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[coolidge]

Slim,     How is that chip burner working for you? How much fuel have you used this year.Shure looks like a nice unit.

[slimjim]

Working really nice, nice to not be tied down to the wood boiler, 3-5 days on one load/ 2000 pounds of chips, last year we burned 35 cord of wood between the house and shop, I expect to burn about 50 - 75 ton of chips this year, stop in and see it before Brian sells it on me!

[willieG]

where do you get ships slim...here in ontario they sell for about 5 bucks for 40 pounds (locally, i hope you can get a better buy in bulk?)  5 bucks for 40 pounds is 250 bucks a ton x 75 ton is 18,750 bucks  man that's a heat bill! 35 cord of wood  at 60 bucks a face cord is 180 a cord x 35 is only 6,300

if you were to burn 75 tons of chips to equal your 35 cord of wood you would have to buy it at about 85 bucks a ton to come up with 6,300 (the average price of wood around me)

bulk wood chips must be a better price?

[slimjim]

How in the world can you do math this early Willie, yes bulk is far cheaper, I buy right from the local loggers, right in the woods, fuel grade chips/ mixed is about 25 per ton and really nice paper grade/ pure hardwood is about 50 per ton. Wood chips are like buying your wood stacked beside your boiler ready to burn at less than 100 per real cord

[willieG]

now that makes more sense!   how the hell do people put up with buying wod chips at a TSC store (or other store ) at 5 bucks for 40 pounds. those must be the people taht buy sales tags that say 2 dollars each or 2 for 5 

[slimjim]

With all the shows that we have done with the chip boiler over the past 2 years from wisconsin to virginia, northern Maine, Ontario and out to Alberta Ca. I have never had a hard time finding fresh bulk wood chips, most of the time the producers will give us enough for the show just to see it run!

[ITO]

 So Slim, the chip boiler make most sense for a larger application? You also need a tractor or conveyor to load? Got a link? Thanks.

[slimjim]

Yes it does ITO, 3 - 500,000 BTU, 1 ton or 3 yards per bin. www.portageandmaineboilers.com, it's the Enviro 500 on the video

[Roger2561]

I'm hoping that it'll be a long time before I have to replace my OWB, but when the time comes...Do the chips have to stay under cover (tarp, building, etc...) or can they be stored outdoors?  My guess is that the drier they stay, the better it will work.  What's the equivalent of wood chips lets say to 7 or 8 cord of wood?  Would it be cost effective for a home owner who only heats his house and DHW to have a wood chip burner?  Thanks, Roger 

[slimjim]

We are working on one for home use Roger but it's a ways out there yet, there is about 5400 pounds in a cord of hardwood at most mills

[ITO]

 That sounds interesting to me too, I hope to have my boiler for a while yet but physical concerns of cutting/loading wood are closing in on me. Something with a hopper that would load with a tractor could take an old timer a lot farther!

[Roger2561]

Yeah, age and physical limitations are a concern for me.  I have mild scoliosis and degenerative disk disease in my back and neck which causes quite a bit of discomfort while cutting, splitting, lugging and stacking wood.  I know the time is coming when I'll be limited to what I can do physically.   I have a tractor with a front end loader on it so filling the hopper shouldn't be an issue.  Spending 20 years as a volunteer in our local EMS department did not do my back and neck any good.  Roger