tetomas
New member
Anybody using a Hardy? Looks like a good heater, quite a few of them around here, what do ya think?
Outdoor wood boilers/furnances
- Thread starter PapaPerk
- Start date
We built our house in 1993 on a wooded acreage and planned on heating with wood. We installed a HS Tarm boiler with radiant floor heat. The boiler is in a room with a door that opens directly to the outside minimizing the mess in the house. I can store 2-3 days worth of wood inside. One thing that has not been mentioned is the obvious fact that if you are using an outside boiler you have to go OUTSIDE to stoke it, regardless of the weather conditions. Imagine the worst, below zero, wind blowing, etc. For me it just doesn't make sense. When I see a storm or cold snap coming I get my wood inside and avoid the worst of it.
Take Care,
Doug in SW IA
Take Care,
Doug in SW IA
flyingcow
Veteran Member
FWIW- i also have a Tarm, gassification boiler. It's next door in a garage. Not a biggie to go outside and start a fire. Actually do it when I come home or leave for the day. I've got 820gals of storage. So i only do 1 fire a day in the deep of winter. 1 fire every 3 days right now. Start boiler, fill it up and walk away and not go back. It burns wide open for 4 hours and recharges the storage.
BUT as mentioned above, it's nice to keep the mess outside the house. If i had to rebuild my house, i would design the structure so i could enter the boiler room in my slippers, but all wood can be entered from outside.
BUT as mentioned above, it's nice to keep the mess outside the house. If i had to rebuild my house, i would design the structure so i could enter the boiler room in my slippers, but all wood can be entered from outside.
flyingcow
Veteran Member
i kinda hijacked the thread. Sorry. Hearth.com Forums Home go to this site. A good BB, click on "The Boiler Room" and ask away. There a lot of various versions of using storage, works well with a big solar collector too. I heat my DHW in the summer too. I get about 4 days((sometimes 5)out of wheel barrow full of wood. Start a fire when the storage temp gets down to 110/115, boiler runs a wide open (very efficient) burn for about 4 hours, fire goes out.
moojamboo
Bronze Member
@Flyingcow,
I hear what you are saying about indoor vs outdoor, but there are pros and cons. First, I don't have a basement, I have a crawlspace which goes to about 3 feet at the shortest height...so nothing was going in my basement.
Outside setups do have their positives. Obviously getting any fire risk outside your main structure is a plus. I also haven't had to lug wood into my house, I have wood piles near the stove. I used to have to move a weeks wood first from my wood piles, to my covered deck, where I then could come out in my pajamas and get wood to then bring inside to put in the stove. I can now skip many of the intermediary steps. I stack it, and two years later it is picked up once and goes into firebox outside. Coming from someone that was burning 6-8 cord inside, with the bark, bugs, etc, being outside and keeping that stuff outside is nice.
The reality is you DO have to go out in the rain and the snow to fill it, but to be honest I am often outside anyway, or going to work, home from work, etc. Getting the smell, wood, and risk of an indoor issue outside, and not having to move the wood multiple times, made sense for me. Again, with a crawlspace, I was really forced to embrace the outdoor model - but I have been super happy so far. If I had a viable basement space for the indoor model I would have certainly considered it, but in Vermont the Central Boilers seem to be the most popular / most supported in my region.
I know some that have the boilers where you light a fire once a day, burn real hot, and then it goes out. While I appreciate the burn it hot and avoiding smoldering...a new fire every day? That is something I am happy to not have to do. I started 3 fires last year, one at the start of the season, and then a couple during the winter when I did some regular maintenance and emptied her out. I just throw more wood on the coals, close her up, done.
There are lots of good indoor / outdoor models out there to choose from, lots of right answers. Research, ask questions, find out what your state allows, where are your neighbors, etc.
I hear what you are saying about indoor vs outdoor, but there are pros and cons. First, I don't have a basement, I have a crawlspace which goes to about 3 feet at the shortest height...so nothing was going in my basement.
Outside setups do have their positives. Obviously getting any fire risk outside your main structure is a plus. I also haven't had to lug wood into my house, I have wood piles near the stove. I used to have to move a weeks wood first from my wood piles, to my covered deck, where I then could come out in my pajamas and get wood to then bring inside to put in the stove. I can now skip many of the intermediary steps. I stack it, and two years later it is picked up once and goes into firebox outside. Coming from someone that was burning 6-8 cord inside, with the bark, bugs, etc, being outside and keeping that stuff outside is nice.
The reality is you DO have to go out in the rain and the snow to fill it, but to be honest I am often outside anyway, or going to work, home from work, etc. Getting the smell, wood, and risk of an indoor issue outside, and not having to move the wood multiple times, made sense for me. Again, with a crawlspace, I was really forced to embrace the outdoor model - but I have been super happy so far. If I had a viable basement space for the indoor model I would have certainly considered it, but in Vermont the Central Boilers seem to be the most popular / most supported in my region.
I know some that have the boilers where you light a fire once a day, burn real hot, and then it goes out. While I appreciate the burn it hot and avoiding smoldering...a new fire every day? That is something I am happy to not have to do. I started 3 fires last year, one at the start of the season, and then a couple during the winter when I did some regular maintenance and emptied her out. I just throw more wood on the coals, close her up, done.
There are lots of good indoor / outdoor models out there to choose from, lots of right answers. Research, ask questions, find out what your state allows, where are your neighbors, etc.
flyingcow
Veteran Member
I think the classic line is the way to go, if your looking at an OWB. As a matter of fact i used the Thermopex from Classic, ggod stuff.
Thanks for the link, done some reading with a lot more to go. One question, what is the advantage of pressurized storage? A lot more complex with expansion tanks and all.
DRL
mikehaugen
Elite Member
pressurized storage actually seems simpler to me, you don't have to have heat exchanger coils and all of that. The same water going through the boiler is what is going to the radiators or whatever you have. Even un-pressurized tanks will have at least one expansion tank on the boiler loop. You also have at least one less pump with a pressurized system.
I have been looking into this and the reason I will probably go with non-pressurized tanks is because I can build them in place. No way to go a 500 or 1000 gallon tank into my basement.
I have been looking into this and the reason I will probably go with non-pressurized tanks is because I can build them in place. No way to go a 500 or 1000 gallon tank into my basement.
flyingcow
Veteran Member
check out Home - American Solartechnics, LLC. click on heat banks. this fits in any door. The HX's are second to none. Very reputable,knowledgeable. Been in the solar industry since the 70's.