Experience with outdoor woodburners?

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: outdoor woodburners? / garages

Larry,
The manufacturer of my furnace specifically states in the manual that the unit should not be installed inside any structure. Presently my unit sits about 30 feet away from the house, next to the woodshed, but could be located much closer. This would cut down on some of the expense associated with the amount of pipe and insulation you'd need to purchase. At the time I bought my furnace, the dealer said to figure $6/linear foot for pipe/insulation.

Russ

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: outdoor woodburners? / garages

Hi Russ,

Actually, the post that really got my attention was the one from Anderson, who says he has a unit installed in a detached garage, and further:
[["If I ever have to replace it, I'll put the next one in the garage as well."]]

I then saw your post and the one by MarkCG, both mentioning "heating" garages, but I acknowledge, neither of you mentioned specifically putting the unit "IN" the garage.

Sounds like you have the right idea about this, as does your manufacturer...(liability concerns probably give him a little extra motivation to make the recommendation strongly).

Wonder what Anderson's manufacturer says!?

Anyway, hope everyone stays safe.

Larry

 

[MarkV]

Re: outdoor woodburners? / garages

Russ,

I have no experience with out door stoves and was wondering what the smoke situation is with yours? The link that Mark posted did not paint a pretty picture. Any idea how many square feet a unit like yours can heat? Sure sounds like a great way to heat a barn.

MarkV

 

[markcg2000]

Re: outdoor woodburners? / garages

After reading that post, I realized there is no way we could use one. My wife is somewhat allergic to wood smoke. She doesn't have an attack or anything, just coughs like crazy at the slightest wiff. I'd hoped that these were more efficient, not less, and that by having it outdoors I would alleviate the whole smoke issue. Guess not /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif.

Since I do not have access to my own wood lot, the fuel costs are a consideration, but I realize that wood is a whole lot cheaper than any fossil fuel - especially this year/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif.

I'd really like to get into wind power... I don't think that solar is a great option in western NY /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Maybe the best idea is a propane furnace that I set way down and only turn up when I'm working in the shop area of the barn ( though, I still have to make that shop area). /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

<font color=green>mark</font color=green>

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: outdoor woodburners? / garages

Mark,
Concerning the smoke issue, most of the time its not a problem. A couple of points to consider are (1) I've got a 4' piece of smoke stack on my furnace but you can add additional sections. (2) Central Boiler states you can have the unit up to 500' from the structure you are heating. However this will greatly add to the bottom line when purchasing the underground pipe/insulation and the electrical wire.

The biggest problem for me concerning smoke is when I'm loading the unit. Upon opening the door, you will get some smoke chasing you but by knowing how long a burn I get, I'll wait till its just a pile of ashes which cuts down on the amount of smoke considerably.

Russ

 

[MarkV]

Re: outdoor woodburners? / garages

Russ, Thanks for the info!
MarkV

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Everyone,
Thanks for the feedback.

Russ,
I checked out the Central Boiler website, and they really appear to have a superior system. There is a big show here in Ohio at the end of the month, called Power Ohio, and Central Boiler will be there. I plan to check them out. As far as indoor woodburners, I have heard a lot of positive comments regarding Lopi.

 

[dmccarty]

Here is some info for ya.

First of all, a year or so ago we looked at a house that was around 100 years old. It was in great shape and had ben added onto over the years. Somewhere along the line somone put in a big wood burner that was kept in a little shack real close to the house. To close for my comfort.

One of the things that was interesting was the guy had piles and stacks of fairly large oak pieces. They looked like they had been cut from a old barn because they were cord wood short but 4x4 or 6x6 sized. Very strange. On Friday I was rained off the property so I went down to the farm supply store. On the board they had a guy selling a dump truck load of wood from a pallet making plant. Depending on the size of the wood it was 80 or 100 dollars per load. Roughly four pickup trucks worth.

So I think I know where the 100 year old house was getting its wood. If you get once of these heaters you might want to see if their is a wood plant of some kind in your area. You might be able to get some seasoned cut up wood cheap.

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty

 

[Thomas]

Dan,
What does a cord of wood go for in your area.
Where I live $95.oo cord {green}cut & split & deliver.
I'm sure this year wood will go up $10 or $15 dollars per cord.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[dmccarty]

Thomas,

I'm seeing ads in the paper for $150 per cord. I've seen a couple guys just park their truck in a strip mall or the side of the ride, hang out a sign, and wait for a bite!

For $150 I'm thinking of doing the same. I have the wood it has to be cut anyway. I just don't want to split it! Did that in High School and I have been adverse to it ever since! But $150 has me thinking......

Later...
Dan McCarty