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[mgw44]

Seems like a quiet area for this forum.  Does any owner have comments (pros/cons) about the Empyre Pro Series?  The shop that sharpens my chains just started carrying them and with recent propane prices I am looking into buying a gasification boiler. 

How frequent and difficult is the maintenance? 
It appears there has been difficulty finding repair parts.  Have you had to purchase repair parts?  What has gone wrong?  How easy was it to get the repair parts?
If you had a warranty issue was it resolved to your satisfaction?

Any comments to these questions or any insight on these boiler would be appreciated.

[willieG]

i hope you get the answers you need but it may be a little slow as i am not sure hom many members frequent the board daily in the summer Be patient and i am sure you will some owners respond

[martyinmi]

I've been busy lately and haven't taken the time to visit this forum as much as I'm able to in the colder months. I own a Pro-Series 100 and it's an awesome little boiler. I just bought it in January of this year. It is truly amazing what these gasifiers do on such a small amount of wood. I shut mine down about 6 weeks ago or so for a few weeks, but my neighbors kept bringing scrap wood over and setting it in front of my boiler, so I started it back up and have been heating my water in my house since then. I throw 3 or 4 small pieces in it once a day and we have more free hot water than we will ever use. I wouldn't change too many things on the Empyre boilers, with the exception of the thickness of the steel used to make the primary burn chamber. It's 10 gauge(around .135-.140 thousands) and I would prefer it be .250. At 10 gauge it should last 15 - 20 years- at quater inch it should last 20 - 30 years. Mine is actually for sale, as I'm just putting the finishing touches on a gasifier I've been building for the last few months. My phone number is in the for sale section of this site and I'd be happy to let you pick my brain for a little bit if you'd like.(My wife watched me type that last sentence and she said she hoped you didn't pick too much, as she feels I don't have too much to spare!) I've had a few refractory bricks crack and they were very prompt about getting me new ones. The electrical components are readily available, as well as the pump, and dealer cooperation hasn't been an issue for me. They are simple to clean(every 3-4 weeks-and I'm told even less if your wood is seasoned better than mine was), and on mine it takes less than 20 minutes to do. They want you to shut it down to clean, but I'll bet no one does. I usually clean mine on a Saturday or Sunday morning before I load it, so there's no smoke to speak of. I've only heard of two people having issues with them on the forums, and so far as I've heard they were taken care of, so I believe they are incredibly reliable.
   Marty 
   
 

[mgw44]

Thanks for the information.  There is a dealer in Caledonia south of Grand Rapids.  He is a new dealer for Empyre with only 6 months time with them.  It seems like the most expensive risk to these boilers is early corrosion.  Would you agree?  What are you heating with the boiler?  How many sq ft is your house?  Are you heating any outbuildings or your garage?

[martyinmi]

You are right-corrosion is the #1 killer. I use boiler treatment in the jacketed area, but I believe they have are more apt to erode away from the combustion chamber in. I'm just heating my house with mine. Don't let your local dealer lead you to believe that you can heat more than an average sized home with the 100. The primary burn chamber is only about 5.5 sq. ft.,so your burn times will only be about 8-12 hrs. in severely cold weather. They are,however,extremely efficient. My house is around 1800 sq. ft.,poor to average insulation,with newer windows. If all you plan to heat is your home, and it's not too big, and it's insulated descent, you can expect to load it twice per day in mild weather(20* at night),and three times in cold weather(from sub zero up to 20*). Wind is the enemy if your home is not insulated properly. The nicest thing about the 100 is that it starts gasifing almost instantly.They cycle frequently because of the small boiler capacity(about 35 gallons),so that keeps the refractory hot enough to light the gas almost instantly every time it calls for heat. They are an awesome little machine. Sounds like you are not far from me, and you are welcome to come and see mine in operation before you buy one. I throw three or four small pieces in mine every day just for my hot water.
   Marty

[mgw44]

So Marty,

Why did you decide to make your own? 

I keep hearing that you need really dry seasoned wood with these gasifiers.  What has been your experience?  I have about 4 cord (oak) on the ground cut but not split.  So if I install this year I will need to cut more.  I have tops from a log harvest last fall sitting on the ground just waiting to be cut and split.  So, I'm not sure if my wood is ready for the boiler or not.  Any comments?

How much wood did you use since January?

I live in Plainwell just north of Kalamazoo.  I have a 2,000 sq ft colonial modular with 2x6 exterior walls. It has 8' ceilings and the floors are stacked on top of each other with 1000 sq ft on each floor.   It was built in 2005.  I actually expect to only heat the house.  However, I do live in the open with not much protection from the wind. 

[martyinmi]

These outdoor wood boilers are expensive,and I wanted to see how much I would have into building a gasifier myself. I have built several boilers already, but they weren't gasifiers. I knew that I was going to build one even before I purchased the 100. I used a bit of their engineering in the building of mine,as well as a few ideas I've expanded upon from Wood Doctor and Portage and Main.
I have friends that have bigger ones and they feel that theirs could be more efficient if the primary burn chambers weren't so big, so I sized my home built boiler accordingly. I got such a good deal on the 100 that I couldn't turn it down. Had I bought it new, I would have had well over 7 grand in to it by the time you add in all your incidentals and shipping.
   Dry, well seasoned wood is very important to the proper function of these gasifiers. That is the hardest thing that we have to learn when using these newer, more efficient boilers, and once that seed gets planted in our heads, we can sit back and see just how efficient these marvels are. When you finally buy one you'll find yourself checking it as often as you can, and you'll find yourself wishing you could throw some wood in it-ask anyone who's installed one and they will tell you the same thing!
   If you get your wood cut and split and stacked to dry right now it should be dry enough by this fall. I burned mostly all white ash last winter,most of which were live trees that didn't know they were dead yet(Ash Bore),and I was able to cut,split,stack, and burn right away. I burned a face cord or so of white oak that was from a live tree that was taken down in October and it wasn't quite ready yet, but it is now and it burns awesome. Wet wood tends to allow more tar and creosote to build up in the heat exchange areas, and it can be difficult to remove.
   I hooked the 100 up the last week in January and I've probably used around 3 full cords since then(I've been heating my DHW almost all summer).
   Before you buy, you need to make a trip to my place and see one in action. These things smoke so little that most of the time when they are cycling you don't even know it.
   The dealer up north that I bought mine from said at that time I was the only one in this state with a 100, so I think I've been a bit of a guenna pig for Empyre.
   Give me a buzz and I'll be happy to tell you more in's and out's I've learned.
   Marty 

[VincentBaxter]

The Empyre line of outdoor wood furnaces are easily the best I've ever seen. My family has been using a wood boiler for years now and the effect on our bank account is night and day when compared against using oil-fueled systems. I couldn't recommend the Empyre line enough.