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Author Topic: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler  (Read 12482 times)

Shrek1112

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Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« on: November 03, 2013, 07:59:44 AM »

I am in the market for our first OWB and would like to know what people think the pros and cons of the NCB 325 and the CB 6048. Will be heating 3000 soft home, dhw, and a larger pole barn workshop.  Also wondering the benifitsnof a plate hx vs. a shell tube.  Thank you for any insight. 
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Scott7m

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2013, 08:22:43 AM »

I am in the market for our first OWB and would like to know what people think the pros and cons of the NCB 325 and the CB 6048. Will be heating 3000 soft home, dhw, and a larger pole barn workshop.  Also wondering the benifitsnof a plate hx vs. a shell tube.  Thank you for any insight.

Stoves between these 2 would just come down to personal design preferences, the 325g with air coming in under the fire and over should make for a cleaner and more efficient burn tho

Either would do the job your looking at
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RSI

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2013, 08:33:22 AM »

A plate heat exchanger will be much smaller and cheaper for the same heat transfer ability. A shell in tube will have less restriction so they are used on stuff like pools where you have high flow requirements.
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brownitsdown

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #3 on: June 06, 2014, 09:08:57 AM »

This is how they measure up side by side:

                                       CL 6048                           NCB-325G
BTU                                 500,000 (I believe)          460,000
Firebox Cap                    60 ft3 (my calc)                28.5 ft3
Heat Transfer Area         119 ft2 (94 ft2 my calc)    51 ft2 (my calc)
Separate Ash Pan           None                               39”D x 11.75”W x 4”H
Water Jacket Thickness   ???                                  3/16"
Firebox Thickness            ???                                  1/4"
Water Cap                      393 gal                            325 gal
Firebox Dim                     60" x 48" x 36"                54"D x 30"W x 36"H
Door Dim                         23" x 31"                         27"W x 25.5"H
Weight                            2,450 lbs                          2,313 lbs
Current Price                   $8,570                             $8,480
Warranty                         25 yr limited                     20 yr limited

The Central Boiler 6048 has much more heat transfer surface area, firebox capacity, and water capacity, but only produces 40,000 more BTU's than the NCB-325G (per the #'s).

The Nature's Comfort 325G has an oval firebox with less linear welding to fail, and minimal corner welds to fail.

I've read several reviews of both and both have similar stats when it comes to good and bad reviews.

$90, 5 years in warranty coverage, and 40,000 btus separating these two should make them pretty similar comparisons.

My question is, side by side, which is the better of these two boilers?
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racnruss

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2014, 10:22:19 PM »

Brown, 

did you calculate the surface area of the water jacket that surrounds the chimney and extends way down to almost the bottom of firebox?  That would be the inside and outside surface areas of the water jacket around the chimney because it will get heat from both sides.

Plus the simplicity of Nature's Comfort controls vs. the Central boiler would make it an easy decision for me. $.02

Forced draft vs. natural, air above and below fire, ash pan, shoveling ashes out the loading door sucks.
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brownitsdown

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2014, 09:06:37 AM »

Racnruss, I didn't calculate the dimensions of the ripples in the top of the CL 6048, and I didn't calculate the dimensions of the chimney of the NCB-325G either, so my calcs are rough only. It would be nice if both manufacturers accurately calculated and made all of these data points available to the public.

I personally prefer the design of the Nature's Comfort over the Central Boiler due to the separate ash pan, forced air, and the simplistic design of the firebox leads me to believe is less likely to have weld failures. (Simplicity is GOOD!)

After a large newly completed addition, this coming winter I will be heating my 6k ft2 (more or less) well insulated home and 1k ft2 (more or less) well insulated attached garage via hydronic baseboard heat in the lower level and hydronic radiant floor & baseboard heat in the upper level, along with DHW for the entire house. I may be pushing both the CL 6048 and NCB-325G pretty hard to keep up with my heating demands, and I want to make sure I choose the better of the two performers that will last the longest with the least amount of issues over the duration.

The additional water capacity and BTU's of the CB 6048 lead me to believe that it may be the better choice for my heating needs, but I do lean towards the NCB-325G for the reasons I listed above.

Please help me make the right decision. I am having a tough time making up my mind here and need some professional advice. Thanks!
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RSI

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2014, 06:06:42 PM »

If you think those may be a little too small you could go with the NCB-400G
Water Jacket: 400 gal,
Firebox: 40.0cu/ft (54D x 30W x 46H)
Fuel Door: 27W x 25.5H
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ford tech

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2014, 07:08:46 AM »

MY NEIGHBOR HAS A 6048 AND IS HEATING HIS 3,000 SQ. FT. HOME , A 40 X 60 SHOP AND A 40 X 40 SHOP AND HE HAS BEEN USING IT FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS W/ NO PROBLEMS EXCEPT FOR 1 PUMP.
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HARDY H2 heating 1600sqft home and 42x42 insulated MORTON shop floor heat - installing a cb 6048

brownitsdown

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #8 on: June 10, 2014, 07:44:23 PM »

RSI, the NCB-400G doesn't look like it's been on the market long. Got any real world experience with it and / or feedback about it? It looks like it's just got a 10" taller fire box and larger water tank capacity than the NCB-325G. Are there any other differences? Thanks
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racnruss

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2014, 08:17:27 PM »

OK problem solved, are you ready?

Heatmaster 20000 E!!!!!

check it out
simple controls
stainless steel
555 gallons of water
forced draft above and below fire
ash pan
shaker grates
30x42" door!

can you imagine what will fit through that door?  Load it with a skid steer or small tractor with forks BIG chunks.
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racnruss

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #10 on: June 10, 2014, 08:26:39 PM »

Or....

BL series by P&M. I see they have an even larger one, the 4044.  Just go all the way.
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slimjim

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #11 on: June 11, 2014, 04:04:46 AM »

I could not have said it better myself!
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brownitsdown

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #12 on: June 11, 2014, 08:07:09 AM »

racnruss and slimjim, I don't understand why the sarcasm is necessary. I'm not trying to go for complete overkill, just wanting to make sure whatever I choose will adequately meet my home heating needs.

A majority of the reviews I've read about both the CL 6048 and NCB-325G were from people heating 3k+- ft2 homes and maybe an out building or two. Out buildings don't usually need to be heated as warm as homes do, so it seems like many of the people who have either of these makes / models are only working them at around 1/2 capacity. I'm now entertaining the NCB-400G because it holds less than 10 gallons more water than, and produces the same 500k BTUs as the CL 6048.

Stainless steel is not an option, and my research has narrowed my search down to Central Boiler and Nature's Comfort. I'm posing real world questions here in an attempt to make the best possible purchase.
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slimjim

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #13 on: June 11, 2014, 01:33:24 PM »

WOW, not sure about the sarcasm part but instead simply another option, best of luck on your search, have a nice day!
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brownitsdown

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Re: Natures Comfort vs. Central Boiler
« Reply #14 on: June 11, 2014, 02:26:56 PM »

slimjim, both models racnruss recommended are absolute monsters that produce way more BTUs than I need, and are quite a bit more expensive than the Central Boiler and Nature's Comfort models I'm asking about. That's where I was interpreting the sarcasm from. I apologize if I offended anyone.
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