2013 - Volume #BFS, Issue #13, Page #10
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Save Money, Save Wood, Stay Connected from Anywhere!
If you burn wood for heat, or even if you’re just thinking about it, an E-Classic outdoor wood furnace from Central Boiler should be high on your list if you want to get the most bang for your buck from your wood pile. For years, Central Boiler, an American-owned company, has been an industry leader in the advancement of outdoor wood furnaces. They worked closely with the US EPA to create the EPA Hydronic Heater Program, and then were the first to have an EPA Phase 2 qualified model. The result of this cooperation is that Central Boiler has advanced the technology to provide a cleaner and more efficient burn (90% cleaner than non-qualified models). That means you can use up to 70% less wood than other wood-burning appliances.

How does an E-Classic outdoor wood furnace compare to other appliances? First, there’s the safety factor. An outdoor wood furnace is located outside the home so the combustion and fire risk are removed from the house (along with the dirt, bugs and ashes you don’t bring into the house).

Second, there’s the comfort factor. While you burn wood in an E-Classic, you are heating water, not the air. If you’ve ever tried to regulate the heat from a wood stove, for example, you know there are hot spots and cold spots in a room. But the heated water from an E-Classic is circulated into your home, garage or other buildings. How you use the heated water is up to you. Some people circulate it through a radiant floor configuration. Others install a heat exchanger in a forced-air furnace and turn off the propane or natural gas. Many people install a heat exchanger on their domestic water heater and save the cost of heating water every month as well. Or you can use a combination of methods. With one properly-sized E-Classic, you can heat multiple buildings with multiple configurations.

Third, there’s the convenience factor. You control the heat simply with a thermostat. If you configure your system into zones, you can have different temperatures in different rooms or buildings. Try doing that with a wood stove.

Fourth, there’s the savings factor. You know how much money you’re saving when you burn wood. But if you’re using up to 70% less wood, that’s less wood you have to buy or, if you cut your own, that’s less wood you have to cut, split, stack and load.

True to their goal of providing the finest outdoor wood furnaces available anywhere, engineers at Central Boiler have developed the FireStar II controller, E-Link Technology and the FireStar XP wi-fi module. The FireStar II controller, which is the brain of the E-Classic outdoor furnace, is the most advanced and powerful controller Central Boiler has ever developed. In addition to monitoring and controlling all functions of the E-Classic, the FireStar II can also store and share operational data. That ability is what Central Boiler calls E-Link Technology. Information can be data-logged to a memory card for later retrieval, or when the FireStar II controller (standard on all new E-Classic models) is combined with the new optional FireStar XP wi-fi module, owners can stay connected to their outdoor furnace from almost anywhere in the world. Today you see wi-fi capabilities in all kinds of appliances: thermostats, televisions, home security systems, even in automobiles. While this technology might not be for everybody, for those that want the added convenience and peace of mind it can provide, it can be an invaluable tool.

What would be the benefit of checking on your E-Classic from anywhere? Imagine you’re on vacation a long way from home. Before you left, your neighbor volunteered to check on your E-Classic once a day and refill it when necessary. You know that he can be a little forgetful, though. To gain peace of mind, all you need to do is log on to the internet, go to the FireStar website and you’ll be able to see instantly how your outdoor furnace is operating. Water temperature, Reaction Chamber temperature, burn time, even the local temperature are just some of the things you’ll be able to see. You can even use the information on the website to tell you how long before it’s time to refill the outdoor furnace with wood.

Or maybe you want to compare how your E-Classic performed last month when you were burning seasoned oak versus seasoned tamarack the month before? You can view performance and history data on the website and customize graphs of the information to make it easier to understand.

What if you can’t get to the website at the moment? No problem. With a data plan, you can choose to have text or email messages sent to your phone, laptop or most any web enabled device.

The FireStar XP is also a remote display you can mount in your garage or home that allows you to see some information about your E-Classic and allows you to change settings on the FireStar II controller without going outside.

For more information on E-Classic outdoor wood furnaces and the FireStar II controller,

E-Link Technology, or the FireStar XP wi-fi module, visit the website at:

CentralBoiler.com or call 800-248-4681.




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2013 - Volume #BFS, Issue #13