outdoor furnaces the good the bad?

[MACDABS]

I appreciate all the opinions, I can't think of more cost effective way to heat the house and my new garage I want to build . I figure if I want to heat the garage wood or coal is much less than oil. So if you need to tend to a fire for the shop it would make sense to tie into my home system and heat both.

I plan on using my oil boiler in the house in spring and fall to break the chill. I can live with a 50-60 degree shop and would not fire a outside boiler till the temps dropped in the 40s , in late November . The price of the outdoor boilers will make your socks drop, but what other way to heat two structures 150 ft apart from each other? Would building a furnace room in the new shop and pumping a heat source to the home be a option?

Safety is a concern , I have a all wood house (cedar in and out) ceilings and walls. We have a large double sided fireplace that we use only if we are home for risk of a fire. The outside boiler is a plus for safety and the mess. Drawback is feeding it in the cold , and cutting wood all the time. Is there any outdoor boilers that are efficient?

 

[coachgrd]

My brother in law has one and it seems that, while he doesn't go through the propane I used to (more on that in a moment) he does pay for it in prep for the winter. Seems he is married to that thing...constantly thinking about cutting/stacking wood, adding wood to it, etc. I gave one some thought but the smoke thing didn't appeal to me or the wife.

Instead we went with a nice Quadrafire wood stove last fall. My wife and I both agree that it was without a doubt one of the best purchases we ever made. Our house was never cold and we saved about $400 in propane over last year. Sure was nice to come in from the cold and just stand over the stove and warm the hands up.

I too must cut/split/stack wood but I guess I don't feel the pressure as it is not my primary source of heat.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

if you can get coal (just about always cheap) take a serious look at these......we will probably build a new house in about 3-4 years.....i was done/set on this coal/stoker/boiler.......i could put it in a shed or out in the shop and eliminate the mess.....the heat would be "that good type of heat" and cheap! since, then, i've kind of moved to a geothermal system....i've done a lot of research and i really think i can install it myself......

check this out...i think they're about the same price as wood boilers....nice thing about them, a pile of coal, a shovel is about all you need....you don't have to buy 2 stroke gas, chains, axes, splitters, always be on the look out for wood, yadda, yadda........and guess what, coal doesn't rot........grandpa used coal for about 50 years.......every year he bought an extra ton or so.....he quit using coal about 5 years ago but he probably has about 50 tons on the ground, that he can use when the market crashes again (depression era fella- but good thinking for anyone)........the stuff one top tends to break up into smaller pieces (ok for stoker though) but their are large chunks still in the bottom of the pile......

Coal Stoker Boilers

I appreciate all the opinions, I can't think of more cost effective way to heat the house and my new garage I want to build . I figure if I want to heat the garage wood or coal is much less than oil. So if you need to tend to a fire for the shop it would make sense to tie into my home system and heat both.

I plan on using my oil boiler in the house in spring and fall to break the chill. I can live with a 50-60 degree shop and would not fire a outside boiler till the temps dropped in the 40s , in late November . The price of the outdoor boilers will make your socks drop, but what other way to heat two structures 150 ft apart from each other? Would building a furnace room in the new shop and pumping a heat source to the home be a option?

Safety is a concern , I have a all wood house (cedar in and out) ceilings and walls. We have a large double sided fireplace that we use only if we are home for risk of a fire. The outside boiler is a plus for safety and the mess. Drawback is feeding it in the cold , and cutting wood all the time. Is there any outdoor boilers that are efficient?

 

[SpringHollow]

I burned coal for a few years - it is very nice way to heat. The biggest negative is that the ash can be extremely fine and light and can get blown around.

Ken

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

hmmmm, i get a lot of clinkers.........

some of the loads my grandpa got smelled like sulfer, i've never really had that problem with mine........

I burned coal for a few years - it is very nice way to heat. The biggest negative is that the ash can be extremely fine and light and can get blown around.

Ken

 

[Oleozz]

We've burned coal for years, currently have a stoker hot water boiler in the basement. Biggest drawback is the black coal dust that eventually covers everything close. I sold Alaska stoker stoves for six years and they definitely were a step up from wood.

 

[mjarrels]

I guess it depends on where you live but coal is not cheap anymore for me... Last year $202.00 a ton for hard coal and a ton of coal doesn't last long if burning 24/7. Can fill two 30 gallon metal trash cans in a week with ash.

mark

 

[scesnick]

I guess it depends on where you live but coal is not cheap anymore for me... Last year $202.00 a ton for hard coal and a ton of coal doesn't last long if burning 24/7. Can fill two 30 gallon metal trash cans in a week with ash.

mark

Mark, that was most likely Anthracite coal that was over $200. I burn coal in an AHS multifuel boiler that is out in my garage so the mess isn't anywhere near the house. The multifuel will burn any kind of coal but I live in an area of nothing but coal mines and they only mine bituminous coal. It is really good quality ( no sulfer smell of thick smoke) and it is $50.00 a ton.
It doesn't burn all that fast. certainly not as fast as wood. I only burned around 6-7 ton last year, 24/7 from October to April. If your coal is burning fast you are either burning it wrong or the coal isn't of good quality.

 

[Highbeam]

A cord is a cord and anyone using the word cord is referring to the established volumetric measurement of 128 cubic feet of cut and split wood. An argument can be made that a cord of wood should be sold in the form of unsplit 4 foot long rounds, a 4' tall by 8' long stack, but the most modern and accepted cord is cut and split. If you buy wood by volume unsplit, you can be sure that after splitting it that you will end up with more volume.

I sure wish our coal in the NW was hard coal. All we have is soft stuff which goes somewhere other than in a stove.

 

[RayMunising]

A cord is a cord and anyone using the word cord is referring to the established volumetric measurement of 128 cubic feet of cut and split wood.

That's what a cord always used to mean but at least around here (SE Michigan) when someone refers to a cord they usually mean a face cord. Ads in the newspaper always say something like "$60 per cord" and what you get for your $60 is a face cord. So I don't think it's a good idea to assume when someone says a cord that they mean a full cord.

Cutting, hauling to the wood pile, stacking, keeping dry and eventually feeding 10+ full cord into an outdoor boiler annually would be a lot of work! Since I've received my invitation to join AARP the 3-4 full cord I gather every year is more than enough for me. But I do have to split it for my wood stove and apparently with an outdoor boiler that isn't necessary.

I'd recommend the original poster gather together a few cord of wood before making a final decision. You've got to enjoy the work or it'll become a dreaded annual burden.

It does give you a good feeling to have the wood for the coming winter all ready to go which I just completed today! Four full cord cut, split, stacked, covered with a tarp and ready for winter.