Why is our boiler so much more efficient? Simply the Portage and Main design.
Our boilers feature an easy to clean ash pan. An ash pan is the quickest and easiest way to remove
ashes from an outdoor wood boiler.
The ash pan is important because it allows ash removal from the fire pot through the water cooled
grates on a daily basis. Ashes insulate the firepot from the water jacket.
Before adding wood to the fire pot, use the clean out tool that comes with the boiler to spread out
your coal bed, the ashes will fall into the ash pan through the water cooled grates and you will
end up with a hot bed of coals in the bottom of the boiler. We continually circulate water through
the grates picking up the radiant heat that gets lost in the ash build up in other boiler brands.
Forced draft; the ash pan also creates a space under the fire pot that allows us to blow air from
the bottom up through the water cooled grates directly at the coal bed. Like a blacksmith forge a
forced draft from the bottom creates a hotter faster fire and a cleaner burn.
The Portage and Main design uses a round fire pot. Round is the strongest design with 40% less
welding than a square fire pot. Round also allows for better water circulation in the water jacket
and better fire contact with the fire pot and water jacket. The round fire pot also utilizes a water
cooled baffle to trap the hot flue gases allowing them to re-burn, extracting more heat and forcing
the hot flue gases to make two passes before they are allowed to leave the fire pot.
When the flue gases exit the fire pot they enter the double pass heat exchanger. Our double pass
heat exchanger with reverse turn is the largest heat exchanger in the business ensuring maximum heat
extraction. This largest heat exchanger in the industry extracts the remaining heat from the smoke
stream and flue gases before exiting the chimney. Portage and Main Boilers use every square inch
of the fire pot and heat exchanger to maximize heat extraction from the coal bed, the fire, and the
flue gases.
Other major brands of outdoor wood boilers are straight shot or two pass boilers, at best, Portage
and Main Boilers are four pass boilers meaning the hot flue gases make 4 passes before they exit the
chimney for maximum heat extraction just like big commercial boilers. That is the Portage and Main difference.
Portage & Main
boilers pay for themselves faster and have the lowest operating cost in the industry.
You can also check out our new line of EPA Phase II approved wood gasification boilers.
The ultimate in wood burning efficiency!
All Portage & Main Outdoor Wood Boilers qualify for the $300.00 Federal Tax Rebate. Click any P&M link for more information about Portage & Main Outdoor Wood Boilers !
