outdoor furnaces the good the bad?

[SpringHollow]

Actually, outside wood boilers are very nice and do not smoke much at all if you buy a good one. The good ones meet EPA regulations that an indoor wood stove meets. There is even a model i know of that you can not tell it is running except for the first day of the season. Poorly designed wood boilers are terrible.

Both my brother and I each have one and are very happy with them. Start one fire at the beginning of the year, maybe a couple of more if you let it go out for some reason. Mine uses a little more wood than my inside wood stove (mainly because the pipes put in 15 year ago are not ground water tight as the new ones now are) but i can burn much poorer quality wood so i just clean up my property and trails and mainly burn wood that I have to handle any ways.

To answer your questions WRT to my boiler:
- before fuel prices jumped this past year, mine was a 4 yr payback
- Very easy to start a fire in ours - less than 5 minutes
- slightly more wood consumption but mine is 150' away from the house so that is a lot of pipe but that is where i pile my wood
-can burn pretty much anything - if it is reasonably dry, it will not smoke more than the neighbors inside wood stove (less actually). Somewhere, i have a picture of the smokiest it ever was where i was burning some wet stuff to get rid of ant infested wood

Mine never required cleaning with a brush, emptied a little ash (maybe total of 60 gallons worth for the season - 22 face cord) every few weeks. Probably 5 minutes loading, etc twice a day. One load would be for 16-18 hours, another would be for 6-8 hrs. With the crappy stuff i was burning, i would be lucky to get more than 20 or so hours. With good wood, i could get longer.

I have owned a different one before that was better than many but required lots of cleaning

Ken

 

[billbill1]

I used one for two years when I was a much younger man. Never, make that NEVER AGAIN!!! Loading at bedtime and the first thing when you wake up is terrible. Put on coveralls and dress warm, when it's snowing or raining were worse (of course). This chore needs to be done when you have a -20 wind chill and a 30 mph wind too. And would go through about 3/4 or a cord of wood per week that it was burning. I had an air tight stove in the house that heated on about 1/4 cord per week and traded it for the outdoor wood furnace, big mistake on my part.

 

[scesnick]

I used one for two years when I was a much younger man. Never, make that NEVER AGAIN!!! Loading at bedtime and the first thing when you wake up is terrible. Put on coveralls and dress warm, when it's snowing or raining were worse (of course). This chore needs to be done when you have a -20 wind chill and a 30 mph wind too. And would go through about 3/4 or a cord of wood per week that it was burning. I had an air tight stove in the house that heated on about 1/4 cord per week and traded it for the outdoor wood furnace, big mistake on my part.

I agree totally !!

 

[SpringHollow]

It is amazing how different people's tastes and preferences are. If using my wood boiler were just cost neutral, I would do it. Saving a few thousand per year (and thumbing my nose at the fuel companies) is just gravy. I truly enjoy going out on winter night to load the boiler. I find it extremely peaceful and relaxing. And knowing I am saving close to $10 every time I add wood definitely puts a smile on my face.

Ken

 

[billbill1]

Please don't think I was knocking something you enjoy, if you do-that's great!! Just giving my view of it and anyone is welcome to their opinion.

 

[MikeInEburg]

We have heated with outdoor boiler for six years now. Reading the posts, most folks either love them or hate them. They do seem to burn more wood than classic woodstove. But they'll burn just about anything (we HIGHLY recommend that folks DON'T burn treated wood - bad bad bad for you and environment). We get rid of all other kinds of scrap via the stove. Yes, in the coldest weeks in northern MD we're feeding it twice a day. The "loading" end of stove protrudes about 2 feet into wood shed, so we're protected from elements as we feed. Here's the advice we've given most folks who ask:
- Best if you have your own wood supply. We burn about 10 cords/yr.
- Best if your existing heating system can be adapted (our electric baseboard was not really compatible)
- Best if you have no close neighbors to complain about the smoke.

They don't work if power goes out - but don't require much generator power to make them run again. The best part - as compared to classic wood stove - is that you don't have wood drippings and critters in the house every time you fill the stove.
Mike

 

[Diesel-ME]

I have used a large Heatmor bolier for 3 or 4 seasons now. I heat 4200SF of space plus my domestic hotwater.

This past winter alone I saved about $5,000 in fuel costs as compared to oil.

My boiler FULLY paid for itself in the 1st two years.

Yes - it is not as efficient as the next-gen models will be.

Yes - it smokes *if* you don't run it correctly.

Yes - it need power to run (same as pellet stoves)

Yes - I will build a new SUPER-efficient smaller house for retirement and NOT run an outdoor boiler when I'm older

Yes - I do get plenty of excercise felling trees, yarding trees, cutting wood, etc.

Yes - I do buy some trees too (much easier).

I load it twice a day when it's cold but can get 24 hour burns in the spring and fall. I have never had to load more frequently, but you have to buy a model that is big enough - perhaps bigger than the manufacturer brochure suggests.

I run it responsibly and have NEVER had a complaint from neighbors. I have plenty of land beteen me and my closest neighbor so that helps. But it's not hard to run then in such a way as to limit the smoke once you get familiar with it. That statement may or may not be true for other brands/models. IMO, the forced-draft models smoke less, but I could be wrong.

Put me in the no-regrets / expert user outdoot boiler camp.

Your mileage may vary.

~paul

 

[RayMunising]

Just wondering. When you guys are talking cords of wood are you talking a full cord (4 foot x 4 foot x 8 foot) or face cords (4 foot x 8 foot x 16-18 inches). 3 face cord = 1 full cord.

I've heated exclusively with an indoor standard woodstove (Hearthstone soapstone stove) for the past 18 years here in SE Michigan. I burn 3 full cord a season in a mild year and 4 full cord in a cold year. We'll be moving up north and building a new home there. I've been doing a lot of research on outdoor woodboilders, indoor wood furnaces, etc and decided to go with a wood furnace in the (walkout) basement. You read a lot about how much smoke outdoor boilers put out and how much wood they go through and how expensive they are and it's a little scary. But what really sealed the deal was when the town we plan to build our new home in banned them!

There are very efficient wood boilers but they cost 3 arms, 2 legs & your first born child and are VERY complicated! I like things that are simple. An EPA rated indoor furnace costs about $2000, is simple and will heat all the rooms in the house (using ductwork).

 

[Bedlam]

my two cents worth from years experience.
I had a wood stove that heated the whole house. but one end of the house would be cooler, and the wood and mess in the room was a bit much. When I built the house I also purchased a wood/coal furnace (hot air). I was to cheap to run it because of the blower motors using electric power.
Then I got sick of moving the wood and feeding it in a window for the stove and fired up the wood furnace(not outside type).
I used a bit more wood but it was much more steady temp. and constant, it would start easier , and maintains a good burn. and allot ,allot less chimney buildup.also will burn the newspapers and gloss magazines .
This setup works for me.I have a drive in basement so that helps to get the wood to the furnace.
As for the outside burners? I'm not sure...

 

[scesnick]

I truly enjoy going out on winter night to load the boiler. I find it extremely peaceful and relaxing.

I live on top of a mountain and the peacefulness is hard to come by in the winter. it is usually 30MPH winds and snow everywhere. that seems to wipe away the joy real quick.

I now just head to the heated garage and tend the fire in the multifuel boiler.