Making an Informed Choice.

We Measured How Much Wood You Would Save

in this ‘9 Hour Case Study’ Featuring a Side-by-side Comparison of both boilers   

Are you exploring ways to heat your home more efficiently ? Let us guide you through the benefits of outdoor boilers, a heating solution you might not have considered yet. Our team has conducted extensive tests comparing different outdoor boilers to demonstrate their effectiveness.

We’ve meticulously prepared both boilers and stayed with them for 9 hours, ensuring they start at the same temperature and use equal amounts of wood with the same moisture content. This precise setup allows us to accurately assess their performance.

For nearly 50 years, we’ve been crafting the Portage and Main boilers, renowned for their multi-pass heat exchanger that significantly reduce wood consumption. In contrast, Heatmaster boilers, are often reported to require a lot more wood. Many of our customers have switched from Heatmaster to Portage and Main, noticing up to a 50-60% reduction in wood usage!

It simply means LESS wood burnt = MORE savings 💲 💲 💲 and

LESS time spent loading & operating the boiler = MORE time with your family and farm friends ⏰ ⏰ ⏰

Our goal today is to validate these claims. We believe that even a 20-25% reduction in wood usage is a substantial benefit. We’ve gathered data, and the results are in. So read on …

📝Part 1 of 3 : Introduction

In this three-part case study, we embark on a detailed examination of two outdoor boiler systems: The time tested – Portage and Main Boiler and Heatmaster. Our primary focus is to assess their performance under specific conditions, using Tamarack wood with a moisture content of 15-30%.

This report, being the first installment, sets the stage for an in-depth analysis, aimed at providing valuable insights for both consumers and industry professionals.

📝Background

The Importance of Moisture Content in Wood Burning Explanation of how moisture content impacts combustion, efficiency, and emissions. Relevance of testing boilers with wood in the 15-30% moisture range.

📝Methodology

Selection of Wood Criteria for choosing Tamarack wood, including its properties and common usage in boilers. Process of ensuring the wood’s moisture content was consistently within the 15-30% range.

📝Test Conditions

Description of the controlled environment where the tests were conducted. Detailed explanation of how the wood was weighed and prepared for each boiler. Key Performance Indicators for Boiler Efficiency Analysis

🔥 Fuel Consumption: Maximizing Efficiency and Minimizing Costs -Importance of Wood Conservation: Emphasizing the significance of saving wood, which directly correlates to reduced time spent in collecting firewood. Economic Impact: Highlighting the monetary savings achieved by using less wood, a crucial factor for our audience’s budget considerations.

🔥 Water Temperature: Ensuring Optimal Heat Transfer and Comfort -Temperature Consistency: Evaluating how effectively each boiler maintains a stable water temperature, essential for consistent heating performance. -Efficiency in Heating: Analyzing the ability of the boilers to reach and sustain desired water temperatures with minimal energy expenditure.

🔥 Stack Temperature: A Gauge for Combustion Efficiency -Measurement of Emissions: Stack temperature as an indicator of how cleanly and efficiently the wood is being burnt.

Below, you’ll find detailed charts and observations that will help you make an informed decision before purchasing an outdoor boiler. Discover how you can heat your home more effectively and efficiently!

📝Part 2 of 3: Introduction

In Part 2, this detailed account provides a comprehensive comparison between two outdoor boiler systems, Portage and Main and Heatmaster, focusing on their performance under specific testing conditions using Tamarack wood with a moisture content of 15-30%. Here’s a structured summary highlighting key user pain points and findings:

📝 Methodology

The wood’s moisture content was meticulously maintained within the 15-30% range to ensure consistent testing conditions. – The tests were conducted in a controlled environment, with careful preparation of the wood for each boiler.

📝Key Findings Portage and Main Boilers

🔥 Refractory Brick Advantage: The use of refractory bricks around the firebox enhances combustion, leading to more complete burns and finer ashes. This design helps maintain higher temperatures essential for efficient combustion, aligning with the fire triangle principles (fuel, oxygen, temperature).

🔥 Stable Performance: The boiler demonstrated consistent performance with less need for user intervention, like knocking down wood to prevent bridging. The design allows for even burning and efficient heat transfer, minimizing smoke and emissions.

🔥 Efficient Heat Transfer: The boiler effectively maintains water temperature, ensuring optimal heat transfer and comfort. It cycled on and off every 15 minutes or less, showing superior temperature regulation and efficiency.

📝Key Findings Heatmaster

🔥 Bridging Issues: The boiler experienced repeated bridging, where logs would not fall properly, leading to uneven combustion and reduced efficiency. This issue necessitated manual intervention to knock down the logs, which is impractical, especially during the night.

🔥 Inadequate Combustion: The design, which lacks refractory bricks and relies solely on air from underneath, resulted in incomplete combustion. This led to lower temperatures and inefficient operation, as evidenced by the boiler’s struggle to maintain set temperatures and longer cycle times.

🔥 Heat Loss Concerns: Observations indicated potential heat loss areas around the boiler, affecting its overall efficiency since it doesn’t follow the “Fire Triangle” for optimum combustion.

📝Conclusion

The comparative analysis highlights significant differences in performance, efficiency, and user convenience between the two boilers. The Portage and Main boiler, with its refractory brick design and efficient combustion, outperforms the Heatmaster boiler, which faces challenges with bridging and heat retention. These findings are crucial for consumers and industry professionals looking for reliable and efficient outdoor boiler systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

3 Reasons to choose Portage & Main boilers 

03

Easy Financing |  Flexibility

We focus on services you need, but also make sure you get what you need at the RIGHT TIME.  We understand how important it is to keep your family and dear ones warm. The Portage and Main Boilers team provides you with a flexible way to pay & offers you more purchasing power for you. Talk to us and we could help you bring home the most efficient outdoor boiler

Unique Features & Benefits

Legend

1st : First pass
2nd : Second pass
3rd : Third pass
4th : Fourth pass
A. Refractory brick lining & dry base design
B. Air from above & below
C. Full length quad-pass heat exchanger and upper baffle
D. Water – cooled rear baffle
E. Sectional, easy to repair design

A. Refractory Brick Lining

The Portage & Main Ultimizer is a refractory lined, dry base boiler. In the industry it has become known as an “updraft gasifier” because of its efficient burn. The Ultimizer is simple to use, easy to maintain and not fussy about the fuel it burns. It is very important to understand the “fire triangle” in order to fully appreciate the advantages of the Ultimizer design, and how it will save you fuel, money and time. To achieve a clean, efficient burn with complete combustion, an optimal balance of OXYGEN, HEAT & FUEL is required. The Portage & Main Ultimizer has been specifically designed to achieve this optimal balance.

Dry base design, zero ash line corrosion & no bridging 
The heat stored in the refractory lining helps ensure that a more complete combustion process occurs. I.e. fuel is reduced to charcoal in a 3-stage process.

STAGE 1: The fuel is heated to evaporate and drive out moisture. This starts at 212 degrees F

STAGE 2: It starts to break down on a chemical level at 500 degrees F. Volatile matter is vaporized. These vapors contain 50% to 60% of the heat value of the fuel, making it imperative for them to be burnt properly at a temperature in the range 1100 degrees F for maximum combustion efficiency. When all the volatile gases have been released, the remaining material is charcoal

STAGE 3: Charcoal burns at temperatures in excess of 1100 degrees F. Latent heat also helps in the re-ignition of the fire at the start of the next burn cycle. It also helps to dissipate moisture that is a result of the combustion process. The dry base boiler design gives a very hot burn. The water jacket sits above the brick line so it isn’t up against the fire, taking away the heat prematurely. This eliminates ash line corrosion and the fuel is completely burnt, resulting in considerably less ash.

B. Air from above & below

Exhaust gases make their 1st and 2nd pass at the top of the firebox where they move under and around a water-cooled baffle and into the heat exchanger. Gases then travel to the front of the boiler in a 3rd pass, make a 180 degree turn and move in a 4th pass to the back of the heat exchanger. In this way, all available heat is taken from exhaust gases before they exit the chimney. It gives up to 50% more heat transfer compared to other non water-cooled, non brick lined designs.

C. Full length quad-pass heat exchanger and upper baffle

The Ultimizer heat exchanger runs the full length of the boiler. It is completely surrounded by water which gives maximum heat transfer.

D. Water-cooled rear baffle

The water-cooled baffle at the rear of the Ultimizer fire pot absorbs heat and traps combustion vapors. Turbulence is created when air is introduced from below and above the fire. This turbulence provides an optimal burning environment for the vapors, leading to a hotter and more efficient burn. Also, by trapping the vapors, they are thoroughly burnt before entering the high efficiency heat exchanger. This heat exchanger is totally surrounded by water for maximum heat transfer.

E. Sectional, easy to repair design

Not a throwaway design like other brands are. The Ultimizer weighs substantially more than other brand boilers. That’s due to the heavy weight, long lasting, quality materials that go into our design. It provides a long-term, sustainable solution to your heating needs. At the end of its long life, the water jacket can be replaced. Just remove the top half of the boiler and bolt on a new top section, no welding required and your trusty boiler is good to go again. This means a very sustainable warranty, resulting in savings for the customer of several thousand dollars by rebuilding rather than replacing the entire boiler.