Are you a "slave" to your OWB?

[MS-310]

Well, BS or not, we did buy the boiler to save money, and as we have a lifetime of firewood here already, and have to cut and thin and fell anyway, may as well burn the wood and save money. $300 a month is not bad, saved money after income taxes. The OWB will pay for itself in less than 5 years use. And we are more self-sufficient. Don't have or need a splitter either. The CB takes HUGE logs. And we could not afford to heat our house in winter to 70 degrees. Used to be at 65, electric heater. Now it is always 70 degrees inside. Confort level is much much higher in winter here with the OWB. Chimney sweep? On an OWB? Not needed either... maintenence is about zero for us. I plumbed and wired it right. :biggrinbounce2:

I dont want to go here but I will, every OWB has some maintenence.

Pumps $125 about 5 years
dampeners $25.00 about 5 years
door rope $12 (thats for your CB) 3 to 4 years
rust inhibitor 25 to 35 dollors ever 2 years.
can of WD-40 every year.


But its all how you take care of them....Alot cheaper then an indoor stove...

 

[BIG JAKE]

Try the Cougar II ash vacuum. It will change your life. I have been heating my house for 30 years w/wood stove. A friend had one of these and after I saw it in action I went right to the dealer 35 min away and bought one. I got it home and with the fire going I stuck it right in and sucked out alot of ash. A great product...bob

Thanks Bob-I'll look at. I have a little stove-that's why ash is an issue, but the little stove heats my house.
Also, on the what's you're time worth comment from a different post: The way I look at it is, I don't get paid for spare time. So if I heat my house with wood I'm making myself money because I don't spend it on electric or gas,and enjoy the fire at the same time. Renewable resource, time spent in the mountains, and more saw time!

 

[ktm rider]

While I agree that OWB's work for some people. I know it did not work for me at all. I was only gettig about 8 hour burn times at best. It it VERY cold and windy on my farm that is right on top of a mountain at 3,000 ft. I absolutely HATED my OWB and I was tickled pink when I finally found someone to buy it.

I now have an AHS multifuel boiler in my garage and it is WAY more efficient than the OWB was. I use the exact same pipes I used for the OWB. ( I built my garage right where the OWB sat) I didn't dig them up when building the garage. I use ALOT less wood, when I do burn wood. I burn mostly coal. The best part is that I don't freeze my butt off when tending the boiler anylonger.. That makes the wife real happy when I am at work and she has to load the boiler.
I have 3 buddies that also have OWB's.All of them report the same burn times ( 8-10 hours max) and that the dealers "INFLATED" the burn times when they bought them. 2 of them already sold them and went with an indoor boiler in their outbuildings and could not be happier. One buddy is still looking for a buyer. Not many people buying them in my state since there is ALOT of talk about banning them .

BTW, I had a Pacifice Western, friends had a Mahoning, Central Boiler, and third guy is still trying to sell his Freedom. So I don't buy the arguement that it is just that particular boiler.

To each his own I guess but I know that the OWB was NOT for me.

 

[bassman]

ktm rider
please email me at this email
bassman(at)sasktel.net

I have some questions

shayne

 

[windthrown]

OWB maintenence costs

I dont want to go here but I will, every OWB has some maintenence.

Pumps $125 about 5 years
dampeners $25.00 about 5 years
door rope $12 (thats for your CB) 3 to 4 years
rust inhibitor 25 to 35 dollors ever 2 years.
can of WD-40 every year.


But its all how you take care of them....Alot cheaper then an indoor stove...

Rust inhibitor every 3 years. I got a gallon for free from CB for the control unit boilovers last year (new controller supplied under warantee). So I am OK after next season when I drain and refill it. I will probably replace the door rope then too. Got a new damper mount and door last year under warantee. Doubt I will need a new one in a long time. I micro-adjusted it so it is perfectly ballanced and closes flat. Pumps will no doubt vary. We have a Taco 009 in the house floor loop and a 007 in the boiler loop. The boiler loop runs 24/7 when the boiler is on. So I expect it to konk out earlier, probably in 5 years. I do not expect to use a whole can of WD40 in a year though. Maybe half a can. A few squirts on the door and I spray the inside the firebox before summer shut-down, after scraping off the creosote and burning the crud off the inside of the firebox with a propane field burner and flaking off the fluff. So add a 1/4 tank of propane a year. Maybe have to replace the aquastat every 4 to 5 years as well (according to friends with older CB models). Reminds, me, I should test the boiler water for acid demand...

Also account for other benefits (than zero dollar heating bills). About $10 a year less in fertylizer using the OWB ashes in the gardens. Also $30 a month less in gym dues, as I now work out with the chainsaw and stack firewood instead.

 

[ktm rider]

Windthrown,

I run my 007 taco 24/7 also. I work in a powerhouse for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Taco rep is always there. I asked him about running the 007 constantly and he said it will actually last longer if it is ran 24/7 vs. only running when your house calls for heat. Who woulda thunk it ???

 

[hockeypuck]

taco pump

I believe it. Start ups kill a motor. There is a huge in rush of current every time the pump is turned on. I am more worried about impeller damage than the electric motor.

puck

 

[hbbyloggr]

Taco

I believe it. Start ups kill a motor. There is a huge in rush of current every time the pump is turned on. I am more worried about impeller damage than the electric motor.

puck

Our Empyre 450 runs 2 Taco 011's . The impellers both went within one month of each other. They run 24/7/365. Got 4 yrs out of them. Bought replacements on Ebay ( new ) for about $75.00 less than our dealer price. Also bought a couple extras to keep on hand.No fun having them fail on a Saturday night when it's zero outside and no one's opened 'til Monday. When they start growling and making a lot of noise , it's time to change them.

 

[woodchux]

You guys with the OWB are spoiled...I am truly a slave to my heatolater fireplace. I have to load that sucker every 2-3 hours. Thank god we have propane backup heat.