Eclassic 2300 wood usage?

[stumper]

I am curious as to how much wood others are using in their Eclassic 2300.  When I bought mine they were advertising it was capable of heating multiple houses and all kinds of great things.  I am not asking because I am interested in efficency as I have been pleased with the amount I use but more in relative capacity.

I use about 6 cord (hardwood) a year with my peak use in the dead of the winter being just over a cord a month. 

Based on what other  here others using I suspect I am on the low end of the capacity of my boiler.  That said I will say that it seems to have trouble keeping up with demand when the temp is  -15 or below so I would not want a smaller boiler.

So everyone.  What is your yearly usage and what do you use during the peak month?

[beenthere]

Your bio doesn't say where you are at, but I heat exclusive with wood in WI on less than 6 real cords of dry split hardwood. Peak month varies from winter to winter for the last 35 years heating with wood.
Been pretty steady burning a cord about every 25 days over the three + coldest months of winter.

[stumper]

I live in central Maine.  My boiler provides heat and domestic hot water for a family of 4.  My wood is also seasoned split hardwood.  I have been running the boiler from the first frost warning and will run until it is warm enough to open the windows and air out the house in the spring.  I have been running 2 to 3 weeks now.  This is longer then most folks in my area, they normally start some time in October.

It sounds like we have a similar level of wood use.

[doctorb]

Stumper - I have posted this before.  I use 12-13 cords a winter (mid-November through April), which seems high until you check out the circumstances.

5000 square foot added on and added on farmhouse.  2 basements with 2 furnaces and 2 different heating systems and hot water.  2 heat exchangers, one in each basement to serve separate areas of the house.  E-2300 with 1 1/4 inch thermopex 300 feet away.  One line run underground into one basement and then split to serve the second basement.  Heat at 71 on programable thermostats when we are here, 68 when we're not, 66 at night for sleep.  This is an inefficient system.  It's like heating 2 separate houses that happened to be joined along one wall in the middle.  I am sure that I could decrease my fuel utilization by 30% - minimum - if I had only one basement and a standard set-up.

I still save $$$ as this system was also inefficient for oil heat.  Oil costs were over $6000 per year. 

[hockeyguy]

Stumper,
I'm not too far away from you geographically or climate wise.
I used 10 cord last year [my first] with the e classic 2300 from mid Oct. till mid May. I heat a reasonably well insulated 2000 sq. foot house at 72 deg. plus domestic h.w.
My hope is to burn a few cord less this year seeing as my wood is now much drier than what I used last year.
During Jan. and Feb. I  blew through a cord every 2 weeks.  I'm not talkin pine either. Sugar maple, beech and birch were my main species. I even broke down and bought a cord of kiln dried hardwood[sweet stuff by the way] to finish the year.
I'm very happy overall with my purchase and experience, though cutting back by a few cord would be great.

Hockeyguy

[stumper]

Last winter was a long tough one in our area.

[hockeyguy]

One more thing I meant to mention as far as wood usage goes. I agree last winter was long, but it started out mild. I know I wasted wood wood last year by starting too early.  I was eager to embark on my maiden voyage with the e classic. Unless high temps. are in the 40's and low 50's consistently, I'm not sure if it isn't less expensive and easier to use a few gallons of oil each day to heat the house. Although I'm excited to get going, I think I'll wait till there's a good stretch of cool/cold weather before I fire up this year.

[stumper]

Ya I have questioned why I am running now, but I am.  So far I have not burnt any of my "winter wood".  I still have a full 6 cord in the shed plus a couple of small extra plies for next year.  I have only been burning the "junk" that does not pile.  Short ends, the uglies, the ant wood that I sprayed and kept out of the shed, stump tops from my grinding business, ect..

[beenthere]

stumper
The ants will leave the wood as soon as it dries out a bit. ;)

[hockeyguy]

I'm with you Stumper. I've got a bunch of brush and standing dead that I'll begin my year with.Always keep a few cans of ant killer on hand. They really love beech.
I have electric hot water. When I'm running the e classic I save $50 per month on my electric bill. I just need to wait till I reach the tippin point as to when it's worth  firing er up.

[buckgrunt]

It appears that Hockeyguy and I live rather close to each other. I live in Candia NH, which would be close to Central NH.  My house is approx 2800 square feet and if I were rate the quality of my insulation, it would be a 7 out of 10.    It also was my first winter last year with the 2300 and I also started way too early.  I started on 9/15.  This year. I plan on starting in mid-October as it has been rather mild so far.  I also burned 10 cord (128 sq feet per cord) last year and hopefully, will burn a little less.  I can't imagine only burning 6 cord !!!! That seems rather unbelievable !! Before my E-2300 purchase, I was burning 5 to 6 cord in my wood stove and I had to turn on the oil heat to keep the ends of my house warm. 

[stumper]

I do not take chances with any bugs, ants included.  That stuff does not make it into the shed.

Also included in my "junk pile" is a bunch of  limbs resulting from Irene.

Prior to my Eclassic 2300 I burnt 5 cords in the house and 450 gallons of oil a year.  Since then I use 6 cords (+ junk) and 85 gallons of oil and have a more comfortable house. 

Off subject

So for the cost of 1 cord ($100) I save 365 gallons of oil (1275 @3.50/gal).  I am guessing I have $175 in extra electricity and parts for the boiler per year.  So I figure I am ahead about $1000 per year.  Total cost of boiler with pad, thermopex and install about $12,000 so considering the cost of money I have a 15 year pay back.  This is about half of what I expect for a usefull life from the boiler.  So I am good with that.  However, with the maintenance issues I suspect the 30 year life is a pipe dream.

[firechief]

This will be my 3rd year with the Eclassic 2300.  The first two years I burned between 6-7 cords of seasoned hardwood.  There is an abundance of oak in this area and that is what I mainly burn.  I have a 2500 s.f house built in 1964, also heat domestic water for a family of 5.  Keep the house around 70ish when we are home and 67 when gone or sleeping.  Knock on wood, Ive not had any issues with my boiler besides routine maintenance. I, like doctorb, from mid November thru April.

[hockeyguy]

Stumper,
I think you may reach payback sooner than you expect.
I used on average 1100 gallons of oil per year. Even running on oil during shoulder season I might use 100 gallons. I still save 1000 gallons per year.
1000 gallons x $3.50=$3500. Tack on 6 months of hot water savings brings me to $3800.00 saved per year. Although I don't "pay" for wood, I 'll deduct saw gas and oil and some electricity, ashtrol etc. for $50.00 per month although some electricity is a wash since I'd be using it burning oil.
After all this, I see somewhere around $3500.00 net savings per year.
I also spent $12,000 for the install so I figure a payback of less than 4 years at current oil prices.  (these numbers do not include the woodshed (daddy cave) and Polaris Sportsman 500 I had to have to go with it   8)

[stumper]

I cut half of my own wood and buy the other half but I figure 100 per cord for both since that is what wood cost and what I could sell it for.  The big advantage that I can not put a price tag on is being able to say "stick it" to OPEC. 

Of course they say "stick it" right back to me every time I pull up to the diesel pump.

[WI Fire]

I have had a classic 6048 for the last 4 seasons in SW Wisconsin. Before that I had a Classic 5636 (200 and some gallons if I recall correctly, versus 393 gallons with the 6048.) The smaller unit was undersized for the house, and after 5 seasons, I sold it to my brother-in-law, and purchased the larger 6048. My house is 1970 flat roof, lots of windows- almost 60 double pane casements, 3 story (1st level at ground level on 3 exposures, approximate 2000 sq. foot total. I've been blowing through 9-11 full cords of hardwood, cut from cull logs, some split rounds, some rounds, all sizes, usually dried after cutting at least 6 months. Right now, I have about 6 cords in a woodshed, moisture level at 18-20 %, split and no larger than 6 inches diameter, with the possibility that in the next few days I will pick up from a dealer a refurbished e-2300. I will be most interested to see if my wood consumption decreases as I approach 100% combustion, and better capture of btu's , though more effort in cleaning etc with the e-2300, if I close the deal. I know there is something to be said for the simplicity of the classic 6048, but as I live in town, I would like to leave less of a smoke trail, and save on wood. It shall be interesting, and I'll keep ya'll posted if it comes to pass.

[doctorb]

WI fire-

Welcome to the FF.  Sounds like a good plan.  Please note, that the most frustrated OWB users on this forum have been those that treat their gassifier stove like the older style units.  There will be more maintenance involved to maintain top efficiency.  There are lots of threads here on this topic.  So go to school now on how the daily, weekly and monthly maintenance schedules are done.  You will be a very happy guy once you get that part of this down.  Your experience prior to your 2300 will not give you all the answers.  That's what we are here for!

[WI Fire]

Thanks for the reply and the offer for help. Today I made the plunge and just arrived home with a factory refurbished e-2300. It was in use for approximately 2 months by a dealer who admitted that he did not burn dry wood and knew little about the maintaining of this sophisticated device. He had trouble. It sat for a whole season and a 1/2, and then he finally sent it back to the CB factory to be redone.

Today, I called the factory and talked with 2 senior guys about my concerns, after reading various forums. As you suggested, one fellow who has used one for 2 seasons, said, "Do your homework" and that I should "follow with diligence" the instructions in the manual, and "You should have rather smooth sailing." He said that because of the updates it should not be any less reliable than any newer unit leaving their doorstep. 

He also noted that his daily maintenance took little more more than 2 minutes.

From the serial number, and the recent return, he said all had been done: new refractory stuff, fan update (it has dual burner for start up and alternate), and new door, and completely new firebox, with slider bars, just as the ones leaving the factory.

He said he would not be afraid to jump on board, but true to CB's forever policy, the warranty would not  transfer to another owner, despite the fact that it had been a dealer demo, and despite the fact it has not been re-burned since leaving the factory. The bottom line: same serial number.

After closely inspecting the unit, we loaded it up and brought it home. Tomorrow I will drain, clean, and re-load to return the 6048 put in use for 4 full seasons.

It appears I will have a new early winter hobby, different and yet exciting from my 10 years of using 2 other models of CB classics.

I made the jump after learning of this forum and seeing the great resource of experience and wisdom from those of you who are happy, successful users of the E-2300.
Again, my thanks and appreciation. I'll keep you posted.

Of note, after viewing the modest firebox in comparison, I suggested she might have to deal with my remains other than discussed with the 6048, and I doubt I'll be able to open the door and produce the nervous laughter I once could by remarking to daughter's new boyfriends, "Look how large the firebox, this really could handle anything one could lift and throw!"

[hockeyguy]

WI Fire,
My 2300 was new but had the factory upgrades like yours does.
It takes some time to learn how to get it working right, but once you do you'll be happy. Don't get discouraged. The front label that says "burning wood is more art than science" says it all.
Dry wood is the most important thing for a hot and low smoke burn.
Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.

[WI Fire]

Thanks. Placed the unit yesterday on the old pad. Need to configure lines coming to the unit. Will upgrade to CB central pex in about a week and a half.

I'm curious, when you use the wood ignition relight, for what time did you set the timer?
I do have dry, split wood, 18-20%.

WI Fire

[hockeyguy]

Not sure what you mean by wood ignition relight.
Mine is wood only with an add pulse timer I bought from  CB and installed myself. I followed the instructions until I found the right settings.
Good move installing the thermopex. That's right up there with dry wood on the list.

[WI Fire]

Quoting from manual (this  E-2300 has 2 gas burners, one for Wood Ignition, one for Gas Mode):

Page 40, item 5. "The Wood Ignition button is used to enable/disable wood ignition. When enabled, the Wood ignition light is on. During operation, the light will flash.

6. The Wood Ignition Timer (up or down buttons) may be used to increase or decrease the amount of time the upper gas burner operates during wood ignition. When the upper gas burner is operating, the light bar indicates the amount of time remaining.

7. The Wood Auto Relight button is used to enable/disable the Wood Auto relight mode. When enabled, the Wood Auto Relight light is on. During operation the light will flash.

8. The Wood Auto Relight Timer (up and down) buttons may be used to indicate the amount of time the upper gas burner operates during wood auto relight. When the upper gas burner is operating, the light bar indicates the amount of time remaining.

NOTE: If the temperature in the Reaction Chamber rises enough, the controller will turn off the upper gas burner even if time remains on the light bar.

9. The GAS MODE button may be used to enable/disable the Gas Backup and Gas Only modes. Only one mode may be used at a time. When enabled, either the Gas Backup or gas only light will be on. During lower gas burner operation, the corresponding mode light will flash."

??? My question was related to how long others set the "Wood Ignition Timer".

My other thought, not having had any experience, or firing the unit yet, was that it might be a small price to pay (for intermittent usage of gas) if this obviated some of the problems sited by others regarding a creosoted jet that needs repeated cleaning.

So i was just wondering what those with experience might say....

WI Fire

[richsei]

I set mine for about 5 min.

[doctorb]

I have never hooked up the dual fuel gas option on my 2300.  Never needed it and sorry I paid more for it.  I had only one re-light last winter.  It was after a week away for my kids spring vacation.  I fill twice a day, and have had to "nurse" a bed of coals back to life a few times, but the gas option is not one that I would purchase again.  If the stove is well maintained, and good fuel is used, the requirements for restarting the fire are very few and far between.

[grousehunter]

I live in NH and start burning late October and stop mid to late March.
I burn mostly maple and red oak
Heat 3 floors about 3200 square feet.
New house southern exposure
Use about 6 cords

On another note has anyone ever had any success trying to get central boiler to replace the 2300 with new models.
I have a wood only and a dual fuel two different houses.

Purchased both in 2008 and it is a full time job taking care of the retrofits, replacing combustions chambers, doors and now the 6 ribbons or bands in the back.

Any guidance would be appreciated

Thanks

Grousehunter (when I'm not repairing my furnaces)