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[coondog1]

Newbie  researched it to death, found 2 units I like both seem to have good dealers now when its time to get the money I start to think is this going to pay for its self or die before its paid for.

[willieG]

weigh the costs...total installed...wood supply (will you cut your own, by the wood in cut lengths, buy it in bulk and cut it yourself?)

will you buy a stove (a gasser) thatt may burn 24 hours or more (im not sure) on one fill up?
you may have to fill yoru stove twice a day (in the snow, sleet or sun they need to be filled)

what is your current heat bill (i likely will increase over the years ahead)
at your current cost of heatingn how long will it take to pay for your investment
how long do you think you can supply wood to an OWB

there are many things to consider, these things are not for everyone and they are a large expense. You say you have researched them to death...now research your own commitment to looking after one..then you can decide

[dwneast77]

Good advice Willie.      

If there was any way I could have realized just how much of a commitment I was making,.....well....I probably still would have done it but I may not have been so gung ho to do so.   But then, not only am I using my boilers to heat my home, I'm also heating 4 greenhouses and I don't know that our business would have survived if we had not incorporated the wood boilers.  From about March-May I'm burning 2 cord or so per week.  I buy in tree length and process and stack inside somewhere around 35 to 40 cord per year almost single-handedly (5 pulp truck loads).  My units are gassers so I need my wood as dry as possible, it makes a big difference with gassers and it helps that I store my wood in greenhouses with the sun exposure.  I think they are more work to learn and keep up with.  Plus side I think is longer burn time.  I can easily get 24 hours on a fill this time of year when heating only my home.  In the dead of winter it's about 20 hours.  They tend to smoke less also.  I know of 7 OWB's in my area.  4 of us have built structures over ours not only for the boiler, but to house wood also.  Something to strongly consider.  I think within a year or two, you would find yourself wanting to do that if not right away.  There is something to be said about being out of the wind and rain/snow.  Just keep one thing in mind.  Smoke rises, but there will be an abundance of it when filling/cleaning the boiler and the building will fill up.  Make sure it is well vented or install a good "sealed motor" exhaust fan. 

It may seem overwhelming, all the unforseen little details.  I greatly enjoy the heat in my home, even though I just use a forced air heat exchanger.  It's much more consistent heat than when I'm running on oil.  Not to mention I pay less for all my wood and processing (ie. gas and oil for my saw) than what it would cost me for heating oil just for my home for one year.  My home alone would take 5 to 6 tanks of oil for the year.  Now it's down to just about 1 tank for the off season and domestic hot water (I just haven't managed to get that hooked up yet).

Good luck with your decision. 

[Red_Nek]

Newbie  researched it to death, found 2 units I like both seem to have good dealers now when its time to get the money I start to think is this going to pay for its self or die before its paid for.

I'd say that it will probably pay for itself long before it's death. Even the crappy one's seem to get a few years use before going tits up. Do your research and think of it as an investment. I stumbled across a deal on craigslist and paid $850 for mine. It's an older unit, but seems to be well made. Deals are out there but you've gotta have the time to look for them. Good luck with your search. If I can be of any help, just holler.

Dave

[coondog1]

I guess I have not done enough research . I live in east tennessee I really have no idea what kind of savings I should expect. I will heating a 1680 sq foot cabin and a pole barn around 1500 . Any feed back will be greatly appreciated . Thanks for the help .

[netwerx-r-us]

I was in same situation , I researched , researched, looked asked questions ect , Willie brings up important points , if you don't have access to a good supply of wood don't do it , I looked at several different models  and the dealers were all knowledgeable , I then researched problems and made my decisions by asking questions here , looking at the issues particulars models have and like any investment I buy I look for how its built and longevity ,

I'm in the middle of my install now so i cannot tell you how it performs  just yet but rather why I went with who i did , it was based on seeing , comparing and complaints or lack of

someone said it like buying a car or id say like buying a heat pump , you can buy the good names in the business like carrier or trane or if you look at ebay you see all the builder grade models they sell to anyone and unfortunately those are what they are putting in new houses, so buy it like you are buying a cordless drill , you can buy B n D cheap or you can buy a commercial grade dewalt or porter cable, how long will the cheap last you vs the commercial version, ??  and like a car or heat pump its how you take care of it

hope that helps

[johnybcold]

Lol.  Ya I kept looking at it and figuring it out ten different ways before I bought one, and when I was installing it, and my first week or two using it I thought I made a mistake, someone on here said it gets easier each year, and after a month or two I felt I made the right choice.

[bajonesy77]

 If you take good care of it, it will take care of you for years and years. I got mine this past winter, its 7 years old and still working great.

[Red_Nek]

I guess I have not done enough research . I live in east tennessee I really have no idea what kind of savings I should expect. I will heating a 1680 sq foot cabin and a pole barn around 1500 . Any feed back will be greatly appreciated . Thanks for the help .

I guess that it depends how long you heat every year and what your heating costs are per month. I use to heat my 3000 sq ft house with an oil fired boiler/ water heater. The house was already using radiant water baseboard heaters. I use to burn approx 100 gallons of #2 per month. My wood expense is $40 a cord and I estimate that I'll burn approx 2.5 cords during the heating season. The savings is substantial if you can get the wood at the right price. I live in Western NC, so I assume that we've got similar heating expenses. If I had it to do over again, I would.

Dave

[AirForcePOL]

I think it all depends on what your current heating costs are.  They are a lot of work but well worth it in my opinion.  I bought mine used but at an average of $600 a month in propane bills it didn't take long at all to make my $1,500 I had invested in my stove. 

I have a 12 year old Hardy H2 and it still works great.  I'm on my second season with mine and really haven't had any issues. I'm convinced that I can get at least 5 more years out of it. 

I say if you think you can handle the labor involved and you have the time to mess with it go for it.  It has become somewhat of a hobby for me.  Also very rewarding feeling knowing that your hard work is keeping your family warm.

[kybaseball]

The longer you wait the more money you are losing. I had ours installed Jan.5, 2011 and have been so excited about the purchase I made. I live in an older house that is all elertic. It was costing us on a budget payment around 475.00-520.00 a month all year. I got my bill in November and it was $136.33 and that is off the budget payment. Saving at least $400.00 a month if not more thur the cold months. As fas a getting wood like everybody else it becomes a hobbie and good excerise..

[coondog1]

Been looking at my bills  . It looks like it will 7 to 8 years for it to start paying for itself  . I have electric heat and a propane insert. The highest bill in 09 and 10 was 287 + I burned 5 or 6 100lb of propane. I am looking at a heatmaster 5000 or tn hoss . My ? Is will they last 10 plus years . Wood is no issue I live on 70 acres plenty of firewood  .

[MattyNH]

I would just pay attention to the manufactures warranties..And see what they offer for the life of the boiler

[walkerdogman85]

I bought mine this last spring and my wife and I love it. Wish we would have done it sooner. We had total electric and our budget was 250 a month that was also with heating with a indoor burner in the winter. The hot water is awesome and like air force said its like hobby I really enjoy the whole process! I have had mine on since the middle of September only fill it up about half way once a day. Not sure his long t will take to pay for itself but with the rising cosof electric we are glad we done it.

[MrDan27611]

One thing to add to your cost analysis. If you hook up your domestic hot water (which I recommend) you are in effect getting a tankless water heater (unlimited hot water). I just pulled my 30 year old boiler and am waiting on the arrival of our new Portage and Main ML42 tomorrow (fingers crossed). My wife, who won't touch the boiler, complains when I smell like smoke, gets mad if I can't be sociable because I'm splitting wood, etc, etc. if just short of staging a riot because we are having to live off of a water heater now and there isn't unlimited hot water. Once you get used to unlimited hot water, it's hard to go back. People pay pretty big money for a tankless water heater (a few grand last time I looked) so factor that into your cost analysis.

Like you, my payback will be 7-10 years. Pretty hard to justify, especially when you factor in all the labor of splitting wood which probably makes it 20 years if you put an hourly cost to it. If like me, you place value, not cost, on your time splitting wood and working with your hands, the payback is more like 3-5 years. If you place value on being able to provide for yourself vs. having everything delivered, the payback is about a year.