Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers WITH EPA-Certified Models => Central Boiler => Topic started by: Big Wood on January 19, 2015, 07:05:02 PM
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Looking for some input on the pellet boilers how does the bigger hopper work how many days when this is added to the boiler is any body running on 10 thousand sq feet or more with one if so how is the pellet consumption thanks
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My sister and bro inlaw have the maxim 250..Heating a 3300sq foot house..From what bro inlaw says boiler is at its max rated to what it can heat..To heat 10k+ area is huge...The fire in the maxim is tiny nothing like the wood boilers..Not site sure what the but out put on these boilers..
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Thanks for the info have they been pretty much trouble fee thanks again
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How many tons of pellets is he burning? Pellet prices are crazy this year
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MattyNH can you ask your bro inlaw how many ton of pellets they use a year thanks
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just wondering, what is point of a pellet boiler? You are at mercy of pellet prices and you have to handle pellets and equipment. Why not just buy natural gas? Is there a significant savings? Thanks.
Not being a jerk, just really wondering.
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Natural gas is only available to those who have it piped to their house. If you have it piped to your house it is a cheap way to heat but the rest of us, probably 90% plus don't have it so it is not an option. The nice thing about the pellet boiler is that you fill it once a week, never have to worry about coming home every 12 hours to load the boiler up. I love my boiler but I am handcuffed to it in the winter just like everyone else who owns a wood boiler. I would love to be able to go away for a weekend or what not and not worry about getting the boiler filled. I have personally thought about going to an Anthracite Coal Stoker boiler. My buddy has one and it is a good way to go I think, don't have to worry about the fluctuations in pellet prices and you get 30 million btus per ton out of it as opposed to 17 million with pellets. It costs about $240 per ton loose trucked up here to New England. 22 ton minimum though!
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I have a co-worker who uses a pellet burner to heat their whole house. To be honest I do not know their heat load nor the square footage of what they are trying to heat but she was complaining the other day that when the temps are lower than 10 degrees it cannot keep up with the house demand. She said it runs full blast all the time and the house temps get no higher than 62. She said the house will not get any higher than 58 with a wind chill factored in. For some that's a comfortable temp but for her and her family with 2 small children it's too cold. So, either these pellet systems are not what they are cracked up to be or the person who sized it had a rectal/cranial inversion problem and installed the incorrect unit. She said they do not have any money to go after the installer. I wish I could help her out but I know absolutely nothing about them. They put a lot of money in this system hoping to save themselves from having to use fossil fuels only to be cold when the weather turns bad. Roger
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Perhaps she should come on board here Roger, it wouldn't be the first time somebody from this forum helped out a complete newbie!
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Perhaps she should come on board here Roger, it wouldn't be the first time somebody from this forum helped out a complete newbie!
Slimjim, I've forwarded the link of this site to her. I told her this is the best place to go if she needs assistance. She said she trusts the person who installed unit. I do not understand her logic but what can one do when she doesn't want to listen or accept FREE help? I guess when she's had enough of freezing her butt off she'll seek assistance, until then... Roger
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You can lead a horse to water but it's darned hard to force him to drink!
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I've got to clarify - the pellet burner they have is not a Maxim made by CB. It's a totally different animal. Roger
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You can lead a horse to water but it's darned hard to force him to drink!
Isn't that the truth! Roger
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I used what was called a pellet Furnace, tied right into the plenum of the furnace. If I remember right it was made by US Stove Company "American Harvest 6500". Claimed could heat 3,000 square feet. The thing was a pig on pellets, to get the house up to near 65 on cold nights was feeding around 13 - 14lbs per hour. I was burning over a ton of pellets every week. Half of the time the house was low 60's, the unit just couldn't keep up with demand. 6500 was a lot more work constantly cleaning out the burn pot, blockage. Each week had to shut it down for deep cleaning which took about 90 minutes, and another 2 hours to get back up to temp, so during these times the house would freeze. This was around over 3 years ago was getting pellets for $150 a ton. Looks like in my area this year $240 per ton. You have to remember these aren't even the premium pellets, you will have a lot more ash. Premium pellets you can expect to pay near $300 per ton.
I have a co-worker who uses a pellet burner to heat their whole house. To be honest I do not know their heat load nor the square footage of what they are trying to heat but she was complaining the other day that when the temps are lower than 10 degrees it cannot keep up with the house demand. She said it runs full blast all the time and the house temps get no higher than 62. She said the house will not get any higher than 58 with a wind chill factored in. For some that's a comfortable temp but for her and her family with 2 small children it's too cold. So, either these pellet systems are not what they are cracked up to be or the person who sized it had a rectal/cranial inversion problem and installed the incorrect unit. She said they do not have any money to go after the installer. I wish I could help her out but I know absolutely nothing about them. They put a lot of money in this system hoping to save themselves from having to use fossil fuels only to be cold when the weather turns bad. Roger
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Thanks for your inputs
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Just wanted to add the American Harvest was a indoor unit, I can not compare it to any outdoor boiler
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Intensedrive,
A buddy of mine has a similar unit I think from American Stove Co. He's had it several years and had quite a lot of trouble keeping his house up to temp. He did change some parts this season and made some other changes with his cold air return. The other day he told me it's been doing great for him and we've been stuck in a very cold pattern for quite some time. Pellet quality does make a big difference also. This is the first season he's been happy with it. Still quite a lot of daily maintenance for him though.
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Yes the cold air return is very important for this stove, you need to build a custom filter box along with cold air return. I never did directly run cold air intake, I cut a few cold air returns to feed right into the the stoves intake in the back. Its important to take the warmer air from the house and run that back through the heater other wise your sucking cold air in the basement. For me parts were failing after the second year, and the soot issue was a major deal, I was changing the filter twice per week. I'm glad he has his unit running better offering the heat he deserves. I gave the unit away for $250 I hope the new home owner has more of the expertise to make this unit work better for his application.
Intensedrive,
A buddy of mine has a similar unit I think from American Stove Co. He's had it several years and had quite a lot of trouble keeping his house up to temp. He did change some parts this season and made some other changes with his cold air return. The other day he told me it's been doing great for him and we've been stuck in a very cold pattern for quite some time. Pellet quality does make a big difference also. This is the first season he's been happy with it. Still quite a lot of daily maintenance for him though.
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I purchased a Maxim 250 last September and started it on October 1st. The unit is 300 feet from my house and I am heating approximately 2300 Sq/Ft older home. I have no trouble keeping my house at 72 degrees even when its -45 with the wind chill. January and February has been brutally cold up hear in Northern Maine and I average 3 to 4 bags a day. My over all average since they day I fired it up on the 1st of October is 2.9 bags per day. Ashes are not to bad, I clean the stove every 2 to 3 weeks and it takes me approx. 20 min. I switched to the Maxim from a Central Boiler outdoor wood boiler which I ran for 11 years. I was burning approx. 15 cords year, I figure I will burn approx. 12 tons of pellets with the Maxim. Pellets are more expensive than woods but the convenience is worth it for me. I have no regrets switching to the Maxim all though the customer service could be better.
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Oops made a mistake, I had a Wood doctor outdoor wood boiler not a Central Boiler.
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I purchased a Maxim 250 last September and started it on October 1st. The unit is 300 feet from my house and I am heating approximately 2300 Sq/Ft older home. I have no trouble keeping my house at 72 degrees even when its -45 with the wind chill. January and February has been brutally cold up hear in Northern Maine and I average 3 to 4 bags a day. My over all average since they day I fired it up on the 1st of October is 2.9 bags per day. Ashes are not to bad, I clean the stove every 2 to 3 weeks and it takes me approx. 20 min. I switched to the Maxim from a Central Boiler outdoor wood boiler which I ran for 11 years. I was burning approx. 15 cords year, I figure I will burn approx. 12 tons of pellets with the Maxim. Pellets are more expensive than woods but the convenience is worth it for me. I have no regrets switching to the Maxim all though the customer service could be better.
That right there is great information. What's the average cost for wood pellets during the heating season? Are pellets available in bulk, and if yes, is there a cost savings there? I know down here in area NH pellets are anywhere $250/ton up to $300/ton on a pallet. Thanks, Roger
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I paid $240 a ton in September and bought 12 tons which I'm happy I did because they have been pretty much unavailable since then. There is one bulk dealer in my area but they were and are asking $265 a ton which doesn't make sense. When I called him out on being more expensive than bags they guy said somebody has to pay for the $200,000 truck they use to deliver. There has not been any pellets available here for the last two months aside from the bulk one's but he can choke on them for all I care.
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Just my opinion,
The Maxim 250 costs approx $8300 plus installation, I have a co-worker who purchased a Kedal pellet boiler with the bulk feed system, said and done it cost him approx $19,000. He is burning a heck of a lot more pellets than I am, on the coldest day we had this season which -45 with the wind I put 4 bags in my Maxim and he was knocking on 6 bags. We did a comparison seeing as I keep daily stats on pellet consumption and he averages 1.5 to 2 bags more per day than I do and my system was less than half of what he paid. True he has a bulk feed setup which is more convenient and he can log into any computer and monitor his stove and make adjustments remotely but considering the price he paid vs what I paid I'll keep my Maxim any day of the week. ;D
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Madcop did you get the bigger hopper 48 bushel thank you for all the good info. Also i think you can add on to the firestar controller i am also in Maine Brewer Thanks
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I didn't get the 48 bushel hopper but might look into it this coming year. Madawaska here..
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madcop & Big Wood, I'm down by Calais!!
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Been looking on the CB website but can't find what I'm looking for; what's the max BTU's that thing rated at and what's the max square footage it can heat? Does anyone have any idea if that thing could keep up with the heat load of 4500sqft 1840's farmhouse? I'm working on plugging all of the air leaks (I'm about 70% there and it's getting easier to heat and stays more comfortable for longer periods of time). Thanks for sharing what you know about these things. I appreciate it. Roger
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It says it has a range of up to 250,000 btu *Based on tested maximum output capacities Actual Btu output and
efficiency will be affected by the quality and type of fuel and other factors.
EPA label says " maximum output rating 212,453 BTU/Hr
I am sure it would heat you home but pellet consumption might be up there considering the size and age of your home.
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It says it has a range of up to 250,000 btu *Based on tested maximum output capacities Actual Btu output and
efficiency will be affected by the quality and type of fuel and other factors.
EPA label says " maximum output rating 212,453 BTU/Hr
I am sure it would heat you home but pellet consumption might be up there considering the size and age of your home.
madcop - Thanks for the info. Due the cold weather this winter my wood usage will be around 8 to 8 1/2 cord. I don't know what that would convert to in wood pellets (tonnage) but I have a feeling it would be somewhat more expensive to operate than my OWB. At a cost of anywhere between $250 and $300/ton (in my area), that price tag would increase rather quickly. Roger
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I was using between 12 and 15 cords of wood with my OWB. I will use 12 tons of pellets this year. last year I paid $1540 for 15 cords of tree length woods. This year I paid $2800 for 12 tons of pellets. Almost double but after 11 years of cutting tree length wood it was nice this year not to have to deal with it. Pellet delivery guy came and unloaded the pallets where I wanted them , about 30 minuets of work for him while I watched. It was awesome. I don't regret my switch and its still cheaper than oil which would of run me about $6500 for a contract this year.
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Been looking on the CB website but can't find what I'm looking for; what's the max BTU's that thing rated at and what's the max square footage it can heat? Does anyone have any idea if that thing could keep up with the heat load of 4500sqft 1840's farmhouse? I'm working on plugging all of the air leaks (I'm about 70% there and it's getting easier to heat and stays more comfortable for longer periods of time). Thanks for sharing what you know about these things. I appreciate it. Roger
According to my bro in-law, His house is 3300 sq feet ..His Maxim boiler is pretty much at its max for heating
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MAttyNH, Thanks for the update. I am certain that the Maxim 250 will not be big enough for my old house. Roger
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All this feedback has been a lot of help thanks alot keep warm
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All this feedback has been a lot of help thanks alot keep warm
:post: :thumbup:
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I'm rather baffled by this thread. Roger, your E1400 is has roughly a rated output of 80k to 120k btu output, which is heating your home. I for one know how inconsistent burning my E2300 has been but I have never run out of heat. Mine has a rating of approx. 170k btu. There have been many times when it wasn't burning all that well and struggled and my 450 gallons of water would start losing temp. I just found a .pdf brochure that states the M255 is rated at 165K btu. As with wood I know there are a lot of variables with pellets, but overall should be a more consistent source of heat. I have a friend with a forced air pellet furnace who has had a lot of trouble with it since he bought it slightly used. Pellets make a difference for sure and he knows that. But a simple change he made this year has turned his furnace and his opinion of his furnace around. He replaced the agitator in the burn pot and is getting much hotter burn. I just can't help but wonder if there is something else going on with the 250's being spoken about here. One major difference I can note and have read a lot about is water storage. The Maxim only holds 90 gallons of water. Perhaps having a water storage tank would help lessen the stress under high demand times. This is just speculation. I'm curious to learn more about them also.
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dwneast77 - All I've got to go on is what MattyNH says; if his sisters house is 3300sqft and it's running at it's max, all I can extrapolate from that is it probably won't handle the additional 1200sqft that I'm heating. Now, for your suggestion of water storage; you may be onto something. Perhaps others can chime in and offer their opinions on this subject. Please keep in mind though, I'm heating 4500sqft of an 1840's farmhouse. If anyone else on this site (or a guest who hasn't registered) and is using the CB Maxim 250 as a heat source would offer their insight it would be most beneficial to everyone.
BTW - My E-1400 handles the load very well. At it's coldest this past winter (-26 -I don't know what's worse -26 with essentially no breeze or -14 with a 20mph breeze out of the north)I never had to completely fill the fire box. I perhaps went a bit over 3/4 full but it was never stuffed full and I always had at least one or two pieces that did not burn after I checked on it 12 hours later. I'm amazed by the thing. At it's coldest this year even with all 4 zones calling for heat at the same time, seeing the water temp RISE when it reached the low set point always made me smile. Roger
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I am just catching up, but i can answer a few questions. I have a Maxum 250. The Maxum has two water outlets, My first outlet heats three zones and hot water in the house. My second outlet goes into the garage and heats a small workshop. I have the 48 bushel hopper. My house is 1870's era farmhouse with extensive remodeling, not by me...the insulation is suspect or of not very good quality.
My setup for the house is run by the one pump on the furnace, and i am going to change that in a year or two, I want the water coming into a manifold and then being pumped to the different zones.
On really cold days, my furnace will run at high or medium nonstop. My pellet consumption depends a lot on the weather. From mid December until Mid March, I can get ten to twelve days out of a ton of pellets. In the months before and after, I can get up to three weeks out of a ton.
Two things about the Maxum, I would strongly recommend the add on hopper, and make sure you have a good thermostat in the house. The big hopper so you don't touch pellet bags every day. A good thermostat, i found especially one that doesn't have large temperature swings, will help the furnace run much more efficiently for shorter time periods. My original thermostat was allowing almost six degrees of swing, which made the furnace really work hard to get the water back to temp when it was really cold. I had a new one installed, because I wanted to be able to use my propane furnace as an additional heat source, so the furnace runs much less at the high setting and stays in the medium setting a lot more.
I live live about ten miles from a pellet mile, so i am a great customer of the mill. I haven't bought more than 5 tons at once, but i want to change that. I do know that i burn between 16 and 18 tons a year. I should also mention that I burn year round to heat my hot water.
I hope this helps guys, I will be glad to answer anymore questions if I can. :)
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I am just catching up, but i can answer a few questions. I have a Maxum 250. The Maxum has two water outlets, My first outlet heats three zones and hot water in the house. My second outlet goes into the garage and heats a small workshop. I have the 48 bushel hopper. My house is 1870's era farmhouse with extensive remodeling, not by me...the insulation is suspect or of not very good quality.
My setup for the house is run by the one pump on the furnace, and i am going to change that in a year or two, I want the water coming into a manifold and then being pumped to the different zones.
On really cold days, my furnace will run at high or medium nonstop. My pellet consumption depends a lot on the weather. From mid December until Mid March, I can get ten to twelve days out of a ton of pellets. In the months before and after, I can get up to three weeks out of a ton.
Two things about the Maxum, I would strongly recommend the add on hopper, and make sure you have a good thermostat in the house. The big hopper so you don't touch pellet bags every day. A good thermostat, i found especially one that doesn't have large temperature swings, will help the furnace run much more efficiently for shorter time periods. My original thermostat was allowing almost six degrees of swing, which made the furnace really work hard to get the water back to temp when it was really cold. I had a new one installed, because I wanted to be able to use my propane furnace as an additional heat source, so the furnace runs much less at the high setting and stays in the medium setting a lot more.
I live live about ten miles from a pellet mile, so i am a great customer of the mill. I haven't bought more than 5 tons at once, but i want to change that. I do know that i burn between 16 and 18 tons a year. I should also mention that I burn year round to heat my hot water.
I hope this helps guys, I will be glad to answer anymore questions if I can. :)
Thanks for the info. That's most helpful.
Just a few questions;
1st, How much would you burn if you didn't heat your DHW in the summer time with the 250?
2nd, how many square feet are you heating in your home?
3rd, how much are you paying per ton for the pellets?
4th, do get the pellets in the bags or bulk delivery?
Thanks, Roger
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Great questions Roger . I would like to add one more type of pellets. Hard wood, soft wood or a blend of both thanks for the info
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1st, How much would you burn if you didn't heat your DHW in the summer time with the 250?
2nd, how many square feet are you heating in your home?
3rd, how much are you paying per ton for the pellets?
4th, do get the pellets in the bags or bulk delivery?
Hi Big Wood and others.
Good questions all.
1: Starting in late May, early June i shut off the heat and just heat dhw, My pellet consumption drops to 1 ton for six weeks...basically i burn two tons from June through September
2: I am heating dhw, 2700 sq ft in house (3 different zones=water air exchanger in furnace plenum, radiant floor in bathroom, and three radiators in bedroom wing), and another 200 sq ft in workshop..
3: I am paying 255 per ton, for premium hard wood pellets.
4: 50 bags per ton, and boy are my arms in great shape now. No bulk deliver is available in the area.
I will be glad to answer any questions you can think up... :)
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I bought a maxim 255 last oct. installed in middle of November. from Nov to beginning of Jan I was using under 2 bags a day with factory settings. when to cold hit Jan - March I had to raise the feed rate and blower speed 1 setting up to keep water at 175 degrees . Making it use 3 bags a day. Seemed below 20 degrees I had to raise setting but that's what their for I guess.
I used clean fire pellets very little ash only cleaned stove Beverly 10 days in April I ran out of pellets and bought some Maine choice pellets and had to clean every 3 days :bash:
Over all my wood boiler was more efficient used 6 cords for 5 years switched to pellet shove and used 8 tons!! Girlfriend didn't like filling wood boiler stove when I was gone. Maxim could run for 4-5 days depending on outside temp.
I always kept it full when it got low on pellets you could feel heat in the pellet bin so I felt if it was full it would keep the heat in the water tank better? My thought
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A BIG THANK YOU for all the input it's all very helpful