forced air vs boiler

[CrappieKeith]

Keith is correct (not sucking up tho, bud!). The gasifier has the best combustion efficiency, but you need lots of storage, very well insulated, to make it work effectively. To run a gasifier, you basically have to "blast burn". Build a fire, let it burn, heat the water in your storage, then it shuts down. I have a Central CB 5036 heating a 1200 s.f. house, 800 s.f. shop, adding domestic h.w. soon, maybe a small greenhouse in the future. I have forced air heat/A.C., but no basement. If I did, I would go with the forced air furnace, you can add an electronic air filter, humidifier, etc., and if you want to get really fancy, you can zone the ductwork. But, a well-designed hydronic system, whether baseboard/radiators/radiant, is the most comfortable form of heat made by man.

I'm glad you qualified your comment...LOL Well said...

 

[practicaldesign]

Hi. I ended up with the hopsco, very satisfied, and yes they made some improvements in the past year. I looked at the kuuma vapor 100 & 200, nice and efficient, however for my purposes it didn't have the heat storage volume. Outdoor wood boilers have a dubious reputation in my region, so much so that people ended up using triple the amount of wood and the manufacturers abandoned them. The new models such as the Polar furnace G3 or the Portage & Main secondary burn models are a big improvement. However from 7600$ to 10600$ CDN for the furnace only is a little steep, and the fact that being a little concerned about the fire getting low at -45c for a month at a time makes a water jacket type none too popular with insurance companies.

 

[Bricks]

Keith is correct (not sucking up tho, bud!). The gasifier has the best combustion efficiency, but you need lots of storage, very well insulated, to make it work effectively. To run a gasifier, you basically have to "blast burn". Build a fire, let it burn, heat the water in your storage, then it shuts down. I have a Central CB 5036 heating a 1200 s.f. house, 800 s.f. shop, adding domestic h.w. soon, maybe a small greenhouse in the future. I have forced air heat/A.C., but no basement. If I did, I would go with the forced air furnace, you can add an electronic air filter, humidifier, etc., and if you want to get really fancy, you can zone the ductwork. But, a well-designed hydronic system, whether baseboard/radiators/radiant, is the most comfortable form of heat made by man.

This is not totally true what storage does is helps control the firing times and how often you want to fire the boiler . Storage does not tremendously increase efficiency. We run an EKO 40 gasification boiler with out storage mostly because in winter I am home to fire it. Temps 25 F and above usually fire every 10-11 hours at 0 windy and below about every 6-8 hours we use roughly 6 chords of wood heating 2400 SF plus shop of 896 SF. Running storage would barely save us 8% in wood usage when calculating for heat loss during storage times.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

This is not totally true what storage does is helps control the firing times and how often you want to fire the boiler . Storage does not tremendously increase efficiency. We run an EKO 40 gasification boiler with out storage mostly because in winter I am home to fire it. Temps 25 F and above usually fire every 10-11 hours at 0 windy and below about every 6-8 hours we use roughly 6 chords of wood heating 2400 SF plus shop of 896 SF. Running storage would barely save us 8% in wood usage when calculating for heat loss during storage times.

You are correct in your particular case, the qualifying statement you made is: " I am home to fire it". If you are not home to fire it, then storage capacity for the hot water would be a must, as most owners of these boilers have had to do. Doesn't make it a bad thing tho...

 

[reaperman]

OK, I have been researching the outdoor options. I kinda was sold on the otdoor forced air option due to it simplicity and low cost. My neighbor who is a pipefitter has been working me like a speedbag that it won't work and the boiler is the only was to go. My house is pretty small less then 2000 ft2. Anyone have a forced air ? Especially a Fire Chief?

I have a firechief but its inside like most wood furnaces. Honestly, mine works fine for me, but there are better options out there. The firechief design is nothing new or unique over most wood furnaces. Its basically the same design as furnaces 20 years ago. Dont be sucked in by the secondary burn chamber. In all reality secondary air need to be pre heated first, in this furnace its not. And dont let the thermostatically controlled draft fan lead you on either. Especially if your planning on keeping the furnace outside. When your fire dies down to the point of going out. The fan will kick on and feed the fire, cold outside air that will surly cool down your furnace.