Cadillac Outdoor Wood Burner

[unimog_jason]

I've priced out an outdoor Econoburn 200000 BTU gasifier unit and they are just under $10000 on the east coast of Canada and that includes the heat exchanger and a fan.  From what I can understand the indoor unit costs the same but it doesn't include the exchanger or fan.

From what I've read on various websites these units burn clean, use less wood then the non gasifier boilers and the manufacturer has been building commercial boilers for a lot of years.

My biggest concern is that you still have a water jacket that isn't likely to get above boiling so that might impact your burn, but at least the upper firebox is refractory so that should help with the smoke.

A cousin of mine bought a Greenwood Furnace a couple years ago, it's basically one huge refractory and uses boiler tubes instead of a jacket.  In my mind this makes a lot more sense, this will allow you to keep your firebox walls very hot allowing for a hotter fire and a cleaner burn.  Unfortunately Greenwood was bought by another company and they discontinued this model.  They now offer a gasifier as well but I haven't looked into it yet.

Jason

[mbryner]

For those prices, you could almost build a really nice thermal mass masonry stove in the house.  Just sayin'.   Of course you couldn't heat multiple buildings that way...

[unimog_jason]

For me it all about multiple buildings.  Right now I only have the house to heat, but I plan on building a small workshop for my wife, a bigger shop for myself and maybe a greenhouse further down the road.  I know these boilers need constant attention but I sooner have to service one stove rather then four.

Jason

[vdubnut62]

Go Jason!  I just hope you are young, strong, have plenty of time and have a good place to cut firewood! Do you have any idea of the amount of wood all those buildings will consume?
Ron.

[unimog_jason]

Don't worry Ron, I'm still fairly young and I have 3 kids who will be old enough in a couple years to start helping out, plus I have a horrible addiction to tractors and Unimogs so I have MORE then enough machinery to help out with the work.

The house is in New Brunswick and if there is one thing that grows well in New Brunswick it's trees.  At $80 per cord for 8' logs I can do a lot of heating for a reasonable amount of money.

Jason

[vdubnut62]

Jason I share your addiction to machinery I'm afraid. Now if I only had a firewood processor.......hmm
Ron.

[unimog_jason]

A processor is most certainly on my list.  Hopefully they will start popping up in the used market a little more in a few years, doesn't seem to be a lot right now and most of them are far away.