Cdl Venturi vs Intense O Fire

[Maplewalnut]

Looking for people’s experiences with either model. Considering ordering a new one for next season. Thanks in advance

Mike

[Ultimatetreehugger]

You have 2500 taps on a 2x6? My lord man do you sleep?

[eagle lake sugar]

I have an intense o fire and really like it, but it sure throws the sparks with certain woods! It's not much of a problem with me because of location and snow covered ground, but something to consider. I hear good things about the Venturi and they're much cheaper as well. There's less pressure on the combustion chamber, so in theory, everything should last longer.

[cpmaple]

I'm at the moment of waiting on a quote for a 2x6 venturi. I have a quote on a vision but before I place the order I want to see the price tag on the venturi which is like pulling teeth to get. Only luck I've had is with a lapierre dealer no reply from CDL or a rep an I've made many attempts.☹️

[n8hutch]

I really like my Intensofire, it's a 3x10, brand new this year, I am running it in Gasification mode. It has a modulating blower fan and a thermocouple in the stack. Burning Hardwood I am going 30 minutes on average between firings.

[Maplewalnut]

You have 2500 taps on a 2x6? My lord man do you sleep?

Haha- concentrate high!!!

[VTnewguy]

We have a Venturi 2.5*8. First year on it. Coming from a 2*6. First impressions are that it boils very even almost like a oil burner when hot. It likes to eat and we are firing every 7-8 minutes depending on stack temp. It really has made some great syrup. My only knock is we were hoping for a little bit better on the evaporation rate. Seeing 65-70gph with pine. We went through Reg at CDL Rutland. If looking for a quote call the store and they can get in touch.

[Maplewalnut]

Vtnewguy thanks for response. 2.5x8 is what we are looking at. Thats about what we were told from CDL on evaporation rates- they said around 75gph on venturi and nearing 100gph on intenseofire, with dry hardwood. Firing every 7-8 minutes though is one of the things I want to get away from. Thats what I do now with a 2x6 non air tight front.

[VTnewguy]

I think most wood fired rigs are going to be pretty quick unless you go with gasification modes.

[GeneralStark]

As has already been pointed out, you're not going to get the evaporation rates with a Venturi that you will with a same sized intens-o-fire. I have a 2.5 X 8 with a preheater and can easily do 100gph. You'll need a larger Venturi to get that high.

Once mine is hot which usually takes a couple pads of wood, it will go 20-30 minutes between loads with a mix of softwood and hardwood. It will pretty much burn anything and the wood does not need to be well seasoned at all and it actually seems to do better with wood that has only been seasoned for a few months.

Sparks and ash are certainly a consideration with the intens-o-fire, both out the stack and in the sugarhouse. To me, that seems to be one major advantage of the Venturi but I can't speak to that for sure.

I get the sense that CDL has finally worked out the air controls. Mine has a pretty poor system that needs a fair bit of maintenance to function well. My hope is to upgrade that this next year. Not sure if CDL will be part of that yet....