Read this before you buy a wood boiler in Wisconsin
The Econoburn is available with the H stamp, or ASME certification.
Just got this in from our Econoburn rep:
“I just got off the phone with Rick Merkle, Boiler Chief for the State of Wisconsin. He did verify that any pressurized boiler, regardless of installation location (indoor or outdoor), needs to have the {H}-Stamp and a National Board number.”
In case you’re not familiar with it, the H stamp he’s referring to is the mark indicating ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) certification. ASME certification is the gold standard for safety in pressurized boilers.
Econoburn is one of only two (as far as we know) gasification boilers available that are ASME certified. If you are currently running one that’s not, be warned: boilers not bearing the H stamp (presently including all foreign-built wood gasification boilers) can and will be shut down by the State of Wisconsin.
If you’d like to see an Econoburn boiler in person, please call us at 715-218-1373 and we’ll be happy to set up a viewing.
Tags: ASME, Econoburn, H stamp, Wisconsin, wood boiler, wood gasification, Wood heat
EconoBurn Boiler on display in Wausau
Our first EconoBurn wood boiler unit is now on display at 1699 Schofield Ave. Suite 304 in Schofield, Wisconsin. It is solid. I just learned today that it is the only pressurized wood boiler to meet code requirements. All the outdoor wood boilers are open vessel, which means they rust out fast. A pressure vessel has no air and always the same water so there is no internal rust.
To view the boiler, please call me at 715-218-8654 for available times.
Dan Michelsen
Tags: outdoor wood boiler, outdoor wood boilers, Renewable Wood, Wausau, wood boiler, wood gasification, Wood heat
Renewable Energy Will Help Wisconsin
Recently a letter of mine was featured as the Letter of the Week in the Wausau Daily Herald. I wrote it in response to the Oct. 1 column by Jim Maas entitled “Climate bill would hurt us.” Here is what I wrote:
Here's the mug shot of me that appeared in the paper.
Jim Maas’s recent column is a major disappointment. It recycles tired and worn-out arguments questioning the validity of the science underpinning global warming. There is an overwhelming consensus among climate scientists that global warming is real, and man-made. It is clear the “science” Jim Maas cites is full of nonsense and half-truths.
Wisconsin as a state has no fossil fuels. Every time a Wisconsinite uses energy, dollars must leave our state to pay for that energy. If all this money were to stay in Wisconsin, it would cause an economic boom.
The only indigenous energy we have in Wisconsin is renewable energy. Wisconsin has a long history of efficient manufacturing. The transition to clean energy would not only help our economy by keeping energy dollars in the state, but could generate significant export revenue if we were to position ourselves as leaders in the manufacture of the equipment necessary to harvest renewable energy.
The potential long-term consequences of global warming are dire. One example: As the insects which are vectors for tropical diseases are able to move northward due to warmer temperatures, the diseases they bear move north with them. Malaria is already on the rise in the southern United States.
The idea that scientists are biased toward the environment is somewhat incredible. Usually political interest is driven by money. The environment simply does not have a heavily moneyed constituency.
-Dan Michelsen
Next post: What inspired me to write.
Econoburn: A clean-burning alternative to outdoor wood boilers
The Econoburn wood boiler boasts an impressive 87% total thermal efficiency.
When you live in Wisconsin, one of the most abundant sources of renewable energy around is wood! Trees are everywhere. Even if you don’t have a wood lot of your own, you can most likely beg, borrow or buy inexpensive wood fuel from a friend or neighbor.
Trouble is, “renewable energy” doesn’t always mean “clean energy.” There’s been a big bruhaha in recent months about outdoor wood boilers. Seems that the neighbors of outdoor wood boiler owners don’t appreciate the fact that said owners are saving money. Rather, for some reason the neighbors are upset by the great clouds of noxious black smoke that regularly engulf their homes and yards whenever the aforementioned outdoor wood furnaces are fired up.
Imagine.
Seriously, I’m being a little snide here, but smoke from outdoor wood boilers really is a big problem in rural neighborhoods. According to the State of Washington Department of Ecology:
(T)ests done by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) found that the average fine particle emissions (a particularly harmful pollutant) from one OWB are equivalent to the emissions from 22 EPA certified wood stoves, 205 oil furnaces, or as many as 8,000 natural gas furnaces. One OWB can emit as much fine particle matter as four heavy duty diesel trucks on a grams per hour basis.
Yuck.
And think about it – if outdoor wood boilers burn that dirty, surely their owners must be spending twice the amount of time they really need splitting and shoveling wood.
A clean-burning wood boiler alternative
In the interests of upholding wood as a viable renewable energy source, we decided to look for a cleaner-burning alternative to outdoor wood boilers. And we found one we think is a real winner.
We’d like to introduce the Econoburn wood gasification boiler to Central and Northern Wisconsin. It’s got a lot of endearing features, which we’ll highlight in future posts. But for now I’ll start off by mentioning that Econoburn wood boilers get an amazing 87% total efficiency – approaching the efficiency of a natural gas boiler.
Now that’s making clean energy out of a renewable resource!
Visit our website to find out more.
Tags: Econoburn, heating with wood, high efficiency wood boiler, wood boiler, wood boilers, wood fired boiler, wood gasification, wood gasification boiler, wood gasification boilers, Wood heat
Too bad about the sales tax…
Well, looks like we’ll have to wait another couple years for the sales tax exemption for solar and other renewable energy equipment. Governor Doyle went ahead and passed the bill.
You can’t win ‘em all!
Sales on renewable energy equipment are now slated to become tax exempt on July 1, 2011.
Renewable Energy Sales Tax Exemption in Jeopardy
Renewable energy equipment was to be exempted from sales tax in Wisconsin beginning next month – but due to budget cutting proposals the exemption is slated for a two-year delay – unless Governor Doyle vetos the proposal.
Below is the text of a letter hand-delivered to Governor Doyle’s office today by RENEW Wisconsin to encourage him to veto the delay. You can help too by going to the Governor’s website http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/contact.asp?locid=19 and asking him to support renewable energy in Wisconsin by vetoing the delay proposal. (I am also including the email I sent him just a few minutes ago.
June 26, 2009
Governor James E. Doyle
115 East, State Capitol
P.O. Box 7863
Madison, Wisconsin 53707Dear Governor Doyle:
RENEW Wisconsin and its members across the state respectfully request a veto of the budget bill provision that would delay the effective date of the sales and use tax exemption for equipment powered by or used in the generation of wind and solar energy and manure digesters from July 1, 2009, until July 1, 2011.
Though the sales tax exemption might seem of little economic importance to a planned installation, the amount could significantly change a project’s economic feasibility, depending on installation size. For instance, the sales tax on a 50 kilowatt wind turbine that costs $250,000 would come to at least $12,500. That would add several years to the project’s payback.
This year Wisconsin businesses and homeowners have planned and bid on renewable energy systems based on system costs that include the sales tax exemption. Some would-be system owners have delayed their installation in anticipation of the sales tax exemption. Repealing this exemption on such short notice will result in project cancellations and delays.
Customer-owned wind and solar systems will contribute toward the renewable energy needed to achieve a 25% target by 2025. Please keep us moving toward the target by vetoing the delayed effective date for the sales tax exemption.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Michael Vickerman
Executive Director
RENEW Wisconsin
Dear Governor Doyle,
I am writing to respectfully request that you support renewable energy by vetoing the proposed delay in sales tax exemption for renewable energy systems in Wisconsin.
Our energy future is uncertain. I know you have to juggle many things as you make the decisions that sculpt our future. But please consider this: At present almost our entire infrastructure – from the way we get around to the heat for our homes to the very food on our table – is heavily dependent on fossil fuel.
What will happen when the oil stops flowing?
And when will that be?
Nobody knows.
But I do know this – no one will suffer if we’ve prepared for the worst way earlier than we need to.
But if that day comes before we think it will – and it very well might – then I hate to imagine the consequences.
Privately owned renewable energy systems can make a significant contribution towards a safer future for the citizens of Wisconsin. But it’s a big commitment. Every incentive helps bring more clean energy systems online.
At the Renewable Energy Fair last weekend in Custer I had the privilege of speaking to a great number of people. Invariably those from outside Wisconsin remarked about how progressive and forward-thinking our state is in terms of its support for renewables.
Mr. Doyle, please uphold Wisconsin’s tradition of forward-thinking renewable energy policy and veto the delayed effective date for sales tax exemption on renewable energy.
Thank you,
Anne Michelsen
Marketing Grant from Focus on Energy
Marathon Renewable Energy has been approved for a Marketing Grant for $1,500 from Focus on Energy, the organization responsible for promoting renewable energy in Wisconsin.
The funds are earmarked for the development of basic marketing materials, including a logo, brochures and a web site.
We’re thrilled to have qualified for the grant and eager to put the funds to work!
