tarm or wood gun

Royboy

over this past winter for a friend/client. He used it for part of a season and isn't convinced that its going to work for him without adding some storage so that he doesn't have to tend it so actively to keep the fire going.

if you are spending that much for LP with an efficient boiler it might be that you will be able to get the wood gun to work without additional storage. my friends situation was at least in part due to having a fairly small load (well-insulated house) and so the wood gun tended to short cycle which didn't allow it to build up enough heat to carry it through and reignite on its own - as its designed to do.

from the installers standpoint, the unit was solidly built and went in easy enough. I'm skeptical of the no-storage strategy of the manufacturer - at least in my friend's situation - for you it might work better.

I could put you in touch with my friend if you want, I'm sure he'd be glad to share his thoughts on the wood gun based on his partial season of use.

Roy

Boilergeek

Tarm or Wood gun?

After spending over $7000 this winter on my condensing LP boilers this winter I am going to install a gasification boiler. I am looking at two boilers one is the tarm with big storage, the other is the wood gun with about 200 gallons of storage. The wood gun offers carbon and stainless versions.
I would apreciate feedback from those who have them or have installed them.
Thank you
Tommy Thompson

Paul B_5

How many square foot are you heating??? and is this with radiant???

Boilergeek

system details

9 infloor radiant mix 1 zones, 5 onix staple up mix 2 zones and one AHU high temp boil zone, and DHW.

Future snowmelt and hot tub

Primary secondary piping in place for future wood boiler and solar

1 mz 40 and
1 Mestek Ray 200i (COOL BOILER)

John Abbott

Tarm

I don't believe the tarm can be beat it is an incredible piece of equipment many installs 0 problems.
John

Eric Johnson

Better with storage

It's better to have storage (like something between 500 and 1,000 gallons) with a wood gasifier, than not. Boiler sizing becomes less critical with a buffer like that, and it allows the boiler to run at full capacity more often, which is important for both efficiency and boiler longevity.

The Orlan EKO is another great imported gasifier, and Dunkirk makes one called the Econoburn in NYS.

Boilergeek

Thanks for the reply, I spoke with Chris Hoskin from Tarm USA last week. I will be ordering soon before the spring sale ends.
Do you have any creative ideas for storage that does not take up as much floor space?
I was thinking of using multiple vertical tanks, but then I will have to provide expansion for all the volume.
Dou have some Picks of your jobs that you could share?
Thanks again
Tommy

Eric Johnson

For installation pics and tank ideas/photos

Check out the Boiler Room at http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums