Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
31
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Hydronic Clothes Dryer
« on: February 24, 2013, 05:08:46 PM »
Yea I have saw them, don't know anyone who has made or bought one though. Does anyone have any experience with one? I'm curious as to whther it is feasible or if it would have enough heat
32
For Sale / Empyre Elite 100XT demo model soon for sale
« on: February 15, 2013, 04:58:19 PM »
I have demo'd a Empyre Elite 100XT series this winter and will be putting releasing it around the first week of April.
It is EPA Phase 2 Certified, heats up to 3000sq ft "well insulated", I am heating 2200 square feet and can easily get 12 hour burns and my home isn't well insulated.
It will come with a complete optimizer system already installed on it, over a $500 value, "includes optimizer pump"!
This unit retails for $7495, optimizer retails over $500.
You can get it all with 9 1/2 years of remaining warranty for $5995.00, beat that for an EPA phase 2 unit!
I've never had any problems with it, everything works as it should!
It is EPA Phase 2 Certified, heats up to 3000sq ft "well insulated", I am heating 2200 square feet and can easily get 12 hour burns and my home isn't well insulated.
It will come with a complete optimizer system already installed on it, over a $500 value, "includes optimizer pump"!
This unit retails for $7495, optimizer retails over $500.
You can get it all with 9 1/2 years of remaining warranty for $5995.00, beat that for an EPA phase 2 unit!
I've never had any problems with it, everything works as it should!
33
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / The EPA is starting to pound there drum again
« on: February 06, 2013, 10:25:45 AM »
This is part of a letter that I received today...
The new NSPS draft is anticipated to be released by March 2013
A 90-day public comment period will follow
The new NSPS is expected to be signed into law by Fall 2013
The new qualifying emissions level is expected to start at .15 lb/mm Btu heat output
Incentives are being discussed for models with particulate emissions within .06 lb/mm Btu
What does this boil down to? We have about two more years to sell traditional outdoor wood boilers with particulate emissions above .15 lb/mm Btu. As of today there are only 11 models combined from all manufacturers that burn this clean. See for yourself at the EPA’s Burn Wise website:
http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/owhhlist.html
What are your thoughts?
Has govt lost it's mind?
Do you fear your govt or does your govt fear you?
I know what I think, and if I said everything I think, well, I wouldn't be able to post on here from the new home lol
The new NSPS draft is anticipated to be released by March 2013
A 90-day public comment period will follow
The new NSPS is expected to be signed into law by Fall 2013
The new qualifying emissions level is expected to start at .15 lb/mm Btu heat output
Incentives are being discussed for models with particulate emissions within .06 lb/mm Btu
What does this boil down to? We have about two more years to sell traditional outdoor wood boilers with particulate emissions above .15 lb/mm Btu. As of today there are only 11 models combined from all manufacturers that burn this clean. See for yourself at the EPA’s Burn Wise website:
http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/owhhlist.html
What are your thoughts?
Has govt lost it's mind?
Do you fear your govt or does your govt fear you?
I know what I think, and if I said everything I think, well, I wouldn't be able to post on here from the new home lol
34
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Iced up chimney
« on: January 31, 2013, 05:53:19 PM »
When I left this morning there was ice all over my chimney cap, I forgot to take pics but when I got back in this evening there was still some on it but most was gone!!
Really wish I woulda took the pic this morning, if it happens again, I will
Really wish I woulda took the pic this morning, if it happens again, I will
35
General Discussion / Wow what weather
« on: January 29, 2013, 10:17:59 PM »
Single digits a few nights in a row last week and 74 today, back to single digits by the weekend wow
36
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Stove mishaps
« on: January 29, 2013, 08:26:06 PM »
We are always doing q and a on here but sharing stories could be an interesting twist.
I thought I would share a story from several years ago when I was doing an install. While speaking with a fellow forum member this evening I told him about it and thought I would share and see what other stories folks have.
But on to the story,
It was dark, trying to finish up an install when an impatient customer was building a fire with green wood "no doubt" as we were tying everything together. He was raising heck saying it wouldn't burn well, I was explaining the green wood and went on doing what I was doing, I came back by the stove moments later and thought I smelled kerosene, I opened the door to look inside and saw a huge white fog, "kerosene fog" I saw it start to swirl as air rushed in and slammed the door, instantly it went KABooooomm!!! The main load door held, but the ash pan door came out so hard it broke the latches clean off and took my legs out on the way out, I went hurling into the air. I was laying on the ground probably 20 feet from the stove when I looked up and saw the "mushroom cloud" of kerosene exploding above the stove, the fireball went well above the power lines!
Needless to say, my shins turned blue from bruising, I singed hair off of both my arms from shielding my face from the flash, singed some of my hair and eyebrows still yet, my helper at the time was standing 12-15 feet from the boiler when she went off, he also had burns all over, mostly singed hair. Knocked him down as well, so we had numerous scratches and stuff, it was quite the day...
What happened? Customer threw in a water pale of kerosene when I wasn't looking, the fire was smoldering and it was atomizing the kerosene, the fuel was so rich inside the stove it didn't have enough o2 to ignite, well, I gave it the o2 and she went off!!! Kerosene in vapor form, wow!!!
I thought I would share a story from several years ago when I was doing an install. While speaking with a fellow forum member this evening I told him about it and thought I would share and see what other stories folks have.
But on to the story,
It was dark, trying to finish up an install when an impatient customer was building a fire with green wood "no doubt" as we were tying everything together. He was raising heck saying it wouldn't burn well, I was explaining the green wood and went on doing what I was doing, I came back by the stove moments later and thought I smelled kerosene, I opened the door to look inside and saw a huge white fog, "kerosene fog" I saw it start to swirl as air rushed in and slammed the door, instantly it went KABooooomm!!! The main load door held, but the ash pan door came out so hard it broke the latches clean off and took my legs out on the way out, I went hurling into the air. I was laying on the ground probably 20 feet from the stove when I looked up and saw the "mushroom cloud" of kerosene exploding above the stove, the fireball went well above the power lines!
Needless to say, my shins turned blue from bruising, I singed hair off of both my arms from shielding my face from the flash, singed some of my hair and eyebrows still yet, my helper at the time was standing 12-15 feet from the boiler when she went off, he also had burns all over, mostly singed hair. Knocked him down as well, so we had numerous scratches and stuff, it was quite the day...
What happened? Customer threw in a water pale of kerosene when I wasn't looking, the fire was smoldering and it was atomizing the kerosene, the fuel was so rich inside the stove it didn't have enough o2 to ignite, well, I gave it the o2 and she went off!!! Kerosene in vapor form, wow!!!
37
General Discussion / Crazy stuff near me taking place
« on: January 18, 2013, 10:56:41 PM »
FEMA, national guard, and Portsmouth police all played war games so to speak.
There scenario: you won't beleive this
There scenario was to contain folks who were fighting over 2nd amendment rights. FEMA was decked out in there full space looking suits, police in full combat gear and the guard. It was nothing short of scary.
They said it was an attempt to get the local police used to working with FEMA and the troops to combat civil uprisings and domestic terrorists.
This was on mainstream news in my area and also in the papers, scary times lay ahead. I am a bit of a history nut, and this stuff don't turn out good, I fear for our children
There scenario: you won't beleive this
There scenario was to contain folks who were fighting over 2nd amendment rights. FEMA was decked out in there full space looking suits, police in full combat gear and the guard. It was nothing short of scary.
They said it was an attempt to get the local police used to working with FEMA and the troops to combat civil uprisings and domestic terrorists.
This was on mainstream news in my area and also in the papers, scary times lay ahead. I am a bit of a history nut, and this stuff don't turn out good, I fear for our children
38
Pools & Hot Tubs / Pic of a swimming pool install
« on: January 11, 2013, 10:43:53 PM »
This job was done by a friend of mine who is also a dealer, he sent me this pic last year and I use it as reference and I thought I would share with you how it can be done right. Heating pools is one of the hardest things you can do to a boiler, most aren't installed properly.
39
HeatMaster / Heatmaster MF3000 Install pic
« on: January 11, 2013, 09:57:20 PM »
I always encourage my customer that if they can, let's do it right the first time. I did this install in the early fall and was pleased at how it looks, it's just a neat looking set up!
40
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Definitely a different install
« on: January 11, 2013, 08:58:42 PM »
I wish I had took pics of this job as it evolved but I wanted to share it anyway.
Had a guy who lived in a valley surround by rock cliffs, he had a home roughly 2000 square feet, a green house or "high tunnel" that he built in a rich valley near his home, it was 32x96. It uses the exsisting soil, you grow in the ground, not in beds. He was also tying a small shack to it where he made maple syrup.
The interesting part of the install was his fuel oil furnace that he had from the late 60's in his home, the fan never shuts off in his home and runs at a very low speed, he said the only time it had been shut off was during power outages, so in the install we used a zone valve, so when the thermostat called for heat the zone valve would allow water in the coil, when it wasn't calling for heat it would simply bypass the coil. It was the first one I had done where the fan never shut off, after seeing it in action and how evenly the heat was distributed in his home, it's def a great way to go. We waited til the furnace got up to temp and ran a couple cycles before we left, house was 72 all over and the high tunnel went from 44 to 62.
I love seeing big jobs come together...
Here is a pic I took as I was leaving, you can see the high tunnel on the right, the house behind, and his future sap shack on the left
Had a guy who lived in a valley surround by rock cliffs, he had a home roughly 2000 square feet, a green house or "high tunnel" that he built in a rich valley near his home, it was 32x96. It uses the exsisting soil, you grow in the ground, not in beds. He was also tying a small shack to it where he made maple syrup.
The interesting part of the install was his fuel oil furnace that he had from the late 60's in his home, the fan never shuts off in his home and runs at a very low speed, he said the only time it had been shut off was during power outages, so in the install we used a zone valve, so when the thermostat called for heat the zone valve would allow water in the coil, when it wasn't calling for heat it would simply bypass the coil. It was the first one I had done where the fan never shut off, after seeing it in action and how evenly the heat was distributed in his home, it's def a great way to go. We waited til the furnace got up to temp and ran a couple cycles before we left, house was 72 all over and the high tunnel went from 44 to 62.
I love seeing big jobs come together...
Here is a pic I took as I was leaving, you can see the high tunnel on the right, the house behind, and his future sap shack on the left
41
Empyre / Empyre Elite 100XT pics
« on: January 11, 2013, 02:39:39 PM »
Thought I would share some pics of the wood in my gasser, properly stacking it is very important to make sure the wood falls down over the nozzles.
This pic shows some bridging going on, hard to tell but the wood is being held up 3-4" above the nozzles, not good for a gasser.
This picture shows the secondary burn chamber while at idle.
Here is a couple pics of wood properly reloaded in the firebox.
This video shows the end result.....
http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t387/Scott7m/12692FF0-DEC6-4804-801B-BFC95E8769BE-196-000000083EC14630.mp4
This pic shows some bridging going on, hard to tell but the wood is being held up 3-4" above the nozzles, not good for a gasser.
This picture shows the secondary burn chamber while at idle.
Here is a couple pics of wood properly reloaded in the firebox.
This video shows the end result.....
http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t387/Scott7m/12692FF0-DEC6-4804-801B-BFC95E8769BE-196-000000083EC14630.mp4
42
Empyre / Empyre Elite 100XT preview video
« on: January 09, 2013, 07:36:43 PM »
Just a preview of a more detailed video coming soon! Love seeing the blue in gasification!
http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t387/Scott7m/A5F93BE3-E53A-4137-9A2A-C49AEE569FC2-855-0000005201CFFEBD.mp4
http://i1057.photobucket.com/albums/t387/Scott7m/A5F93BE3-E53A-4137-9A2A-C49AEE569FC2-855-0000005201CFFEBD.mp4
43
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Empyre Elite 100XT Preview Video
« on: January 09, 2013, 07:33:44 PM »
My plans are to do a more detailed demo of the unit soon, but here is a neat video of some intense gasification.
44
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Empyre Phase 2 Elite 100XT Product Review
« on: January 01, 2013, 12:36:48 PM »
Well, as many of you know who have followed me on here I like to review the products I'm using and pass some information along at the same time. The furnace I've been burning so far this winter, since mid September,is the elite 100 xt rom empyre.
Starting out I was the first real world customer to start using the xt design, of course they'd been through numerous testing and labs but real world is far different.
First time I built s fire in the xt, it was literally Gasifying within 30 seconds of start up and burning smoke free. As I added more bigger wood, it kinda hazes out the chimney as it wasnt up to full temp and was burning big wood. Mild day temps and cool nights weren't the best recipe for learning a new gasser. I kept having the fire die in the middle of the day due to it not cycling at all. However I knew that it's sister design, elite 100, would idle 12-14 hours, so I began checking some things. One thing I noticed was as soon as the fan kicked on at 160, the temp reading would be 147 within 2 minutes, simply not possible. Then I noticed that when the fan kicked off at 170, temp would continue to rise to 185. Wow, all of a sudden I have a 38 degree differential vs 10??? That's right. The fan was cooling the temp probe making the furnace over run ite set point by 15 degrees. So in working with empyre we were able to come up with a fix, a deeper dry well, and insulating the well itself with cork tape. I also placed a piece of prodex insulation under the fan near the well. I changed my differential from 10 to 5 and raised it to 175 off 170 on. Since those modifications when the fan comes on, it only drops to 168-169 and never over runs 175 by more than 3 degrees. Problem solved.
Another initial issue was a sticking load handle, it went away and I feel it was due to some of the powder coat paint winding up in places it shouldn't have, problem went away after a few weeks, it still sticks a little at times, but it's not an issue.
As the weather cooled things kept getting better, 12-14 hour burn times are easily obtained heating 2200 sq ft in 15-20 degree nights. That is pretty impressive as the firebox size is similar to what you'd see in an old king wood stove or something like that, not the traditional huge fireboxes most owb have. This firebox is only 19" wide by 21" tall by 28" deep. Only 6.1 feet of firebox space!
The dreaded cleaning of a gasification furnace turned out to not be a big deal, since mid september I've cleaned my tubes only 4-5 times. It takes about 10 minutes each time. I know not all gasifiers are like this, some are a pain and will plug tubes up within 7 days if there not cleaned weekly or bi weekly, so with this I am impressed.
So besides this technical talk, what do I think? How do I feel?
The good: it's efficient, I'm burning less wood than before, however only about 25-30% less than the convnetional heatmaster e series I ran last season. It looks pretty cool, nothing like a normal owb, it's small, compact and fits neater into the landscape, it never smokes, and no one would ever know I was heating with wood.
The cons: well, the firewood has to be so much more precise, wood with humps and bumps and knots don't stack very well and can very easily cause bridging, that's where the wood doesn't fall down to the air ports and burns a hole out in the middle of the wood. The small firebox makes it take more time to load vs a regular boiler, with a regular one I can be out to the stove and back inside in 3-5 minutes, with the gasification boiler it's more like 10. You have to kinda choose from your wood pile what will work in this spot, will this fit here? Hey, theres a good one. Well that won't work it'd got a knot on it'. So there is more time involved in that aspect, my burn times are fine, but I wish the firebox was larger just to make loading simpler. Not a big deal though
Overall, I like it! I think it's something I can sell with confidence to folks who require epa phase 2 or those looking for wood savings.
Is it for everyone? No, some folks wouldn't take the time or have the patience to properly cut and stack there wood in the drove, also, in my area, folks have endless supplies of woods. It's kind of hard to convince a farmer with 400 acres that it's a good fit for him. However, for folks who require this or view this as a hobby as much as a way of heating a home, it's far better choice than most of the gassers I've seen on the market.
Starting out I was the first real world customer to start using the xt design, of course they'd been through numerous testing and labs but real world is far different.
First time I built s fire in the xt, it was literally Gasifying within 30 seconds of start up and burning smoke free. As I added more bigger wood, it kinda hazes out the chimney as it wasnt up to full temp and was burning big wood. Mild day temps and cool nights weren't the best recipe for learning a new gasser. I kept having the fire die in the middle of the day due to it not cycling at all. However I knew that it's sister design, elite 100, would idle 12-14 hours, so I began checking some things. One thing I noticed was as soon as the fan kicked on at 160, the temp reading would be 147 within 2 minutes, simply not possible. Then I noticed that when the fan kicked off at 170, temp would continue to rise to 185. Wow, all of a sudden I have a 38 degree differential vs 10??? That's right. The fan was cooling the temp probe making the furnace over run ite set point by 15 degrees. So in working with empyre we were able to come up with a fix, a deeper dry well, and insulating the well itself with cork tape. I also placed a piece of prodex insulation under the fan near the well. I changed my differential from 10 to 5 and raised it to 175 off 170 on. Since those modifications when the fan comes on, it only drops to 168-169 and never over runs 175 by more than 3 degrees. Problem solved.
Another initial issue was a sticking load handle, it went away and I feel it was due to some of the powder coat paint winding up in places it shouldn't have, problem went away after a few weeks, it still sticks a little at times, but it's not an issue.
As the weather cooled things kept getting better, 12-14 hour burn times are easily obtained heating 2200 sq ft in 15-20 degree nights. That is pretty impressive as the firebox size is similar to what you'd see in an old king wood stove or something like that, not the traditional huge fireboxes most owb have. This firebox is only 19" wide by 21" tall by 28" deep. Only 6.1 feet of firebox space!
The dreaded cleaning of a gasification furnace turned out to not be a big deal, since mid september I've cleaned my tubes only 4-5 times. It takes about 10 minutes each time. I know not all gasifiers are like this, some are a pain and will plug tubes up within 7 days if there not cleaned weekly or bi weekly, so with this I am impressed.
So besides this technical talk, what do I think? How do I feel?
The good: it's efficient, I'm burning less wood than before, however only about 25-30% less than the convnetional heatmaster e series I ran last season. It looks pretty cool, nothing like a normal owb, it's small, compact and fits neater into the landscape, it never smokes, and no one would ever know I was heating with wood.
The cons: well, the firewood has to be so much more precise, wood with humps and bumps and knots don't stack very well and can very easily cause bridging, that's where the wood doesn't fall down to the air ports and burns a hole out in the middle of the wood. The small firebox makes it take more time to load vs a regular boiler, with a regular one I can be out to the stove and back inside in 3-5 minutes, with the gasification boiler it's more like 10. You have to kinda choose from your wood pile what will work in this spot, will this fit here? Hey, theres a good one. Well that won't work it'd got a knot on it'. So there is more time involved in that aspect, my burn times are fine, but I wish the firebox was larger just to make loading simpler. Not a big deal though
Overall, I like it! I think it's something I can sell with confidence to folks who require epa phase 2 or those looking for wood savings.
Is it for everyone? No, some folks wouldn't take the time or have the patience to properly cut and stack there wood in the drove, also, in my area, folks have endless supplies of woods. It's kind of hard to convince a farmer with 400 acres that it's a good fit for him. However, for folks who require this or view this as a hobby as much as a way of heating a home, it's far better choice than most of the gassers I've seen on the market.
45
Empyre / Empyre Elite 100XT Phase 2 Product Review
« on: January 01, 2013, 12:32:38 PM »
Well, as many of you know who have followed me on here I like to review the products I'm using and pass some information along at the same time. The furnace I've been burning so far this winter, since mid September,is the elite 100 xt rom empyre.
Starting out I was the first real world customer to start using the xt design, of course they'd been through numerous testing and labs but real world is far different.
First time I built s fire in the xt, it was literally Gasifying within 30 seconds of start up and burning smoke free. As I added more bigger wood, it kinda hazes out the chimney as it wasnt up to full temp and was burning big wood. Mild day temps and cool nights weren't the best recipe for learning a new gasser. I kept having the fire die in the middle of the day due to it not cycling at all. However I knew that it's sister design, elite 100, would idle 12-14 hours, so I began checking some things. One thing I noticed was as soon as the fan kicked on at 160, the temp reading would be 147 within 2 minutes, simply not possible. Then I noticed that when the fan kicked off at 170, temp would continue to rise to 185. Wow, all of a sudden I have a 38 degree differential vs 10??? That's right. The fan was cooling the temp probe making the furnace over run ite set point by 15 degrees. So in working with empyre we were able to come up with a fix, a deeper dry well, and insulating the well itself with cork tape. I also placed a piece of prodex insulation under the fan near the well. I changed my differential from 10 to 5 and raised it to 175 off 170 on. Since those modifications when the fan comes on, it only drops to 168-169 and never over runs 175 by more than 3 degrees. Problem solved.
Another initial issue was a sticking load handle, it went away and I feel it was due to some of the powder coat paint winding up in places it shouldn't have, problem went away after a few weeks, it still sticks a little at times, but it's not an issue.
As the weather cooled things kept getting better, 12-14 hour burn times are easily obtained heating 2200 sq ft in 15-20 degree nights. That is pretty impressive as the firebox size is similar to what you'd see in an old king wood stove or something like that, not the traditional huge fireboxes most owb have. This firebox is only 19" wide by 21" tall by 28" deep. Only 6.1 feet of firebox space!
The dreaded cleaning of a gasification furnace turned out to not be a big deal, since mid september I've cleaned my tubes only 4-5 times. It takes about 10 minutes each time. I know not all gasifiers are like this, some are a pain and will plug tubes up within 7 days if there not cleaned weekly or bi weekly, so with this I am impressed.
So besides this technical talk, what do I think? How do I feel?
The good: it's efficient, I'm burning less wood than before, however only about 25-30% less than the convnetional heatmaster e series I ran last season. It looks pretty cool, nothing like a normal owb, it's small, compact and fits neater into the landscape, it never smokes, and no one would ever know I was heating with wood.
The cons: well, the firewood has to be so much more precise, wood with humps and bumps and knots don't stack very well and can very easily cause bridging, that's where the wood doesn't fall down to the air ports and burns a hole out in the middle of the wood. The small firebox makes it take more time to load vs a regular boiler, with a regular one I can be out to the stove and back inside in 3-5 minutes, with the gasification boiler it's more like 10. You have to kinda choose from your wood pile what will work in this spot, will this fit here? Hey, theres a good one. Well that won't work it'd got a knot on it'. So there is more time involved in that aspect, my burn times are fine, but I wish the firebox was larger just to make loading simpler. Not a big deal though
Overall, I like it! I think it's something I can sell with confidence to folks who require epa phase 2 or those looking for wood savings.
Is it for everyone? No, some folks wouldn't take the time or have the patience to properly cut and stack there wood in the drove, also, in my area, folks have endless supplies of woods. It's kind of hard to convince a farmer with 400 acres that it's a good fit for him. However, for folks who require this or view this as a hobby as much as a way of heating a home, it's far better choice than most of the gassers I've seen on the market.
Starting out I was the first real world customer to start using the xt design, of course they'd been through numerous testing and labs but real world is far different.
First time I built s fire in the xt, it was literally Gasifying within 30 seconds of start up and burning smoke free. As I added more bigger wood, it kinda hazes out the chimney as it wasnt up to full temp and was burning big wood. Mild day temps and cool nights weren't the best recipe for learning a new gasser. I kept having the fire die in the middle of the day due to it not cycling at all. However I knew that it's sister design, elite 100, would idle 12-14 hours, so I began checking some things. One thing I noticed was as soon as the fan kicked on at 160, the temp reading would be 147 within 2 minutes, simply not possible. Then I noticed that when the fan kicked off at 170, temp would continue to rise to 185. Wow, all of a sudden I have a 38 degree differential vs 10??? That's right. The fan was cooling the temp probe making the furnace over run ite set point by 15 degrees. So in working with empyre we were able to come up with a fix, a deeper dry well, and insulating the well itself with cork tape. I also placed a piece of prodex insulation under the fan near the well. I changed my differential from 10 to 5 and raised it to 175 off 170 on. Since those modifications when the fan comes on, it only drops to 168-169 and never over runs 175 by more than 3 degrees. Problem solved.
Another initial issue was a sticking load handle, it went away and I feel it was due to some of the powder coat paint winding up in places it shouldn't have, problem went away after a few weeks, it still sticks a little at times, but it's not an issue.
As the weather cooled things kept getting better, 12-14 hour burn times are easily obtained heating 2200 sq ft in 15-20 degree nights. That is pretty impressive as the firebox size is similar to what you'd see in an old king wood stove or something like that, not the traditional huge fireboxes most owb have. This firebox is only 19" wide by 21" tall by 28" deep. Only 6.1 feet of firebox space!
The dreaded cleaning of a gasification furnace turned out to not be a big deal, since mid september I've cleaned my tubes only 4-5 times. It takes about 10 minutes each time. I know not all gasifiers are like this, some are a pain and will plug tubes up within 7 days if there not cleaned weekly or bi weekly, so with this I am impressed.
So besides this technical talk, what do I think? How do I feel?
The good: it's efficient, I'm burning less wood than before, however only about 25-30% less than the convnetional heatmaster e series I ran last season. It looks pretty cool, nothing like a normal owb, it's small, compact and fits neater into the landscape, it never smokes, and no one would ever know I was heating with wood.
The cons: well, the firewood has to be so much more precise, wood with humps and bumps and knots don't stack very well and can very easily cause bridging, that's where the wood doesn't fall down to the air ports and burns a hole out in the middle of the wood. The small firebox makes it take more time to load vs a regular boiler, with a regular one I can be out to the stove and back inside in 3-5 minutes, with the gasification boiler it's more like 10. You have to kinda choose from your wood pile what will work in this spot, will this fit here? Hey, theres a good one. Well that won't work it'd got a knot on it'. So there is more time involved in that aspect, my burn times are fine, but I wish the firebox was larger just to make loading simpler. Not a big deal though
Overall, I like it! I think it's something I can sell with confidence to folks who require epa phase 2 or those looking for wood savings.
Is it for everyone? No, some folks wouldn't take the time or have the patience to properly cut and stack there wood in the drove, also, in my area, folks have endless supplies of woods. It's kind of hard to convince a farmer with 400 acres that it's a good fit for him. However, for folks who require this or view this as a hobby as much as a way of heating a home, it's far better choice than most of the gassers I've seen on the market.