Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers with NON EPA-Certified Models Only => Wood Doctor => Topic started by: OnceBurned on December 16, 2013, 01:15:17 PM
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In 2009, I researched wood furnaces and Wood Doctor stood out as a top manufacturer, even boasting a 30 year warranty and ¼“ boiler plate steel. That sounded too good to be true, and it was.
In early 2010 I purchased and set up a Wood Doctor 5000 Gasification furnace including $1000 worth of propylene glycol to prevent rust. I was dismayed to find the furnace leaking water into the ash box that fall; I couldn't figure out where the leak was. Although the Wood Doctor was not doing an adequate job of supplying heat to my house, I continued to use the furnace, adding water and propylene glycol as needed, until spring 2013. Creosote continued to build up in the firebox despite the fact that I was very careful about using dry, seasoned wood which had been stored under a roof. After less that 3 years of use, the firebox was rusted out in numerous places - in the fall of 2013, when I inspected the inside of the firebox I found rusted-out holes where water was seeping in.
The problems are multiple, beginning with the ¼” boiler plate steel they claimed to have used but which measures with a digital calibrator as 0.11” in thickness – or less that 1/8”. If this isn't bad enough, the firebricks were mortared in place and the mortar between this thin metal and the bricks had loosened enough to allow ash to get between the thin metal jacket and the brick. Although I cleaned out the ash at the end of each heating season, I had not removed these mortared-in-place firebricks; this seems to be the cause of the massive firebox failure.
After spending nearly $14,000 on this Wood Doctor, I am left with scrap metal. I would have been money ahead if Arthur Turple had not delivered the furnace – that way I wouldn't have paid out money for the installation materials and labor.
I am so upset with the Wood Doctor that I just do not trust any type of wood furnace that has a boiler because of leakage. Perhaps there are some good ones, but Wood Doctor was not one of them. - Paul
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Iwould think you should get a brand new furnace or total refund under your warranty.
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I am truly sorry to hear of your troubles, at one time Wood Doctor did build a real quality boiler, nobody really knows what happened but they had a lot of problems with the gassers and Arthur knew it! I know because I told him so just before I stopped selling them and threw he and Dave Mcculough out of my home, if it makes you feel any better those customers of mine that bought WD from me have promised bail money if I ever see that SOB at a show again if you know what I mean!
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Doow14 - Since a warranty is only as good as the company offering it, there is no hope of getting anything under the warranty.
SlimJim - Good one - let me know if you need more bail money !!
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so where in the fire box was it leaking? have any picks