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[CRJR]

Im getting much more serious about building a stove after the last couple of propane bills. now to my real question is to you guys that have built or bought a gasser is it that much more work to maintain than a traditional stove? I have the ability and tools to build both that is not my concern. My design would be simaler to p&m opt 250-350 for a gasser i dont mind a extra time and money (more time than money) to build a gasser but i have heard that they are to much maintanace keeping the stove clean. this would my first owb i dont mind a little work to keep it clean if the wood usage trade off is their. this web site is seriously the best thing i have ever found on the internet. i would be heating 1275sq. ft. ranch, dhw., and 1200sq. ft shop with raidant floor heat i added up my total btu needed and came up with 132,000 btu. by adding up current furnace and hot water heater in house and water heater(closed loop system) i use to heat the shop with. im just not shure witch way to go. other than away from lining the propane companys pockets i do know im tired of coming home from work and seeing a little blue envelope with a suprise in it hanging from the door knob.i would really like all the feed back i can get.
this is my first post so  i hope this works ill cross my fingers while i click post

[kjw58]

Welcome crjr
 You are right on about this being one of the best sites on the net!!.  I am heating about the same square footage as you are, and  thought about building one myself. I looked at lots of different stoves, both conventional and gassifiers, and I ended up with a Natures Comfort GT-220 gassifer. Basically what it boils down to is you have to have well seasoned wood (around 20% or less moisture) and you will burn far less wood than a conventional stove. As far as cleaning, I give mine a good cleaning about every 14-16 days.  It takes me 30-40 minutes to do this. There is no way that I could cut enough wood in 30-40 minutes every 16 days to make up the difference I am saving in wood.  And as a added bonus there is very little smoke= happy neighbors. The P&M optomizer is also a good design, check out Jackels homemade build on this site, he did a nice job of combining features from the natures comfort and portage & main gassifiers. Whatever you decide to build, keep us posted and remember, without pictures it never happened !!

[Bill G]

Pain right in the N**ts cleaning a gasser.  If I were you, and could have conventional, that is the way to go.  I'd rather burn more free wood than put up with the time spent keeping it dead clean to function properly.  If you are going to build, keep it simple.  Tried and proven using what you think is a good blend of the designs out there.  With easy access to all areas for ease of cleaning.

Best of luck to you, but either will send the propane guy packing.

[petemoss]

My vote is for a gasser with lots of storage. keep it simple & make it easy to clean, like a garn type boiler. good luck with your project.

[CRJR]

Thanks for the feed back. my traditional owb design would be similar to p&m mo30. Im just not Shure about neg feedback on long idle times leading toc reosote buildup affecting efficiency. I was sold on building a gasser hi I might just stick with the old tried and true  and if I don't like it do a gasser build and sell the traditional stove.