# CB 5036 Quote. Sound fair?



## funbus (Apr 15, 2014)

Quote below is for a CB 5036 OWB. Quote is Canadian dollars. With tax I figure I would be looking at $18,000 which seems high to me but I'm interested in folks opinions.

The Classic CL-5036 is 9300 less 500 rebate till April 29th——— $8800 net plus hst   Dual-Fuel Ready option-600 extra     Burner- Actuator kit— 1400 extra
All supplies to do average installation incl. rad in furnace, water heater, all necessary piping 65’ from house, etc———————$3000 plus hst
Average installation—————————less pad and trenching———————————————————————————————————$1950 plus hst


----------



## ihookem (Apr 15, 2014)

It seems real high to me. I was looking at CB 5036 about 5 yrs ago and they wanted 6300 bucks . Sure went up it seems. If I went with an OWB it would be Central Boiler though.


----------



## rkusek (Apr 15, 2014)

You need to read more on this website before you shell out that kind of cash for an old school OWB.  Read about the Garn Jr. or some of the gassers  and you will change your mind on that purchase.


----------



## funbus (Apr 15, 2014)

Yeah I thought it seemed high as well. I should mention $2000 of the cost is so we can get it equipped with a propane burner to run a backup fuel if we go away for a few days. What's the install like on one of these units? Can I do myself or is it worth paying this guy another $2000 for that? 

I'm also not sure if the things included in the $3000 part above are all necessary. We already have a water heater. I thought you just connected something to the water heater to heat the water. Also not sure what he means by a rad. Do you think he is referring to a heat exchanger? 

Brand new to this so sorry for the stupid questions.


----------



## maple1 (Apr 15, 2014)

Exactly what pipe is he using for the underground part?


----------



## funbus (Apr 15, 2014)

I don't know what pipe he is using. This was just an initial email response and I'm hesitant to even reply based on these numbers but continue to shop for a better quote elsewhere. This figure doesn't even include trenching or a pad which I may do myself. I mean once I'm up around 20K then I'm ready to start thinking a geothermal quote because it is not much more and would be no work once installed.\

I haven't looked into the indoor setups enough yet. I'm hesitant because I didn't want to get into constructing an outbuilding and getting planning permission and all that.


----------



## maple1 (Apr 15, 2014)

Can't do indoors eh?


----------



## funbus (Apr 15, 2014)

I have a basement but I don't even know what our insurer would say about that. They already charge us a premium for having an oil furnace down there. As for building, the one issue here is that we are pretty much on bedrock almost all around us. In places there are 2'-3' of soil but in other places it's rock right away. So I don't know what that means for trenching. If I did an external one I could run the pipe along side the weeping bed and then truck in some soil to bury it under a few feet of earth.


----------



## rkusek (Apr 15, 2014)

Rad sounds like the heat exchanger for your existing furnace.  Do you have a propane furnace now?  If so, I wouldn't bother with the backup.  That HX works almost as well in reverse and could use heat from your propance furnace to keep the boiler & piping from freezing.  A self install is doable if you are comfortable working with this kind of stuff although contractor install might be required in certain areas or to maintain the warranty.  $2000 might be money well spent.  I don't own one or sell them but I think a Garn Jr. would fit the bill for many people that are able to afford it and burn a lot less wood than an OWB


----------



## funbus (Apr 15, 2014)

We currently have an oil furnace. Can the heat exchanger work both ways with the oil furnace to heat the lines when the boiler is not running?


----------



## harttj (Apr 15, 2014)

Don't bother with the propain burner and just set the oil to kick in. The propain is very inefficient on those.


----------



## funbus (Apr 15, 2014)

Okay cool, thanks for that. You think the dealer might have mentioned that when I told him we had oil...


----------



## BoilerMan (Apr 15, 2014)

harttj said:


> Don't bother with the propain burner and just set the oil to kick in. The propain is very inefficient on those.


I would think burning anything in a thinly insulated steel "outbuilding" with a fire in it would be quite inefficient. 

If you do a CB OWB just or any conventional type OWB, remember you could be burning less than 1/2 the wood with a secondary combustion boiler. 
Just something to think about.

TS


----------



## chewy (Apr 15, 2014)

funbus said:


> Quote below is for a CB 5036 OWB. Quote is Canadian dollars. With tax I figure I would be looking at $18,000 which seems high to me but I'm interested in folks opinions.
> 
> The Classic CL-5036 is 9300 less 500 rebate till April 29th——— $8800 net plus hst   Dual-Fuel Ready option-600 extra     Burner- Actuator kit— 1400 extra
> All supplies to do average installation incl. rad in furnace, water heater, all necessary piping 65’ from house, etc———————$3000 plus hst
> Average installation—————————less pad and trenching———————————————————————————————————$1950 plus hst



Funbus, 

Seriously consider taking your time, and read and learn about all of your options.  As stated above the 5036 is not as efficient as many other options you should consider.

Trust me, I own one of the worst outdoor boilers there is.  "Free heat machine" "hybrid fire".   I load every 4-6 hrs when temps fall below 15*.   It was supposed to heat 6000 sq ft and will only heat 2400 sq ft.   Think long and hard if for the next ten years you want to nurse a stove outside at 2am when it's -15* out. 

I know cb is more of a reputable company than my pos wood boiler, but you're getting ready to throw down some serious cash.  Might as well weigh your options.

Just my .02

Erin


----------



## cityboy172 (Apr 15, 2014)

harttj said:


> Don't bother with the propain burner and just set the oil to kick in. The propain is very inefficient on those.


 Everything is real inefficient on those.


----------



## flyingcow (Apr 16, 2014)

For the same money build an outbuilding put a gasser in it.  You'll burn less wood, no smoke, etc.Basically what i did. For the same money as an E-classic i bought a gasser and storage.  My boiler is not in my house.


----------



## maple1 (Apr 16, 2014)

How much would you seriously expect to use back up heat?

In my case, I yanked out ALL my oil stuff, and replaced it with a gassifying boiler, storage, and an electric boiler for backup heat. And a new electric DHW tank. My insurance company has no problem with a wood boiler in my basment, but they didn't seem to have a problem with the oil either - except that they were about to make me replace my oil tank for some silly 'best before' reason.

You're getting lots of feedback here - but the main concern in all of it is that you FULLY evaluate this. Start with visualizing your oil stuff all gone, and the space it would leave behind (and chimney it would free up), and what you could do with that space. Especially if your insurance seems to be dinging you for having oil. That seems to be an odd one, but they should then like you if you get rid of it.

You mentioned checking out a propane burner for the CB - so do you have propane on site already? That opens up more possibilities & would make it even easier for me to get rid of the oil. Don't suppose there's natural gas in your area?

OWBs might have their attractions, but they have their shortcomings too that people only seem to realize after they get to living with them. Then it's too late.


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

flyingcow said:


> For the same money build an outbuilding put a gasser in it.  You'll burn less wood, no smoke, etc.Basically what i did. For the same money as an E-classic i bought a gasser and storage.  My boiler is not in my house.



How much storage does your tarm and storage take flyingcow? I think I can build a 10x10' outbuilding without planning permission. Can even cheat a little since we are rural and neighbours are distant. Much bigger though and I would need to get planning permission. Actually it is 100 sf allowance so could be 9x12 or another configuration. Once concern I have with an outbuilding is the underground trenching if we have to go any distance from the house. We have a lot of bedrock!


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

maple1 said:


> How much would you seriously expect to use back up heat?
> 
> You mentioned checking out a propane burner for the CB - so do you have propane on site already? That opens up more possibilities & would make it even easier for me to get rid of the oil. Don't suppose there's natural gas in your area?
> 
> OWBs might have their attractions, but they have their shortcomings too that people only seem to realize after they get to living with them. Then it's too late.



We would only expect to use backup heat when away during winter which generally amounts to a couple long weekends over the winter to see in-laws. So not much backup heat at all - maybe 7 days max per winter.


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

Thanks everyone for the feedback particularly the strong message I am getting on gassers and storage. I think I need to start looking into the tarms and garns a bit more. Anyone know what a garn runs for in Canada? I have not been able to locate any info on those. I found a tarm dealer in Markland, Ontario and those units seem really well priced. Couple other questions about these models:

- how big will my outbuilding need to be? Tarm looks a lot smaller than Garn although I guess the storage is built in with garn. 
- for a Tarm, how large a tank would be adequate for my heating needs? 2200 sf house plus basement
- how often do you need to feed these beasts? I see on the garn site they mention that their optimal heating output number is based on feeding every 3 hours. I assume that is no where near as often as it needs to be fed in order to keep the house warm though. 
- what is the preferred backup heating method with these units?

Thanks all!


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

chewy said:


> Funbus,
> 
> Trust me, I own one of the worst outdoor boilers there is.  "Free heat machine" "hybrid fire".   I load every 4-6 hrs when temps fall below 15*.   It was supposed to heat 6000 sq ft and will only heat 2400 sq ft.   Think long and hard if for the next ten years you want to nurse a stove outside at 2am when it's -15* out.
> 
> Erin



Ouch. I do not want this!


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

One more question about garn/tarm:

Can I burn pine if it is well seasoned? I have a lot of pine as well as hardwoods.


----------



## maple1 (Apr 16, 2014)

You can burn pine in anything, as long as it is seasoned.

If now thinking storage - you could also put that in the basement with boiler outside. Maybe where your oil unit is now? And/or oil tank? That would free up your shed for the boiler - and some wood storage. Maybe the rest of your wood in a wood shed next to it or a lean-to. If you already have propane, and plan to keep it (use it for other things?), I would also consider a small propane direct vent or the like for backup heat. I went with an electric boiler since we are only gone for 2 days a winter, and it was a cheap & easy install that takes up next to no space and doesn't need a chimney. I would check out what you would have to do to make a shed/building big enough to hold your boiler, and your entire winters wood - it might not be as bad as you're thinking, red tape wise.

My typical winter burning schedule with a gassifier & 660 gallons of storage (both in my basement):

-Start fire late afternoon/supper time.
-Reload after 3-4 hours, reload on way to bed if needed (usually only part load).
-Repeat next day.

That amounted to about 6 hours of actual burn time on a typical winter day. On the coldest of winter days, I would light the fire earlier, maybe around noon, and burn time would go to 10-12 hours a day. Storage gives great flexibility with schedules - if I was going to be gone all day, I would just start a burn on the way out in the morning, then do another when I got back.


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

Thanks maple1. That sounds doable. We are at work during the day so would probably throw wood on in the morning as well. Good to know pine is fine if seasoned. 

We don't have propane so would probably go with the electric backup. I'd say in a typical winter we would only be away twice for a maximum of 3-4 days each. 

If the boiler is in the out building and the storage internal, would you need to heat the outbuilding at all? I would assume the boiler would provide enough ambient heat to keep it from freezing up? Sorry, probably a stupid question. But if I went with a garn externally would it need to have the building heated?


----------



## maple1 (Apr 16, 2014)

I think I would just insulate the outbuilding very well, and plug in an electric heater just in case. Although with mine all indoors, I haven't had to consider that aspect before - others can chime in on that with their experiences.

One other thing I will emphasize as it may not be obvious to you yet - with a boiler tied to storage, and batch burning, you will need to build a new fire every day. Or maybe two if you do burn morning & evening. That was the biggest initial change for me from my old one - with it, I made a fire sometime in October & just kept adding to it until sometime in May. But I have gotten used to that & wouldn't go back to the old way of operation for anything - all the advantages of batch burning far outweigh any inconvenience of making a new fire every day.


----------



## Karl_northwind (Apr 16, 2014)

Either will burn pine OK.  I'd probably recommend the GARN as it runs with lots of excess secondary air, which will allow the fast burning pine to off-gas and burn more completely.  if you were going with a downdraft (the TARM is a downdraft style) I think you'd want something that has an 02 sensor that will modulate the primary and secondary air.  

FYI the GARN has ports for electric elements and controls available to do off peak or on peak electric heating.  no need for an extra boiler.
karl

PS, keep in mind that the heat output is directly related to the pounds of wood that you can put into the boiler.  pine weighs less per volume than most hardwoods.


----------



## maple1 (Apr 16, 2014)

Honest question - is a Garn the best choice for an HX-in-plenum install? From the scattered reading I've done, I was thinking it wasn't, because of less stratification & longer time to get the hottest water out of it on fire startup. Think I've read it's the cats meow for lower temp (radiant) installs, but not so much for hotter temp apps? I could be wrong though.

(Bordering on a side track....)


----------



## Karl_northwind (Apr 16, 2014)

maple1 said:


> Honest question - is a Garn the best choice for an HX-in-plenum install? From the scattered reading I've done, I was thinking it wasn't, because of less stratification & longer time to get the hottest water out of it on fire startup. Think I've read it's the cats meow for lower temp (radiant) installs, but not so much for hotter temp apps? I could be wrong though.
> 
> (Bordering on a side track....)



the honest answer is:  it depends.    depends on the size of the coil, the furnace, the ductwork, and the water temp.  like any non-cycling, storage based device, work with as low temp water as you can.  I'll limit it there so as not to Derail the conversation.


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

Karl_northwind said:


> Either will burn pine OK.  I'd probably recommend the GARN as it runs with lots of excess secondary air, which will allow the fast burning pine to off-gas and burn more completely.  if you were going with a downdraft (the TARM is a downdraft style) I think you'd want something that has an 02 sensor that will modulate the primary and secondary air.
> 
> FYI the GARN has ports for electric elements and controls available to do off peak or on peak electric heating.  no need for an extra boiler.
> karl
> ...



My preference would be to burn well seasoned hardwood. I just happen to also have a large stand of diseased pine - much of it standing dead - which I need to clean up. So I might as well burn it. I can always run with a mix of hard/soft until it is gone if the pine burns too fast. Thanks for the input!


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

maple1 said:


> Honest question - is a Garn the best choice for an HX-in-plenum install? From the scattered reading I've done, I was thinking it wasn't, because of less stratification & longer time to get the hottest water out of it on fire startup. Think I've read it's the cats meow for lower temp (radiant) installs, but not so much for hotter temp apps? I could be wrong though.
> 
> (Bordering on a side track....)



Now you guys are going over my head. I have lots more to learn obviously! lol


----------



## cityboy172 (Apr 16, 2014)

funbus said:


> Now you guys are going over my head. I have lots more to learn obviously! lol





maple1 said:


> Honest question - is a Garn the best choice for an HX-in-plenum install? From the scattered reading I've done, I was thinking it wasn't, because of less stratification & longer time to get the hottest water out of it on fire startup. Think I've read it's the cats meow for lower temp (radiant) installs, but not so much for hotter temp apps? I could be wrong though.
> 
> (Bordering on a side track....)


I lean towards no. That is the one thing I don't like about the garn. I feel a properly set up gasifacation unit with external storage would be able to better maintain a constant temperature to the load.  A fluctuating discharge temp will translate to different run times on the air handler all the time.

 What I don't know about the garn, is how well it would be able to maintain tank temperature. I have never seen, much less operated one.


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

Another question on electric backup. We could keep our current oil furnace but it would be nice to get rid of it completely. If we were to go with electric backup, what would our requirements be? We currently only have 100 amp service to the house so I am not sure if we would be able to go with electric backup. Anybody know anything about this? Thanks again.


----------



## heaterman (Apr 16, 2014)

Garn Jr in Ontario = $12,189 with horizontal flue kit and water treatment program. To that price you would have to add brokerage fees, some shipping, import duties/tax
Figure $14K for a ball park number

A Garn can and does work very well with a forced air system provided the appropriate hot water coil for the furnace plenum is installed. Size that piece up so it will provide adequate heat with 130-140* water and you are all set. We have lot's of them running in that scenario.
People get into trouble even with constant temperature systems when the hot water coil is sized improperly or there is not enough flow from the boiler.

As always, the devil is in the details.


----------



## goosegunner (Apr 16, 2014)

funbus said:


> My preference would be to burn well seasoned hardwood. I just happen to also have a large stand of diseased pine - much of it standing dead - which I need to clean up. So I might as well burn it. I can always run with a mix of hard/soft until it is gone if the pine burns too fast. Thanks for the input!




The last four years I burned a mix of red pine and oak in my Econoburn. It actually works really well.

gg


----------



## goosegunner (Apr 16, 2014)

funbus said:


> How much storage does your tarm and storage take flyingcow? I think I can build a 10x10' outbuilding without planning permission. Can even cheat a little since we are rural and neighbours are distant. Much bigger though and I would need to get planning permission. Actually it is 100 sf allowance so could be 9x12 or another configuration. Once concern I have with an outbuilding is the underground trenching if we have to go any distance from the house. We have a lot of bedrock!




Won't you have the same bedrock problem with a OWB?  I think you would want to go farther away with a OWB due to smoldering smoke issues. The gasifiers in a building could be close to home. WIth storage I run 2-8 hours of the day and it is smoke free when burning. 

In the summer when heating my pool you have to look at the stack to see the heat mirage to know that it is running.

gg


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

goosegunner said:


> Won't you have the same bedrock problem with a OWB?  I think you would want to go farther away with a OWB due to smoldering smoke issues. The gasifiers in a building could be close to home. WIth storage I run 2-8 hours of the day and it is smoke free when burning.
> 
> In the summer when heating my pool you have to look at the stack to see the heat mirage to know that it is running.
> 
> gg



I have a heated water line that runs to my barn and I could put an owb inline with that. That is a bad spot for me to build an out building though as it is right beside the driveway and is a bit prone to flood. I could look into a lean-to next to my attached garage perhaps.


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

goosegunner said:


> The last four years I burned a mix of red pine and oak in my Econoburn. It actually works really well.
> 
> gg



Good to know thanks.


----------



## maple1 (Apr 16, 2014)

funbus said:


> Another question on electric backup. We could keep our current oil furnace but it would be nice to get rid of it completely. If we were to go with electric backup, what would our requirements be? We currently only have 100 amp service to the house so I am not sure if we would be able to go with electric backup. Anybody know anything about this? Thanks again.


 
100 amp service will likely be an issue, yes. My electric boiler required a 100 amp breaker, because it had a rating on the tag of 82 amps. Even though its measured draw was 'only' 72 amps after installed and with all elements drawing. It is a 18kw boiler (I think) - bigger than I needed but I got a real good deal on it. If I was buying a new one to use, I would likely get something in the 12kw range, which would be around 50 amps.


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

maple1 said:


> 100 amp service will likely be an issue, yes. My electric boiler required a 100 amp breaker, because it had a rating on the tag of 82 amps. Even though its measured draw was 'only' 72 amps after installed and with all elements drawing. It is a 18kw boiler (I think) - bigger than I needed but I got a real good deal on it. If I was buying a new one to use, I would likely get something in the 12kw range, which would be around 50 amps.



cool, thanks


----------



## flyingcow (Apr 16, 2014)

Tarm is the brand i bought. many other brands out there that do just as well. I have 820 gals of storage in a box that 7x7x4ft high. Storage is in my basement, boiler is next door. Unattached building. My boiler room is 8x12ft. decent amount of room. Insulated, no other heat in it. But i did run a 3 inch PVC pipe between house and boiler room, just as a what if i need this? pipe. 

You don't need storage. It is a bit more efficient, but it's more for convenience, for me. Avg winter day, i start one fire a day. Sub zero days? Maybe twice a day? but not very often. In most gasser set up's, with storage,  it takes maybe 10 minutes to start a fire and walk away. thats all i do. in the spring one fire every 2 or 3 days. In the summer, one fire every 4 to 5 days for DHW. I have a wife and 3 teens. 

I will recommend looking at a garn also. It's in the same ballpark, as for price, and it's an all in one set up. But, take your time and enjoy this site. 

Good group here....But them boys from nova scotia, you keep an eye on them. They're a little too close the the Newfie Screech fire water.


----------



## flyingcow (Apr 16, 2014)

Forgot to mention.....SEASONED FIREWOOD.  No green wood in a gasser. Seasoned for at least one year, preferably two yrs or more. Makes a huge difference


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

flyingcow said:


> Tarm is the brand i bought. many other brands out there that do just as well. I have 820 gals of storage in a box that 7x7x4ft high. Storage is in my basement, boiler is next door. Unattached building. My boiler room is 8x12ft. decent amount of room. Insulated, no other heat in it. But i did run a 3 inch PVC pipe between house and boiler room, just as a what if i need this? pipe.
> 
> You don't need storage. It is a bit more efficient, but it's more for convenience, for me. Avg winter day, i start one fire a day. Sub zero days? Maybe twice a day? but not very often. In most gasser set up's, with storage,  it takes maybe 10 minutes to start a fire and walk away. thats all i do. in the spring one fire every 2 or 3 days. In the summer, one fire every 4 to 5 days for DHW. I have a wife and 3 teens.
> 
> ...



That's some great info FC -really appreciate. I like the concept of your setup. Do you pipe underground into the house or above grade? That size shed would work for me. My neighbour has a Empyre gasser but no storage so he hooks the water tank back up to the electric mains in summer. Like the idea of heating our water year round since it is currently an electric tank and expensive. 

The one thing I am struggling with is how do I get a storage that size into my basement that only has conventional sized doors to access? Maybe multiple smaller tanks in series?


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

flyingcow said:


> Forgot to mention.....SEASONED FIREWOOD.  No green wood in a gasser. Seasoned for at least one year, preferably two yrs or more. Makes a huge difference



It seasons faster if it is standing dead wood though right? Basically everything I am taking will be standing dead.

I have a cousin from NS and a buddy from Cape Breton so I know what you mean. Great bunch of boys those east coasters!


----------



## BoilerMan (Apr 16, 2014)

funbus said:


> The one thing I am struggling with is how do I get a storage that size into my basement that only has conventional sized doors to access? Maybe multiple smaller tanks in series?


You can use unpressureized storage, TomInMaine sells them, basically a rubber (proprietary) lined fold uptank with copper coils in it.  These can be brought in through a regular sized door and setup in basement.  Several on here have them.

TS


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

BoilerMan said:


> You can use unpressureized storage, TomInMaine sells them, basically a rubber (proprietary) lined fold uptank with copper coils in it.  These can be brought in through a regular sized door and setup in basement.  Several on here have them.
> 
> TS



Sounds interesting. I would have to see an example. Googled tominmaine but didn't seem to find that. Thanks


----------



## BoilerMan (Apr 16, 2014)

funbus said:


> Sounds interesting. I would have to see an example. Googled tominmaine but didn't seem to find that. Thanks


Tom is a guy who posts on here, his website is http://www.americansolartechnics.com

TS


----------



## funbus (Apr 16, 2014)

BoilerMan said:


> Tom is a guy who posts on here, his website is http://www.americansolartechnics.com
> 
> TS



Thanks!


----------



## rkusek (Apr 16, 2014)

You might look for smaller old propane tanks that would fit thru the door.  Pressurized will deliver a more usable heat per gal of storage to the air handler than a unpressurized tank because of the extra heat exchanges.  Tom can give a better answer on this, maybe making a bigger tank like 1500 gal will overcome this and be something that will fit thru the basement door.


----------



## flyingcow (Apr 16, 2014)

My piping is exposed in the garage, then runs to the house. Once it leaves the garage it drops underground, for about 35ft. It's  all Thermopex piping. I think it works well.


----------



## woodsmaster (Apr 17, 2014)

funbus said:


> Thanks maple1. That sounds doable. We are at work during the day so would probably throw wood on in the morning as well. Good to know pine is fine if seasoned.
> 
> We don't have propane so would probably go with the electric backup. I'd say in a typical winter we would only be away twice for a maximum of 3-4 days each.
> 
> If the boiler is in the out building and the storage internal, would you need to heat the outbuilding at all? I would assume the boiler would provide enough ambient heat to keep it from freezing up? Sorry, probably a stupid question. But if I went with a garn externally would it need to have the building heated?



there should be enough ambient heat to keep everything nice and warm. My boiler room is usually 80 F or warmer and its in a shed outside. If you were going to leave for a week, you could just put a small electric space heater in the room.


----------



## flyingcow (Apr 17, 2014)

What i've found is the colder it is outside, obviously I have to build a fire more often. In the shoulder season the boiler room stays above freezing, on one fire every two or three days. But my house is not super insulated. R-19 walls and R30 ceilings, so my house calls for heat pretty often. I always figured if i needed xtra heat in the boiler room I would run a small pex line thru my PVC conduit from house to boiler room. Put in a radiator of some sort with a TRV for control. Hook that little rad right into the house system. Even if i was off line with the wood boiler for a long time in the winter, the oil system would keep that warm.


----------



## heaterman (Apr 17, 2014)

flyingcow said:


> Forgot to mention.....SEASONED FIREWOOD.  No green wood in a gasser. Seasoned for at least one year, preferably two yrs or more. Makes a huge difference




Standing dead wood, even with the bark off will still measure 30%+ moisture content. You have to pay the piper and cut and split it, let it season for a year. More for oak.
One of my boys was cutting dead oak (blight is a big problem here) and we measured numerous pieces of it. This stuff has been dead for 3-5 years and standing there with 80% of the bark falling off. Wood will not be suitable for a gasifier unless it's been cut split and stacked for at least a year.
If you're burning a CB or other outdoor burner it will dry as you burn it. You'll lose about 40-50% of the heat content in the wood evaporating the water out of it though


----------



## flyingcow (Apr 17, 2014)

True.....I have taken Tree length wood that's in my yard for 3 yrs sawed it up, split it and it was still in the 30 MC.


----------



## funbus (Apr 17, 2014)

I'm definitely looking into a gasser with storage but the local P&M guy has quoted me $10,000 installed on a BL2840 which is similar to the CB model that was 6K more.


----------



## ihookem (Apr 18, 2014)

I have a gasser outside and in a shed that is only 6'x6' . It works but is way too small. I would have gone 10'x10' and then could put a lot of wood in it to dry it out and if the weather is nasty it stayed dry as can be.


----------



## funbus (Apr 18, 2014)

ihookem said:


> I have a gasser outside and in a shed that is only 6'x6' . It works but is way too small. I would have gone 10'x10' and then could put a lot of wood in it to dry it out and if the weather is nasty it stayed dry as can be.


Are you running direct to a heat exchanger or do you have storage?


----------



## cityboy172 (Apr 18, 2014)

ihookem said:


> I have a gasser outside and in a shed that is only 6'x6' . It works but is way too small. I would have gone 10'x10' and then could put a lot of wood in it to dry it out and if the weather is nasty it stayed dry as can be.


 
Funny you mention wanting to go bigger. I'm laing my "shed" out right now.  After pricing stuff out and thinking about things, It's turned into a 24'x24' annex to my 24'x24' detached pole garage. I've never heard anyone whine about too much garage / storage space.  I'm thinking it should store my boiler,  2,000 gallons of storage, and 20-24 cords nicely.


----------



## BoilerMan (Apr 18, 2014)

cityboy172 said:


> I'm thinking it should store my boiler,  2,000 gallons of storage, and 20-24 cords nicely.


Zoiks! Solotta wood you got there Scooby!

TS


----------



## JP11 (Apr 19, 2014)

cityboy172 said:


> Funny you mention wanting to go bigger. I'm laing my "shed" out right now.  After pricing stuff out and thinking about things, It's turned into a 24'x24' annex to my 24'x24' detached pole garage. I've never heard anyone whine about too much garage / storage space.  I'm thinking it should store my boiler,  2,000 gallons of storage, and 20-24 cords nicely.



About exactly what I told my wife.  Finished my new 'barn' this winter.  36x72.  No man's garage is too big.. EVER

JP


----------



## flyingcow (Apr 19, 2014)

sometimes they're too big when you get a new spring cleaning.


----------



## JP11 (Apr 19, 2014)

flyingcow said:


> sometimes they're too big when you get a new spring cleaning.


LOL.. did take me a couple hours to sweep the floors and pick up.  It's nice to be working on my snowcat..and just walk away.  Tools and stuff aren't in the way, or gonna get lost.


----------



## Fred61 (Apr 19, 2014)

cityboy172 said:


> I'm thinking it should store my boiler,  2,000 gallons of storage, and 20-24 cords nicely.


Sometimes stuffing a large structure full of wood doesn't work well unless you're going to burn the whole lot in one season or you have access to several sides of your horde. The woodshed with the green roof is 20x20 and only holds 9 cords. Three cord going east/west (the rows you can see) and two rows of 3 cords each going north/south) with a Jeep Wrangler between them. Nothing worse than having to drag out the unburned stash to stack your new wood every spring. The dog kennel in the foreground holds 6 cords and is accessible from two sides. Some folks around here build their sheds in the form of a + and are able to access four years of wood without needing to handle it two more times.




	

		
			
		

		
	
 o


----------



## flyingcow (Apr 19, 2014)

Fred61, 
    My same thoughts. If i was going to build a wood shed, it would hold twice as much as I burn a year. With a walk way down the middle. I like burning wood, but don't like to handle it.


----------



## goosegunner (Apr 20, 2014)

flyingcow said:


> Fred61,
> My same thoughts. If i was going to build a wood shed, it would hold twice as much as I burn a year. With a walk way down the middle. I like burning wood, but don't like to handle it.



I have had those same thoughts about wood sheds. Problem is I am thinking 4 years minimum. That can turn into a fairly large building and the added cost really cuts into the economics of burning wood.

So for now I stack and move stack, stack and move......

gg


----------



## Fred61 (Apr 20, 2014)

Up until this year the three cord blocks have worked well for me but I have depleted my three cord block for this season and I'm still burning. The one thing that has reminded me of the past and all that wood handling is the horde of free wood I was given. Ended up stacking it outside and can now look forward to re-stacking it in the woodsheds as space becomes available. Although it is nicely stacked on 8 foot pallets and covered, it is not in a handy spot for picking during the heating season.


----------

