About to purchase our 1st owb, which brand?

[martyinmi]

My self and two of my friends have been looking for what we consider the perfect OWB for a few years now. We have collectively looked at offerings from more than 20 manufacturers and we all came up with the same conclusion- the P&M's are the best constructed and easiest to maintain boilers out there. They are a little more pricey than some of the other ones, but if you look at the way they are built and their simplicity, we are convinced that we are getting the best bang for our buck with them. Our's arrived yesterday afternoon (3- 250's) and we are now looking forward to winter. All three of us are quite picky about the way we do things, and we feel that as long as we maintain our water levels the way we should and keep the firebox clean when not in use, these units should out live us(49,50, and 67 years old respectively). We had actually narrowed our findings down to CB, P&M, and Wood Doctor. The WD units look like fine machines, and I'm sure they are, but when we talked to a couple owners they informed us that they were not so happy with how the company is handling their warranty issues. CB has a reputation for taking care of their customers, but we all felt the heat exchange set-up on the P&M was tried and true(Scotch Marine Style) and to us it just seems better and more durable. The few controls they have on them are readily available and simple to replace if necessary.
   As I said in my earlier post, you have narrowed it down to probably the two best out there. Now it boils down to which  one suits you the best.
   On a side note. I have four(4) OWB's now- one home made conventional, one home made gasifier, an Empyre Pro Series 100, and now a P&M 250. My beautiful bride thinks I have a problem. Some people collect cars, guns, tractors(that's me too)etc. I have an OWB collection building up. I don't share her feelings. Curious as to what others think.

   Marty

[Kansas]

They actually shot me a price slightly cheaper for the 350 than E Boiler did for the 3200. And they would throw freight in there. Said they didn't have one in this area, and really wanted one put down here. Sales pitch or true, I don't know. The 350 is rated slightly less BTU. I have to check to see if it has enough water capacity for what we are doing. I''m not going to try to keep the building at 70. We will be going in and out all the time bringing logs in and lumber out. So for Kansas winters, we still have to wear a fair amount of clothes.

[martyinmi]

Hey Doc-
   I agree with you about the 250 being too small for Rhonda's house. The 350 will be more than adequate,as their literature says it will heat between 7000 and 15000 sq. ft. depending on how well it's insulated.
   As far as the EPA's findings are concerned- I guess from personal my experience I don't believe too many of their statistics are accurate. I own the Empyre 100 that THEY say puts out 48721 btu's. One of my friends owns a Wood Doctor HE 5000, which THEY say puts out only 44502 btu's. My Empyre WILL NOT even come close to the output of the WD. I would in fact say that the WD 5000 will heat more than twice the sq.ft. of mine. My friend heats his house(bigger than mine) and garage in a colder part of the state and his doesn't know there's a load on it. When is gets cold, mine definitely knows it.
   The EPA is supposed to be in the process of overhauling their testing procedures, and from my experience, it's about danG time. I am very pleased that Rhonda and her husband are considering a gasifier, and which ever one of the two they end up choosing will be one of the two best OWB's out there.
   If you ever get the opportunity to give a P&M the once over at a show or see one at a dealer location, or especially see one in operation, you'll understand why everyone who owns one loves them.
   The pig roast was awesome. It is very generous of Jeff and his family to host it. My son and I are already making plans for next year. John(my son) met a new friend from Connecticut and they swapped E-mails and phone #'s. I'm sure Jeff will read this, so once again, Thank You!
   Marty