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[ijon]

Ok,out of the two gassers Portage and Main and Central Boiler which one is the most trouble free? And which one will tolerate less than dry wood? I am not saying wet wood. Just trying to get info from people who own them, so I will have a idea when my old girl gives up the ghost.

[martyinmi]

Mine is under warranty, so don't tell the guys at P&M, but I've burned wood with green leaves on it with no smoke. It must be mixed with dry to work properly.

[Bill G]

ijon,

     In my opinion, you hit on the 2 best brands in the business.  I have a PM250, as does Marty.  Marty has/is doing his best to help me with the few small troubles I have with mine.  It is well built, but if I had to do over, and could get away with it here in PA, I'd buy a conventional OWB.  A P&M ML36 would probably be to my liking.  I'll work through my small issues.  When clean, they work as advertised.  If you think you will not mind cleaning on a regular basis, then get a gasser.  Every 4-7-and if your lucky, 14 days and then a thorough cleaning is required to keep burning clean.  Excess smoke and poor heat transfer, ie long burn times all signal cleaning time.  I also have a problem with creosote build-up and am burning grade A dry hardwoods. 

     I do regret spending the extra for the gasser.  But, I have no choice but to live with it.

     Do yourself a favor and stay conventional. 

Bill

[Scott7m]

Central boilers design sure doesn't impress me...    They even have some with propane to re lite the fire.

Portage and main is by far better IMO, I also like the empyre pro and elite series.  Both are way ahead of cb IMO. 

[whitepine2]

P&M by far the best a friend has a CB ran it for a year and needed to send it back for a rebuild they paid but
don't like that,also bridging of wood never had trouble like that with P&M plenty of heat and little wood but should be dry

                                     Whitepine2

[Jack72]

Well mine still has wet paint.  One year old    I'm happy with mine.   So far.                  I'm not sure about p&m but it sounds like they are top notch    I think they are all going to have issues of some kind one time or another.       
 

I think IMO its all about how you maintain it and what you burn in it

Anyway to answer your question I don't think you could go wrong with either one.

 the propane is just a nice option to have for initial start up.  It's not really intended to keep fire lit    I could be wrong but thats not it's explained in my manual anyway.       The  guys that had there 1400s and 2400s a while have not complained about relighting.  I've haven't had any issues.  Like I said if your going to burn junk wood then your end result will be the same

[martyinmi]

PM'd ya Jack.

How ya been?

[boilerman]

Looks like a lot of P & M owners and backers in this link...Let me throw my nickle in for my Eclassic 2400. CB may have had some issues with their 2300 model, but now in my second heating season with my E2400 and I am totally impressed with no issues. I recommend you do your homework. Study, physically touch and compare the models you are looking at. Becareful to buy from a reputable company with a long established history. Getting to be to many 1-800-SO SORRY we are out of business companies out there.  Bottom line:  Outdoor wood furnace = warm house, long hot showers, no oil or propane bills!

[johnybcold]

I have a e1400 and I have not had any issues,  when my OWB smokes I know exactly why (my wife likes to toss soggy crap in there when I am not looking), one of the main reasons I got a CB is because I need the epa tag and I was new to the OWb scene and did not know anyone that had one, CB has a strong dealer precence in new england and there is a dealer in my town so when I have a issue I call he comes over.