Woodmizer Sawdust Burner . . . . .

TexasTimbers · January 22, 2007, 04:01:29 PM

To date they have had almost 300 inquiries regarding this and the guy I just spoke with at WM said he is as eager to get the status on it as everyone else.
They are going to send out questionaires and maybe make phne calls etc. to select folks about their intended usage etc.
I hope it turns out to be as good as it sounds. Sawdust isn't hard to come by around here.
I wonder if the pulpwood market could get eclipsed by the sawdust market once enough of them are out in the field.
That sounds like a joke because the pulpwood market is so huge but what if this thing is so effecient that it rivals current home heating technology? I could see Sawdust Wagons replacing oil trucks in neighborhoods.

Furby · January 22, 2007, 07:18:01 PM

It would help raise pulp prices if that turned out to be the case.

TexasTimbers · January 22, 2007, 07:25:11 PM

yeah but what would it do to lemonade and flounder. And the ozone.

Furby · January 22, 2007, 08:18:20 PM

I just don't see it getting all that big.
I can see folks that have easy access to sawdust jumping on the band wagon, but there are already uses for sawdust and I think it will just drive the cost of obtaining sawdust up.

Ron Wenrich · January 22, 2007, 09:00:08 PM

Wasn't there a sawdust burner that you could make out of a couple of 55 gal oil drums? I remember them back a number of years ago.

breederman · January 23, 2007, 07:41:31 AM

We can't get enough sawdust arond here for bedding now. Some is alreading being burned to heat the mill buildings and such. Unalam is burning their own shavings to heat the plant.
Dust from small bandsaws is not very good for bedding as it is too fine, so a burner will be a good use for that.

Dana · January 23, 2007, 07:49:39 AM

I'm curious how they intend to keep fresh, wet, sawdust from freezing up before burning. I would think it would be an issue for us potential northern customers.

BBTom · January 23, 2007, 08:01:02 AM

I am one of those that are waiting to hear details. I would love to set one next to the Taylor that heats the house, hot water, and kiln.

I don't have alot of problems with sawdust freezing. My guess is that some of the moisture is removed in the blower system, either that or it is quick frozen and stays that way???? I already collect my sawdust in a gravity bed wagon, some goes to horse people, alot just goes to the burn pile or on trails in the woods.

waiting patiently..................sortof..........

Brad_S. · January 23, 2007, 08:29:39 AM

I don't mean to hijack the thread, I'm anxious to hear about the WM burner too, but there is a sawdust burner on the market now for those who can't wait. It plugs into existing boilers. The one I saw referenced some years back was attached to a Taylor Outdoor boiler.
http://www.burnchips.com/dragon.html

logwalker · January 23, 2007, 12:19:14 PM

I see a big chipper feeding a large hopper eating all those pesky slabs coming off the mill. I could sell all my firewood to pay for it all. Have any idea what that auger system sells for? Joe

twobears · January 24, 2007, 09:06:24 AM

i just got a email from burnchips.the dragon is no longer made or sold.he didn,t tell me why..to bad it looked just like something i needed.
i wonder if a guy could make his own?? it don,t really look like it would be hard to do.
i,de like to build my own outdoor wood boiler and have it built right from the start with that dragon style hopper as part of it.

delbert

OneWithWood · January 24, 2007, 10:40:51 AM

I too am anxious to hear more about the WM sawdust burner. Price and payback will be the big deciding factors for a lot of people.

Stump Jumper · January 24, 2007, 12:31:10 PM

woodmizer called me yesterday about the saw dust burners .they are getting info from potential costumers on what they will be heating: buildings, kilns etc. They said looks like they have 4 sizes available. I told them that I was concerned about frozen sawdust they said they only thing they are concerned about is the sawdust freezing in the auger. Sounds like they have a couple of different ways to combat that problem. It's gonna depend on your location. Only the largest size is gonna be able to burn sawdust, corn, pellets, wood chips, this unit is 1.5 million BTU. The smaller units will only burn the powder dust so if I want to burn my slab wood it has to be ground into a fine dust like a bandsaw produces. These will be duel fuel units. The ignition system will be propane fired for 5-10 minutes then the sawdust will be a perpetual burn. If you wanna leave the house for a weekend it has the propane burner is just as many BTU output as the sawdust burner itself so it can switch to propane if you are gone. They are also looking at generating small amounts of electricty with these units. Hope I got the information right this is as close as I can remember.

Brad_S. · January 24, 2007, 07:28:04 PM

Are the WM units heating air like a forced air furnace or heating water like an outdoor boiler?

Stump Jumper · January 24, 2007, 07:57:24 PM

wood-mizer will be having a small scale sawdust burner with them for there 25th anniversary tour ;)

Riles · January 24, 2007, 09:06:26 PM

I visited a sawmill this summer that had their own sawdust burning boiler/generator. 160KW generator that burned only sawdust, the larger stuff shook out to be ground up or sold. The whole setup was in it's own building and computer controlled. As big as it was, I assumed they needed a dedicated operator, but the boss only checked on it a couple times a day. They said it paid for itself in nothing flat, still didn't cover all their power requirements and they were looking to put in a bigger one. The only problem they had was their former customers were upset they weren't getting the sawdust anymore.

The surprising thing to me was how little sawdust it seemed to be burning. I figured the conveyor feed would be running continuously, but it started up and ran for a couple minutes and then would shut down for about 5 minutes. Might have been burning a couple of buckets of sawdust every ten minutes.

farmerdoug · January 24, 2007, 11:47:15 PM

Riles,

You do not happen to remember who made the system do you? Sounds like a neat setup, heat and electricity too.

Farmerdoug

Brad_S. · January 25, 2007, 12:10:56 AM

Quote from: twobears on January 24, 2007, 09:06:24 AM
the dragon is no longer made or sold.

Oops, sorry about the bum steer.

farmerdoug · January 25, 2007, 09:12:16 AM

If they are not selling it anymore you think they would update their website. :

I was looking at that too. :(

Farmerdoug

Riles · January 25, 2007, 06:28:39 PM

Farmerdoug, I don't remember the name, but it was industrial sized, not what you would expect to see on your typical farm. The firebox alone was probably 8 x 8 and the building the whole thing was in might have been 30 x 30.

farmerdoug · January 25, 2007, 06:58:27 PM

Now that would be fun to check out. 8)

Woodmizer said today that their largest sawdust burner will be about 1 million BTUs. It will burn any biomass like corn, small chips, sawdust, cardboard, hay, cornstalks even food waste. They are working on a second phase that involves the processing of the biomass to burner size ie. a grinder of some kind too. The thrid phase will be a generator.

The boiler is planned to be coming out this fall. They will be sending a brochure out in about three weeks to people that have shown interest in the boiler.

Farmerdoug

ElectricAl · January 25, 2007, 10:07:17 PM

Doug,

We had a similar conversation with Scott Laskowski a couple days ago. After the phone call, Linda and I were talking about the 1 million BTU burner. Here in Iowa, the DNR regulates all wood burners 1 million BTU's and bigger. However, Wisconsin does not start regulating until 5 million. So, it looks like each state law will have to be looked at. In Iowa an owner will have to obtain a permit and pay a fee to make a million BTU per hour.
Permits take a considerable amount of time to research and file. >:(
Did we mention a considerable amount of time.

That's a considerable amount of time for each permit

Now, there is a quick fix to this little problem. Reduce the sawdust auger RPM by 1%. WaLa 990,000 BTU's.
Add a label to the machine and avoid dealing with the government.

Or just build a 1.5 million and figure that any company big enough to use that many BTU's is already being visited by the DNR for water shed permits, storm water containment, fugitive dust permits, recycling programs, chemical spill plan, it goes on and on.

We did sent Scott Laskowski an Email in regard to Iowa DNR rules. He replied very quickly that he would be researching this issue further. Wood Mizer has a lot riding on this project, and we are confident that they will develop and build a safe and efficient burner.

We have our name on the "I'll take one" list ;D

ElectricAl and Linda

farmerdoug · January 25, 2007, 10:31:45 PM

I defintly am interested in one too. It just depends on the final price of it though. I currently have the CB's largest outdoor boiler just under the pallet burner. I love it but with each additional greenhouses it is losing the capacity to keep up with heat so instead of another CB I am thinking Woodmizer. That would allow a whole different heat source material if you know what I mean. CB's do not burn cardboard and sawdust very good.

Farmerdoug

ElectricAl · January 26, 2007, 09:57:49 PM

I gave a brief overview to a local tree service owner who wants to burn the chips he makes. He'll need the pulverizer that WM will make available during phase 2.

I kinda hope phase 2 happens quick because we'll use one for the trash under the sawmill.

farmerdoug · January 26, 2007, 10:10:40 PM

Depending on what size unit you are getting I am sure you can get a hammermill that will size it to your needs. They are available for just about anything.

Farmerdoug