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Central Boiler - 2400 or alternatives in Mass

Started by TimGago, January 30, 2011, 08:15:10 PM

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TimGago

Hello all, I've been lurking on here trying to do my homework. I live in Mass and I'm in the market for an outdoor wood boiler. Due to regulations, its been limited to an EPA approved gassifier. Right now I'm seriously looking into a Central Boiler 2400 and was wondering if anyone has one installed in Mass? I'm open to other suggestions, I'd look into the Heatmor, but I was told the closest dealer is out of New York. I currently burn about 1200 gallons of oil and I'm committed to putting an end to oil. I have a pretty good source for pine, so I was wondering if burning seasoned pine would be an issue for the 2400? Will the unit function if the wood isn't seasoned?

MudBud

Tim, a local dealer in Glochester Mass is Kory at CP Enterprises.  He is fantastic to work with.  I have a e2300 and this is my 3rd heating season.  I burn 80% pine or spruce and never have any issues at all.  I do know that I don't get as long of a burn out of the firebox as a load of red oak, but its all free and I have to do a little more work. I burn about 10-12 cords a year of the pine scrap wood, heating a 3700sq house, 3 floors...wife and daughter likes it at 72 all the time on 2 floors, attic is at 50. If I had to do it over again I would and now the 2400's are probably where they need to be as far as ease of use.

thecfarm

I have a Heatmor.I know Bruce would love to travel to Mass with a OWB for you.  ;D I have no idea if an "E" would burn unseasoned wood.I know a Heatmor will,but it will smoke ALOT on start up.Burn ALOT more wood too.Yes,I've been there and done that.I did it steady for 2 years with hardwood and than white pine,just to see if it could be done.Nice and warm both winters.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Dean186

Welcome Tim,  My dealer told me that the 2400 was designed to handle the soft woods better than the 2300.  Most of us here in mountains of Colorado burn pine, fir and aspen without problems.  I have been successfully burning a mixture of pine and fir for a couple of winters.

Quote from: TimGago on January 30, 2011, 08:15:10 PM
Will the unit function if the wood isn't seasoned?

Well, define function.  

If the question is; Will it burn unseasoned wood and produce heat, yes of course.  
If the question is; Will it burn unseasoned wood efficiently in gassification mode without smoking - then the answer is no.

Example:  I wanted to do some clean up, so for the first 30 days of this heating season I burnt wood with moisture content above 20 percent and some of the wood was above 30 percent.  It smoked 80 percent of time, only burning well towards the end of the load.  I did get heat and I did get several wheel barrels of wood cleaned up.  Is was not operating as it was designed, but was burning the wood and producing heat.

Hope that helps,  Dean

doctorb

Has anybody seen a 2400 in action?  I would love to hear from someone who has a handle on that model so  I can compare the advancements to my 2300.  Would also need to investigate the 3200.  More expensive, but with incredible efficiency and burn times, as per CB.  Wouldn't it be nice to feed the fire only once every two days?  Is that a dream or reality?
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

TimGago

Quote from: MudBud on January 30, 2011, 11:28:53 PM
I burn 80% pine or spruce and never have any issues at all.  I do know that I don't get as long of a burn out of the firebox as a load of red oak, but its all free and I have to do a little more work. I burn about 10-12 cords a year of the pine scrap wood,

Thanks for the response! I really appreciate the input. I'm planning to burn mostly pine until I can get the unit paid off. I'm on the south shore and have two dealers in the area.

TimGago

Thank you all for your responses!

Whats the general consensus for the life expectancy of 2300 or 2400?

Will the unit last 10 years?

Chuckolicious

My 2400 has been working great all in all.  Had to replace a solenoid that kept sticking open, but other than that it burns like a champ.  Last year I had a 2300 which they had to swap out over the summer due to a water jacket leak, and they upgraded me.  I gotta say this one is much better.  No bridging issues at all.  Gets up to temp super fast (with a coal stir every load).  I love the multiple mega LED lights all over it.

I am burning only hardwood, under under 15%, large splits in general.

Not much else to say.  I'm in Western MA.

doctorb

Chuck-

Do you still have to maintain the airholes routinely on the 2400.  Is wood consumption or burn time vastly different than with the 2300?  what tempt does your RC reach? 
Thanks, Doctorb
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Dean186

Quote from: doctorb on January 31, 2011, 02:52:48 PM
Would also need to investigate the 3200.  More expensive, but with incredible efficiency and burn times, as per CB.  Wouldn't it be nice to feed the fire only once every two days?  Is that a dream or reality?

My dealer told me he has sold three 3200 and thinking about getting one for himself.   It would be interesting to hear from those that are operating one of them.  I think most that buy them are commercial businesses or those with large house and workshops.  I'm not sure how well they would work out for someone like myself who can get 12-36 hours on a load of wood with a 1400.

Chuckolicious

Quote from: doctorb on February 02, 2011, 10:01:35 AM
Chuck-

Do you still have to maintain the airholes routinely on the 2400.  Is wood consumption or burn time vastly different than with the 2300?  what tempt does your RC reach? 
Thanks, Doctorb

No.  I just scrape the sides with the blade implement once with every fill.  The holes never actually clog.  Well, except maybe the single one in the back in the center, under the gas jet port.  But I have noticed it clears itself now and again, so I leave it alone unless I do a full burn down and clean out.

Hits a nice 1350F in general.

I can't really speak to consumption compared to the 2300.  Last year I got my 2300 online on January 3, and the quality of my wood was suspect.  But even with this year's insane cold snaps (-28 ambient on multiple nights!), one full load goes a good 24 hours.  If I pack it tight and add a few logs horizontally in the front, I can leave for the weekend as long as I set my thermostats down to 60.

I keep the limit set at 191.  I have hydronic baseboard and a flat plate between the OWB and my inside Smith boiler.  Oddly, the new controller on the 2400 results in it not shutting off until 195-196.  I called and they said this one runs on low a bit after the set point to purge the chamber.  My 2300 would just shut down completely.  With that one I had it set to 195.  When I first had this one set to 195 it kept overheating.

Dean186

Quote from: Chuckolicious on February 03, 2011, 08:20:56 AM

Hits a nice 1350F in general.

I keep the limit set at 191.   Oddly, the new controller on the 2400 results in it not shutting off until 195-196.  I called and they said this one runs on low a bit after the set point to purge the chamber.  My 2300 would just shut down completely.  With that one I had it set to 195.  When I first had this one set to 195 it kept overheating.

The 1400 is similar, in that it does the purge thing and over shoots the set point by 3 to 4 degrees.  When standing next to the stove one can observe it switching from high burn to low burn at the set point, and then will run on low burn for a short time.   If the burn is good it over shoots, if the stove is running in low burn mode when it reaches set point, then it just shuts down and the temperature climbs very little if any.  Knowing this, I can watch my digital thermometer in the hall way of our house and know how well that burn cycle went.

Hitting a reaction chamber temperature of 1350F is a good.  I am burning only softwoods (pine and fir) and my typical reaction chamber temperature range is 950 degrees to 1250 degrees.  On occasion, the reaction chamber temperature is between 1300 and 1550 degrees. 

bull

Newyork wood boiler, you already have an oil burner, two pipes and a circulator, tie her right into the oil boiler, for $3000,00 or less

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