Burning Wood in an old Well Mclain Coal Boiler

John@Reliable_14

I wouldn't try to use that for anything but a mooring. Look around for a new designed to burn wood boiler. With new feed designs and controls you wouldn't need to baby sit it, plus your insurance company will cover you. The most important thing with these is "Controls" in the event of a runaway fire. John

Brian_70

see pics

I Found this old Coal boiler for sale, which has been converted to burn oil. It is a Well-Mclain model 407 series 1 and rated at 280,000 btu. Does anybody have any experience with any thing like this? I want to set it up to burn wood by adding a draft door where the oil burner is. I am trying to find something that will burn for longer periods (at least 8 hours) and be somewhat efficent. I have a memco wood boiler now that is rated at 120,000 btu and it really cant keep up with my heat load if I dont fill it about every 3 hours. I would appreciate and ideas or suggestions.

Thanks,

Brian

Steamhead (in transit)

Besides

these boilers didn't burn solid fuels cleanly. They made a lot of smoke, which is why cities like Baltimore banned their use with solid fuels. And don't forget that smoke is wasted fuel.

Newer solid-fuel boilers burn much cleaner. Go with one of them.

"Steamhead"

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Brian_70

CRAZY ?????????

CRAZY ??? Maybe not. I have looked around at "newer" Gasifacation wood boilers. For starters they cost anywhere for $5000.00 to $12,000.00. This one would only cost me $500.00 which would includ the boiler, two circulaters, two ceiling mounted modine heaters and about 250 feet of pipe. As for contolls, well theres nothing speacial about the contolls on newer wood boilers, there is just a few aquastats and a 24 vac damper motor. As for efficency, what I can see about this old coal boiler is for starters there is mulitple smoke passes before it exits out the back, and also the fire box is totaly lined with fire brick allowing high burn temps. My "new" style boiler that I have now is nothing more that a steel box within another box with the smoke going straight up the top. One thing that I found is that newer is not always better. As I said if any body has used anything like this, I would appreciate hearing about it.

Thanks,

Brian

Paul Pollets

Wood products

The boiler weas designed for coal, which does not contain creosote. The cast iron pin block heat exchanger will plug quickly, as it wasn't designed for wood products. The combustion chamber design and the flueway passages are designed for each particular fuel burned. Wood boilers designed for burning wood, have their own internal design, to reduce sooting up and clogging with creosote. Not recommended to burn a fuel that the boiler wasn't designed for.

The Buderus "Logana" is a small cast iron boiler designed to burn wood or coal. I'm not sure of its current pricing, but there are no "inexpensive" solid fuel boilers.

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hot_rod

There are \"cheap\" wood fired

units available. But they are cheap for a reason!

Typically OWF are thin steel drums with in-efficient HX design. As such they consume large quantities of wood and reward you with minimal useable btu's and un-healthy, and often un-sightful emissions.

A quality gasification boiler will last 20 years or more and give the best wood to water performance. When you add up the advantages and benefits to the neighbors down wind, as we all are the choice becomes clear.

hot rod

[Deleted User]

as paul said

def creosote problem

Chris S

wood/coal conversion

I had one of those in my house- I think the scrap guy gave me $110 for it. Buy a gasifier & you won't be a slave to your boiler.

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