# USED EKO 40 ??To Buy or Not to Buy???



## NP ALASKA (Jan 3, 2012)

I have found a EKO 40 forsale locally, 4900 bucks. The EKO and two tanks; 100 Gal and 50 Gal.
Piping, pump etc.

The gentleman states the unit is to big for his efficient home. Runs to hot.  I believe he should have been running more storage and he may have been trying to idle it thorugh??
It was used one winter and uninstalled.

Any thoguhts, what to look for on unit, is the price good?

Thanks


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## Hydronics (Jan 3, 2012)

New Horizon (advertiser on Hearth) has EKO 40's for $5480, you'd have to ship to Alaska though.
If you check the tag on the back you can get the year of manufacture. Make sure it was plumbed with the return protection valve (Danfoss or the like). This prevents corrosion from the cold water return. Be sure the water jacket holds pressure and check for cracked refractory. Check for fan and controller function.
I'm happy with my EKO. They need dry wood, the wet stuff you're probably using in the Central will NOT work well in an EKO. Start cutting and splitting now.
50 cord: I can't even imagine!
Good Luck.


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## woodsmaster (Jan 3, 2012)

If it comes with a lots of plumbing,  and it's in good shape thats probably a fair deal.


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## Gasifier (Jan 4, 2012)

If everything is in good shape and you get the pump and plumbing to go with, it sounds like a good price. Be cautious. If you can get a new one for another $1000? How much would shipping cost? No worries with a new one. If not,  do you think he would take a little less? Maybe you could start by offering him $4000, then meet him at $4200?  

Are you saying you burned 50 full cord of wood in one heating season?  :grrr:


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## Singed Eyebrows (Jan 4, 2012)

NP ALASKA said:
			
		

> I have found a EKO 40 forsale locally, 4900 bucks. The EKO and two tanks; 100 Gal and 50 Gal.
> Piping, pump etc.
> 
> The gentleman states the unit is to big for his efficient home. Runs to hot.  I believe he should have been running more storage and he may have been trying to idle it thorugh??
> ...


I'd be a little leary of someone in Alaska saying their boiler put out too much heat! It is possible the door seals leaked & this is the reason for the sale. That can be fixed. If you can talk him down a bit it's probably a good deal. As was posted, see if it had an inlet mixer on it. One winters use can cause damage if cold water was returned. Atmos(my boiler) states the drum can rot completely through in 2 years with low inlet temps, Randy


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## Hunderliggur (Jan 4, 2012)

Looks like the two tanks may have been used for expansion tanks.  You should have 500 - 1000 if you run storage, although some here use a "buffer tank" in the 100 - 200 gallon range.  Do you have pics of the boiler and the parts?


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## NP ALASKA (Jan 4, 2012)

This is what was posted, havent seen it in person yet. My original thoughts are it is so close to price of a new one, it may not be worth the risk.

"I have for sale an Orlan 40/Eko 40 indoor wood boiler. It burns at 91% efficiency using a gassification process so the emissions are minimal. BTU rating 137,000. It works great, but is too large for my energy efficient home. It comes with an 80 and 50 gallon hot water storage tank, pipe, circulation pump and fittings up to my oil-fired boiler system. I have over $10,000 invested in the system. Please call XXXXXXXXXX, serious inquiries only"

I will have to check on plumbing to find out about return, it doesnt mention Danfoss so that makes me wonder


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## EffectaBoilerUser (USA) (Jan 4, 2012)

I'm assuming the 2 tanks are expansion tanks because of there small size. Do you know if these tanks are bladder style expansion tanks or are they open style expansion tanks?

If they are open style expansion tanks do you know if the previous user operated the entire boiler system as an open or closed system? If an open system, did the previous owner put chemicals in the water to prevent corrosion?

If operated as an open system and the water was not properly treated I would be concerned about corrosion in the boiler (especially if a Danfoss or laddomat valve was not used int he previous system to ensure the return water coming into the bottom of the boiler was at least 140-160F).

For a 35-40 kw boiler (122,000-136,000 btu boiler) I highly recommend a minimum of 1,000 gallons of storage.

I live in Northern Michigan and am using my effecta lambda 35kw boiler with 2 x 500 gallons of refurbished propane tank storage. When it gets cold out (in the teens) I let my tanks get down to 135-140 and am able to heat them up to 180-190 with one 5 hour burn in my effecta lambda 35 boiler using seasoned hard maple as my fuel.

Please be sure to let us know if you find any other information out about the EKO40 boiler. 

Thanks,

Brian


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## Singed Eyebrows (Jan 4, 2012)

NP ALASKA said:
			
		

> This is what was posted, havent seen it in person yet. My original thoughts are it is so close to price of a new one, it may not be worth the risk.
> 
> "I have for sale an Orlan 40/Eko 40 indoor wood boiler. It burns at 91% efficiency using a gassification process so the emissions are minimal. BTU rating 137,000. It works great, but is too large for my energy efficient home. It comes with an 80 and 50 gallon hot water storage tank, pipe, circulation pump and fittings up to my oil-fired boiler system. I have over $10,000 invested in the system. Please call XXXXXXXXXX, serious inquiries only"
> 
> I will have to check on plumbing to find out about return, it doesnt mention Danfoss so that makes me wonder


As was mentioned, it could have a Laddomat on it also. If it has the small one that would be troublesome with that large a boiler. Pics would help as Brian said, Randy


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## willworkforwood (Jan 4, 2012)

What the seller claims is possible, even at the NP, but one would need to know his heat loss, and then see if the numbers add up correctly.  I run without storage also, and use various operating techniques (small fires, letting the fire go out, etc.), in order for the boiler to run as efficiently as possible.  The output of my boiler would be WAY too much most of the time, if I tried to burn full loads.  So, if he was only doing fill-it-up-and-go, then he might have been seeing lots of boiler idling and creosote in the HX.  And with that being said, how would a boiler like this one work for you?  What's your heat loss, and how well does it match up with the boiler output?  If you have a closer match, the boiler might run better, fully-loaded than it did for the seller (if that's what your intent is).  And, as said previously, these gasers demand dry (20%) firewood.  The results get worse proportionally as the MC of the wood increases.  So, if you can't see a way to get at least 1 full year ahead on firewood (i.e. seasoned for 1 full year or more), then a gasification boiler would not be a good choice for you.


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