Gasification wood boilers?

[Joseph Acquisto]

Considering a wood boiler to replace/augment and existing oil boiler in a hydronic baseboard system.

Thoughts, experiences?

 

[rancher2]

Well I own a Garn and wish I wouldn't ever bought it. Installed it in 2009 and have had it go down twice with leaks on bad welds. Have had to spend a lot of money on repairs and propane when it was down for repairs. Looks like your in New York I would give Switzer's a look at. I wish I would have bought one of Gary's boiler's.

 

[cumminstinkerer]

I am on my Second year with a Polar G2+ and love it, I am also running with 1500 gallons of storage, have had zero issues with the boiler, it has taken a while to get all of my personal controls for the rest of my system to play nice with the boiler. I had an Econoburn 100 before, nice boiler but way more difficult to run, the Polar is load and go, twice a year clean the exhaust fan and every couple of days take in coals out of the reaction chamber (lower tunnel) throw coals back in burn chamber, remove remaining ashes, and good to go, I also run the easy sweep lever every time I load. Full disclosure I have some ties to Polar but would be glad to visit with you, shoot me a PM if you want to chat.

Jason

 

[Mike Van]

I run a Garn too, the 1000 gal one, 12 years now i think - No problems with mine. Before that for 20 years i guess i had a Harmon add on boiler, no storage, auto damper. I hold the unofficial record here for unreported unresponded chimney fires. No matter what you choose to do, it is terribly expensive. Free wood [time to do it] buy wood [some real crooks out there] My Garn needs wood dried one summer, but it can burn pine, tulip, whatever - but not wet fresh cut wood like the old OWB's. Gasser boilers alone probably start over 15k now, plus installation [most need to be inside to keep the storage warm] So there's a building, and cost for that. This place hearthdotcom has a boiler section with a lot of knowledgeable people there. Do all the research you can before you start spending $$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

[fields_mj]

My suggestion is talk to people in your area that have one, and are using it to do something similar to what you want to do. Find out how much wood the burn. I have looked into outdoor boilers repeatedly, and never took the plunge. My home was built to heat with an indoor add-on style wood furnace. The unit I have now was made in 1980. The house is an extremely poorly insulated 2200 sq ft ranch built in 1959. It has 6 widows that each measure 7 ft tall by 4 ft wide and they are original. I'm in central Indiana. Most years I burn a little less than 4 cords of hickory and oak. On a really cold year where we are below freezing most of the season and have a lot of days that are well below 20deg, I've burned as many as 6 cords. Every dealer I spoke too said that with an OWB I would likely burn 8 to 12 cords per year. If I were in the country with 100 acres of woods, I'd be fine with that option. Since I live on the edge of a small town and have to drive to go cut and haul my firewood, I can't justify doubling my wood consumption. This is just my experience and circumstances, so your mileage will likely vary.

 

[husqvarna257]

I have a Central boiler 1450 gasser. It runs well and with18-24 month seasoned wood I maybe burn 6 cord of wood for a 2000 sq ft home, heat and hot water. No storage tank needed it circulates 24/7 to a heat exchanger for the house system. I set the indoor boiler aquastat low so the propane never goes on. The reaction chamber in the 1450 gets up to 1200* with 1050 average so plenty of heat.