Outdoor wood boiler wood requirements

[donaldj]

Hi all,

I just built my house last year and am hooking up the outdoor wood boiler to get it going. I was wondering how much wood I can expect to need for a full winter. Some details:

• Region: Lower Penninsula, Michigan. Anticipate heating requirements from November to March.
• Boiler: Portage and Main EGR250 wood gasification boiler.
• Heat method: Radiant floor in-slab in basement (with insulation under the slab). Pex tubing with 10 inch spacing. Multiple zones.
• Area: 2700 square feet (house is a ranch, yes I have a glorious 2700 square foot basement).
• Wood: Predominantly oak and apple. All aged 1+ years after splitting

I currently have 5 rows of 16" x 10' x 4' wood cut and split. (266 cubic feet, or 2.08 full cords). I'm estimating I'll need 5 full cords per year. Am I close? Is anyone else in a similar climate with a gasification burner? How much do you burn?

Thanks,
Don

 

[nybirdman]

Better plan on 10-12 cords of dry wood.My son has the standard type and it burns 30+cords/year.

 

[donaldj]

Better plan on 10-12 cords of dry wood.My son has the standard type and it burns 30+cords/year.

You're talking FULL cords, not face cords?

 

[teejk]

You are running apple wood through a boiler and not saving/selling it for smoking wood? :thumbdown:

 

[JerryK]

A lot of it depends on how hot you try to keep your house and how well it is insulated/windows/etc. I have a house about 1/2 the square foot [ no basement, way north of you ] you have and heat it with a 90+% propane furnace and usually use around 400 gallons of propane a year [ NOT last year, more like 425 ]. Same with your boiler. If you are heating a house with lots of poor winders and try to keep it 75 degrees, then you have to use more wood to compensate..especially if you have a basement. But smaller houses are also harder to keep cool in the summer. A lot of heat is generated by activities/electrical stuff and especially the refrig. No basement to cool stuff down.

 

[Rustyiron]

Lot's of variables like JerryK notes.
I use about 5 cords in my indoor gasser, all radiant distribution. Most of the heat is for the shop with miles of leaky "edges" around 2 - 12x14' doors and a small 10x12' door. (all overhead garage doors). I also gain a bunch of heat just off the boiler, it's inside the "insulation envelope" and that may gain me some efficiencies. It's generally agreed that oak takes several years to dry. P&M should list an optimum % of "dryness" for the boiler fuel. There's a learning curve to these boilers, beside the outside temp variables and those in your fuel (BTU & moisture content) radiant flow to different zones, once mastered you'll love it:thumbsup:
Keep cutting that wood! Once stacked it won't go bad, go for the 3 year plan where you have 3 years ahead on hand, c/s/s.

 

[Billy Bee]

I live in the same climate. I have a Woodmaster 4400 that I have used for 12 years. My house is 2400 sq. ft. mainfloor and the same in the basement. I don't know if a gasification boiler is more efficient than mine, but I average 10 full cords per year. I burn mostly oak ash and cherry. The heating season is usually Oct. 15 to May 15, those 40 degree nights in Oct. and May can use a little heat, also this year, April was colder than Feb. The boiler also heats our water. We keep the house at 72 degrees, it is well insulated. Plan on cutting plenty of wood, if you have some left over it will be good for next year. I agree with Rustyiron, go with the 3 year plan.
Billy

 

[MNBobcat]

I have a central boiler brand. I burn 20 cords a year. 30 cords if it's a really cold winter. The gasifiers burn less but the wood has to be seasoned and super dry. I don't have time to get a year or two ahead on my wood and let it season that long. It costs half of what propane costs so its worth it to me.

 

[BLSXJ]

you can never have too much fire wood.

did you heat the house last winter? do you know how much energy that required?

 

[donaldj]

Thanks all!

Some more info:

The house is actually well insulated. Far better than I thought it would be. Out heating bill was no more that $160 (natural gas) this winter.

The basement walls are also insulated.

I know a lot of people save/sell apple wood for smokers. We downed about 50 apple trees (the land was formerly an organic orchard) to make room for the house. I have all that wood to cut up. I will likely sell 2 full cords of apple wood, but need some for the house still. For what it's worth, I still have at least 25 apple trees, and we are actively pruning and de-vining about 15 of them.

We had the boiler last winter, but it was not yet hooked up. Brand new house, still prioritizing expenses. We are hooking it up this summer to be ready for winter.

Special thanks to Billy Bee because your climate/situation is very similar.

My hope is, indeed, to get wood ready up to 3 years in advance. I regularly look at FB Marketplace and craigslist for "you come take it" deals. In the meantime, I have a massive brush pile to cut up AND a few in-the-way trees I want down.