Whitbread
ArboristSite Operative
Howdy folks, long story shortened up, I'm 99% sure I have another leak forming in my Empyre Elite 200. Already repaired 2 internal leaks and my confidence is gone in a boiler that's only on it's 3rd heating season. I'm just hoping the small weep stays that way through the rest of this heating season. The boiler is in my metal fab shop so doing the repairs isn't an issue, but I shouldn't have to be. Since ProFab/Empyre is out of business, the 25 year warranty means squat now. Other than the leaks, I love the boiler and it runs very well. I built the shop around the IWB installation so I'm not about to reinvent the wheel with an OWB or large hot water storage tanks.
Here are some details about the setup the boiler heats;
-Shop is only 35'x50', but 34' tall 3 story fully insulated (R19 walls and R30 roof) with heated 6" concrete floor on 1st floor
-House is 4100sqft counting finished basement with 12' ceiling in main living room and LOTS of windows in the house. Was originally heated by forced air 225kbtu natural gas furnace, 18"x20" heat exchanger installed in the plenum
-Sidearm exchanger on 80 gallon hot water tank
- Climate is northern Michigan where it's not uncommon to be single digits or below zero for 30+ days straight. 2 years ago January was below zero the entire month.
My only real complaint against the Empyre was when the temp dropped below zero, the firebox wasn't large enough to make it 8 hours at night with my thermal load. At -30F, 5 hours is max before I didn't have enough coals to relight fresh wood. In the teens and 20's, I can easily go 10-14 hours on a full load.
These are the features I would ideally like in a new IWB;
- Gasification unit
- 15-20cu/ft firebox volume to make it through a cold night
- 250-300Kbtu output
- SS firebox if possible
- 6" flue as that's the chimney size
- converting to a pressurized system isn't a deal breaker at all
I've been doing lots of research and the Wood Gun E250 (E180 I'm feeling will be too small unless anyone has experience otherwise) or the Royall 6300HE custom ordered for indoor installation seem to be the closest fit for my needs. I much prefer the 3/8" SS firebox of the Wood Gun, but the side mount cyclonic separator is going to require some custom piping to place on the rear of the boiler to fit my installation space. Are there any other IWB's that I'm missing that I should take into consideration that fit my installation needs?
Thanks everyone!
Here are some details about the setup the boiler heats;
-Shop is only 35'x50', but 34' tall 3 story fully insulated (R19 walls and R30 roof) with heated 6" concrete floor on 1st floor
-House is 4100sqft counting finished basement with 12' ceiling in main living room and LOTS of windows in the house. Was originally heated by forced air 225kbtu natural gas furnace, 18"x20" heat exchanger installed in the plenum
-Sidearm exchanger on 80 gallon hot water tank
- Climate is northern Michigan where it's not uncommon to be single digits or below zero for 30+ days straight. 2 years ago January was below zero the entire month.
My only real complaint against the Empyre was when the temp dropped below zero, the firebox wasn't large enough to make it 8 hours at night with my thermal load. At -30F, 5 hours is max before I didn't have enough coals to relight fresh wood. In the teens and 20's, I can easily go 10-14 hours on a full load.
These are the features I would ideally like in a new IWB;
- Gasification unit
- 15-20cu/ft firebox volume to make it through a cold night
- 250-300Kbtu output
- SS firebox if possible
- 6" flue as that's the chimney size
- converting to a pressurized system isn't a deal breaker at all
I've been doing lots of research and the Wood Gun E250 (E180 I'm feeling will be too small unless anyone has experience otherwise) or the Royall 6300HE custom ordered for indoor installation seem to be the closest fit for my needs. I much prefer the 3/8" SS firebox of the Wood Gun, but the side mount cyclonic separator is going to require some custom piping to place on the rear of the boiler to fit my installation space. Are there any other IWB's that I'm missing that I should take into consideration that fit my installation needs?
Thanks everyone!