woodgun
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Loggie
This is my fourth year with the woodgun. This is the best year I have had with it. By reading the Hearth forum have been abe to
fine tune it. Heat about 4700 sq ft ranch with full basement. Burner is in the pole barn.
Are you using a woodgun or thinking on buying?
This is my fourth year with the woodgun. This is the best year I have had with it. By reading the Hearth forum have been abe to
fine tune it. Heat about 4700 sq ft ranch with full basement. Burner is in the pole barn.
Are you using a woodgun or thinking on buying?
If you get a chance call Warne Bryant he is a Woodgun dealer and operates one to heat his home . Wayne sold me the Seton W-130 , he did not like the Seton or the Greenwood , he loves his Woodgun boiler . If you speak to Wayne let me know how he doing .Anthony
http://www.heatall.com/furnaces/woodgun.html
http://www.heatall.com/furnaces/woodgun.html
I met Wayne at the NYS Farm Show recently. He showed me all around the Wood Gun. Very impressive wood gasification boiler. One thing he pointed out is that the draft is pulled through the firebox and secondary air supply--instead of being pushed like most other gasifiers with draft blowers. I'm not sure of the advantages of doing this, if any, but I suspect it's easier to control that way. From what I could see with the floor model, nice workmanship and design; big pricetag.
Booo,I do not have a boiler yet I have been looking around a couple years and I will buy one soon and the woodgun and the garn are what I'm looking the hardest at.I am trying to do my homework and I'm finding a wealth of info here.The woodgun looks to me to be a good choice in the stainless version with no storage with 80gal inside.On the other hand you are close to the cost of a garn with storage built in.It seems you had to do your share of fiddling to take so long to be happy with your boilers performance.What are your observations at this point.Are you able to burn large chunk wood?I want to put the unit in my walkout basement what are your thoughts on this.I'm thinking the woodgun in the steel version with homemade storage if I go that route, thanks
loggie When I installed my woodgun I had zero "0" experience with wood furnaces. Tried burning half dried and green wood,would puke back out the air intake, there is
still black stain on the wall 4 ft away. Would open damper all the way and it back puffed. My chimney was all wrong. Tried summer potable hot water, to short of cycle without storage.
Them short cycles would load the burner with creosote. Large chunks of wood burn real good and so do small pieces, save my big chunks for all nighters.
If you put the wood gun in your walk out you will definitely want the smoke hood over the furnace door for smoke and gas. Am working on storage for the
summer right now
If you start out knowing about gasification you will be happy.
still black stain on the wall 4 ft away. Would open damper all the way and it back puffed. My chimney was all wrong. Tried summer potable hot water, to short of cycle without storage.
Them short cycles would load the burner with creosote. Large chunks of wood burn real good and so do small pieces, save my big chunks for all nighters.
If you put the wood gun in your walk out you will definitely want the smoke hood over the furnace door for smoke and gas. Am working on storage for the
summer right now
If you start out knowing about gasification you will be happy.
Welcome to the Boiler Room, renewablejohn. I believe you're our first member from the UK. Hopefully the first of many.
We've discussed alternatives to water around here in the past, and the general consensus is that while you might see some marginal benefit from oil or parafin or some other alternative, you get a lot more bang for the buck (or Euro, even) with plain water. I guess it would depend to some extent on how much water you're talking about, but 1,000 gallons of any kind of oil is going to be a lot more expensive and potentially harder to handle than free water.
The Wood Gun is actually a brand of wood gasifier made in Pennsylvania. It has a somewhat different design than the European-style downdraft gasifiers many of us have, but it's not all that different.
I'm curious what your options are for gasification boilers on your side of the pond. What are some of your options?
We've discussed alternatives to water around here in the past, and the general consensus is that while you might see some marginal benefit from oil or parafin or some other alternative, you get a lot more bang for the buck (or Euro, even) with plain water. I guess it would depend to some extent on how much water you're talking about, but 1,000 gallons of any kind of oil is going to be a lot more expensive and potentially harder to handle than free water.
The Wood Gun is actually a brand of wood gasifier made in Pennsylvania. It has a somewhat different design than the European-style downdraft gasifiers many of us have, but it's not all that different.
I'm curious what your options are for gasification boilers on your side of the pond. What are some of your options?
Eric
Thanks for the welcome I have only ventured once before over the pond to the practical machinist site. there is a similar site in the UK which by the looks of it has covered most of your subjects but from a European perspective. The site is actually operated by a renewable energy supplier but the forum has reached a cult status although the views expressed may upset some of your forum members.
www.navitron.org.uk
sign up as a member and you will see loads on gasification boilers etc available in europe
The reason for the thermal oil heating is that we have in europe a steam generator which converts thermal oil at 260C-300C into steam at 150PSI without the dangers associated with a wet steam boiler. Hence all the steam engine technology of 100 years ago becomes available for the domestic market what is required is a small boiler like the woodgun suitably modified hence the reason for joining the forum.
Thanks for the welcome I have only ventured once before over the pond to the practical machinist site. there is a similar site in the UK which by the looks of it has covered most of your subjects but from a European perspective. The site is actually operated by a renewable energy supplier but the forum has reached a cult status although the views expressed may upset some of your forum members.
www.navitron.org.uk
sign up as a member and you will see loads on gasification boilers etc available in europe
The reason for the thermal oil heating is that we have in europe a steam generator which converts thermal oil at 260C-300C into steam at 150PSI without the dangers associated with a wet steam boiler. Hence all the steam engine technology of 100 years ago becomes available for the domestic market what is required is a small boiler like the woodgun suitably modified hence the reason for joining the forum.
Thanks for the link, John. Pretty cool. Just what I need--another wood gasification forum.
I'm not sure that the AHS Wood Gun is all stainless steel. I think it may be just the firebox, not the entire pressure vessel. I'm trying to think of another ss gasification boiler, but can't at the moment.
I'll have to check out that site in more detail. Hopefully we can get some cross-cultural exchanges going. I don't know what could be controversial about wood gasification, but I guess we'll see.
What do you heat with?
I'm not sure that the AHS Wood Gun is all stainless steel. I think it may be just the firebox, not the entire pressure vessel. I'm trying to think of another ss gasification boiler, but can't at the moment.
I'll have to check out that site in more detail. Hopefully we can get some cross-cultural exchanges going. I don't know what could be controversial about wood gasification, but I guess we'll see.
What do you heat with?
Eric
We have an Esse wood cooker with central heating back boiler and a Yeoman woodstove with back boiler also linked in to the central heating accumulator tank.
The Yeoman is useless and will be replaced with a wood pellet stove once we start manufacturing wood pellets.
I am struggling to get a response from AHS with regard to there woodgun being able to use thermal oil. are they always slow at responding
We have an Esse wood cooker with central heating back boiler and a Yeoman woodstove with back boiler also linked in to the central heating accumulator tank.
The Yeoman is useless and will be replaced with a wood pellet stove once we start manufacturing wood pellets.
I am struggling to get a response from AHS with regard to there woodgun being able to use thermal oil. are they always slow at responding
I can't speak for wood gun but alot of the manufacturs over here are having a hard time keeping up as gasification is new here and there is a huge demand for education. I don't have a wood gun as I have an eko80 (orlan) but looked at the wood gun and they are a very well build unit.
I just joined your forum and hope to learn.
leaddog
I just joined your forum and hope to learn.
leaddog
I got some prices on the woodguns in 06, they went up in the stainless version considerably,and this prompted them to build a steel model the 06 prices were $6896.00 for the 100 $7977.00 for the 140 and $8459.00 for the 180 all in stainless.An interesting thing about them is for about $1500.00 more they include a oil fired backup unit internal to the boiler using the same chimney as the gasifier section.This could be very good for someone who has only one chimney.If I didn't already have an oil boiler I would go that way.I could even pick up the unit in PA and save the shipping,but I am leaning to the garn.thanks for all your replys.
They are now offering steel and stainless lines. The price is basically about $2k more for the stainless firebox at most sizes.
I guess it is impossible to say for sure, but ... entertain anyway please. If an install included pressurized storage on the loop that feed to and from the furnace (at least that portion of the system under pressure) and also included a mixing valve on the furnace return line to keep temps above 120 degrees. (that is the # I've been reading) Then the benefit of the stainless unit would be much less? Figuring that storage would allow for a full burn cycle rather than toggling off and on. And the higher return temps assisting the unit in avoiding corrosion resulting from lower temps. Correct thinking or am I missing something here?
I guess it is impossible to say for sure, but ... entertain anyway please. If an install included pressurized storage on the loop that feed to and from the furnace (at least that portion of the system under pressure) and also included a mixing valve on the furnace return line to keep temps above 120 degrees. (that is the # I've been reading) Then the benefit of the stainless unit would be much less? Figuring that storage would allow for a full burn cycle rather than toggling off and on. And the higher return temps assisting the unit in avoiding corrosion resulting from lower temps. Correct thinking or am I missing something here?
As I recall, the Wood Gun used to be called the Eshland, and they had a big problem with the boilers corroding out before their time. The company was sold and one of the fixes they made was the use of stainless steel. Since the Wood Gun uses somewhat different technology than a conventional downdraft gasifier (draft air is drawn instead of being pushed, it has an ash cyclone, etc.) there may be something about the design that was causing the problems that the use of stainless somehow fixes.
But in a typical boiler of almost any type, if you can keep return water temps above 140 when it's operating, low return water temp corrosion shouldn't be an issue. From what I've been told, it's less of a concern with cast iron, but still possible.
What many people don't realize about low temp corrosion is that it happens inside the firebox, not inside the water jacket. And in a typical wood-fired boiler, the return water inlet is right about in the spot where chunks of wood tend to bang into the back of the firebox if you're not careful throwing wood in--or you let some teenage boy do it. They ring the bell every time.
But in a typical boiler of almost any type, if you can keep return water temps above 140 when it's operating, low return water temp corrosion shouldn't be an issue. From what I've been told, it's less of a concern with cast iron, but still possible.
What many people don't realize about low temp corrosion is that it happens inside the firebox, not inside the water jacket. And in a typical wood-fired boiler, the return water inlet is right about in the spot where chunks of wood tend to bang into the back of the firebox if you're not careful throwing wood in--or you let some teenage boy do it. They ring the bell every time.
Hey R J!
Just as a reality check, what are you paying for petrol over there? Diesel just went to $3.75 a gallon here after that refinery incident down in Texas last month.
Not trying to hijack the thread...
Just as a reality check, what are you paying for petrol over there? Diesel just went to $3.75 a gallon here after that refinery incident down in Texas last month.
Not trying to hijack the thread...
Redox
Stop complaining in the UK Diesel is £1.09 per litre convert that to dollars and your funny gallons and then start laughing at us for paying such a stupid price.
Back to the thread. I am interested in the stainless because of the perceived corrosion problems associated with low temperatures and also Thermal oil can be corrosive which is why industrial process industry always uses stainless as there first choice of material.
Stop complaining in the UK Diesel is £1.09 per litre convert that to dollars and your funny gallons and then start laughing at us for paying such a stupid price.
Back to the thread. I am interested in the stainless because of the perceived corrosion problems associated with low temperatures and also Thermal oil can be corrosive which is why industrial process industry always uses stainless as there first choice of material.
renewablejohn said:
Just a question as I don't know much about thermal oil but is that the same oil that they use in transformers? Not the oil with PCB's but the new stuff. I have a neighbor that scraps transformers and he gives it away to people that burn waste oil. Maybe there is a market?????????
leaddog
leaddog
does not matter what the oil is so long as it can cope with temperatures of 260C to 300C. I would imagine transformers are kept at a lower temperature than this.
does not matter what the oil is so long as it can cope with temperatures of 260C to 300C. I would imagine transformers are kept at a lower temperature than this.
I installed a S.S. 1/2 mill btu woodgun and in 3 months we are already experiecing ceramic failure , company says warrany is invalad due to high loading and constant firing , have gone through about 20 cord wood , client didnt have a pre seasoned wood supply (and may never at that rate). Nice design though. I see a couple of companies are selling outdoor dropin replacements for the inefficient smokers.
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