Print

[martyinmi]

This is gettin ready to go to a whole other level....  It ain't gonna be purdy...

You got that right! Should be quite a show before all is said and done! Eatin' my popcorn and sippin' a beverage waitin' for the fireworks to begin!

Purdy? Seriously, you must be from Kentucky. Everyone knows it's spelled Purdee

[Scott7m]

This is gettin ready to go to a whole other level....  It ain't gonna be purdy...

You got that right! Should be quite a show before all is said and done! Eatin' my popcorn and sippin' a beverage waitin' for the fireworks to begin!

Purdy? Seriously, you must be from Kentucky. Everyone knows it's spelled Purdee

Oh I'm just waiting, I know one guy who's not going to like it at all.  Then the wise man quote, that was like putting the butter on my popcorn

[boilerman]

Just let me know when you figure it out :-)

This guy is very smart.

Pretty amazing guy indeed. A quick google search shows he owns a 2 year old trucking company with 2 trucks and 4 employees in PA.
Now he is a forum OWF manufacturing expert and metallurgist with all the answers, calling out OWF companies that have been in the business for years and readers here can't wait to give him their hard earned money.
I think a lot of good points have been made so far in this thread. The gassers are another animal because of a damper and potentially more corrosive firebox enviroment making regular maintenance even more important, with the reward of less wood usage and lower emissions, which Randy's fine state of PA and 8 others have already made mandatory.  Scott's comment about building a boiler within a price range that the common man can afford and justify makes sense to me. As far as warranties go, when push comes to shove, I don't think any manufacture has a bumper to bumper no questions asked warranty. The owner has some accountabilty with all purchased products.
I have a great history with my CB OWF, as others also do with their proven established companies OWF's.
Good luck in your OWF company start up. You'd better move fast as it seems EPA is gunning for these mfg's and products.

"The Wise Man builds his house upon the Rock, while the Foolish Man builds his house upon the Sand"
Hey Scott, how about a little more salt & butter on that popcorn, LOL?

[whiteyford1]

Boilerman
Hey isn't google great! If you want any further clarification my business venture please call my personal cell  724 992 2875
For those that won't pick up the phone boilerman is right on...looks like DOT compliance for 2 of my welding trucks implies I'm a truck driver,,,guess so,,,,, since 50% of my business is portable work. Gotta drive one of them this morning to a 10 year old CB, 409 plate on this one. This is not the type of work I enjoy. I do like meeting anyone with a chainsaw and a wood pile. Says a lot about a man.

Oh Ill spare you the entire resume, 400 million civil projects, 30 million in forensic investigation, 2.2 million since starting my business,,,, one month before 51% of the idiot's, (medical IQ term) voted Big 0 in the first time.
I got my stimulus from President Reagan when he invested in defense. Mine was in the form of a JOB and experience. Not an unemployment check and a warm couch.
 
Oh, if you have a son or grandson riding around in an M1A1 Abrams Tank there's a 50% chance my welds are keeping em safe. I worked on about half of the 8000 or so manufactured, I installed the heavy armour, secret stuff.
If you ever saw the largest dragline in PA? Yea I was there, 1of 4 x ray welders on the boom.
Ever drove over the 1.2 mile, I 79 Neville Island Bridge in Pittsburgh, Just 2.2 million in repairs and worked with Lehigh University investigating a few failed welds. 
Pennsylvania Transportaion Institute, Penn State University, 12 million, Superpave in Situ Stess
Strain Investigation and report.
Oh and just for fun; 1994 Toughman Contest runner up. I didn't see "Boilerman" on the card that weekend.

So no I'm not an expert on wood boilers, I'm not a metallurgist, I'm not here to sell anything to members. I do plan to offer a free guide for selecting a unit based on my opinion and supported by facts. I hope to collect as much info as possible.

Scott, you touched on a very important aspect, cost/benefit. MY Experience; I can build a unit for around
$ 3.00/lb with a small profit 7-10% (My steel cost is about $0.65/lb) Check that against what's in your back yard. A 1600lb boiler for $9500.00 = $6/lb.
BTW thank you for the kind words in mentioning your father and I in the same sentence. Some of us just gotta know how things work. Looks like it's time to make some sausage!
Randy

 

[Ohiowood]

OK  .   Hope you get some calls

[oldchenowth]

Hey if the dude wants to do the research and development, I'll read what he has to say.  I'll bet I have read way  more boring research reports and less informative too.  I don't have to buy anything.  But it may give me insight on what to expect from my boiler in a few years.  He seems much smarter than the engineers I work with that claim to be experts.  At least he can put a sentence together, that is more than the idiots I work with.  Most of mine have never seen field work, but by their calculations it should work.

Hopefully I will never be able to send you pics of my leaky boiler, whitey

[whiteyford1]

This is gettin ready to go to a whole other level....  It ain't gonna be purdy...

You got that right! Should be quite a show before all is said and done! Eatin' my popcorn and sippin' a beverage waitin' for the fireworks to begin!

Purdy? Seriously, you must be from Kentucky. Everyone knows it's spelled Purdee

Oh I'm just waiting, I know one guy who's not going to like it at all.  Then the wise man quote, that was like putting the butter on my popcorn

[victor6deep]

This is gettin ready to go to a whole other level....  It ain't gonna be purdy...

You got that right! Should be quite a show before all is said and done! Eatin' my popcorn and sippin' a beverage waitin' for the fireworks to begin!

Purdy? Seriously, you must be from Kentucky. Everyone knows it's spelled Purdee

Oh I'm just waiting, I know one guy who's not going to like it at all.  Then the wise man quote, that was like putting the butter on my popcorn

Its always the guy that repairs the stoves that knows the most. Just my 2 cents

[Scott7m]

Central Boiler 6048 weighs around 2500 pounds. 

$3 bucks a pound, $7500.   Keep in mind that's not went through a distributor or dealer at this point.  Yes you could sell them yourself but to move many units it takes a network, and a network has to be able to make a profit.  7% profit would be $525, I must say that's not much for you or for anyone, especially when the numbers your used go dealing with are millions

I'm willing to bet that CB has 1/3 of that in there 6048. 

I have seen papers that i shouldn't have seen before, from a large owb company.  They were not even making there own stoves, but for example they had $3100 in a stove that retailed for right at $7000.  Once again, they didn't even build it, they had it made. 

So using what I do know as far as the prices I've seen, $3100 to $7000.  Lets use 2.25 as a rough figure, and at 3 dollars a pound the 6048 would cost $7500, x 2.25 by the time it gets to the customer,  $16,875

I know this is all hypothetical, but it does put into perspective the margins there working with to market, distribute, and get there products into dealers hands and to the end user.

[Pit Crew]

You go Randy, I`ll read what you have to say. I like the guy!

[whiteyford1]

Thanks pitcrew, I'm headed back to that leaking CB today, Ill get some pics.
BTW can anyone explain the severe deterioration near the loading door and front corners on these 2300/2400 stoves. I can, anyone else have a guess? It might be worth a million dollars if you do. I'm sure there are others that may know but who would want to deflate stock in the entire market for these gassers.
One hint; never ever run one of these low on water, 10-20 hrs of high heat and hydrogen atmospheres will ruin the fire box depending on the material///including stainless. Some sort of auto shut down should be included on gassers to protect the box. When removing bad plate from some of these I've seen 1/4 water levels indicated by a line stained in the outer tank. These had good door seal but no frame left to seal against, so maaaybe the extra air is making extra heat? Good luck and any winners will get a gift certificate to Chicfillet.

[Scott7m]

Whitey, I find it ironic you have one or the crappiest made stoves I've personally dealt with in my area. It's a common theme around here folks trying to repair leaks in them, had 2 guys here this fall who both were replacing a good portion of the water jacket, both were here buying treatment to put in after they filled it back up.  If I remember correctly one stove was 5 years old and the other 6-7. 

While at the national farm machinery show last week I stopped by the Taylor booth numerous times just to get a chuckle lookin at the welds.  They were high school shop class quality at best, they were rarely even and often times nearly all on one side or the other.  I asked the guy working the booth if that was normal and he said he thought they were good, just not real pretty.  Then we walked over to the other model they had there, it was worse.  My dad was a welding inspector for CSX railroad most of his life and he said those welds would never even pass in a box car just designed to haul anything, ,much less handle heat and hold water.

Once again, not saying anything negative towards you, maybe Taylor used to be better made, but in my business and from my experience Taylor seems highly problematic as far as welds and corrosion.  The central boiler and other brands I service seem to have far less issues

[Roger2561]

Whitey, I have a CB E-classic 1400.  This is my second season heating with it.  I am anal at keeping the firebox as clean as I can and keeping the water nitrites and ph levels where they belong.  Plus, I thoroughly clean it and cap the chimney before putting it bed for the summer.  However, I am very much interested in hearing what you have to offer. 

To answer your question regarding an auto shutdown - mine has an automatic shutdown if the water temps hit 200.  It has happened once to me and that was my fault.  I tried adding wood to it while the fire roaring and with the water temps already at 195, it didn't take long for it to climb over 200.  The manual says a little about it  that it is designed to help protect the unit.  What I did to help remedy the overheating problem, I cranked up the thermostats in the house to pull the heat out of it.  Thankfully it was a cold and windy day and I live in an old farmhouse built somewhere around the 1840's, so it didn't take long for the water temp to drop below 200.   Roger       

[Scott7m]

The gassers I carry have a high limit switch of 190

[boilerman]

Thanks pitcrew, I'm headed back to that leaking CB today, Ill get some pics.
BTW can anyone explain the severe deterioration near the loading door and front corners on these 2300/2400 stoves. I can, anyone else have a guess? It might be worth a million dollars if you do. I'm sure there are others that may know but who would want to deflate stock in the entire market for these gassers.
One hint; never ever run one of these low on water, 10-20 hrs of high heat and hydrogen atmospheres will ruin the fire box depending on the material///including stainless. Some sort of auto shut down should be included on gassers to protect the box. When removing bad plate from some of these I've seen 1/4 water levels indicated by a line stained in the outer tank. These had good door seal but no frame left to seal against, so maaaybe the extra air is making extra heat? Good luck and any winners will get a gift certificate to Chicfillet.

Amazing, you already know more than a company that has been building OWF's for 29 years with a state of the art building and test lab from the looks of their site video.
I burned a Classic 5648 for 7 years. Firebox looked like new when I sold it to my neighbor who is still heating his home with it.
I'm on my 3rd winter with my Eclassic 2400....no rust, no problems....awesome unit.
I've helped my CB dealer buddy with an occasional install and few service calls, so I know a little about the CB models.
Believe it or not, most problems "are" caused by poor owner operation and lack of maintenance. You wouldn't believe some of the neglect and miss use I've seen.
A gasser burns down and throws the heat into the lower chamber, so the upper firebox burns cooler than traditional models and can hold a damp creosote buildup.
If not scraped off and allowed to bond to the walls/corners/etc. It can create excellerated corrosion issues.
The front corners and back side of the door frame are not easily seen, so I think some owners forget to clean and scrape these areas, which could lead to corrosion problems.
I think Scott as an OWF dealer has seen some owner neglect issues too.
Now, if for some reason the water level were to drop 3 inches or so, the Eclassic has a low water sensor that will shut everything down.
It also has a 200 degree high limit that will also shut it down.
A thermostatic valve is also required to be used between the supply return lines of each loop so if the boiler water drops from 170-150 water will gradually be returned direct to OWF holding water temp above 150 not shocking or condensing firebox walls, causing more acidic wet ash and creosote.
I'll take the million dollars......you can keep your chicfillet gift certificate.