gasification boiler 22 cords?

[bayard]

my friend has a new [i year old] gasification boiler.a 6000 sq.ft. 2 family house.i thought they are more efficient?it might be more. there house was built in the late 80,s. they feed it 3 foot long logs 3 or 4 times a day.k

 

[dave_dj1]

Not knowing where they live I say it's possible that with these extremely cold weather we've had this winter they used more than they would have in a normal winter.
I have a friend that lives in an old farmhouse and only heats it to a minimum because he's hardly ever there and is still burning about a cord a week.

Sorry, just saw you live in CT, I'm guessing with the cold and long winter and a not so efficient 6000sf house built in the 80's it seems reasonable. Is his wood dry?
dave

 

[jrider]

3-4 times a day seems absurd for a gasification unit. What does he have for underground lines? He may be losing a ton of heat to the ground.

 

[goosegunner]

What boiler? I haven't heard of a gasification boiler that will take 3' logs?

gg

 

[NSMaple1]

Are you talking real cords?

If he's putting 'logs' in, I'd say he's burning wet &/or green wood - which just won't work right.

Echo above - what boiler exactly?

Sounds to me like operator issues, or a tall tale - they are more efficient.

 

[hanniedog]

They are heating 6,000 sq ft of house so it will require some wood to do that. None of us know all the relevent facts so who knows what the story is.

 

[benp]

Everything as mentioned above.

Many many variables to assess before blaming the boiler.

 

[vinced]

22 cords to heat 6000sf doesn't sound all that unrealistic. Thats a lot of square feet and your not stating what temperature they are keeping it at?

 

[StihlFroling]

A typical OWB install requires zero knowledge or licensing in the mechanical or boiler trade. The install itself is far more important to the system efficiency than the outdoor stove. No zoning, pipes 3-4 times too small, wrong pump sizes, wrong size heat exchangers. Its safe to say half are VERY wrong. When someone can easily Repipe and redesign the system and cut wood use in half, well says a lot about the typical 1 giant loop brochure design. And trying to shove 10-20 GPM thru 3/4" underground lines. Ever wonder why boilers always have big pipe? Cheap cheap cheap and purchases without good research are an OWB salesman dream customer. Its a shame we read so many horror stories that could've been easily prevented with just a little education and understanding. Those OWB's should be rated by cord use per lifespan. We have farms and greenhouses that don't burn 22 cords. It must be 6000 sqft of snow melt for. 22 cord

 

[mtfallsmikey]

are they using any additonal water storage, insulated tank, etc?

 

[captjack]

I have a 6000 sq foot house that I heat with 3 wood burning stoves and only bur about 13 a winter - sounds to me like something is broke or he has a window open somewhere haha

 

[zogger]

They guy is burning twice what he needs to burn because those 3 foot long logs are soaking wet on the inside.

I don't care what anyone says, burning green wood is just not a good idea. It's like poking holes in your gas tank and wondering why you get such crappy mileage.

 

[bayard]

i will go up and take a look at what he is doing.you might be right about the wet wood.k

 

[sunfish]

Sounds real bad!

I heat 1200 sq feet with two cords & 1700 sq foot shop with 3 cords.
Glad as hell I don't have 6000 sq feet!