Biomax Gasifier

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rubicon1

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Mar 9, 2008
12
Central Illinois
Hey Everyone,

I was interested if any of you have a Biomax stove? I am currently looking at one and was kind of interested to see how happy the current owners are with theirs? Are they similar to an EKO? How hard would it be to fix if it should ever break? Does anyone know if there are parts available?

Thanks for all your help!!
 
I don't recall ever reading about a Biomax on this site. However there are several dealers that advertise here. Maybe you could call them and get some referrals. I have looked the Biomax over before and it looks like a nice unit. Especially for someone that produces saw dust or other biomass as it can burn up to 50%.
 
I have seen a Biomass 60 in person. Very nice looking unit. The Biomass is an induced draft which basically pulls the gases through the nozzle whereas the EKO is forced draft. It creates a positive pressure in the upper chamber which pushes the gases through the nozzle. Definitely more chance of smoke out the top door with the latter. You can search these things on the bottom of the Boiler Room page and get lots of good info.

Biomass and EKO have the same warranty. 20 year limited. 5 year unlimited. The refractory in the lower chamber of any downdraft gasifier takes a beating from the 2000+ degree flame. I think they last in the 3-5 year range but I don't know. The refractory on the Biomass is a lot more complex than on the EKO. You might check on the cost of replacing it.

Also, the upper chamber on the Biomass is wider and more rounded on the sides. I would think this creates less chance for bridging.

Both seem like great boilers.

Good luck,
Noah
 
Biomass or Biomax? What are we talking about? I didn't respond to this thread because the question said Biomass. It is my understanding that Biomax is New Horizon's version of a gassifier. Saw one operating at AHONA which was heating Mark's house. I was quite impressed with it. Would have bought it instead of the EKO except I needed a smaller unit than the smallest one they offer so I bought the EKO 25. If Mark is lurking around this site, he should be able to fill you in. If he doesn't want to sound like he's giving a sales pitch he'll probably stay silent but you can contact him at AHONA. His banner appears at the top or bottom of these pages.

Edit: I like the induced draft concept better forced draft.
 
Yeah, sorry I made that jump without any clarification. To the best of my knowledge the name went from Biomax to BioMass within the last couple of years but otherwise its the same. On New Horizons site they refer to it as NextGen BioMass. Zenon at New Horizon is part designer of this boiler but it is made in Poland.

Fred61-I'm in a similar situation in that the EKO 25 is all I would need but I do like the BioMass with induced draft. With my heat load and 500 gal. of storage I think the BioMass 40 would be oversized. Maybe firing it half full would work. Adding another 500 gallons would be a better fit to fire less frequently.

Noah
 
Floydian said:
Fred61-I'm in a similar situation in that the EKO 25 is all I would need but I do like the BioMass with induced draft. With my heat load and 500 gal. of storage I think the BioMass 40 would be oversized. Maybe firing it half full would work. Adding another 500 gallons would be a better fit to fire less frequently.

Noah

Yeah, that would also be my guess. I don't think you could do it with only 500 gallons of storage with the smallest Biomax if your heat load is as small as mine. The trouble with half loads is that you have too many cold starts which are more polluting and alot less efficient. You're just getting good gassing and the wood is depleted. I've been doing that all winter. Can't wait to get my 500 gallon storage completed. Final plumbing starts the day I shut the unit down for the summer.
 
Just noticed there is one for sale in the for sale section here on the forum. Half price. That is a steal. If it wasn't so far away I'd have bought it.
leaddog
 
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