Outdoor wood boiler

With the way the cost of propane has needlessly jumped this winter, We're thinking very seriously about getting an outdoor wood boiler. Just wondering if anyone has one and the pros and cons of them. I know there are lots of manufacturers out there. Which ones are best and why. Sure would appreciate some replies. Keith

We have two central boiler brand stoves. 1 for the shop (40x40-in floor heat) and 1 for the garage (in floor) and basement of the house (full basement baseboard heat) With this COLD winter, it takes a lot of wood which I have plenty to cut. Sure beats propane or oil!!

I just installed mine last fall, and got it fired the first time on Christmas eve.
Go here and do a lot of reading, there is a bunch to learn.

http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php?board=16.0

Yep, I have one, my parents have one, and my brother is buying one in the next week or so to install for next heating season. I have a Theile brand, built in a small shop in MN. My parents have a Cadillac, built in WI, and my brother is almost certain he is buying a Classic built in northern MN. Lots of pros, fire outside, mess outside, will burn any kind of wood you have, dry, green, doesn't matter. Only down side is they do use more wood. By my best guess, about 50 percent more than an indoor stove. Ex., if you currently use 6 cords with an indoor, plan on 9 with an outdoor boiler.

My brother in law put in an indoor gasifier this fall (Vigas was the brand I think). He put it in a shed about 75' from his house. The upside is it uses a lot less wood than the outdoor boilers - the down side is you need a large storage tank to create thermal mass, plus the burn time is not as long as the outside units. They also need dry wood. I'm looking to get something this year too - I live in NY, and our town board is pretty abundant, so I worry about the outdoor boilers being outlawed soon.
Pete

I'm looking at a portage and main brand boiler. With them the smoke goes through the water jacket 3 times before it exits the smokestack. With this and the high quality insulated pipe system, I should get near the same energy efficiency as my indoor wood furnace.

Friends of mine have found that if they build a little steel building around the stove it saved them some fuel. They use the little space to store things. Other friends built one bigger and use the excess space for wood storage.

Interesting......, thanks for the info.

I have a 4436 central boiler I bought used. It's a 2005 model and I've been running it going on 5 years now. I've always heated with wood and some propane till I purchased the CB. All wood now.

As said above they use a lot of wood but my house stays warm too. I live in a house built in 1917. I did rip out the walls and insulate but am going back each year and using spray foam closed cell insulation as money allows. So each year it takes a little less wood.

I burn year round. Just heat hot water in the warm months. Sure did cut the power bill down to size too. I use a 20 plate exchanger and have endless hot water as long as there's a fire in the stove. Very simple setup. I have no hot water tank. Just on demand hot water. Going to add a faucet this spring so I can feed my pressure washer 140 deg. water too.

If you decide to buy one of any brand make sure you use the best insulated underground pipe. It saves a lot of wood that can be wasted underground of not insulated proper.

I installed mine 100 ft. from the house. I put up one of those metal carports 18'x22' I think and the unit sits under it except for the flu pipe that sticks out the back. Wood stays dry and so do I when filling.

If you're going to install yourself there a few things you need to know before you start. If it's installed by a dealer then forget the first sentence of this paragraph.

No matter what a dealer tells you buy the largest water to air exchanger that will fit your plenum. I did that and sure glad I did.

I use a wireless digital thermometer with sensor on the copper tube of the exchanger and receiver in my house. I can tell how hot the water is without going outside. I use this to tell me when to refill with wood and also if it starts to overheat. Only had overheating 1 time and caught it before it melted the pex pipe. The temp sensor was about $45 and has been well worth that price to me. Saves me lots of trips to the stove. It's made to use on cooking grills but works great on the wood boiler as well.

Ok I got long winded on this and will stop now. Go to the link I posted here and look at Firewood, Heating and Wood Burning Equipment. Read, read, ask questions and read some more. Then decide what you want to do.
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/

I put plastic pipes in my floor in the house we built in 1981. The wood burning stove I bought at that time has burned out so I was in the market for a new stove. I purchased a 175 gallon Natures Comfort Boiler stove. I really like it and it is not a wood eating stove. Most days it is a large piece in the morning and one in the evening. Water temperature is a steady 140 degrees. When the thermostat calls for additional heat, a electromagnet pulls open the draft rubber stopper and turns on a fan to "turbo charge" the fire. If there is wood, there is heat. Large, insulated fire door for adding wood. I installed a "flat plate" in which the boiler water exchanges heat with the rural water before it goes into the domestic water heater. My water heater does not come on anymore.
Another plus, my house is a 40x80 machine shed. 40x40 is house and 40x40 is garage-play area. I put the wood stove in the garage. So I can add wood to the stove in the mornings and evenings in my slippers and no coat.
Total cost was under $8,000 as I did all the plumbing.
If you want pictures or more information please email me.

I have a Central boiler for my farm shop. I love it. With the new EPA regs coming online, 2014 is about the last year any current wood stove can be manufactured as none in current production meet the new regulations. We are thinking of building a new house in the next few years and since I have so much wood on the farm heating it with a boiler. So I'm planning on buying a new stove and putting it in the shed so I have it when I do build.

I have a Central Boiler and i like it a lot. The fire and mess is outside. It does burn more wood but heats my domestic water as well. You can test the water yourself. Some of the others that I looked at you had to send the water off to their factory to have it tested. For me the deciding factor was I had a dealer within 25 miles of me. My house is a 100 year old farm house and not well insulated but has never been warmer since I put my boiler in. We keep house at about 72*. My furnace is in the basement so the heat is always radiating up through the house even when the fan is not on.

I have had mine for about 8 years and will get another one when this wears out. Unless i can"t handle wood when that time comes.

I have a Hardy H-4. All stainless steel except cast iron grates. Has a combustion fan. Will burn wet wood, green wood, dry wood or coal. Have had it 9 years with no problems.Heats the domestic hot water also. Refills itself if it gets low on water. My friend sells Central boiler. I don't like the no grates and no combustion fan, other than that they are a good stove.

look into wood gasification boilers which meet EPA standards for emissions. They burn far less wood and WILL continue to burn for 12 hr. intervals, unlike the high efficiency European brands which batch burn for short times, to heat storage tanks and then have to be rekindled. There are many brands of US and Canadian built continuous burn gasifiers on the market now.
Loren, the Acg.

Keith,

Do you have an endless supply of wood(at least 10 acres) to burn? Do you like to spend the majority of your spare time producing firewood? Do you have the equipment to handle large volumes of firewood? Do you already have back problems. Do you have close none wood burning neighbors?

Think about it first all of these things are important realistic questions.

ACG,
Are there any other dealers in Central NY, other than Swantak?
Pete

We got an AHS Wood Gun gasifier which is an indoor boiler but can be used outdoors if you enclose it. Had an HS Tarm gasifier before that that rusted out at 19 yrs old. The wood gun is a great machine, very clean and efficient and takes wood up to 30x14x14" so it saves on splitting some of those big ugly crotch pieces. Wood needs to be fairly dry. P&M and Garn make nice gasification boilers too from what I have heard but have never run one myself.
Zach

I don't know which one is best, since I've only owned one. I have a Hardy that has burned year round since 1998. It's been mainly trouble free, but I did have to replace the combustion fan this winter, and I replaced one of the three grates about two years ago. It's stainless steel - no water treatment is needed. I'm 65 years old, and I'd buy another one just like it if it failed today. In a few years, I might think differently, but right now I still enjoy making firewood, much of what needs cut around the fields anyhow. There's lots of good boilers out there - you'll notice that we all like the one we have. Good luck with your decision.

Those are good questions. I've used a woodstove for decades and like doing it. My son-in-law has an outdoor woodstove and it sure eats firewood! He has a hard time keeping up. But when it's warm he doesn't need it so neglects to stock up, puts him behind the eight ball. If you invest in one you better have a good supply and love making firewood.

Anyone interested should google "woodstove regulations". It's something what's being proposed- similar to coal fired generating plants. Strict limits even if you live in a remote area of Alaska. Ridiculous!

There is a brand available that has secondary air, that makes them more efficient and a lot less smoke. A friend of mine has one. I don't know what it is but I'm sure you can find out, google it. It is very important to burn dry wood in an efficient wood burner as the steam from the water in the wood reduces secondary combustion.

Central boiler model 6048. I have had it for 5 years, does not burn lots of wood, and I am burning white elm with some oak mixed in. I use it year round to heat water. In my family there are five 6048 wood burners. I put wood in 2 times a day but never pack it full. I do not split any of my wood, I saw it 24" to 50 inches long, sometimes it takes 2 people to lift a chunk. Buy the BEST pex tubing you can find. Wood cutting is hard work but using the right chain makes it seem easy. I am 66, cut and pickup alone.

Check this guy out in Herkimer NY. He is an Econoburn dealer. (altheating@hughes net)
Loren