Crown Royal Gasifier vs Multi-Pass

[SpaceBus]

I think an indoor (maybe even in it's own outbuilding) gasser with storage might be a better solution for you. Burn one fire a day wide open and charge up your storage and then coast on the storage.

 

[Deets]

I think an indoor (maybe even in it's own outbuilding) gasser with storage might be a better solution for you. Burn one fire a day wide open and charge up your storage and then coast on the storage.

I’m not entirely against that, but I leave for work early and home late. Don’t really have the time to start fires every day. Or tend to it to make sure it burns long enough to heat the storage to last 24 hours.
I’m very unfamiliar with this method, I’d have to see a setup before I just went Into full investment blindly.

 

[E Yoder]

I check mine morning and evening, during busy season that could be 16+ hours apart. I could load it for 24 hours but it would tend to bridge more and drip (condense) more in the firebox.
Loading and shaking the turbulators takes 2 minutes so it's not a problem on my way in or out.
My dad has an older conventional unit, loads once every 24 hours, it does fine that way. I burn much less wood with my gasser.

 

[Deets]

I check mine morning and evening, during busy season that could be 16+ hours apart. I could load it for 24 hours but it would tend to bridge more and drip (condense) more in the firebox.
Loading and shaking the turbulators takes 2 minutes so it's not a problem on my way in or out.
My dad has an older conventional unit, loads once every 24 hours, it does fine that way. I burn much less wood with my gasser.

What stove are you running?

 

[Deets]

And let’s say I’m burning for a long period of time on 25% MC. Is the stove gunna stay clean enough? Or will it make a mess of the turbulators/heat exchangers?

 

[maple1]

And let’s say I’m burning for a long period of time on 25% MC. Is the stove gunna stay clean enough? Or will it make a mess of the turbulators/heat exchangers?

Loading a conventional boiler full for long times is a recipe for a creosote mess.

If I was going to get into an OWB, it would be a gasifier, no 2 ways about it. (Not even sure you can still buy a conventional one these EPA days?).Then I would run it like it had to be run, not run it how I wanted & end up disappointed. That could mean drying my wood more than I was used to or hoping, and also likely mean loading smaller loads with shorter burn times than I was hoping for. Even at that, twice a day should be realistic. Boilers aren't wood stoves, they aren't designed for long burn times from the get go so trying to get them can be trouble. After all, you are dealing with a liquid cooled firebox here, so it's just the nature of the beast. They work their best when burning freely.

Do you have any OWB experience? The underground stuff is overlooked a lot. You need to get that right, above all else. Which means buying the good stuff to start with, which can run up to $20/foot depending on your local supply situation.

 

[Deets]

Loading a conventional boiler full for long times is a recipe for a creosote mess.

If I was going to get into an OWB, it would be a gasifier, no 2 ways about it. (Not even sure you can still buy a conventional one these EPA days?).Then I would run it like it had to be run, not run it how I wanted & end up disappointed. That could mean drying my wood more than I was used to or hoping, and also likely mean loading smaller loads with shorter burn times than I was hoping for. Even at that, twice a day should be realistic. Boilers aren't wood stoves, they aren't designed for long burn times from the get go so trying to get them can be trouble. After all, you are dealing with a liquid cooled firebox here, so it's just the nature of the beast. They work their best when burning freely.

Do you have any OWB experience? The underground stuff is overlooked a lot. You need to get that right, above all else. Which means buying the good stuff to start with, which can run up to $20/foot depending on your local supply situation.

I ran a Timber Ridge OWB for the last 12 years. Huge firebox, 4’ diameter and 4’ long. Kept about 12” of ash/coals in the bottom, fill it up and I could get about 36 hours at 30 degrees. Never had a creosote problem. When it got cold out (-20) it would run hard enough to burn any excess off. At those temps I found myself throwing in a couple pieces in the morning, main filling was at night when I got home from work. My old house was poorly insulated though.

 

[SpaceBus]

Can you tell us more about the building you will be heating with the new boiler? I think with the right sized Lambda controlled gasser you could do one load a day and charge storage. Perhaps a forced air setup like the Lampaa Kuuma Vaporfire series might be worth a look.

 

[Deets]

My new house is much better built and insulated. Just over 4000 sq ft and half is forced air and the other half is heated concrete floor. Have a 1200 sq ft out building that insulated well and has pex in the floor for radiant heat but no manifolds or boiler hooked to it yet. Also have plans to pour a new 600-700 sq ft patio with the ability to heat it.
So I’m looking at an OWB that can handle 7,000 sq ft.

 

[Deets]

And the hot water as well

 

[salecker]

And let’s say I’m burning for a long period of time on 25% MC. Is the stove gunna stay clean enough? Or will it make a mess of the turbulators/heat exchangers?

yes

 

[salecker]

On a normal winter day-20C...
I start a fire when i get home at 5 ish the boiler runs wide open till 10-11 ish when the last load is gone.The boiler getd shut off till i come home at 5 ish the next day.
Starting a fire in my gasifier takes 5 minuets,if that

 

[cumminstinkerer]

I agree with Thomas @salecker it takes no time and if you idle at all its gonna gunk the tubes and turbs up, unless you rig a way to open the bypass flap when it idles then close it after few minutes of call for heat

 

[Deets]

On a normal winter day-20C...
I start a fire when i get home at 5 ish the boiler runs wide open till 10-11 ish when the last load is gone.The boiler getd shut off till i come home at 5 ish the next day.
Starting a fire in my gasifier takes 5 minuets,if that

I take it that you are using extra storage. What you guys are saying is that if a guy was to go buy a new gasification boiler, you can’t run it without extra storage?

 

[Deets]

Or are you just relying on your backup heat for the last 6 hrs?

 

[cumminstinkerer]

I suppose you can run without storage but it will gunk it up for sure, and yes we are using external storage, I do not remember how much Thomas has but I have 1500 gallon

 

[cumminstinkerer]

@Deets I do not have back up heat at the moment, propane furnace died, board went bad, and I haven't replaced it yet, until it gets down close to 0 and windy I can go almost 48 hours with no fire, 0 and below I go 24 hours, my house is pretty small 1300sf with basement, poor insulation but good windows, it's a little old farm house built in the 30s, I used to run a "smoke dragon" as they are called and my dad still does, they eat about 3 times the wood that my econburn does, I had mine really moded and was getting pretty good efficiency along with adding the storage, but sadly she rusted out due to poor operating practices ( many things I didn't know until I found this site).

 

[Deets]

You guys are gunna cost me some money....

 

[Deets]

Stainless tank underneath of my woodshed would be kinda nice.

 

[SpaceBus]

You guys are gunna cost me some money....

This happens to me every time I join a forum!

 

[SpaceBus]

Stainless tank underneath of my woodshed would be kinda nice.

The tanks really need to be insulated, especially if they are outside.

 

[Deets]

The tanks really need to be insulated, especially if they are outside.

Underground would suffice? Under a concrete pad, with a small access to the connections.

 

[SpaceBus]

Underground would suffice? Under a concrete pad, with a small access to the connections.

I'm no expert, but I would guess not, since the earth/stone/concrete would just absorb all of the heat. Then you would have a mud hole around your shed.

 

[Deets]

I'm no expert, but I would guess not, since the earth/stone/concrete would just absorb all of the heat. Then you would have a mud hole around your shed.

Oof, didn’t think about that. Was hoping it would heat the pad some, to keep the firewood nice and dry.

 

[Medic21]

Hey fellas,
New guy here, read through this thread and found some good info. But still have some questions on the topic of gasser VS multipass.
This 12 hour burn thing on the gassers, I just don’t see it working for me. Are any of you guys running em for 24 hours consistently?

I see a lot of misconceptions on the OWB gassers. Yes, you can easily size it to run 24 hours. They do better at the 12 hour mark but, if you did the 16 and 8 you would be fine.
I can load my multi pass once a day and it burns clean still down to about zero degrees before it has too much of a load. I load before work and after work, this will be the first winter in many years I’m not on 24hr shifts.
There is no “idling” with an OWB as it shuts air off to it when it’s not calling for heat and is airtight without the induction fans blowing. The coal bed stays hot and it will fire right up when needed.
As far as the mud around it. No, the line set is insulated enough and goes into the backwhere it is insulated. I have snow under my boiler that never melts. And, I can buy the line sets at$12-$13 dollars a foot all day long.

You will have to buy a Gasser unless you have commercial applications. The 7500 E Crown Royal would be plenty big enough and will probably give you those 24 hour burns unless it got really cold out. Check out Unleashed Outdoors on YouTube for some good videos. He is a dealer and is heating about what you want to.

They are more like a modulated boiler than something that needs storage. The storage route is expensive and will require a pressurized system be open system. Completely different animals.