# New Central Boiler Classic Edge



## Bwhunter85 (May 21, 2015)

Anyone have more information about this new boiler that CB came out with?  I'm looking at purchasing the Classic Edge 550 model.  Thoughts? 

http://centralboiler.com/products/classic-edge/


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## tjcole50 (May 27, 2015)

Interested as well what brought the cost down?


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## S.Whiplash (May 27, 2015)

Doesn't seem to be a gasification model from what I can see, so not sure how they passed the new EPA regs.


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## woodsmaster (May 27, 2015)

Says it is a gasifacation model with a vertical heat exchanger and also lambada although the call it something else. Looks promising, but personally I'd stick to something tried and true like an European sty;e downdraft gasser or a portage and main. It does look like it was designed like a European downdraft gasser.


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## tjcole50 (May 27, 2015)

I have to say cb support around me is 2nd to none. Everyone burns one. But I did email and call/talk with portage and main rep and I see no issues with them if I choose that route. I do like what I read about p&m


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## heaterman (May 30, 2015)

Asterisks in a couple spots caught my eye. Especially since I can find no explanation of them anywhere.

One pair by rated output and the other by EPA certified.


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## ewdudley (May 31, 2015)

heaterman said:


> Asterisks in a couple spots caught my eye. Especially since I can find no explanation of them anywhere.


They stuck the 'footnote' in the middle:  "_**Based on EPA qualifying test."._


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## heaterman (Jun 1, 2015)

ewdudley said:


> They stuck the 'footnote' in the middle:  "_**Based on EPA qualifying test."._



Yep. But what test and where could a person go to see those results? Are they published?


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## maple1 (Jun 1, 2015)

Some sort of cross sectional view of it would be helpful.


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## Karl_northwind (Jun 17, 2015)

http://centralboiler.com/pdf/brochure-classicedge.pdf

looks like a pain to clean.  water tube heat exchanger.


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## maple1 (Jun 17, 2015)

I don't even see how it could be cleaned - looks completely boxed in?

HXs do need cleaning.....


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## Karl_northwind (Jun 17, 2015)

maple1 said:


> I don't even see how it could be cleaned - looks completely boxed in?
> 
> HXs do need cleaning.....


I was being generous 

k


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## flyingcow (Jun 17, 2015)

My 2 cents worth. CB has had, well deserved, a poor rating on customer service. I know a local dealer, very well. He seldom returns a call after a sale. Seems like a standard MO. 

No matter how you look at it. The cost of a CB vs a standard gasser+storage is about the same money. The gasser w/storage will out perform any, let alone the new CB, typical OWB.  IMO, you'll burn 30%? less wood.


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## Karl_northwind (Jun 24, 2015)

Saw one at the show this weekend, and as expected, it's a water tube heat exchanger with no means of accessing the top of the tubes.  Cleaning them will be nearly impossible.  according to someone who wandered over to my booth to look at boilers, the CB rep at their booth said they don't need cleaning.  This'll be awesome.  

k


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## BoilerBob (Jun 24, 2015)

Karl_northwind said:


> Saw one at the show this weekend, and as expected, it's a water tube heat exchanger with no means of accessing the top of the tubes.  Cleaning them will be nearly impossible.  according to someone who wandered over to my booth to look at boilers, the CB rep at their booth said they don't need cleaning.  This'll be awesome.
> 
> k


"said they don't need cleaning"
LOL. and these folks are "experienced" in wood burning. Sad, very sad. People please run away from these units!


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## PassionForFire&Water (Jun 27, 2015)

... and the CB rep probably also said that you can burn fresh cut wood in it.

Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun ... and don't look back


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## heaterman (Jun 29, 2015)

Never needs cleaning. .......Yep....Uh huh......
and my 94 year old mother in law runs the Boston Marathons every year too.. then she turns around right after that and swims across Lake Michigan and back just for good measure.

You're right Karl. This'll be really awesome. .......of course, they've probably invented 5 stage combustion or something like that to make it work.


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## Karl_northwind (Jun 30, 2015)

heaterman said:


> Never needs cleaning. .......Yep....Uh huh......
> and my 94 year old mother in law runs the Boston Marathons every year too.. then she turns around right after that and swims across Lake Michigan and back just for good measure.
> 
> You're right Karl. This'll be really awesome. .......of course, they've probably invented 5 stage combustion or something like that to make it work.


Wow.  your mother in law must be in really great shape!


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## The Weimar (Jul 14, 2015)

Central Boiler on the whole, their customer service, as well as their OWB gasifiers, are not of good quality. I have had only problems with my CB EClassic 2400, and to make matters worse, their service is invisible. I would not recommend CB, based on their poor service and warranty. Check out some of my old postings if you would like to see what they really build their boilers out of..

The Weimar


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## tjcole50 (Sep 10, 2015)

Regarding the cleaning of the tubes i heard there are chains hanging imbetween them and you can get to them through a panel. Shake the chains and loosen up the build up and clean out. Does sound pretty simple. Wish i could get more info on these. Rough crowd on owb around here. Atleadt they are trying now haha


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## 3fordasho (Sep 10, 2015)

tjcole50 said:


> Regarding the cleaning of the tubes i heard there are chains hanging imbetween them and you can get to them through a panel. Shake the chains and loosen up the build up and clean out. Does sound pretty simple. Wish i could get more info on these. Rough crowd on owb around here. Atleadt they are trying now haha




Saw several of these at the state fair, the small and mid sized units.  The chains are accessed through the flue exit (don't recall if you need to remove the pipe or there is a tee access) and the panel mentioned by tjcole is located at the back of the firebox.   They also claimed the unit rarely needs cleaning.....

   I asked how the unit burns clean during idle periods - they said the air intake shuts completely off so no air in- no smoke out ???    The controls open the air for bit every 30 minutes to keep it from going completely out.

I did ask about wood moisture content, they recommended 25% or less for this unit.

I said I'd be interested if these units were getting good reviews after 3-4 years of use - they looked at me kind of funny "we've been making great boilers for 25 years"
ya right.


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## Oconto Wood Burner (Nov 15, 2015)

Just hooked one up today, I wait a week and state my opinions than.  But my first Impressions of the stove is positive, looks easy to clean and should run very efficiently.  I had many different brands of stoves, but before I got the classic edge I was heating with a regular classic before this one, I'll compare off of that one.


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## Oconto Wood Burner (Nov 15, 2015)

th


tjcole50 said:


> Regarding the cleaning of the tubes i heard there are chains hanging imbetween them and you can get to them through a panel. Shake the chains and loosen up the build up and clean out. Does sound pretty simple. Wish i could get more info on these. Rough crowd on owb around here. Atleadt they are trying now haha


There are chains hanging in the tubes, remove the chimney cap and the stove came with a rod to move the chains back and forth.  I get some pictures.


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## jebatty (Nov 16, 2015)

Do you rattle the chains back and forth, or up and down, in the tubes for cleaning the tubes? Is there any other recommended procedure to clean the tubes in addition to the chains?


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## maple1 (Nov 16, 2015)

I can't see how chains can clean tubes very good at all.

When I pull my turbs out of the tubes for brushing, I sometimes think that just the act of pulling them out should clean the tubes. They're a snug fit. I also tried sliding them in and out a couple times to see what that would do. But after doing that then brushing, the brush still gets a lot more ash. Even with my worn out brush head. I suppose it depends on how much heat loss from dirty tubes a person is OK with.


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## jebatty (Nov 16, 2015)

maple1 said:


> I can't see how chains can clean tubes very good at all.


 I'm wondering about the same thing, and was interested to see what CB says about the procedure. My Tarm does not have turbs, but does have chain turbulators that I made. The chains work very well as turbs but not at all to clean the tubes, no matter how much rattling of the chains I would do. I manually brush with an after market brush that tightly fits the tubes. It scrubs the tubes quite well.


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## Oconto Wood Burner (Nov 16, 2015)

jebatty said:


> Do you rattle the chains back and forth, or up and down, in the tubes for cleaning the tubes? Is there any other recommended procedure to clean the tubes in addition to the chains?


I did get some pictures from the access point for the chains, you rattle them back and forth, the tubes runs vertical so gravity does most of the work for you.  Nothing else is recommended for cleaning the tubes.


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## Oconto Wood Burner (Nov 16, 2015)




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## maple1 (Nov 16, 2015)

Oconto Wood Burner said:


> I did get some pictures from the access point for the chains, you rattle them back and forth, the tubes runs vertical so gravity does most of the work for you.  Nothing else is recommended for cleaning the tubes.


 
I would consider getting a probe flue thermometer, and putting it in the pipe just outside the breach, or as close to the boiler as it can easily be put and seen. Then watch the temps over a period of time, day to day, week to week, at consistent stages of the burn. Most of us can see tubes in need of brushing by a rise in pipe temps.

Would also be quite interested in the results.


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## Oconto Wood Burner (Nov 18, 2015)

When the heating season is over I'll be giving the stove a real good cleaning, I be taking the tube's access panel off to check on them and clean them better if they need it, I'll post pictures of the process.  Been a couple of days with the new stove hooked up and I'm liking it so far.  I will be putting a thermometer on and take notes on the temps.


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## The Weimar (Nov 19, 2015)

You won't be liking it when the fire box starts to fire corrode and all that water starts pissing on your fire. Three years, three repairs and a warranty that is worth approximately 8 BTU's.. Sorry to be a downer...best of luck with that Central Leaker.


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## stee6043 (Nov 19, 2015)

We all dog CB pretty badly around here but you have to admit they seem to be _trying_ to get better??  Even if it is only because they are being forced by new EPA requirements.

All around me I see 15+ year old CB's running year after year.  While there are certainly some horror stories like Weimar I think the general feeling I get is that they are a solid boiler for what they are.  People aren't (or weren't) buying these things to be efficient.  CB made it's claim to fame by being the company that built a boiler you could "throw just about anything in" and have it run a day or two between loadings.  That's what people wanted, that's what they build.

I bet we can all agree that the responsible wood burners on this site are a discriminating minority among wood burners. Our disdain for the OWB crowd probably comes off as rather elitist to the outside observer!

And last...at least Central Boilers are made right here in the USA.  That's gotta be worth something?  Maybe 10btu....


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## The Weimar (Nov 19, 2015)

"they seem to be _trying_ to get better?"  In which way??
"And last...at least Central Boilers are made right here in the USA. That's gotta be worth something?" Nope, not even 10 btu's. These guys wouldn't even answer my calls or emails after they realized what was going on..I appreciate their employees and like to keep my American $$ right here in the USA, but they(CB) do not respect that idea the same way that you and I do. If they did, they would have some integrity and offer some little bit of help.
Read the thread below, I will be making some additions to it this weekend after I finish my welding and grinding....

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/e-classic-2400-probs.137673/

Did not mean to hijack this thread, just want us all to be fully informed about the decisions that we might make and have learned a shite load on this forum...good on you guys!

The Weimar


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## stee6043 (Nov 19, 2015)

The Weimar said:


> "they seem to be _trying_ to get better?"  In which way??
> "And last...at least Central Boilers are made right here in the USA. That's gotta be worth something?" Nope, not even 10 btu's. These guys wouldn't even answer my calls or emails after they realized what was going on..I appreciate their employees and like to keep my American $$ right here in the USA, but they(CB) do not respect that idea the same way that you and I do. If they did, they would have some integrity and offer some little bit of help.
> Read the thread below, I will be making some additions to it this weekend after I finish my welding and grinding....
> 
> ...


 
I'd probably feel the same way as you in your position, Weimar.  Hopefully our friend with the Classic Edge here doesn't suffer the same fate...


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## The Weimar (Nov 19, 2015)

Stee, I agree completely. I only wish that I had discovered this site before going off the deep end myself. When I saw the pics of the exhaust pipe, I said Ugh....he is in for it. Having said that, i believe that most of the forum users are astute enough to only "DOG" the doggee if they deserve it. What do you think they mean by "Classic Edge"?

The Weimar


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## rkusek (Nov 20, 2015)

The Weimar said:


> You won't be liking it when the fire box starts to fire corrode and all that water starts pissing on your fire. Three years, three repairs and a warranty that is worth approximately 8 BTU's.. Sorry to be a downer...best of luck with that Central Leaker.


+1
Sounds like Classic Edge will be another E-Classic or Heiss boiler story


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## hondaracer2oo4 (Nov 20, 2015)

You know most of the time you only hear the bad when it comes to products, not the good. The number of e classics that are out there in the market place is Pretty large I would think. When people have issues like you they typically come on forums and talk about it. You are the only one that has come on here to say that you have had an issue. I would say that compared to the number of e classics out there and you are the only unfortunate person to have an issue that one bad lemon in the bunch is going to happen. I don't agree with how they handled you at all though, a good company would realize that the product manufacturing was flawed on their end and did the right thing for you.


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## The Weimar (Nov 20, 2015)

Hey racer of Hondas, if you haven't already, check out the thread. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/e-classic-2400-probs.137673/
I would like to hear some good stories much more than the bad, wouldn't you? Lots of good stuff on here about Tarm, Orlan, etc... Not alot of good about CB.   Again, I can deal with stuff breaking down but, a lack of service is not what you build a business on. I get plenty of "COLD SHOULDER" at home, I don't need it from CB......

The Weim


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## hondaracer2oo4 (Nov 20, 2015)

This forum is for all intents and purposes an indoor gasser forum. That is why everyone talks about them. Go to outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com forum which is actually an outdoor boiler forum and you will see that central boiler is for the most part very reliable.


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## The Weimar (Nov 20, 2015)

hondaracer2oo4 said:


> This forum is for all intents and purposes an indoor gasser forum. That is why everyone talks about them. Go to outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com forum which is actually an outdoor boiler forum and you will see that central boiler is for the most part very reliable.


My apologies, after a year of being a member and watching this forum, I had no idea that this was indoors only, I will check that site out and maybe take some names....by the way, Central Boiler's customer service sucks on this site, just like it will at this "outdoors only" site that you refer to.


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## Jags (Nov 20, 2015)

Last time I checked, an outdoor wood boiler was a wood boiler.  Fitting for a room with the title of:
Main Hearth Forums The Boiler Room - Wood Boilers and Furnaces


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## hondaracer2oo4 (Nov 20, 2015)

Not sure if either of you have ever noticed but if it isn't an indoor gasser or an indoor gasser located in its own building not many people like it here.... I own an outdoor wood boiler gasser by the way, a Heatmaster G200. I ran a Hardy H4 conventional for 5 years before that.


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## Jags (Nov 20, 2015)

hondaracer2oo4 said:


> Not sure if either of you have ever noticed but if it isn't an indoor gasser or an indoor gasser located in its own building not many people like it here....


"Liking it" is not a requirement for a thread post.  There are tons of things that get scrutinized on the forum.  From install issues to downdraft stoves. That doesn't mean that we can't be a good resource for those looking for info.  After all - thats why we are here.


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## hondaracer2oo4 (Nov 20, 2015)

The fact that people don't "like" owb gassers or non gasser owbs here, along with the fact that a small number of us on this forum own them, little to no good info is given out about them on this site.


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## Jags (Nov 20, 2015)

Moral of the story is yes, this is the proper place for OWB posts.


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## hondaracer2oo4 (Nov 20, 2015)

And the rest of the story, they aren't liked around here....


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## The Weimar (Nov 20, 2015)

How not to win friends and influence people, yes?
And by the way, you must not be looking too closely at that 3rd class site that you recommended earlier...
There are hundreds of posts on there about how bad the central boiler products are. Loads of eclassic owners that have more leaks than the Titanic.... 
Gents, I think we have identified a troll

The Weimar


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## hondaracer2oo4 (Nov 20, 2015)

So I just did a search on outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com forum. I searched Central Boiler Leak. It came back with 58 threads, some talking about central boilers that had a leak, some different boilers that had leaks and some various other threads. Could you point to the 'Hundreds' of threads that you have pointed out? Secondly what makes it a third class website, it isn't full of ads paid to the forum owners that I have to look at every time I open the Hearth forum? Thirdly how am I a Troll? I simply tried to offer a larger perspective on the fact that all central boiler builds ALOT of stoves and you are going to have some lemons in the bunch.


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## webfish (Nov 20, 2015)

Over


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