GARN WHS

[THUNDER BEAST]

Anyone here have a Garn whs and how do you like it?

[beenthere]

WHS meaning Wood Heating System, I presume.

[THUNDER BEAST]

yes, google, Garn whs wood heat system. Look nice, just like to here from someone who has one and not a spokes person.

[hedgerow]

I have the model 2000 Garn. I am between year 5 and 6 with it. I heat a 3,000 sq ft three story farm house that has newer windows and good insulation. I heat the hot water year around. I heat a 30 by 60 shop also. It does a good job heating. I think it burns plenty of wood. I burn 10 to 15 cords of hedge and locust a year. Those two are the only species of wood I burn in it. I had to replace the blower motor last winter. It is due for a set of fire brick and a door gasket. I have another 3000 gallon stainless tank I am going to hook up for more water storage. Mind was $15,000 when I bought it and another $15,000 to put it in and I did all the work but the spray foam of the under ground line and the Garn. If I had to do it again I wouldn't. The pay back is too far down the road and too much wood cutting. I would go geo thermal for the house and wood for my shop. I don't heat the shop every day.

[Grigg]

Old thread, but to add our experience.

We have a WHS 2000 in use for little more than 3 years and really like it thus far.
It seems to be very efficient on wood use and keeps the house and shop as comfortable as we please.
It's installed in an attached mechanical room, so any heat radiating off the front of the unit is not wasted.  The whole thing is enclosed in a lot of rockwool insulation inside a steel stud framed drywall covered box/room.

I brush the flue/heat exchanger pipes each season and after this season it'll be ready for new firebricks.  Water testing twice a year and some money spent on additional chemicals as needed.
Not cheap to install but is pretty cheap and easy to run.

In middle of winter in VA I run it about once a day for a few hours, tapering to every second or several days as the weather is warmer.  We heat about 7,000 sq ft total of mostly shop/garage space (small attached house) and hot water. Have used 4 cords this season, estimating about 5 full cords before the season is over.

[hedgerow]

Grigg   Good to hear the Garn is doing well. I haven't been so lucky I have had some welds fail on mine. First was between year eight and nine it failed above the door on the air collar and I had to shut down mid winter when it was minus thirty four and switch back to propane for the rest of the winter. Got that fixed and then a few years later weld above the blower housing failed and had to shut down that winter and go back to propane again. No help from Garn and thousands of dollars in repairs and chemical lose due to the leaks. I open the door to the Garn barn every day carefully hoping for a dry floor. 

[peakbagger]

I do see more than a few posts on Garn leaks and outright repairs where the metal thinned out on a wood burning site I am member of. With an open system, chemistry is critical. My old Burham Wood Coal boiler is 40 years old (I got it used) is closed ASME unit and knock on wood, its just keeps running leak free.  

[hedgerow]

I do see more than a few posts on Garn leaks and outright repairs where the metal thinned out on a wood burning site I am member of. With an open system, chemistry is critical. My old Burham Wood Coal boiler is 40 years old (I got it used) is closed ASME unit and knock on wood, its just keeps running leak free.  

My leaks have been because of poor workmanship. I wouldn't ever own an open system again. The cost of chemicals and filters is not cheap. I lost close to two grand of chemicals because of the poor workmanship of the welding. I have worked with the chemical folks closely. Garn has issues they just don't want to talk about them or fix them. 

[711ac]

I liked the concept of the built in storage but also am aware of the problems and downfalls of on open system and had already made my purchase. One forum I read had a guy that found out that chicken ch!t was his water problem and lately folks questioning if Garn was still in business due to being non responsive. Knock on wood but I'm in season 12 for my carbon steel Woodgun - pressurized. 
The Garn seemed to be the favorite (if you could accommodate it) about 14 years ago. 👍

[beenthere]

My pressurized wood boiler system ran for 40 years with no rusting out problems. Any water added to the system was degassed immediately. No automatic re-fill which will take them down rather quickly. 

Zero complaints with that system. 

[hedgerow]

I liked the concept of the built in storage but also am aware of the problems and downfalls of on open system and had already made my purchase. One forum I read had a guy that found out that chicken ch!t was his water problem and lately folks questioning if Garn was still in business due to being non responsive. Knock on wood but I'm in season 12 for my carbon steel Woodgun - pressurized.
The Garn seemed to be the favorite (if you could accommodate it) about 14 years ago. 👍

When I bought my Garn in the summer of 2009 all the talk was they were the Cadillac of the wood heaters. Glad the Woodgun is holding up. Back in 2009 I could of bought almost three OWB's for the price of the Garn. The Garn is one of those purchases you wish you would have never made. Going to try to keep it going for a while longer.