saw your issues.
My Econoburn will be going on season 15 this year,paperwork received with it gave it a 25 years warranty to make you feel good when buying it, since then i have read the issues some people had and the support they received.
I am starting to build a shop and am considering what i want to do for heat.I thought of upgrading my house boiler and using the Econoburn for the shop.So far i have no real complaints on the Econoburn, but the problems others had are on my mind.
I will probably burn wood long enough to use up one more new boiler, just haven't decided where/what to try.
What is your expected life of burning wood where you are living now?
Garn was a system on my short list then i saw your issues.
My Econoburn will be going on season 15 this year,paperwork received with it gave it a 25 years warranty to make you feel good when buying it, since then i have read the issues some people had and the support they received.
I am starting to build a shop and am considering what i want to do for heat.I thought of upgrading my house boiler and using the Econoburn for the shop.So far i have no real complaints on the Econoburn, but the problems others had are on my mind.
I will probably burn wood long enough to use up one more new boiler, just haven't decided where/what to try.
Salecker I guess the only thing I know at this point is come Monday I am going to pre buy some propane in full and get my tank filled and make sure all my furnaces are working on propane. I was happy when my 21 year old propane direct vent water heater fired up and has been running well. To answer your question I don't know how much longer I can and would be burning wood. I was hoping the Garn would finish me out. I am in my 60's and my health isn't the greatest. Wife is not ready to sell the farms and move south. She doesn't even want to go south for the winter. I haven't started to do any pricing on indoor boilers but I am sure the minimum I would put into a new system would be twenty grand and if I went to a Switzer it would probably be thirty to thirty five grand. I never saw the break even or saving in using the Garn but I got some pasture ground cleaned up and was nice and warm in the winter. I can take part of a new system off my taxes as I would use a new boiler to heat my farm shop. Should I look at any thing used or is that buying someone else problems? What is everyone have for indoor boilers and how well do they like them.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
So the Garn never saved money, and you have considerable infrastructure in place. If you gonall
Propane have you figured out the cost yet? I wouldn’t want to be subservient to my boiler bast the age of 65. Heat the shop with a wood furnace and replace the AC with a heat pump when it needs to be repaired and keeping a propane furnace for backup heat. That sounds like the easiest route.
Propane have you figured out the cost yet? I wouldn’t want to be subservient to my boiler bast the age of 65. Heat the shop with a wood furnace and replace the AC with a heat pump when it needs to be repaired and keeping a propane furnace for backup heat. That sounds like the easiest route.
cumminstinkerer
Burning Hunk
@hedge wood I have been very happy with my polar, you can put it in the garn barn and use most of existing setup, aside from needing to add the storage, I am running with 1500 gal of non pressurized with my G2+ and love it.
@hedge wood
@cumminstinkerer was running a modified Econoburn for a couple years.His experiences with his new boiler has peaked my interest in the G2+
@cumminstinkerer was running a modified Econoburn for a couple years.His experiences with his new boiler has peaked my interest in the G2+
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
You can buy a Heatmaster G series (gasser) OWB for under $20k (well under, depending on the size you need) and while they are OWB, they are also approved for indoor install.
Dad has a HM G10000 (the big dog) heating 2 farm houses and 2 shops (one pretty large) and honestly its a lil on the big side for that load (except maybe when its really cold...gassers like to be run hard, don't oversize. I tried to get him to consider the G7000, but the G10 was already so much smaller firebox than the Central Boiler that the HM was replacing, they were just gun shy...turns out the G7 would have been fine. Even so they went from 20+ cords/yr down to about 11 after doing the upgrade.
No need to add any storage either.
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PassionForFire&Water
Minister of Fire
cumminstinkerer
Burning Hunk
Martin, I'll be glad to chat, you know how to reach me @brenndatomu is not wrong about gassers but The polar is unique because it will idle, I have gone 72 hours between fire cycles and not had to add a flame, I have not had issues with any buildup from idle time, not going to heatmaster cant or wont I just have no experience with them, I wont bash any company without firsthand knowledge!
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
Hate to hear that about your Garn. I've been following that thread since you started it. I always thought they built a good boiler and stood behind their product. Guess not.
IMHO you are throwing good money after bad if you get another boiler. I'd just stick with burning propane since you are older in age. If you are wanting to burn wood to be self sufficient then that's another conversation all together.
I always get a good laugh when I hear people say that burning wood is free, yet they are using a $800 chainsaw that runs on $4 gallon gasoline, and use $15 a gallon bar oil. If you look at it from an economics stand point you'll probably never get your money back. I asked my dad a few days ago why he stopped burning wood, his response was "to save a few dollars a month on the gas bill". They are on NG though which has been really cheap due to the glut of NG in the U.S.. The only way I could see you getting your money back is if propane went back up to $4 a gallon and the price of electric skyrockets. I don't believe either of those is going to happen.
IMHO you are throwing good money after bad if you get another boiler. I'd just stick with burning propane since you are older in age. If you are wanting to burn wood to be self sufficient then that's another conversation all together.
I always get a good laugh when I hear people say that burning wood is free, yet they are using a $800 chainsaw that runs on $4 gallon gasoline, and use $15 a gallon bar oil. If you look at it from an economics stand point you'll probably never get your money back. I asked my dad a few days ago why he stopped burning wood, his response was "to save a few dollars a month on the gas bill". They are on NG though which has been really cheap due to the glut of NG in the U.S.. The only way I could see you getting your money back is if propane went back up to $4 a gallon and the price of electric skyrockets. I don't believe either of those is going to happen.
cumminstinkerer
Burning Hunk
Scott, I sure don't disagree on the price recovery, unless you get logs for free, like I do, or martin's case need to clear stuff anyway and have the equipment already
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Yeah I have to agree, about the only way I'm burning propain over wood is if I physically can't do the wood thing.
Seeing how Hedgewood has been set up to burn wood already his payback will be a lot shorter.
I am 61 this year and have no plans on stopping burning wood for the next 20 years
In fact i am heading logging for my semi retirement, just bought a 518 grapple skidder to go with the 219 buncher i bought a couple years ago.
I totally expect to wear out my Econoburn, and then have to replace it with another boiler in the future
I am 61 this year and have no plans on stopping burning wood for the next 20 years
In fact i am heading logging for my semi retirement, just bought a 518 grapple skidder to go with the 219 buncher i bought a couple years ago.
I totally expect to wear out my Econoburn, and then have to replace it with another boiler in the future
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
You could take the 20k he's going to spend on a boiler and put it in the market and use the money he's going to make to pay the propane bill. If he has dedicated equipment to harvest wood that could be sold for even more $$$ to invest. If he's using a tractor to skid logs that he uses on the farm then that's a different story. My tractor pulls double duty too. I'm not your typical man that wants a barn full of stuff either. I often think I'd be further ahead to sell wood at $300 a cord vs burning it. Dealing with PITA people is the deal breaker for me there.
If he gets a gasification boiler that's eligible from the tax credit, and is able to write the boiler off as a farm expense then I could see how it might make financial sense. Outside of that, I'm not sold on the idea.
Burning wood chips in this part of the world just isn't something folks do. I am sure it some areas it works fine.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
Says the guy who recently gave up on a perfectly good functional Caddy wood furnace, that had already paid for itself how many times over, just to put in a OWB and shed for it.
Is their a reason you didn't listen to your own advice? 
I maybe use 2.5 gallons of mix a winter and maybe a gallon of bar oil. (2.5 * 4 + 12 = $22 a winter to cut ~3 winters worth of heat). Even if I would use 3 gallons of mix and 3 gallons of bar oil, that would only be costing me $16 a year in gas/bar oil for the saws. This is ~8 gallons of propane.......less than one days of heat in our place on a typical winter's day. Splitting 3 winters worth of wood also costs me ~$20 total.
Yeah, the equipment does cost $$, but that also has residual value. Propane does not.
With the amount of propane our house uses for heat, since I have started burning wood in ~2012 has already paid for the Kuuma/install, brand new chimney, my saws, splitter and my ATV. All of which have residual value. Heck, I could probably sell the Kuuma for what I paid for it back in 2014.
I do get the whole invest it thing. One can say that with everything though. Going out to eat today at $50, probably ends up costing you $4,000 if you would have invested that money instead, depending on your age. One has to live some too and not become a hermit and invest every thing. You just simply posting on this site is costing you money, as you have to have a phone/computer and paid internet service....ALL of which costs $$$ and which could have been invested instead.
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First I want to say thanks for all the replies and keep them coming. Been doing a little checking on new boilers but mostly been moving loads of wood and moving equipment to other farms, sheds to be able to open the side of the Garn barn up to try to slid it out with out completing taking the Garn barn down. Garn barn is in a equipment storage shed, shop. Building is 60x120x16 and Garn barn is 10x20x8. As far as investing the twenty grand goes I have way too much money in the stock market now. There was good news when the last statement came the other day maybe not so good next time. I have been lucky in my semi retired stage of life I haven't needed that money yet but its there we hope. As far as selling equipment if I did burn wood. Could sell some splitters, buzzsaws and some trailers. Skid steer and tractors are not going any were unless I can get the wife to sell the farms and I don't think that is happening. Most of the expense of installing a new boiler will be a farm expense. That does help some. I understand there is not going to be a pay back on a new boiler. Have found a few lightly used ones Econoburn and a used Tarm. Used does worry me. Don't need to be in the same spot a couple years down the road. I do have another two thousand gallon open storage tank I could use for storage. Its a stainless steel insulated milk tank that was on a straight truck. Its currently setting right next to the Garn barn. I was going to set it up for more storage for the Garn and never got it done. I used it for a transfer tank during a couple of leaks on the Garn. So far I have talked to Gary at Switzer and his units are from fifteen to twenty grand. Have looked at the Econoburn, G2 or G3 Polar , Heatmaster SS G series and looks like they are in that fifteen to twenty grand area also. Called Froling and never got a call back. These are all round figures. Have I missed any I should look at. Probably will take another five grand to get back up and going. All those little things always add up.
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
Guess I should know better than to have a reasonable conversation about alternatives to wood burning on a site dedicated to wood burning.
It almost feels like I walked into a Harley shop and told them that Honda’s are the greatest thing since slice bread.
It almost feels like I walked into a Harley shop and told them that Honda’s are the greatest thing since slice bread.
hobbyheater
Minister of Fire
Coming up on 76 ,have been burning wood for the last 45 and long as firewood is available will keep burning wood !
hobbyheater
Minister of Fire
We can have a reasonable conversation about alternatives to burning wood and I welcome it. I haven't wrote that big check yet and may or may not. That is why I am looking at the used market. I am not totally sure I want to make another big investment in wood burning. If I go totally back to propane I would need to buy a propane tank for my shop as I haven't used my propane furnace since 2005 sold the tank to a buddy that needed one. Would need to install a propane boiler or hot water heater to run my floor heat as the Garn has been the only thing ever hooked to in floor heat. I did run propane in the house during both times when I had the leaks in the Garn. I do like to wear my Kubota hat to the John Deere dealer also. LOL.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
I guess I don't see any unreasonable conversations.
Just playing a little devil's advocate using my own numbers. 
I get what you are saying and I have always questioned the ROI on some of those high dollar boiler installs. It becomes even more questionable if they have short lifespans.
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
I was replying to my friend from Wisconsin's ( you know who you are ) post and your post came in before mine. He likes to come in here and stir up the pot.
My personal situation is a lot different than someone else's. I'm not near retirement age , nor am I planning on moving south anytime soon, and as of this writing I'm in pretty good health. I moved to a OWB because I was tired of tearing up my yard with my totes of wood, tired of the mess in the house, and last but not least my Caddy was going on 12 years old and the exhaust pipe is known to start rotting at around that mark. I'm a firm believer in knowing when to cut my losses and run. I also knew the all you could eat 30% ( yes, that's what it ended up being ) rebate ( thank you Uncle Joe ) that they were offering at that time would be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I paid way off MSRP for my OWB. I probably could sell it today and have only lose a couple grand.
If money isn't and object and you still want to be burn wood then I'd definitely consider all of the options you are looking at. Polar makes a really nice boiler, and so does Heatmaster. If money wasn't an object I'd of bought a Froling boiler with all of the fixings but I had a budget I needed to stick with so I opted for a gasification OWB.
) post and your post came in before mine. He likes to come in here and stir up the pot.My personal situation is a lot different than someone else's. I'm not near retirement age , nor am I planning on moving south anytime soon, and as of this writing I'm in pretty good health. I moved to a OWB because I was tired of tearing up my yard with my totes of wood, tired of the mess in the house, and last but not least my Caddy was going on 12 years old and the exhaust pipe is known to start rotting at around that mark. I'm a firm believer in knowing when to cut my losses and run. I also knew the all you could eat 30% ( yes, that's what it ended up being ) rebate ( thank you Uncle Joe ) that they were offering at that time would be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I paid way off MSRP for my OWB. I probably could sell it today and have only lose a couple grand.
If money isn't and object and you still want to be burn wood then I'd definitely consider all of the options you are looking at. Polar makes a really nice boiler, and so does Heatmaster. If money wasn't an object I'd of bought a Froling boiler with all of the fixings but I had a budget I needed to stick with so I opted for a gasification OWB.
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You may be able to recoup something from the Garn...
Be honest about it and advertise it.
I sell Ford's that are broke down or rolled all the time. I personally will not drive one, don't like anything about them. But there are Ford lovers who will buy a broke down or rolled Ford to fix up.
There is a Garn lover out there that would fix and use it.
Be honest about it and advertise it.
I sell Ford's that are broke down or rolled all the time. I personally will not drive one, don't like anything about them. But there are Ford lovers who will buy a broke down or rolled Ford to fix up.
There is a Garn lover out there that would fix and use it.
No guarantee's on the market...
Just like a Garn, you think your good but then it lets you down.
It would suck to be buying propane in your old age relying on the stock market to keep you warm.
One crash and you are in a cold home with no income to heat it
Oil prices spike again, tough luck married to propane.
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