Outdoor wood boiler/furnace

[rico304]

With Propane and Oil prices rising like they are, I'm considering buying an outdoor wood boiler. I have plenty of land to cut wood, but I was wondering if anyone had any good / bad experiences with one.
I'm not sure what brand yet, I have only looked at wood doctors.
Combined last year, I spent $4200 on oil and propane! I believe I should be able to outfit a wood boiler for around 8-9K. Won't take long to pay for itself at those rates.
I am going to make a spot off of my driveway to park my trailer (18') and impliments. That would work out so I could just drive my truck or tractor to it all winter. Supposedly they burn for 24 hours on one fill up. I was also told they will burn just about anything for wood. (meaning old wood and newly cut wood)
Let me know what you think!
THanks

 

[knute_m]

RICO304,

I have an alternative to think about if you currently have either a gas or oil furnace. I have a Yukon-Eagle Husky. (Website is http://www.yukon-eagle.com/ ) We heat a 2500 square foot log home in the mountains of West Virginia with about 3 cords per winter, plus some propane =- about 20% of what you are using per winter -- and we also heat water, cook, and dry clothes with our propane.

The Husky is a dual fuel furnace. Mine is wood and propane. They make a wood and oil model. It directly replaces most standard furnaces, using all the installed ductwork.

The thermostatically controlled wood firebox will take logs up to 24-inches. I try to cut my wood 22-inches long. It can be conventionally started, or it can be started using the alternate fuel (gas or oil). Except for putting wood in two or three times a day, it operates like a conventional automatic furnace. We generally load ours before we go to work in the morning and have it set to fire about an hour before we get home. If it is in the teens or above, one more load of logs a few hours later is all we need until the next firing. If it is in the single digits or low teens, we may need another load before bedtime.

I believe the furnaces are still around $4000. Mine includes air conditioning. Mine also came with a water heating element, but I've never installed it.

I have never owned one of the outdoor units, but I have several friends with them. I'm not impressed. They need to be a long way from the house, or else they need a real high chimney. All the ones I've been associated with smoke real bad. Many places have started to restrict them because of the smoke and polution.

Woodheat.org has a good discussion about them at: http://www.woodheat.org/technology/outboiler.htm

They are also real wood hogs. Their efficiency is relatively low compared to modern indoor wood burning stoves and furnaces. So, they burn a lot of wood for the amount of heat your house gets.

Something more to think about.

Good luck,

Knute

 

[Onthesauk]

Also need to check code for your area. Have friends who installed a unit in new construction. Couldn't get County approval to move in until it was disconnected. Manufacturer was of no help. They eventually reconnected but could eventually be a resale issue.

 

[hockeyhead]

I totally agree with Knute, these boilers are not very efficient, thick smoke almost constantly. They rarely or never get hot enough for complete combustion. I've read about a lawsuit by a neighbor, against the owner of one.
outdoor boilers as of now are an unregulated industry, and the design ,construction, and salemanship of some units shows it.

 

[rico304]

Wow, not what I was expecting to hear. I'm glad I posted! I'll look into alternative idea and let you know. Again, thank you all for your replies! Keep them coming!

 

[monkeymonk]

Well heres another my neighbor.

My neighbor has a newer one around 3 yrs old and completely loves it!
you can stock it full with stumps or whatever will fit through the large doors and it burns for days! They have a built in thermastat and fan that controls the flume.
It heats the whole house and supplies hot water for domestic purposes its roughly 50 feet away from his house(take a few feet) You can set it on low and go away for a week.

Personally i can't wait to pick one up as soon as i build my next place(soon)

The technology has gotten much better with these things in the last decade i presume.

 

[Farwell]

If you live in a rural agricultural area a corn burning furnace may be an option. Do a little research on them to see if they will meet your needs.
The few outdoor wood furnaces that I am familiar with in my area of Mid Michigan burn way too much wood, put out a large amount of smoke and are not really that efficient. They have been around for quite some time so the newer versions may be a lot more efficient.
Farwell

 

[scesnick]

I had a Pacific Western Outdoor Furnace for 3 years. It heated my house well enough and believe it or not it did not smoke hardly at all. I will tell you I hope you have a strong back and really really like cutting wood. I bet i burned around 12-15 cord a year. ( granted it is cold and windy on top of the mountain i live on )
DO NOT belive the hype that the dealers tell you about wood consumption. I have 3 buddies that have them and they all say they burn a boat load of wood also. And they all have a different model.

I got sick of it and sold the outdoor furnace and got a wood/coal/ and oil boiler for inside my garage from www.alternateheatingsystems.com/ It works great and has the oil back up in case I'm not home to stoke the fire.
The best part is that it is INSIDE!!! My wife ( as well as I ) was sick and tired of freezing to death standing outside in the wind and cold while tending the fire.

Maybe just a wood stove inside your house would work the best for you. It would also be a heck of a lot cheaper.

 

[Bedlam]

I have seen a few around my area. I haven't had a chance to stop and ask how the people like them. There are the obvious benefits, such as beginning big enough so you don't have to split and cut as small, And theres the dirt , the "mess" is outdoors away from the house.
One benefit I like, is its away from the house, and a chimney fire would just burn its self out, Not endangering the house.
And if your starting from scratch, you wont have the expense of a chimney.
One thing that I wonder about, is what if you let it burn out.In the fall and spring, it would really be burning slow. And what if it went out during the winter, its a bit nippy inside. I can imagine looking out and thinking, HMM I have to get dressed to go out and start it assume you'd need something smaller for those days when you need just a bit of heat.This is if you use wood exclusively.
I myself have a wood stove on the first floor, and a wood furnace in the basement. I was so cheap, I didn't use the furnace because of the expense of the blower fan.But recently A few years ago, I started using it.What a difference.
All the "dirt" is in one spot in the basement.I use the tractor to move trailers of wood into the basement .
And the house is one constant temp. all therm. controlled.
I still have to maint. the chimney though.But is definitely worth the money to run it.
You might consider them if its possible. They are around 1200 dollars and up,. depending on the size of the house.
Hope this happens.
Allan
.

 

[schmism]

Hear in MO they abound in the rural areas especially in the southern areas were there is lots of logging.

Ive got a couple of friends with them, one with a fairly large one with a door about the size of a refrigarator. He chuked all kinds of wood in it including complete "green" rounds you could barly lift by hand.

Had a speed regulated blower to maintain a certian water temp in the jacket.