Print

[chadley]

I would like to hear from those who own a CB; both the Phase II and the conventionals.  I've spent so much time researching gassers vs. non gassers its not funny.  I want to hear about the CB's specifically.  Everyone has an opinion.  I've heard gassers need more maitenance, won't burn the big chunks, or knots etc.  Those are umbrella statements across the OWB spectrum.  I'm curious about the difference in Phase II CB's vs. conventional CB's.  Thanks

[Scott7m]

All the same answers you just stated...   The gassifiers are much more finicky, you must have a much more properly season wood for them to operate correctly.  Cb also has a fair number of electrical issues from what I've heard at shows and through folks in the industry. 

[Roger2561]

I would like to hear from those who own a CB; both the Phase II and the conventionals.  I've spent so much time researching gassers vs. non gassers its not funny.  I want to hear about the CB's specifically.  Everyone has an opinion.  I've heard gassers need more maitenance, won't burn the big chunks, or knots etc.  Those are umbrella statements across the OWB spectrum.  I'm curious about the difference in Phase II CB's vs. conventional CB's.  Thanks

Hi Chadley,

Due to NH not allowing the sale of anything other than EPA phase II OWB's, I had no choice but to buy a gasser.  I have never operate the non-gassers so I can't be much help there.  The list below is what I go through twice a day.  I elected not to fill it completely, I short cycle it.  I service it every 12 hours.  This way I can keep an eye on things.  Please keep in mind that this is my first season with it so some of the trials and tribulations are due to not knowing or simply not reading the manual thoroughly and thinking I could get by with shortcuts.

1)  Open by-pass door
2)  Grab wheelbarrow from barn fully loaded with fire wood
3)  By the time I reach the OWB it's time to open the firebox door (stand back...some of the unburned gasses may fire up and singe your hair (don't ask me how I know).
4)  Let smoke clear if there is any and then remove any unburned wood
5)  Clear air holes of ash, coals, etc...  This is very important for proper operation.
6)  If I have to I remove some of the coals to get the coal bed to a thickness of approx. 3 inches.  It operates very well this way and ensures the pathway to the reaction chamber is clear and able to do it's job.
7)  Quick inspection of air holes looking for obstructions - poke clear if necessary.
  Rake out remaining coals to 3 inch thickness
9)  Take hoe and scrape walls and ceiling creosote - dump in hot coals - smile as it flames up.
10)  Reinstall any unburned firewood that was removed when first opening the fire door exercising care not to stack too tightly.  I have found and been warned not to do this due to it may bridge.  This happened to me once.  A lesson learned.  Plus, anything with knots is put on top so it will burn last and minimize the risk of bridging.   
11)  Fill firebox to level to suite your needs for your desired burned time.  For me, that's about 1/2 to 2/3 full, depending on outside temperature, for 12 hours knowing there will be some unburned firewood when I service it again in 12 hours.
12)  Return wheelbarrow to wood shop and fill for next time.
13)  By that time, 15 seconds has past and it's time close the by-pass door.
14)  Walk indoors, grab a cup of coffee (or drink of your choice) relax and enjoy the warmth.

With exception of step 14, all of the steps mentioned above take less than 10 minutes to complete.

Today, Saturday I'm going to go through it for a good cleaning.  My OWB has been operating since late Oct. 2011, pretty much non-stop and I'm curious to see what the chimney looks like (I don't expect to find any creosote in it as it is a gasser) as well as the exchanger and reaction chamber.  It'll give me the opportunity to inspect the air holes closely for any obstructions.  I'm thinking it should take no more than a 1/2 to 1 hour to do this.  When I used to burn wood inside the house with a woodstove in the livingroom, it was the only room in the house that was warm and I burned 6 1/2 cord of wood for that one room and any heat that filtered elsewhere in the house.  To keep the remaining rooms warm I had to burn oil - 1200 gallons/year to be comfortable.  Roger

[dirtryder]

chadley,
I have a classic 6048. My routine:
1) open door. Stand back for possible flame up and smoke.
2) rake coals.
3) throw in a wheel barrel full of wood
4) close door, go back to house
About the time my dog is done doing her buisness, I am finished.
weekends is where I burn all my junk (not punk) type wood. Everything that is either too big or too irregular to stack in my wood shed. So it takes a little longer to go around with my skid steer and gather it up.

When I had my Wood Doctor gasser, which by the way was a very good unit......just too small for me, I did everything Roger did with the exception of pulling out unburned wood. I usually never had any when I went to refill, just coals.

[Ridgekid]

X2 what dirtyryder said. Including the part about the dog........

[woodywoodchucker]

Can you burn cat crap from the litter box in a gasser?

[johnybcold]

Rodger
I have the e1400 I installed it last month never had one, I open the door twice a day to top it off every Sunday I scrap the sides and check the ash I am using mostly soft wood, before they replaced my control board I would lose the fire and did find I was always playing with the wood is you high burn working correctly?

[fireboss]

cb6048, set it and for get it. its that simple!

[Chugger4030]

I have a classic and my dad has a eclassic. The eclassic is much more finicky about how you load it and the type of wood you burn. I am glad i have a classic and hope by the time mine needs replaced the gassifiers will have improved. I burn seasoned wood with mine and sometimes  green wood or wet wood. The eclassic has a hard time with that as well as rounds.  The eclassic requires much more attention and time.

[Dean186]

I am on my third season with an E-Classic 1400.  It takes me very little maintenance to keep it running.  I have not had any problems with it in three years.

I have the routine maintenance down to 30 minutes every two weeks.  This is less work than I did with my indoor fireplace burning only 2 cords of wood.

Reading and talking to those that have owned both gassification stoves and non-gassification stoves, I concluded that I burn about 3-4 cords less wood with my high efficiency gassification furnace.  If the time it takes to maintain my stove is 30 minutes every two weeks - then that is 8-10 hours per year in maintenance.  If the time to maintain a conventional OWB was zero, then I spend 8-10 extra hours in maintenance on my high efficiency stove.  It would take this somewhat old guy much longer than 8 hours to drop, block, split, stack and feed the extra 4 cords of wood.

It seems that those who own a conventional OWB are happy with their purchase and those that have the gassification OWBs are happy with their purchase.  This is a good thing.

If possible, talk to those that have owned both.  If one were to disregard all the posts about the early E-Classic 2300s (a stove that is no longer manufactured), then the comments are, IMO, very positive on the gassification type OWBs.

Also, be sure to check with the county that you live in, you may not have a choice.  A lot of counties require new wood stove installations to be EPA II certified.  Of course, this is because they don't pollute as much, which makes for better relations with the neighbors.

Good luck with your decision,  Dean

[gsilus]

I am on my 3rd heating season with a CB E2300 and I really like it.  I heat a 5000sq ft home with a 1100sq ft garage, along with a 100 gallon water heater.  Used about 9 cord last year.  I clean the ashes out once a week, when the fire is down way low.  Usually I can go about 24 hours per load of real dry wood.  I did not purchase the extra gas assist package, and glad I did not, cuz I'd really never use it.  When I go on vacation I use the gas furnace in the house to heat the house.  I would recommend the E2300 to anyone that does not mind having to use darn dry wood.  If u expect to use non-dry wood, then do not get this model.  My next effort will be to install a hot-tub and connect it with the boiler, kind of why i joined the forum, to get tips on that process.

[Bull]

Welcome to the site gsilus