Sequoyah OWB - First heating season a success!

[Maine Dean]

Hello-

My name is Dean and I just joined this forum. I have been thinking about buying a wood boiler for some time now as I have a large family in a large farmhouse (5K sf) in a cold part of the country (mountains of Western Maine just 20mn from Mt Washington, NH). In the 2011/12heating season, I consumed ~2,000 gallons of heating oil. It nearly bankrupted me and caused quite a few arguments between my wife, kids and I everytime the thermostat was pushed to +60f or the shower (God forbid a bath) was taken more than 5mn.

However being the cheap SOB Mainer that I am, I just couldn't bring myself to fork over +$10K on a new state of the art OWB...So off to the used ad list(s) and bought a used Sequoyah E3300 about 30mn away. I got a local logger to hoist and haul it on his pulp truck and restored then installed it with the help of a local OWB installer (Mainely Customs) who, as it turns out, does excellent work. We installed it "inline" with my existing oil furnace so if I happened to be on the road or whatever, we could just leave it alone and have heat.

I ended up buying 9 cords of tree length in the summer ($800) and another 8 cords over the course of the fall and winter puttering about with my draft horse when I had spare time. I generally split anything bigger than 8 inches diameter. I would call the wood I put up and in the OWB...somewhat seasoned...generally 3 months stacked in the sun and covered. The other 8 cords I mentioned above was all dead standing from the various plots around the farm. By the way, I really appreciate when I can do something that has dual benefits..kinda like killing two birds with one stone. I was able to pull out a lot of crap from the woods which fed my OWB and at the same time have a healthier stand of trees and better deer habitat (the deer herd is still down in Western Maine from a few extra harsh winters a short time ago). I cut a lot of dead standing trees from the hay field edges which thins out the transition from forest to field and encourages them to feed on the clover..mixed blessing when you need that to feed your beef cows..but not I am way off topic! Back to the wood boiler...I knew I was pushing the design capacity of the Sequoya E3300 as it is rated up 5K SF but as it turns out, it heated the house just fine and my wife raved about now being able to take a bath guilt free (lucky me ). There were just two nights I can recall where the oil furnace kicked on to assist meeting heat demand because the OWB couldnt keep up...but those nights were minus 20F and the wind blowing a gale.

Let me close this rambling thread by saying I am very happy with my outdoor wood boiler. To me, it was as easy to run as a wood stove (and just like a new wood stove...you've got to get a feel for it). And now it is autopilot for me.

Well thanks for reading and if you skipped down to this last line trying to figure out wtf is the point of this post...there is no point, just sayin!

 

[WOODSMAN416]

Welcome Maine Dean. Congrats on your success and your resourcefulness! I'm looking to do the same thing over the summer.

 

[Jakers]

uh oh... got that first post out of the way. now its all down hill from here. pretty soon youll have a case of FAD and next the dreaded CAD.

oh and welcome to arboristsite. the most informational and way off topic site youll ever find.

 

[Maine Dean]

oh, forgot the photo!

View attachment 292120

 

[zogger]

Way cool man! Burning oil living in Maine is nuts, glad you got adjusted to local energy reality! Need pics of ole dobbin as well, and you working him (or her). Real pretty country there, I spent five years living outside of what is now somalia north (I hear tell). Did all my personal firewood then with a 30 inch sandvik bowsaw and a cheapo generic chopper axe.

I was the draft mule to drag it out...that got to be a lot like work....

 

[leon]

owb ?

View attachment 292120

Hello Maine Dean,


Is this boiler the Sequoyah previously built by Evergreen out of Michigan?

Does this boiler have the coal grates that shake from front to back, an ash collection cleanout with a box and one row of firebrick placed vertically on each side of the coal grates? This unit has close to 600gallons of water in it if I remember right?

 

[Richard@PM]

Thanks Dean

Thank you Dean for the great story,We need more great stories like yours, I think it does help to convince more people to take the leap. Welcome aboard and please don't be a stranger, perhaps you may be able to help others through the learning curve. On another note do you think I could maybe convince you to come to the Bangor logging expo on the 17th and 18th of may, there will be lots of our type of toys to look at and learn about.

 

[milkman]

Good story, that should take a huge load off. Just curious, have you figured the payback time? With that much oil burned, it should pay off pretty soon.

 

[Maine Dean]

Here's a pic of my four legged tractors

Way cool man! Burning oil living in Maine is nuts, glad you got adjusted to local energy reality! Need pics of ole dobbin as well, and you working him (or her). Real pretty country there, I spent five years living outside of what is now somalia north (I hear tell). Did all my personal firewood then with a 30 inch sandvik bowsaw and a cheapo generic chopper axe.

I was the draft mule to drag it out...that got to be a lot like work....

Here's myself and a freind twitching out wood. We were having a bit of a beer contest toward the end...good thing the horses knew what they were doing!

 

[Maine Dean]

Rough numbers on payback

Good story, that should take a huge load off. Just curious, have you figured the payback time? With that much oil burned, it should pay off pretty soon.

Cost of oil consumed in 2011/12 = $7,400
Less: Cost of used outdoor wood boiler = $3,000
Less: Installation and parts = $3,500
Less: Cost of 9 cords I bought = $800
= about even...I am sure I spent more but didn't feel like it.

One of the biggest investments is the insulated underground pipe that runs from the boiler to my basement: 150 feet x $13 per foot! But worth it

 

[Maine Dean]

Yes, out of Michigan but doesn't have the coal grates...

Hello Maine Dean,


Is this boiler the Sequoyah previously built by Evergreen out of Michigan?

Does this boiler have the coal grates that shake from front to back, an ash collection cleanout with a box and one row of firebrick placed vertically on each side of the coal grates? This unit has close to 600gallons of water in it if I remember right?

here is the process from the owners manual...

2.Air is injected using a forced draft blower from the rear of the furnace. The outdoor wood furnace is designed such that there is no way for the air to escape except to go down though spaces in the firebrick in the bottom of the outdoor wood furnace. This causes the fire and smoke to get very turbulent in the firebox and mixed very well with an excessive amount of oxygen.

3.The exhaust exits through openings in the bottom of the outdoor wood furnace floor made of heavy duty firebrick. It then separates into 2 separate exhaust streams and travels through an insulated maze of firebrick tunnels over 12 feet long. it is forced to change direction many times and gets adequate time to burn all of the gases and to drop out much of the fine emissions. This area gets very hot, sometimes in excess of 2000 degrees.

4.After this the 2000 degree exhaust enters the heat exchange area where the exhaust temperature is brought down to temperatures of under 300 degrees

5.After exiting the the heat exchangers it then travels another 6 feet and then exits the chimney pipe on the top of the outdoor wood furnace.

 

[zogger]

Good pics! What is the name of that horse wood twitching rig? I need something like that for the donkeys here, put them boys to work.

 

[Maine Dean]

twitching rig

Good pics! What is the name of that horse wood twitching rig? I need something like that for the donkeys here, put them boys to work.

Pretty simple. A single tree attached to a farm harness. I back the horse up to the log, attach the single tree to the log then to the horse. Give the horse a kiss sound and off we go. Well it sounds easy...but it does take practice. If you've never done it or your donkeys have never done it...suggest you find a local that has done it and learn from him/her...you can get real f'd up in a hurry if you and your beast are not on the same page

I use a combo of horse and tractor. I typically twitch out of the woods to a landing then haul the landing to my cut pile. For me, it is easier to use a horse in the woods than a tractor. With a tractor, you need a skid trail at least 15 feet wide and even then, I always seem to find myself pinched between a tree and where I want to go...with a horse all I need is a space 3 ft wide and I can manuever and it is kinder on the forest floor.

 

[leon]

Sequoyah boiler

here is the process from the owners manual...

2.Air is injected using a forced draft blower from the rear of the furnace. The outdoor wood furnace is designed such that there is no way for the air to escape except to go down though spaces in the firebrick in the bottom of the outdoor wood furnace. This causes the fire and smoke to get very turbulent in the firebox and mixed very well with an excessive amount of oxygen.

3.The exhaust exits through openings in the bottom of the outdoor wood furnace floor made of heavy duty firebrick. It then separates into 2 separate exhaust streams and travels through an insulated maze of firebrick tunnels over 12 feet long. it is forced to change direction many times and gets adequate time to burn all of the gases and to drop out much of the fine emissions. This area gets very hot, sometimes in excess of 2000 degrees.

4.After this the 2000 degree exhaust enters the heat exchange area where the exhaust temperature is brought down to temperatures of under 300 degrees

5.After exiting the the heat exchangers it then travels another 6 feet and then exits the chimney pipe on the top of the outdoor wood furnace.

Hello Maine dean,


Could you post a picture of the ID Plate or PM me the name of the builderf in Michigan at your convenience?

Thanks much

Leon

 

[Maine Dean]

Manufacture

Hello Maine dean,


Could you post a picture of the ID Plate or PM me the name of the builderf in Michigan at your convenience?

Thanks much

Leon

Hi-

My bad, it was made out of Mauston, WI. They are no longer in business, knew that when I bought it...but they did have a decent rep at the time and pretty simple design.

 

[Preston]

2 horses. I love working horses. A good friend of mine use to work a sawmill with a one eyed mule. Man was she good.

 

[Rattler05.5]

A one year payback is a pretty easy decision! Well done! It's almost free heat now if you cut the wood. I had to buy wood my first year also.

 

[Richard@PM]

What to me is another great benefit of what you did Dean, is the feeling of security that you have recieved by knowing you are not held hostage by big foriegn oil and even if you have to buy your wood, that money stays in your local economy. Happy heating my friend and thank you for telling your story.

 

[joe2856]

Does anyone still have a sequoyah stove that is working? We just bought one from a friend that was never installed and did not get any instructions with it. We had it installed and was working good now we are having some issues.
Could just be because we are new to outdoor wood boilers.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Erik B]

Does anyone still have a sequoyah stove that is working? We just bought one from a friend that was never installed and did not get any instructions with it. We had it installed and was working good now we are having some issues.
Could just be because we are new to outdoor wood boilers.
Any help would be appreciated.

@joe2856 Welcome to the site. If you can give a better description of the problems you are having and any pictures of your set-up, there are many here that would be willing to help you out.