Looking to puchase a new OWB and can't decide

[treeperch]

I am looking to purchase an OWB and  am thoroughly confused on which is the best unit. I have a 1300 Sq foot home, which I will be expanding within the next year to 2000 sq ft, and a 24x24 garage, and a 24x40 outbuilding that I wish to heat. How many BTU's per square foot should I look at? I live in Central WI. Right now, I am torn between a Central CL 5036, or a Portage & Main ML30. Every boiler I read about has its own claim to fame, so I am turning to you previous and current owners to help me out. The P&M has a round firebox,  a secondary heat exchanger area, and a cleanout drawer and claims to be 40% more efficient than the Central, but it also costs nearly 2k dollars more. Central seems to be more established in this general area and has a lot of fans, but I think that may partially be because that was all that was available locally until about 5 years ago.

[woodmills1]

cant respond to either specific

but do your homework and buy one


you will be happy with the lack of oil buying once installed

[thecfarm]

treeperch,welcome to the forum. BTU's and square footage is a good rough number to go with. Just remember most garage doors suck cold air. I have 2 doors and can see faint light on the outside at night. Make sure you get it big enough without filling it every 6 hours. I someday want my own garage, :. I brought a Heatmor that will take a 54 inch stick. Way bigger than what I need now and probably at the rate I'm going, I will ever need.I was confused too when I was looking. And still am!  ;D

[Logging logginglogging]

I love my Central, and where I am they have a much better dealer base....
Infact i have never seen portage & main for sale ever here.

[doctorb]

Check your local and state regs. before purchasing.  If you've been doing online research, knowing whether or not it's required in your area to have a EPA approved stove or not will help you decide by narrowing your number of choices.

[tpyounome]

Welcome to the forum.
That's the first time I have ever said that, as I am pretty new as well.
These guys are a great resource for the outdoor wood boilers. 
Mine is being delivered TODAY.  I looked at a few and researched many.  Here in Indiana you must buy a EPA Phase 2.  (thanks  Doctorb and boilerman101)
I decided on the Empyre Pro series 200.  It is a Phase 2.  I chose it over the CB E classic 1450.
There are a lot of CB fans on this forum.  But I think they have the older non phase 2 boilers.  Which I understand are fantastic.  The guys who have the phase 2 CB around here in Indiana say they would rather have the older ones if they could still buy them.

[westyswoods]

FYI I looked for well over a year and was torn. Central was on the list but when closely comparing it with Portage and Main I decide and have recently purchased an ML 30 which is the smaller of their boilers. I liked the round firebox and overall design compared to Centrals. I also asked several owners of both and found the Portage and Main owners to be more satisfied overall. In total spoke to six of each plus some who had Heatmores.

One thing I would stay away from is the the high efficiency type stove as feedback I received from dealers and customers is they are not the cats meow and wood really needs to be cured and sized to let them burn properly.

The above comments are just my opinion and I am sure others can argue for other stoves. I have yet to get the OWB hooked up next week, I hope.

[Logging logginglogging]

I dont worry aboy state regs, install your self and noone will know....unless u have close nosey neighbors.

[Logging logginglogging]

Welcome to the forum.
That's the first time I have ever said that, as I am pretty new as well.
These guys are a great resource for the outdoor wood boilers. 
Mine is being delivered TODAY.  I looked at a few and researched many.  Here in Indiana you must buy a EPA Phase 2.  (thanks  Doctorb and boilerman101)
I decided on the Empyre Pro series 200.  It is a Phase 2.  I chose it over the CB E classic 1450.
There are a lot of CB fans on this forum.  But I think they have the older non phase 2 boilers.  Which I understand are fantastic.  The guys who have the phase 2 CB around here in Indiana say they would rather have the older ones if they could still buy them.

I have to say i do have a phase 2 CB boiler.... (that just happend to be what i got used from a guy, i waset looking for that espically) but i have to say I love the thing. My father has and older boiler that I actually dont like as much....

[thecfarm]

My wife was on facebook and was talking OWB. Someone in MA stated that they could not start thier OWB until mid Oct and must be out in May. Yes,they said they have noisy neighbors.    :(   Check out any regs,just to be sure.

[Handymark]

I was down to a heatmaster or central boiler two years ago. Ultimately I went with the CB5036 because I like the firebox design better. I would be interested in hearing arguments in favor of a round box design.

[thecfarm]

I was not concerned with a round box,but mine is. I have the old type Heatmor. I was looking for a simple design with out all of the digital stuff and solenoids and switches and parts that had to be brought from the dealer. I can go to the hardware store and buy just about what I need when my breaks down. The only 2 items are my blower fans,they are the same. The bladder too.I wanted a very simple designed OWB.

[boilerman101]

Hard to beat the Central features. Urethane insulation, solid easy to use door, great design and a proven U.S. company that I am confident will be in business in the future. Don't buy until you have physically looked at these furnaces. The manufacturing quality stands alone. IMO as a 10+ year CB user that has burned both the Classic and now Eclassic model.

[NWP]

Is there actually someone that inspects these stoves once installed to make sure they are legal?  My guess would be that until someone complains you probably wouldn't have any problems.  I have an older style Heatmor and the wood stove cops haven't shown up yet. ;)

[upsnake]

treeperch
No I would doubt that anybody comes and inspects them, well unless you pull all the permits required then they might. But it would suck to spend that much money on a stove, that if 1 person complains you have to stop using. (if you live in a state that requires phase 2)

[hockeyguy]

treeperch,
I ended up buying an e classic 2300 in 2010 and have been happy with it.
I would have preferred the Portage and Main but couldn't justify the price difference.
Good luck in your search!

[barbender]

I have a Heatmor, going into the fifth heating season. Thecfarm said it already, they are simple and dependable. They just work. I have no experience with the other brands.

[Vtmac72]

I have had a cb5036 and now a cb1400, love certain things about them but hate the warranty and customer service. If you go with a cb read and understand all the fine print of the warranty before you sign it. They have had many problems with different stoves and now have many ways to not have to stand behind their products. Good luck.

[mattNH]

Installed a Portage & Main Optimizer 250 last season.  My only regret is that I didn't do it 5 years earlier.  Good luck.

[ga jones]

Here in pa they have to be EPA aproved. The dealers get around it by putting FOR COAL ONLY. NO REGS ON OUTDOOR COAL FURNACES.I had a hardy it cracked after 15 years. now i have a mahoning. Its ok simple to use.Burns anything you can get in the door. green pine,spruce hemlock household trash butcher waste coal if its burnable it will take it.

[boilerman101]

It's comments and unresponsiblie owners burning crap like that, which are causing EPA and numerous states to come down on us owners that are trying to save money with our OWF's. If we don't do it right, they will continue to try to ban them all together. Many states like PA have already implemented requirements and there's talk of requirements coming down on a natiional basis. If you want an incinerator, go buy an incinerator.
Ya, I'm on my soapbox.

[superwd6]

Anybody buying an EPA boiler with horizontal tubes better get good at checking and cleaning them often. I've worked on enough oil boilers that had those tubes,with to low of stack temperature and to low of  temperature on return water WILL rot them out. Manufacturers of these EPA wood boilers tell you how clean they burn, which they do- but the off cycle always lets smoke and creasote out going to your secondary tubes that can be acidic(just like oil exhaust). E-classic has none of these-thats what I got and just recently, after seeing a standard boiler smoking the complete time it was in the off cycle-I wouldn't have one.Still loving the 2300 ;D.

[superwd6]

 
I decided on the Empyre Pro series 200.  It is a Phase 2.  I chose it over the CB E classic 1450.
There are a lot of CB fans on this forum.  But I think they have the older non phase 2 boilers.  Which I understand are fantastic.  The guys who have the phase 2 CB around here in Indiana say they would rather have the older ones if they could still buy them.
[/quote]

  When I was looking, the original design would let off cycle smoke return through the small inducer fan that feeds your fire. Keep an eye on it as if it hasn't changed it will plug the fan and eventually burn the motor. And when salesman showed me how to clean those tubes- I walked away. To much like cleaning dirty oil furnaces 

[Gary_C]

I think a very important part of the decision is what brand of underground piping to use. From what I've seen, there is no comparable line to CB's Thermopex. I have that stuff and my son has a competors product that is much cheaper and he uses twice as much wood as I use. Plus when it's cold he can't get enough wood in his stove to last thru a long winter day when it really cold.

It doesn't pay to go cheaper on the underground line.

[boilerman101]

The Empyre Pro 200 only puts out half the btu of a E1450.
The E1450 has 7 vertical tubes that allow ash to drop down with very little cleaning necessary.
The Empre Pro 200 has something like 12 horizontal tubes to clean and 12 more vertical tubes, from what I saw at the fair. Salesman told me they need to be cleaned every 7-10 days.
Pro 200 has a very small firebox and has no means of fine tuning secondary air induction, while CB gassers are computer monitored and air adjusted according to burn rate.
CB has urethane insulation, Empyre pro, fiberglass batts.
I don't see the comparison even being close.
But hey everyone is entitled to their own choice.

[ga jones]

Everyone IS entitled to there own choice. And there own opinions  :

[thecfarm]

I burn just about all soft wood and dead wood in my OWB. That is why I brought it. I did experiment with cut it in the morning,burn it at night. With both soft and hard wood.Went through alot of wood,but had no problems with it. Besides the smoking part of it.now my wood is dry on the stump. My old cook stove I've seen smoked more than my OWB and the cook stove wood was good dry hardwood.

[martyinmi]

The Empyre Pro 200 only puts out half the btu of a E1450.
The E1450 has 7 vertical tubes that allow ash to drop down with very little cleaning necessary.
The Empre Pro 200 has something like 12 horizontal tubes to clean and 12 more vertical tubes, from what I saw at the fair. Salesman told me they need to be cleaned every 7-10 days.
Pro 200 has a very small firebox and has no means of fine tuning secondary air induction, while CB gassers are computer monitored and air adjusted according to burn rate.
CB has urethane insulation, Empyre pro, fiberglass batts.
I don't see the comparison even being close.
But hey everyone is entitled to their own choice.

The BTU outputs are in direct relationship to the primary combustion chamber volume(EPA 8 and 12 hour burns). Compare combustion chamber volume vs EPA rated outputs and you'll understand easily. pc_smiley A smaller burn chamber loaded twice daily will last longer than a large one loaded once daily. Just picture that smokey,wet, acidic fog that hits you every time you open your door and imagine what it's doing to the inside of your boiler.

The Empyre line of OWB's employs the Scotch Marine style of heat exchange. It's been around for 150+ years, and it is bulletproof. For optimum efficiency the heat exchange tubes should be cleaned every 1-2 weeks- but they don't have to be. All gassers should be swept out routinely for peak performance.

I would never purchase an OWB with sprayed on urethane insulation. It does not breathe, and condensation has nowhere to go, which lends itself to premature water vessel failure(rusting from the outside-in). Breathable fiberglass batt insulation is the way to go. 8)

I'm with you on two of your comments, in that we are all entitled to our own choices, and I don't see the comparison even being close. ;)

[Holmes]

Quote from martyinmi

I would never purchase an OWB with sprayed on urethane insulation. It does not breathe, and condensation has nowhere to go, which lends itself to premature water vessel failure(rusting from the outside-in). Breathable fiberglass batt insulation is the way to go. 8)

I was under the impression that condensation has not place to develop with  spray foam insulation. If it is installed properly  no air can come in contact with the metal to allow condensation to happen.

[beenthere]

Holmes
I understand that is the case as well.

[martyinmi]

I was under the impression that condensation has not place to develop with  spray foam insulation. If it is installed properly  no air can come in contact with the metal to allow condensation to happen.
[/quote]

The metal in our OWB's is constantly cycling-as in expanding and contracting. Urethane insulation appears to have a tendency to develop hairline fractures after time, as it cycles right along with the metal, and these fractures act as little shelves that hold moisture.

There is a fella here in Mi that sells the Garn brand of indoor gasser who goes by the handle "heaterman"(he frequents another site almost exclusively), and he has ran into this scenario while replacing failed urethane insulated OWB's with Garns.

I gather by reading his comments, as well as many others, that using urethane to insulate an OWB is an OK idea(boxing it in with urethane panels), so long as it is not sprayed directly onto the water holding vessel.

Insulating with sprayed on urethane(as seen in the CB videos) appears to be a very,very cost effective way to insulate an OWB, but from all I've read and digested, not necessarily the best.

My opinions are just that-opinions. I have spent more than a few hours reading and researching this very subject, and I've came up with the mindset that I have based on the information I've gathered.

As far as honoring their warranty's, both Pro Fab and CB are two of the best out there. I had a few minor issues with the little Pro Series 100 Empyre I had a few years ago and I had them taken care of in a very timely fashion. My FIL had his CB 5648 corrode through last year after 8 years of service and CB came in and replaced it for $3500.00 with a 6048, and it took less than 2 weeks. I was impressed with that.

Time for church. Have a great day!

[Holmes]

Very interesting information.  Garn in my opinion is the best wood burning boiler made.

[martyinmi]

I agree with you on that Holmes. A Garn isn't practical for me, however, as I don't have the room in my home for it, and a cemented, insulated, wired building to house it in(affectionately called a Garn Barn!) is not in my budget at this time. When mine fails(not if), I should be in a better position financially 10 years down the road to incorporate a mass storage system.
I have to admit that it would be pretty cool to just build a fire once every 2-3 days inside a heated building while sipping on a beer as opposed to feeding what I have twice daily. 

[boilerman101]

Sorry, I don't buy into your urethane is a bad notation idea. This is a claim manufacturers that don't use urethane continue tell.
Do you really believe Central Boiler would continue to use urethane since they started business back in 1984, now probably with over 100,000 furnaces in use if it was a failure problem? Me thinks not...You need air to create condensation. Air can't penetrate urethane.
If corrosion is happening under the foam, it would have to come frome the water jacket side eating out to the foam side. Probably caused by lack of a corrosion inhibitor maintained in the water jacket.

Oh and I was comparing the EPA straight up posted 8 hour burn times from EPA site.  E1450 = 120,529 btu vrs ProFab 200 =  66,290 btu.

http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/owhhlist.html

[levans]

I had an older boiler with  urethane, I just took it out of service, in order to sell it for scrap I striped all the  urethane off it. In some places the steel is flaking off in layers, if anyone wants pictures I can post them.
I just started using My new boiler, it took three wheelbarrows stacked full to get the water to temp with the old boiler, with the new one it took about ten pieces of split wood to get it to temp after filling with cold water.
To heat the hot water for the house and to keep the house warm for twenty four hours takes about a wheelbarrow filled level.
I love My new boiler!!   

[ga jones]

Urethane also breaks down under high temps.you may see where the urethane is seperated from the steel levans. Thats break down.rub your hand up and down on the inside of the urethane it may disintegrate.

[martyinmi]

Oh and I was comparing the EPA straight up posted 8 hour burn times from EPA site.  E1450 = 120,529 btu vrs ProFab 200 =  66,290 btu.

http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/owhhlist.html

I guess you didn't grasp what I was trying to illustrate. The actual BTU output of a given OWB is based on many factors, the biggest one being combustion chamber volume. As a rule, the 8 hour output (in BTU's) of a given OWB is proportionate to the primary burn chamber volume. In other words if you have one burn chamber with say 10 cu.ft. of volume and one with 20 cu.ft., on a wide open burn the unit with the larger capacity will produce roughly twice the BTU's of the smaller one. If you so choose, compare the chamber volumes vs the EPA BTU output of the two OWB's in question, do a bit of simple math, and you'll understand what I'm referring to. I haven't looked at the EPA's numbers, or even the manufacturer's chamber volumes in a few years, but if you do, you'll see that I'm correct. :P

   Remember, the 8 hour and the 12 hour ratings are both based on a weighed, full burn chamber at an all out wide open burn scenario. I'll wager that if we could obtain copies of the actual tests of the two boilers in question, we'd see that in the first few hours of operation the two units BTU outputs would be very close in hourly output. The OWB with the smaller primary burn chamber will obviously begin to fall in BTU output as it runs out of fuel, and the larger one will not.

I have a copy of the testing that Intertech(the facility that does the lion's share of testing) did for my OWB. It's a bit overwhelming to read and understand at first, but once you get a grasp of the what's and how's,it's very interesting.

I apologize to all for my part in the temporary highjacking of this thread, as well as to the CB OWB gasser owners. There are only 3 or 4 manufacturers out there that I would seriously consider when purchasing a gasifying OWB, and CB is definitely one of them, just not the top one.......IN MY OPINION!

[ga jones]

You would make a good used car salesman boilerman.

[clww]

Great posts, marty! I learned much more than I knew before. We may get an OWB in the next few years for our log cabin.

[ga jones]

boilerman Your on your 3rd cb in 12 years. Why are they so good that you have invested upwards of $20,000+ in twelve years? Theres hardys around here that are 25 years old and still burning.If you would have kept the first one you could have bought $13,000+ worth of cut split firewood and not worry about the 30% gain in efficiency.(And still burned your garbage)

[boilerman101]

Because I like the latest and the greatest!
As I've posted before, my best huntin buddy is a CB dealer.
So I bought the classic 5648, E2300 & my current E2400 at his dealer cost.
When I sell them, I still get close to what I paid for them.
I like this E2400 so much though, I don't know that I will trade out of this one.
He's going to hook me up with CB's new XP mobil monitoring feature shortly.
Granted, that is an unfair advantage over most buyers.
There was nothing wrong with any of my previous furnaces when I sold them.
I'm sure that classic 5648 would have lasted me 25 years too. no rust anywhere in that firebox.

[tpyounome]

Treeperch

It has been over 5 weeks since you started this thread.  I was wondering if you had made a descision on your OWB yet.

[Logging logginglogging]

I just looked at the GARN systems on their site. They look complicated, A pain to install, since you need to build a brick building. And I just generally dont like the looks of the setup. Has anyone seen these used before? where in the country do people use these?
Before today I have never even heard of them.

[beenthere]

Looks like a well built OWB.

[WmFritz]

Looks like a well built OWB.

Second that... if I had the room and deeper pockets, the Garn looks like the ultimate set-up.

I have to tell you guys... I have been trying to talk the CFO into an OWB for years. Every tractor pull or county fair we went to, she knew I would hit all the vendors tents and come away with all their literature. :D.   I  could never convince her that gathering firewood, processing it and stoking the stove is good excersize for her. But, now with the mill around, she sees the amount of free heat piling up.  She's actually pushing me to buy a stove.

I always thought I would go with a simple boiler but, the the more I looked at the gassers, the more I wanted to go that way. Last week I talked to a bunch of different dealers and now I'm rethinking the outdoor boiler and possibly going with an indoor gasser.  smiley_fused_bomb

Here's one I want to take a close look at this week... its a new concept but, looks interesting to me. http://www.heissheaters.com

[Logging logginglogging]

I would much rather have a non complicated reasonably priced boiler. So noone on here has ever seen one of these in action? where in the country are these popular?

[Logging logginglogging]

Because I like the latest and the greatest!
As I've posted before, my best huntin buddy is a CB dealer.
So I bought the classic 5648, E2300 & my current E2400 at his dealer cost.
When I sell them, I still get close to what I paid for them.
I like this E2400 so much though, I don't know that I will trade out of this one.
He's going to hook me up with CB's new XP mobil monitoring feature shortly.
Granted, that is an unfair advantage over most buyers.
There was nothing wrong with any of my previous furnaces when I sold them.
I'm sure that classic 5648 would have lasted me 25 years too. no rust anywhere in that firebox.

wow how long do you keep them? even with a discount constantly swapping must be pricy?

[chopper888]

I am in Central Illinois and have had a CB for about 4 years now.  One of my friends has a 15 year old HeatMor, another has a 2 year old Heatmor(had a Taylor for 18 years before that) and another has a 20 year old Taylor(been rebuilt twice).  I currently heat about 2000sf house, hot water and a 32 x 36 insulated shed.  We all burn mostly locust, hedge, oak and hickory.  It is generally dead or seasoned, but with some occasional green mixed in.  IMO, I would not purchase a CB again.  They are a pain to ash out and with the natural draft, they seldom burn the wood entirely.  Even when you stir the coals/ash regularly, there is always a fair amount of chunks that did not burn when I ash the boiler.  CB makes an add-on blower kit and I installed it.  It helped somewhat when the boiler was full of wood, but since the opening is well above the bottom of the firebox, when your wood gets low, it will just blow cold air over the top of the coals and fill your boiler with cold air...thus cooling it off quickly.  I fabricated a metal piece to direct the air down at the bottom, but it only marginally helped. 

Also, my shed has a heated floor.  Since these do not call as often, you will have a large dump of cold water into the boiler at one time when it does kick on.  The CB does not handle this well.  I changed the floor to a manual control instead of thermostat because I woke up too many nights with a cold house and cold boiler.  If the floor kicked on at 2am, it would burn the boiler out of wood and go cold.  I generally keep the shed at about 45 in the winter unless I am working in there.  I have since installed a water-air fan coil in addition to the floor and this is much easier on the boiler.  I only run the floor if I know I am going to be in there working on something on the floor.  Otherwise, the FCU is on a thermostat. 

Based on my personal experience(just an opinion from a residential user), I would not purchase another CB.  Keep in mind though, I have not looked at the newer high efficiency models.   Based on the recovery time, procedure for removing ash, controls design and parts, etc, I would prefer the Heatmor.  You simply auger the ash from the bottom(60 seconds instead of 15 minutes).  Also, the fan blows from the bottom center of the firebox directly up into the fire, so even when you are down to coals, it stays warm and fires right up.  And, most all the parts are simple and available. 

I am curious to hear anyone reaction or opinion on this post. 

[Dean186]

Chopper888, 

Which model of Central Boiler do you own?  You have a lot of information, but I did not see a model.  Later you spoke of not owning a high efficiency model, so I assume its not an E-Classic.

[Dean186]

Boilerman's progression of OWB looks normal to me, that is, if I were getting a good discount like him.

(1) Upgrade from the classic 5648 to a high efficiency stove like the E-Classic 2300.  Yes

(2) Then, perhaps realizing the challenges of the first E2300s, upgraded to the even higher efficiency of the E-classic 2400.  Yes

A move I would have made if the price were right. 

I was lucky to have started with an E-Classic 1400.  New users are looking at some pretty solid choices out there these days - IMO.

[ronwood]

Chopper888,

I have an Central Boiler 5648 OWB for the last 7 years. I would agree that the ash removal is a pain . The thing that I like it is that it does not have the draft fan. CB claims that it increase your wood usage at least 25%. I not sure if that is a good number or not. Since mine is bigger than yours it has not trouble keeping up with a3000 sq house and 1500 sq. ft. shop with both heated using force air.

I wonder if the unit is is bit to small for your application.

Another thing that I found is if I burn slab wood or pine it does not last near as long.

Ron

[Dean186]

To treeperch, who posted the question.  (You only have the one post, so not sure you have even used any of this information.  If not, others should find it useful anyway.)

This will be my fourth year using Central Boiler's E-Classic 1400.  I run it about 7 months each year.  I would recommend it and from what I have read and heard from others, I would also recommend the newer model Central Boiler E-Classics.

Dean

[chopper888]

Dean186 and ronwood,

The model of my boiler is a Classic 5036.  I agree that a larger unit with a larger volume of water would certainly help.  I don't know how I feel about the blower assertions.  I have never conducted an experiment with and without the blower on mine to check the difference.  However, it seems to me that in the other boilers that have a blower under the fire, they heat up much quicker, thus lowering your burn time.  Now, you would have to asses the weather conditions, heat load, wood type, water jacket volume, etc, etc etc....to get a true answer.  I suppose I am really just speaking from my gut and simple observations.   

I am not saying that I am displeased with the CB.  I bought it when it was 3 years old and I have had no malfunctions or trouble at all.  It has been very reliable. I just feel, after seeing some other types in service, that there are features that would steer me away from another CB.  Again, I have had absolutely no exposure to the newer series of CB, so that could change everything. 

However, the older I get, the more I believe in simplicity.  The fewer steps and parts involved in a process, the less potential failure points you have!  Murphy follows me everywhere, so I have to try and lessen his chances wherever possible! 

[ronwood]

chopper888,

How does any CB boiler have more failure points without the fan than any over unit? The only thing is that CB has a digital controller. With the blower you do get a quicker recover but at the same time you are creating a pressure within the fire box that causes heat to be pushed up the stack. Does that make a significant difference I don't know and at the same time you do have a larger volume of water to keep up to temp with CB.

With any OWB I think the greatest heat lost to the system is the piping underground. If it is not well insulated you can lose water temp pretty fast causing the unit to burn a lot of wood. Most peaple that ask me about OWB whether it is CB, Heatmore or one of the others is to make sure your inground piping is well insulated.

Ron

[thecfarm]

ronwood,I'm not saying anything bad about CB OWB. I think they have way too many switches,digital readouts,some sort of computer controller,solenoids. With my Heatmor I can just about go down to the hardware store and buy my Honeywell controllers when they go bad. I looked hard at a CB before I made mine mind up. just too many things to go wrong. the Heatmor just has a rope over the bladder with a piece of metal that says fill on it. When it hangs down it needs to be filled. Or just reach up and feel the bladder if you want too.

[ronwood]

thecfarm,

I am talking about the Classic which has only one soloniod which opens the damper. No relay to turn on a blower. Yes is does have a controller with a digital display that can be purchased from another company.  Also it has a switch for the lights on the unit has well as the switch inside to turn off the power to the unit. I don't see how it any more complicated than any of the other units out there. Now the Eclassic is totally different stove which is more complicated and I don't have one of those.

Ron

[thecfarm]

That's the one I looked at when I  brought my Heatmor. The E's were only a twinkle in someone eye when I was looking. One switch is too many I feel. The Heatmor has nothing for soloniods,that's why I bought it. As I said nothing a matter with the CB units at all. I just wanted a real simple unit. One that I could figure out on mine own. It's just about a firebox with 2 blowers and a bladder. Than I added Honeywell controllers and 2 pumps to it.

[ga jones]

if You notice there seems to be constant new posts and old ones brought up here about problems with electroinc parts on CBs

[Jack72]

It's comments and unresponsiblie owners burning crap like that, which are causing EPA and numerous states to come down on us owners that are trying to save money with our OWF's. If we don't do it right, they will continue to try to ban them all together. Many states like PA have already implemented requirements and there's talk of requirements coming down on a natiional basis. If you want an incinerator, go buy an incinerator.
Ya, I'm on my soapbox.

.          I second this statement

[ga jones]

As I stated earlier everyone is entitled to there own opinion that's the beauty of living in a somewhat free country. I'll keep burning whatever fits in the door until someone try's to stop me. (God help them)

[WmFritz]

Well ...after all the time I spent on trying to figure out the best way to go, I had it narrowed down to a few brands. I had decided to go with a gassifier because I like my neighbors and didn't want to worry about choking them out.

Before I finally made my purchase, I decided to check with the township. They answered my question as to why I wasn't seeing any stoves in my immediate area. All OWB had been banned in '09 including EPA stoves.  It really caught me off guard because more then half of my township is agriculture. But, there are a few scattered subdivisions with high-end homes and enough people pressured the board to implement the ban.

Now, after rethinking my options, I bought an indoor gassification boiler last week. I won't have it running for a couple weeks. Lots of head scratching figuring out my plumbing lay-out.

[thecfarm]

While driving down the road I will see alot of smoke coming from a chimney,burning wood inside of a home. If that was an OWB people would have a fit. I had a guy stop in from Kittery,ME at the veggie stand. He could not use his mill in that town because someone up the road from him had a circular mill and a Detroit to power it years ago. The town banned all sawmills.

[NWP]

Government knows best!! :

[ga jones]

If you put your owb in a shed they can't stop you! For every problem the government creates there's a creative solution to get around it.

[Kemper]

I had a new CB 6048 installed three weeks ago today. It does our heat and hot water heater. The ole lady likes it warm and it will really put out the heat. So far we are extremely happy. I can load this massive fire box and not load it again for a couple of days. I work in the wood business so there is no cost for fire wood. Were a young couple so I think it will pay for itself in five to six years.

[patvetzal]

I had two salespeople here from two different stove companies, then two buddies, each with OWBs. They all suggested the same location for the OWB, plus a spot to store wood.
My wife then collected the township regulations and we found that we could NOT install in that spot (too close to house)and the wood storage had to be so many feet away from the unit, plus the tree windbreak would have to come down....if we bought a building permit.

[beenthere]

pat
Help if you'd put your location in your profile... ;)