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[jenkinswt]

Hi I love this site, I was on here a few years ago and had planned to build one when we moved but got busy with so many other things and ended up tearing out old brick chimney installing new double wall stainless from basement to top of two story house and put a old wood furnace in basement along with a pellet/corn stove in living room for last winter. It didn't work too bad but we don't have as much hardwood in our area as where I used to live so I found myself going down to the basement a lot more than usual. I am thinking of starting a boiler project with what I have on hand now and can always upgrade at a later point.

I have a 38" diameter tank 7' long I figure its about 400 gallons, one fitting on front bottom for a fuel hose and a larger screw on lid on top. Other than that its all sealed up and doesn't leak. I found a guy with a tank that he says is 4.5' diameter and 10' long approx, probably about 1000 gallons. It has a handful of misc. fittings, etc. I figure I might be able to use some of them since this tank will be the water tank. I don't know the thickness of the 400 gallon tank, maybe 1/4" not as thick as a lot of you use but I think it will hold up for quite awhile. This would give me about 600 gallons of hot water if I don't shorten anything.

Do any of you see a problem with this large of a firebox? I love the idea of doing less splitting and keeping logs longer, plus I can burn up  branches, etc. I would love to put this in a garage to catch any wasted heat but for now I think I will just frame it out and insulate, might be safer that way anyways. Is there anything I can do to eliminate smoking? I remember a few people where we used to live and they were pretty smoky at times. I live on the outskirts of town but if the wind was right I suppose it could bother people. In our house it burns so good that most people around here thought I was selling all my firewood and not burning it because they never saw smoke! I tried to tell them that's because I had dry firewood and burned it hot but most don't believe it. I don't know if it will work that way on the boiler because  it will sit closer to the ground and won't always be burning wide open.

I'm gonna have to do this whole project on a budget and might just get the tank inside the tank and door part all welded up and tested for leaks and have to stop until spring. I will keep the basement wood furnace no matter what for backup. If any of this seems to be a bad idea let me know, I'm all ears.

[Bull]

Sounds like a great idea, there is some great info on here about building your own. Good luck and welcome back.

[rosewood]

Sounds like you have some good materials to work with .7' of fire box might be a bit much and not as great as it sounds,I have a 5' firebox and find myself cutting lengths at 3 -4' depending on size of the logs.   Or maybe use a few feet of the box to create a smoke chamber and introduce air for a secondary burn chamber.

[peacmar]

Fire box seams a bit large, how often are you planning on tending to the fire? Keep in mind that longer periods don't necessarily mean better. Just a realistic estimate for now.