Eshland Wood Gun 140. Please Help! New operator with zero gassifer experience

[Green Mt Heat]

What A great bunch of guys you are! Merry Christmas!

I have a break through I think?

Last night I had a bunch of family and friends over and one of them is an engineer the other my brother inlaw who is very mechanical with lots of experience. Their professional opinion was not enough airflow. This led us to the fan which appears to have been modified at some point in the wg's life. The fan cage itself is pretty bent up and at initial inspection it seems that the motor was replaced and the gasket assy has been poorly modified. Most importantly we are not sure what the spec measurement of the tolerance between the squirrel cage fan and the fire tube in the boiler itself. Their opinion if there is to much distance between the end of the fire tube and the fan itself drastically reducing the cfm's. We removed part of the poorly designed modification and got the fan cage at least 3/4" closer to the fire tube but there is a lot of damage to the motor shaft and the fan itself. I will call AHS tomorrow and price a new fan assy, I also found deterioration of one of the ceramic blocks, I will price those as well.

The next challenge will be how much $ i want to put into this thing!

Fred when you had your WG was your heating system pressurized or an open system like those found on outside boilers? I just wondering why yours failed so quickly? And Im also a little concerned how long/ how much $ I should dump into this one that i have.

AC thanks for the explanation of the gas/ air flow. Now that I have seen the fan/ fire tube area and studied it a little I totally understand.

Infinitymike ( I love your youtube videos!) and wirenut thanks for your encouragement and insight. I have about 8 cord of wood 20" long and the biggest split is 6-7".....All of this wood was processed for my old boiler that I didn't plan on parting ways with so I will have to struggle through the year. I will ask about the EPA plug.

Fred how highly would you recommend the EKO? What issues have you had, how hard is it to get parts for? Have you always run storage with it? I really like the ideas and ruggedness of the WG but I need to keep an open mind in case cost/ value becomes an issue.

Thanks again

 

[infinitymike]

What A great bunch of guys you are! Merry Christmas!

I have a break through I think?

Last night I had a bunch of family and friends over and one of them is an engineer the other my brother inlaw who is very mechanical with lots of experience. Their professional opinion was not enough airflow. This led us to the fan which appears to have been modified at some point in the wg's life. The fan cage itself is pretty bent up and at initial inspection it seems that the motor was replaced and the gasket assy has been poorly modified. Most importantly we are not sure what the spec measurement of the tolerance between the squirrel cage fan and the fire tube in the boiler itself. Their opinion if there is to much distance between the end of the fire tube and the fan itself drastically reducing the cfm's. We removed part of the poorly designed modification and got the fan cage at least 3/4" closer to the fire tube but there is a lot of damage to the motor shaft and the fan itself. I will call AHS tomorrow and price a new fan assy, I also found deterioration of one of the ceramic blocks, I will price those as well.

The next challenge will be how much $ i want to put into this thing!

Fred when you had your WG was your heating system pressurized or an open system like those found on outside boilers? I just wondering why yours failed so quickly? And Im also a little concerned how long/ how much $ I should dump into this one that i have.

AC thanks for the explanation of the gas/ air flow. Now that I have seen the fan/ fire tube area and studied it a little I totally understand.

Infinitymike ( I love your youtube videos!) and wirenut thanks for your encouragement and insight. I have about 8 cord of wood 20" long and the biggest split is 6-7".....All of this wood was processed for my old boiler that I didn't plan on parting ways with so I will have to struggle through the year. I will ask about the EPA plug.

Fred how highly would you recommend the EKO? What issues have you had, how hard is it to get parts for? Have you always run storage with it? I really like the ideas and ruggedness of the WG but I need to keep an open mind in case cost/ value becomes an issue.

Thanks again

Merry Christmas.
I agree this place has a bunch of great guys who really try to help.
I'm glad you found the answer.
How much did you pay for it?
Do you know how old it is?

Thanks, I shot a couple more videos this weekend.

I don't think a new fan assembly can be more than a few hundred. The center nozzle bricks cost me about $100.
My thinking is you have it hooked up, dump a few bucks into and go a year or two more. If bigger problems develop dump it and get a new Gun

 

[Fred61]

What A great bunch of guys you are! Merry Christmas!

I have a break through I think?

Last night I had a bunch of family and friends over and one of them is an engineer the other my brother inlaw who is very mechanical with lots of experience. Their professional opinion was not enough airflow. This led us to the fan which appears to have been modified at some point in the wg's life. The fan cage itself is pretty bent up and at initial inspection it seems that the motor was replaced and the gasket assy has been poorly modified. Most importantly we are not sure what the spec measurement of the tolerance between the squirrel cage fan and the fire tube in the boiler itself. Their opinion if there is to much distance between the end of the fire tube and the fan itself drastically reducing the cfm's. We removed part of the poorly designed modification and got the fan cage at least 3/4" closer to the fire tube but there is a lot of damage to the motor shaft and the fan itself. I will call AHS tomorrow and price a new fan assy, I also found deterioration of one of the ceramic blocks, I will price those as well.

The next challenge will be how much $ i want to put into this thing!

Fred when you had your WG was your heating system pressurized or an open system like those found on outside boilers? I just wondering why yours failed so quickly? And Im also a little concerned how long/ how much $ I should dump into this one that i have.

AC thanks for the explanation of the gas/ air flow. Now that I have seen the fan/ fire tube area and studied it a little I totally understand.

Infinitymike ( I love your youtube videos!) and wirenut thanks for your encouragement and insight. I have about 8 cord of wood 20" long and the biggest split is 6-7".....All of this wood was processed for my old boiler that I didn't plan on parting ways with so I will have to struggle through the year. I will ask about the EPA plug.

Fred how highly would you recommend the EKO? What issues have you had, how hard is it to get parts for? Have you always run storage with it? I really like the ideas and ruggedness of the WG but I need to keep an open mind in case cost/ value becomes an issue.

Thanks again

I'm glad you found the problem. I hope your friends' diagnosis is correct. Show's you how wrong I was in dismissing any problem with the fan since that seems to be the only area that wasn't a problem with mine.

My unit was pressurized but like I said, there has to be a reason they don't offer carbon steel vessels any more. The one thing that I keep going over in my mind is that, like you, in order to keep the smoke from the puffing out of the house, I also plumbed the intake air to the outside. I'm wondering if that cold air entering the unit caused condensation on the back wall since that is the only location that became porous. It did cause the intake area to be completely coated with oozing, smelly creosote that would drip into the damper box and actually flow into the fire chamber. But it must have been something they had planned for since the tube is angled to flow down into the firebox. I want to point out that I had several issues with the Wood Gun. It's the leaking vessel that was the "coup de gras" but it was perhaps a blessing in that it freed me from all the other problems I was struggling with.

I'm not going to tell you that you should own an EKO but I would steer you away from a Wood Gun. I am perfectly happy with my EKO and do not long for other units described here on this forum or others I have seen in person. Haven't had any issues with the EKO except that I'm disappointed with the life of the nozzle but as it turns out after being on this forum and watching as more of the members' units mature, the EKO nozzle appears to be no better or worse than other brands.

I didn't run storage with the EKO the first year and it wasn't fun. My house has a very low heat load and it really gummed things up. However, even if your boiler is perfectly sized to your load and runs clean during the design temperatures, there are the shoulder seasons where the load is too low and you will have excessive idling. It's not good for the boiler plus it pollutes the air.

I hope you're not placing value on "ruggedness". Finesse and good engineering beat out ruggedness every time. Rugged??? The WWII power Wagon was RUGGED.
It was so rugged that if you ran over a cigar butt with the right front wheel the left front and right rear came off the ground but I'll bet you don't want one. Ruggedness means nothing without good engineering.

 

[Green Mt Heat]

infinitymike Please keep posting videos on youtube! You are pretty much the only wg on there! I was so happy to find yours and see what another one looked like and listen to you explain how it works. I did hear you mention puffing on your video as well as bridging. What is "bridging?"

Mike have you replaced any of the ceramic brick in your WG? did you do all of them or one or two at a time? do you have any tips for replacing just one or two in the middle?

I have no idea how old it is. The guy I bought it from said he bought it new about 10 years ago, but Im not sure if that is correct? So far i have a little over $1500.00 in it. Im going to call AHS this morning and ask about the fan assy and a few bricks. I hope its not over a few hundred, as I don't want to go over 2k with the risk that this springs a leak.

Thanks

 

[maple1]

Bridging = wood hanging up as it burns, creating air spaces under the wood. Mine does that once in a while, I just open the door & knock it down a bit. Ideally you want the wood to collapse onto itself & the coal bed as it burns.

 

[Green Mt Heat]

Hi Fred

Thanks for your input on the EKO. I understand that boilers are personal preference and I guess that you can research all you want but in the end what you end up with is what you are committed to until you final part ways with it.

With the WG what I meant by rugged was that it seems well built very durable 1/4" plate steel simple controls that are all domestically sourced and no PLC solid state controls no circuit boards. I also like the idea of the 30" fire box and the 14"x14" door. Those two features mean a lot less time processing wood and more time spent with my family. They claim 10-15 years out of the nozzle although im sure it depends how much it is used. I understand your point that "rugged" does not mean well engineered product. And I love your power wagon analogy! I had a late 70's toyota landcruiser FJ40 when I was in high school. That was a rugged beast and for the most part it was over engineered, but if I were still driving it today I would have consumed most of the worlds resources just to keep it going as well as major back issues because how rough it rode!

How many nozzles have you replaced in the EKO? How much do they cost and how long of a project is it? Have you had any control issues switches circuit boards fans etc... It there a dealer that stock all the parts near by in the USA? If you had to do it again would you go with a EKO?

My friends parents have one of those greenwood boilers, they seem to like it but that was a few years ago when i went to check it out, it was their first year of operation. Now that company is out of business and reopened with another name and redesigned unit?

 

[avc8130]

Green,

Merry Christmas! I'm glad you investigated your gun a bit more. I'm curious what the previous owner thought they were accomplishing with the fan mods. Could you post some pics? (We LOVE pics on this board if you can't tell.)

You won't get 10-15 years out of the NOZZLE. The nozzle is the part with the slots in it that all of the gas exits the wood chamber through. That wears relatively quickly. You will get 10-15 CORDS most likely from that component. Most seem to report 2-3 year life, more or less regardless of boiler type.

10-15 years is the going timeline of the REFRACTORY itself. The refractory is the large cement mass with the 3 tubes that the gassification occurs in. If you keep your nozzles in good shape, the refractory will last much longer.

You'll probably find that the fan assembly might be a bit pricey. The biggest problem is the high-quality Baldor motor that AHS uses. This isn't a "problem" as it is one of the best electric motors available, but it is pricey to show for it.

Sine the WG is so "simple" and it doesn't have secondary air injection or adjustment, airflow through the boiler is critical. Get that sorted and I bet you will have much better performance.

AHS just sold the LAST carbon steel Wood Gun a few months ago. It was sold to "Wire Nut" on this board. If you don't have any leaks at this point, get the fan sorted out and see if you can get it to perform for you.

ac

 

[Fred61]

With the WG what I meant by rugged was that it seems well built very durable 1/4" plate steel simple controls that are all domestically sourced and no PLC solid state controls no circuit boards. I also like the idea of the 30" fire box and the 14"x14" door. Those two features mean a lot less time processing wood and more time spent with my family. They claim 10-15 years out of the nozzle although im sure it depends how much it is used. I understand your point that "rugged" does not mean well engineered product. And I love your power wagon analogy! I had a late 70's toyota landcruiser FJ40 when I was in high school. That was a rugged beast and for the most part it was over engineered, but if I were still driving it today I would have consumed most of the worlds resources just to keep it going as well as major back issues because how rough it rode!

1/4" plate is no better than aluminum foil if there's something inherent in the engineering that causes it to corrode through. I personally think that the controls are "primitive' as opposed to "simple". I'm thinking that you have more confidence in solid state controls and circuit boards than you think since I'm receiving your posts that originated on a computer as opposed to a telegraph. I wouldn't have any way to respond to you since I'm not equipped to receive and send with that equipment. I can't help thinking that the designers at AHS aren't sitting around wishing they weren't trapped in this design and are not able to make the improvements necessary to compete with the Tarms, Varms and Ekos in the marketplace.

My center bricks (nozzles) on the WG needed to be replaced every year and sometimes more often. I've not replaced the nozzle on the EKO but I have one on the shelf. When I saw the wear on the nozzle after the third year, I fashioned a firebrick overlay to protect the nozzle from eroding any further. On third year with that set-up. I need to change the brick every year at a cost of two bucks or so. Someone can correct me if they wish but I think I paid fifty bucks for the replacement EKO nozzle.

How many nozzles have you replaced in the EKO? How much do they cost and how long of a project is it? Have you had any control issues switches circuit boards fans etc... It there a dealer that stock all the parts near by in the USA? If you had to do it again would you go with a EKO?

I've had no control issues so far. I hope this conversation isn't jinxing me. New Horizon in West Virginia is the importer and the only thing I've bought from them is the spare nozzle and a replacement door gasket however there are others on the board that could give you their opinion on other components.

Would I buy another EKO? The short answer is YES It's perfect for me. No fancy controls, perfect size for my heating needs and in my mind, very efficient. I batch burn every evening for 3 to 4.5 hours to charge my storage and the unit is powered off until the next evening. I haven't had a fire overnight since installing my storage.

 

[avc8130]

Green,

A fair bit has changed (although not the inherent design concepts) since Fred has owned a Wood Gun.

"Modern" Wood Guns have "fancy" controls if the buyer would like them. I prefer my aquastats that Home Depot sells.

AHS has changed the nozzle cement material a few times. The nozzles of today seem to have much longer life. I am on my 2nd heating season, and it looks like I should be able to get a 3rd from them. Nozzle life has a lot to do with type and quantity of wood, so it seems no matter what boiler the experiences vary widely.

ac

 

[Green Mt Heat]

Hello AC

OK I understand now. Yes the nozzles are ok on my WG and the guy I bought it from gave me an extra set when I bought it. It was the refractory that AHS said should last 10-15 years.
I talked to Darren there today and he was very helpful. i need to send him some dimensions on the back of the boiler to see about mounting a whole new fan assy, Darren said he would help me weigh out the pros and cons of spending the cash on a new fan assy $540.00 on a boiler of this age. He is also selling me a "EPA" ceramic plug that AHS has been working on that helps when burning smaller splits of low moisture wood $45.00. This plug blocks off one of the ceramic tubes, left or right what ever one you want to. I will block off the one that has deterioration in it as those bricks will need replacing at some point anyway.

See a few more pictures of the fan.

 

[Green Mt Heat]

These are extra nozzles I got with the WG. The guy that I bought the Wg from new a guy at a foundry and had a set of cast iron nozzles made up. Thats what im running in it now.

 

[avc8130]

CAST IRON Nozzles? Now that is a crazy idea!

I'm trying to picture what is "different" about your fan assembly at this point. Did you take any pictures of the "modifications"?

How was Darren's reaction to the age of your Wood Gun?

ac

 

[Green Mt Heat]

Ya I thought the same thing about the nozzles although a neat idea. At the time (Christmas eve) I didnt think to take any pictures of the mods. They had some odd set up ( I thought it was oem as of 12-24) but that is def not the case. There was t different plates on the fan set up.....explaining it from the motor working to the boiler it went some thing like this.....the motor the stock backing plate then a 1/2"-5/8" rope gasket coiled up that was sandwiched between another plate (18 gauge steel??). the 18 ga plate was the mating surface to the big 12" heat exchanger tube on the boiler that was sealed with hi temp rtv. The issue was they never set the distance off the main heat exchanger tube (darren says it should be about 1/4") thats what I have it sat to now aprx. What I understand it the farther away the squirrel cage is away from the heat exchanger tube the fewer cfm's you get.

AC do you have a WG? if so what model is it and what age? Darren took my s# on the WG and was going to do his best to come up with an age but on the phone he was not sure because it dates before AHS. He is UPSing me an EPA plug that he says have been know to help with the huffing (still under testing) I will be giving them feedback.

Darren was great to talk with and was really interested in helping me out taking into consideration the age? of my WG.

 

[avc8130]

I do own a Wood Gun. I have an E180SS that I bought and installed last year. I am FAR from an experienced "expert", but I pretty much have the hang of running mine at this point.

It sounds like your previous owner was a bit of a tinkerer...probably not only in the positive way.

The fans are a bit finicky, but that isn't a WG thing...that is a squirrel cage fan thing. That distance sets the air gap and is critical. Have you seen an improvement?

I got that plug from Darren and put it in last week. I never really had much of a "huffing" problem, but I figured I'd give the plug a shot. I have to clean the lower tubes tomorrow so I will know what 1 week's burn with the plug looks like.

I'm not surprised AHS is helping you out, they are a great bunch of guys who are really committed to their boilers. If you don't have any leaks I don't see any reason not to keep her up and running.

ac

 

[Green Mt Heat]

Thanks AC.

Moving the fan closer seems to have helped a little but I have not tried putting in a full load of wood yet. I just looked up the motor online and it was org. intended for a shallow well water pump. So ya I would say the last guy had a motor failure and just rigged up a motor that they had laying around. Darren did say that it was the right rpm 3450 and the right hp 1/3 so it should be ok as long as the bearing hold out. Im not that comfortable with this WG to throw 600.00 at it for a new fan assy. This thing will probably go another 10 years w/o a leak.....or maybe not?

What made you decide on the WG? What have your biggest issues been, are you using water storage? Is the WG in your house?

 

[avc8130]

I can't blame you for your hesitation. If you have the right speed and enough power, I wouldn't worry about a new fan assembly right now. It is "just" an electric motor after all.

Well...I apparently started the Wood Gun Bible thread when I was boiler shopping:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/thinking-wood-gun-any-advice-or-experience.90643/

After all of my research the Wood Gun just fit my need the best.

I do not have water storage. I've thought about it a few times, but in reality it just isn't necessary for me. I got 18 hours out of my Wood Gun on Christmas Eve and that is about the max time I need to go without touching my boiler to suit my winter lifestyle. Maybe some day I will add storage for convenience, but right now this works for me.

The WG is in my basement and I, personally, wouldn't want it any other way. I like not having to go outside to deal with my boiler. It is a bit annoying getting the wood into the basement, but I have my system down pretty well. I use pallets to store/move my firewood and I place them right outside my basement door. Each holds ~1/4-1/3 cord. Then I toss the wood into Rubbermaid janitor "trucks" that are 1 cubic yard to move them over to the boiler. I have 2 of those also.

One of my coworkers has a boiler in an outbuilding with 1000 gallons of storage. He gets away with 1 fire/day in the winter, but he does have to reload to burn enough wood to recharge his storage. He winds up going out to the building in the dark, snow, cold. I'll stick to my tshirt/shorts reloads.

My biggest "issue" was my own lack of maintenance. I neglected to clean my gassification tubes and my horizontal chimney run to the point that I had "plugged" the airflow. This resulted in a lack of gassification which in turn lead to low flue temps which lead to flue condensation and a boiler that needed a REALLY good cleaning. The Wood Gun does have very low flue gas temps by design, so too much restriction can slip into condensation.

Now I have my cleaning schedule where I empty my ash pan every "truck" and clean the lower tubes every "crate". Other than that it has pretty much been "add wood, get heat".

ac

 

[WireNut]

AHS just sold the LAST carbon steel Wood Gun a few months ago. It was sold to "Wire Nut" on this board. If you don't have any leaks at this point, get the fan sorted out and see if you can get it to perform for you.

Indeed. My plan for the boiler is batch burning, I'm not into the "on demand" style of burning I got a CS 140 model for $7000 delivered, which was a huge discount over retail, however I was only able to get it after talking to Darren a few times and explaining my plan for the boiler. I really think those guys care about how happy customers are with the boiler, and not just making the sale. I had a couple issues on delivery, and they were minor. For example, one of my center bricks was broken, and a clip on my cyclone was bent. They offered to replace both FREE, no shipping or anything. I didn't claim this on the shipper's form, so they could have easily at least charged me shipping. Additionally, some of the refractory cement that seals the refractory blocks and keeps the heat from hitting the insulation was cracked. They were going to send me refractory cement.....even though I could just go to Lowes and pick it up for $5. There's something to be said about working with a company that has that type of customer service IMO, and I think you've (Green Mt. Heat) seen it just by talking to Darren already.

Im not that comfortable with this WG to throw 600.00 at it for a new fan assy. This thing will probably go another 10 years w/o a leak.....or maybe not?

What made you decide on the WG? What have your biggest issues been, are you using water storage? Is the WG in your house?

I don't blame you for not wanting to put that kind of cash into the WG yet. At the price you got it though, if the steel is in good shape you got a great deal, even with $600 more you're not going to get another wood boiler even close to $2100 delivered to your doorstep....I doubt you'd get that kind of output for even double that. You can always get a local machinist to make you the plates and whatnot you need. Sometimes a local VoTec school will make it for the cost of materials as well.

My boiler came with the 10 year warranty, since I got the CS model. The warranty drops by 10% a year, and only covers certain things. I'd assume this is the same for most boilers (I'm over simplifying the warranty terms). I could have bought the SS model for a bit more cash, but the way I figure it, by the time I disconnect it, move it to the basement door, get a backhoe to drag it back out of the basement (my door is barely the width of the boiler), pack it up, ship it, and then do it all over again when it comes back........I'd rather pay a mobile welder who lives down the street to fix any steel issues I have, and otherwise I love to tinker. And that would cost less then the shipping cost to and fro.

I chose a Woodgun because I had read many good things about it, it's solid and simple in it's design, it's very efficient and loves higher moisture wood, it can take 12" round logs without pinching fingers on loading (means less splitting), logs can be 30 inches (32 I think....but that's pushing it), all of the components can be bought at supply houses, and it's ripe for modification to a more electronic system. That's not to mention that it fits in my basement door, which cut a good number of boilers out. I was able to easily remove all of the electronics and doors to have it lowered into the basement. It has plenty of tappings for the sensors I wanted to add.

One of the biggest points for me was that the unit is made in the USA, only a 4 or 5 hour drive from where I live. This isn't necessarily a big deal to everyone, but I like to buy US manufactured products when I can. Add how forthright Darren was with me during the purchase, all of the info they sent me, and the confidence I got after the sale from the customer support......and there you have it....that's how I chose a Wood Gun. So far, I'm loving it.

 

[Green Mt Heat]

Thanks AC and Wirenut,

AC thanks for starting the WG Bible thread i spent some time there last night and read through a few pages, lots of good information. I agree with you, I like having my boiler downstairs.

I am no stranger to a challenge. My last boiler was in rough shape when I got it and with a bit of work I got over 5 years out of it. When my old boiler sprung a leak in november it was kind of sudden. I was very excited when I came across the WG on craigs list so I jumped right on it w/o a lot of knowledge of the WG or even what to expect . A guy i used to work with 20 years ago had a WG and talked highly of it. Also my Brother in laws brother bought one a couple of years ago and he loves it. I have grown up heating with wood since i was a kid but this is my first gassifier so I know that I will get it but it will take a little time.

I'm sure with the help here and Darren @ AHS I will get the issues worked out. I agree with both of you guys about the WG, I think that it is very will built, it has simple controls. I love the fact that it has a 30" fb and that it likes large pc of wood, that means more time w/ my family and less time processing wood. It was the right price and if I can be patient with it and get through this season then I will decide how much money I want to invest in it. I should have the "EPA" plug by monday and Darren told me to plug off the tube that has the damaged ceramic block for this season. He said the plug should help seeing as i have this years wood processed for my old boiler which is only 20" and small splits. I cant wait to try it out as this plug will make the WG even more adjustable...So far since my brother in law helped out adjusting the fan I havent had any huffing situations but its only been a couple of days.

 

[avc8130]

I think you'll be cruising much smoother with the fan all fixed up now.

I would run the gun for the season and then take it down/apart in the spring to give it a real service/once over when the pressure to heat the house isn't there.

ac

 

[infinitymike]

These are View attachment 121750 View attachment 121751 View attachment 121752 extra nozzles I got with the WG. The guy that I bought the Wg from new a guy at a foundry and had a set of cast iron nozzles made up. Thats what im running in it now.

Cast iron nozzles?? The picture of the one by itself looks like refractory.
How long have the cast iron ones lasted so far?

I went my first full winter, than another winter and then a whole summer heating DHW with my set of nozzles.
I changed them out before this winter started and I went through about 18 cord. I probably could have made it through this winter but I didn't want to risk damaging the shelf they sit on. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

 

[infinitymike]

Thanks AC and Wirenut,

AC thanks for starting the WG Bible thread i spent some time there last night and read through a few pages, lots of good information. I agree with you, I like having my boiler downstairs.

I am no stranger to a challenge. My last boiler was in rough shape when I got it and with a bit of work I got over 5 years out of it. When my old boiler sprung a leak in november it was kind of sudden. I was very excited when I came across the WG on craigs list so I jumped right on it w/o a lot of knowledge of the WG or even what to expect . A guy i used to work with 20 years ago had a WG and talked highly of it. Also my Brother in laws brother bought one a couple of years ago and he loves it. I have grown up heating with wood since i was a kid but this is my first gassifier so I know that I will get it but it will take a little time.

I'm sure with the help here and Darren @ AHS I will get the issues worked out. I agree with both of you guys about the WG, I think that it is very will built, it has simple controls. I love the fact that it has a 30" fb and that it likes large pc of wood, that means more time w/ my family and less time processing wood. It was the right price and if I can be patient with it and get through this season then I will decide how much money I want to invest in it. I should have the "EPA" plug by monday and Darren told me to plug off the tube that has the damaged ceramic block for this season. He said the plug should help seeing as i have this years wood processed for my old boiler which is only 20" and small splits. I cant wait to try it out as this plug will make the WG even more adjustable...So far since my brother in law helped out adjusting the fan I havent had any huffing situations but its only been a couple of days.

You doing just fine. Even though you've heated with wood before, gasification is a whole nother animal.
All you need is to get some experience under your belt and she will be burning just fine.

I NEVER heated with wood before and dove right into the deep end.
I wear my heart on my sleeve and posted a bunch of threads and videos whining and complaining about the whole thing but in the end it wasn't the Wood Gun as much as it was me and my lack of experience.
I have gotten into a comfortable routine and 99% of the time she burns just fine.

One thing I have noticed about Wood Gun owners is they are a real honest bunch of guys and have no fear of others when trying to figure out the problems they might be encountering. With that said, I still have had some bad days of burning. Not sure what it is, I pretty much do exactly the same thing at the same time under the same conditions and it just doesn't burn well.
Fortunately those days are fewer and farther between.
Most of the time I have perfect days of clean burning.

Keep us up to date. I like the fact that she is a carbon steel unit and still running over 10 years. I should get 30+ out of my SS model

 

[avc8130]

I don't know if I want to C/S/S 30 more years worth of wood!

ac

 

[infinitymike]

I don't know if I want to C/S/S 30 more years worth of wood!

ac

I'm gonna try and get it all done in the next 10 and sit back and relax for the next 20

 

[Green Mt Heat]

Thanks guys,

AC that is great advice and exactly what I plan an doing. I'm going to learn my way through this heating season and reevaluate the WG next summer. Darren @ AHS said that he could give me some pointers where to look in the fb for excessive wear and corrosion. So far with the fan adjustment (12-25-13) i have had no huffing situations and last night I loaded the fb @ 25-30% (temps in the upper teens overnight). No problems all night.

infinitymike The nozzles that are in the wg now are the cast iron ones, the previous owner had a friend @ a foundry cast them. Im not sure how long they have been in there but I suspect its been a few years? If you look @ the last pics I posted of the FB you can see the cast iron nozzles in the picture. The nozzles that I took a picture of are a brand new set that the previous owner gave me with the purchase. You are right mike this wg is a whole new animal makes my last boiler look like a model T. Mike I really like your style with the videos that you have posted (please keep posting them). I was so happy when I came across your youtube videos. you are like the only WG on youtube, so I want to thank you for putting them up. I learned more about the WG in your videos than i have in the last month of trying to use mine!

Guys I have been c/s/s 6-8 cord a year for over 20 years and before that I was helping my dad with his yearly supply since I was a little kid. I hated doing wood when I was a kid and swore when I bought a house I would never deal with wood again! I didn't make it through my first winter in my first house w/o hooking up a woodstove! I couldnt stand hearing the oil furnace run and still being cold in the house. My dad always says that you get warm twice heating with wood, once when you are c/s/s it then next when you burn it. Its also great exercise, I can see another 20 years at least processing wood. I hope the WG works out because c/s/s wood for this thing is going to be like a breath of fresh air, a lot fewer cuts and a lot less splitting. Mike once again your videos are great I was watching the ones with your wood pile, splitting and stacking operation, the vids gave me a good Idea what length and split size works well in the WG! Your wood splitter was made about 25 miles north of where I live!

The encouragement here has been great, I'll keep you posted

 

[Thom Griffin]

I used to have an Eshland wood gun 140. I got the optional hood for over the door when I bought it (1984). I had trouble with puffing whenever I used very dry, and very small splits of wood.