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[chillyhiker]

So in checking with my zoning dept.  I dont have enough property to instal an OWB....need two acres I only have one. So I was thinking of uttinit it inside my pole barn which I plan to heat also.  there is an exsisting block chimminy where my wood burning furnace is now and thought about tying into it. (removing the wood burning stove) the only concern I have is the height of the chimmney..its a 2 story barn so Id guess the chimmney height is 25 feet in total...so creasote would build up in the chimmney and I would guess Id have to clean it more often. the flue from the OWB would have a couple of turns to get into the chimmney so I dont think it would rain back into the OWB.....what say you folks? thanks in advance

[franky1]

mmm,, how close is this position to the walls,,maybe ur beside the wall, then u can go thru the wall first,,then up...

[chillyhiker]

mmm,, how close is this position to the walls,,maybe ur beside the wall, then u can go thru the wall first,,then up...

It will be about 3 feet from the wall but i still would have to go above the roof line so Id still have the same issue.

[timbur]

Why not just install an indoor boiler and save money , if your going to put it indoors anyhow ?

[chillyhiker]

Why not just install an indoor boiler and save money , if your going to put it indoors anyhow ?

I was thinking about getting one without the shed and insulation...I will be heating the pole barn also but its not insulated so Im not going to be able to keep it very warm.  But my main concern is using the  chimney  thats already there and if it will affect the operation of the boiler or not.

[Scott7m]

It will probably be alright, most owb's are forced draft and chimney length don't affect draft much on those.

As far as creosote???  Ahh.....  It's all about wood quality, if your burning junk or wet wood then it could be a mess, I would just save up what cardboard was in my trash each week and about once every couple weeks fill it up with cardboard and let it clean itself out.  That's providing its a good chimney with no leaks.  I'd much rather have my chimney burning hot when I knew it vs when I didn't

My dad used to burn our grocery paper bags each week to clean our chimney as a kid.  He went from cleaning it with a brush at least every 3 weeks to once a winter

[slimjim]

Let me get this right, where you are at, you have to have a minimum of 2 acres even if you purchase an EPA approved unit. I would not suggest putting any wood boiler in a barn with wood floors or walls period as there is always the chance of fire from stray coals or flashback when the feed door is opened. If you were to create a fireproof room to house the unit and connect to the chimney, then I would certainly suggest a gasser as it will significantly reduce the creosote and ash going into the chimney. In a perfect world you could put an EPA certified stove beside the barn, no extra stack, 20 feet from the barn, and use the barn for wood storage. If you were to put an indoor(pressurized) boiler in the garage use lots of caution when plumbing to create a non powered dump zone directly above the unit to dump heat in case of a power outage when you are not home as the unit may overheat and pop the safety relief valves causing a mess, in other words, I think you have to think about this one before jumping into something that may cost you more than the benefits of burning wood. Start by contacting your code enforcement officer again and specify the codes on an EPA approved stove as setbacks on these are dramatically reduced in most areas.

[chillyhiker]

Thank you everyone for your input... when I say pole barn its not a barn as some might invision  it has concrete floor and such. I have had a wood burning furnace in there since I built it and have sheet metal on the exposed walls. But the township where I live consideres an outdoor wood boiler as an outdoor wood boiler and  makes no concessions for weather or not it is an epa certified stove or not. So they make a blanket ordinance that covers everything.

Thanks scott for your response i was worried the exhaust gassses would cool to much before reaching the exit point of the flue and cause exsessive build up .

[Homerglide]

It sounds like you are in just the right "predicament" to go with a gasifier. With the gasifiers it is very rare to see creosote issues. When the exhaust leaves the boiler there is little to no smoke. With the gasifying wood boiler, complaints from neighbors over smoke issues are nearly nonexistent. There are two concerns with such a boiler tho: 1) To optimize the system, water storage is a must 2) The wood needs to be split smaller and get to a dryer moisture content of 20%. On the plus side, they require less wood through the heating season. Gasifying wood boilers run in the neighborhood of 80% efficiency compared to the traditional OBW's which are rarely above 45%.

[fryedaddy]

Several manufacturers make an indoor version of their stove.

I would include the insulation and some type of sheeting but
saves you money by leaving out the "waterproof" setup.

I'd check into this, my setup is made to go indoors.