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[chadley]

Okay.  I get the gassification OWB's meet the new E.P.A standards and the old ones don't.  Other than that, whats the difference?  Are the gassification stoves more efficient, or vice versa?

It has been suggested by one company to buy the old OWB's because the new gassification OWB's haven't been around long enough to work the bugs out.  What are your thoughts.  I know I've asked a lot of questions but I'm trying to wade through all the information to make the best and most informed decision on which OWB to buy.

Thanks ahead of time for your help

[Ridgekid]

Gasification units are more efficient. HOWEVER they do require more maintenance to keep them that way.

[woodfuel]

More efficient meaning burns less wood, but cost more money.  Also wood has to be well seasoned, too, I think.

[Bull]

The gasser burn less wood but it does have to be well seasoned and you do have more maintenance with them. I like the old style that will burn what ever you put in them.

[BoilerHouse]

As others have said, gasification units are more efficient and they are much more enviromentally friendly.  Do a search on you tube- the secondary burn chamber burns like a rocket.  I suspect the technology has been around for a while, but it is now coming into wider use.  Some members of this forum have built there own and they work very well. 

[Roger2561]

I posted elsewhere that some states (NH) do NOT allow non-gassers anymore.  And, check with your local code enforcement officer to be sure they are allowed in your town, community, etc... before shelling out money for something you may not be allowed to have.  Roger 

[chadley]

Thanks for the replies.  I have checked Indiana laws and the HE 2100 heats 350,000 BTU so its considered industrial/commercial and doesn't fall under the new epa guidelines.  It also heats 10k sq ft. whereas the GX 10 heats approximately 4000.  Why would anyone go with the GX 10 and sacrifice money and BTU/sq footage? I'm really leaning towards the 2100 but am still looking at Hardy H4 and Shaver 250.  I just can't seem to fork over the money for a CB.

I live in the country and sell firewood as a side job.  My neighbors don't care about smoke.  We all burn our trash in burn barrels so whats the need in a gassification OWB?  Any need? 

[chuck_brown14]

Thanks for the replies.  I have checked Indiana laws and the HE 2100 heats 350,000 BTU so its considered industrial/commercial and doesn't fall under the new epa guidelines.  It also heats 10k sq ft. whereas the GX 10 heats approximately 4000.  Why would anyone go with the GX 10 and sacrifice money and BTU/sq footage? I'm really leaning towards the 2100 but am still looking at Hardy H4 and Shaver 250.  I just can't seem to fork over the money for a CB.

I live in the country and sell firewood as a side job.  My neighbors don't care about smoke.  We all burn our trash in burn barrels so whats the need in a gassification OWB?  Any need?

I am with you on that.

[Bull]

Thanks for the replies.  I have checked Indiana laws and the HE 2100 heats 350,000 BTU so its considered industrial/commercial and doesn't fall under the new epa guidelines.  It also heats 10k sq ft. whereas the GX 10 heats approximately 4000.  Why would anyone go with the GX 10 and sacrifice money and BTU/sq footage? I'm really leaning towards the 2100 but am still looking at Hardy H4 and Shaver 250.  I just can't seem to fork over the money for a CB.

I live in the country and sell firewood as a side job.  My neighbors don't care about smoke.  We all burn our trash in burn barrels so whats the need in a gassification OWB?  Any need?

What do you get for your wood and how far from Jennings county are you?

[merrellroofing]

    I was in the same boat as you last year chadley. Spent alot of time on the net, on here, and looking at stoves.
Out of the stoves I looked at in person, which were all non gassers,(hawken, natures comfort, burnrite, cb) the cb was far and beyond the most impressive.
Most warranties are not worth the paper they are on, they will find a loophole somewhere to make it seem like your fault.  And besides that ther are not alot of things to go wrong with them if you get a good unit.  I found a used cb on craigslist that was in great shape and came with many parts.  That helped keep my total down a little.  Just remember, no matter what you get, you're gonna have about 10k into it and you only want to do it once.

[woodfuel]

I agree with merrell. Big investment, so do it right the first time and avoid headaches later on.

[martyinmi]

chadley,
   From what I've read on the hearth forum, starting sometime in the year 2014, anyone owning an OWB that is not EPA phase 2 compliant will not be able to sell their property with an operational conventional OWB on it. In other words- if you plan on staying on your property for a significant period of time, than a conventional one may be alright for you, as you will be grandfathered in, but the OWB will need to be removed should you decide to sell. If the OWB is the only heat source, it's removal will obviously diminish property value a bit. They are saying that the implementation of the program will be nation wide. I'm not buying it totally until I see something from the EPA. I've sent them 2 email's in the last two weeks and I've not received any response.
   Sorry for that ramble.
   Back to your post now. Gassers, and from what I've read it doesn't matter much what brand, will burn around 40-45% less wood than the average conventional OWB, as much as 60% less than very inefficient OWB's, and about 30-40% less than some of the very efficient ones. They will burn wet wood, however efficiencies suffer a lot- but that is true of a conventional OWB also, and cleaning frequencies will be shortened with wet wood. Cleaning mine takes just under 10 minutes/week of my time. The gasification process has been around for nearly 200 years, and there are OWB company's out there that started making them back in the '90's, so the technology is not new, as  the European's they have been using gassers(usually indoor ones) for more than 3 decades.
   I think it's awesome that people are considering renewable resources to heat their homes. I started out with a conventional OWB about 5 years back, then moved to a gasser last year. At a month shy of 50, hauling 45% less wood home is much easier on these old bones, and although my neighbors had never complained about my conventional OWB, I feel much better that I'm not sending smoke in their direction anymore. I'd now never consider anything other than a gasser. Burning 5 or 6 cords/year is a lot better than going through 9 or 10....or 11. But, hey, I'm gettin' old.

[chadley]

Thanks for the replies.  I have checked Indiana laws and the HE 2100 heats 350,000 BTU so its considered industrial/commercial and doesn't fall under the new epa guidelines.  It also heats 10k sq ft. whereas the GX 10 heats approximately 4000.  Why would anyone go with the GX 10 and sacrifice money and BTU/sq footage? I'm really leaning towards the 2100 but am still looking at Hardy H4 and Shaver 250.  I just can't seem to fork over the money for a CB.

I live in the country and sell firewood as a side job.  My neighbors don't care about smoke.  We all burn our trash in burn barrels so whats the need in a gassification OWB?  Any need?

What do you get for your wood and how far from Jennings county are you?

I sell oak (white and red), ash, cherry, walnut for $65 an 8 foot truck bed.  After its stacked, it is about 3/4 cord.  I'm not sure where Jennings county is.  I live 20 miles northeast of evansville in boonville. 

[chadley]

thanks martyinmi.  That post was helpful.  My local hawken dealer claims that the gassers are not much more efficient than the non gassers.  he says maybe 2 or 3 points which brings me to my first question.  What do the "points" transfer into laymens terms?  Second, why would he try to sell me a lower priced unit?  The hawken GX 10 is around 8 and the HE 2100 is around 7200 (quoted). Last, I've been told there is a lot more maintenance to gassers which kind of goes against what you were saying about less cleaning time.  What are your opinions on maintenance between the two?

 Thanks.  You all have been helpful. 

[jrider]

I have only owned a gasser, and its been a short while - this past October.  Cleaning takes me 15-20 minutes and now that its finally cold I am doing it once a week.  When the weather was warmer I was doing it every 2 weeks.  I found out this past weekend that a dirty gasser is not good.  It smoked a lot more than I'm used to (but much less than non gassers i've seen) and it doesn't gas correctly. 
Marty - I still want to chat with you sometime about my unit.  Not sure what times are good for you during the week?