Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
All-Purpose OWF Discussions => General Outdoor Furnace Discussion => Topic started by: cmbb on April 01, 2012, 01:58:13 PM
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Gentlemen; First post. Nice site you guys have here!
I am considering purchasing a owb. I have heated with wood for over 30 years. Residential home, 1200 cf raised ranch. same size for basement. I presently just use an old cast steel box stove to heat basement and whatever heat makes it upstairs. 5-6 cords annually, this year less. Burn wood from mid october to late april. Also I have a Toyo kersene heater directvent to heat upstairs when we are away. This year have used approx $350 dollars of kerosene. The house heats well, good insulation new windows etc. New improvements will be staple up radiant heat with some baseboard depending on water temps. Storage tank for new boiler water. Size? Not sure yet.. 800 gals-1000?
I purchase all of my hardwood. $110 a cord. Sometimes less. I have 2 acres or so of white pine that I would like to burn in the new owb. Of course it would be dry.
I have read many of the past posts. Sometimes I get information overload from all the info. I have learned alot and certainly found info on some boilers to stay away from!
A couple makes that have caught my attention are Central Boiler, Empyre in no certain order. Needs to be epa certified. Live in Maine. Prefer to purchase a US made boiler but am open to others.
Thank You
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Welcome to our humble world.
You are correct in assuming how much knowledge these guys have. I personally own a Wood Doctor, great stove, questionable company. Don't recommend it, at least for now.
If I were buying another I would seriously look at a Portage & Main. Central Boiler is second on my list to look at. I guess because they are a larger company and less likely to fold. Hence, better warranty and service.
Please be reminded this is only my opinion. Not knowing your location and situation, do lots of research for what works best all around for YOU. Don't hesitate to ask questions. These dudes really know their stuff. And I mean in every aspect of your install.
Good luck and welcome again.
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Just wondered why an OWB?
Sounds like you could heat that building with half the wood using an efficient stove?
And at significantly lower cost.
What other fuel sources do you have?
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Thanks Gentlemen!
Boilerman, to answer your question. The primary reason is to move the wood and wood mess outside. Also to keep the fire away from house. I keep about 3-4 cord downstairs and move the rest in during late winter if and when needed. The owb would free up some space.
Probably the other fuel would have to be pellets. Live in north western Maine. A couple pellet mills with in a 2 hour drive.
I presently heat my hotwater with electric. Figured I could heat the water during the time that the owb is fired up.
I have thought also about a gassifier wood stove in the cellar. But that brings me back to having wood in the cellar etc. etc. I also do not like the fact that to get the best burn with a new indoor gassifier I have to split the wood small. They say about the size of a playing card on the end.
Your right it is more of a hassle setting up the wood owb. But I could burn alot of my own wood. I know it is pine but if dry it should be fine, though less burn time. A pound of wood is a pound of wood, some slight diffences between hard and softwood.
I presently have about 13 cord of hardwood, good rock maple , ash, yellow birch drying in the field.
I am not set on an OWB but have been thinking that may be my better choice. I am willing to look at other choices also. I would just like to get the mess, bark, dust, smoke away from house and potential safety issue of the fire.
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Hey cmbb!
Welcome to the sight..As a state neighbor New Hampshire!..Well like my state..Maine requires epa phase 2..Gotta say Central Boiler is pretty much the brand of boilers that I see in NH and Maine.. Im biased on what are the top brands out there.. I'm a Aqua-Therm owner here.. My boiler has been great.. Going on 6 yrs this coming fall..No complaints .. Theres a Portage and Main dealership on rt 111 in Alferd/Biddeford line. Central Boiler dealership in Dover and North Conway NH..Save on the sales tax..Happy shopping and decision making!
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You are right, keep it outside! In my younger days I burned indoors for a number of years out of necessity. Would never do that again. I love my Central Boiler Eclassic 2400, like part of the family. Still amazes me how little wood it burns. House is heated warm and evenly, plus we love the free domestic hot water. Sounds like you are in a Phase 2 state, so check out the CB dealers MattyNH just sent your way.
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I have a modern wood stove, burn mainly pine and no way do I split that small.
For this stove I use my X27, the smaller diameter logs I split once, the bigger into quarters.
I would start with a heat loss calc. Sounds like you have a low demand.
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The Boiler; What modern stove do you have?
In reference to the splitting small I made, that is in regards to an inside gasifier wood boiler. It seems like most people say they operate better if split small and dry.
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Welcome to the site cmbb, under his name it shows that he has a Garn brand
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portage&main for economics and ease
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I have to agree with keeping the mess outside. Besides my insurance guy said if I put a stove inside he would cancel me. OWB is no problem. I can see his point, but the extra money can be a deal breaker to some people.
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I have to agree with keeping the mess outside. Besides my insurance guy said if I put a stove inside he would cancel me. OWB is no problem. I can see his point, but the extra money can be a deal breaker to some people.
Ive never heard of a insurance company penalizing a person because they installed a wood stove or pay a higher rate cause they have a existing wood stove in the house..Totally blows my mind..Heck on that note..Why doesn't (or is there) your insurance give you a discount on a OWB..No carbon monoxide risks, no fire risks,etc..
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I was able to reduce my insure cost almost in half when I went with a outdoor furnace many years ago.
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I didn't stick around long enough for them to give me a discount. Two can play the cancel game.
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Top 3 OWB's
Portage & Main
Garn
Central?
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Heat loss calc will be done next week. If the heat load comes in small I am thinking an indoor boiler might be the way to go. So many choices and decisions!
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Cmbb, Here is my 2 cents. First I will tell you I am a Portage & Maine dealer and also an Empyre dealer, I have personaly run for at least a full season a Central Boiler 2300 series, this boiler drove me to become a P&M dealer with all the issues. 2 years ago I ran a Portage optimizer 250 gasser and it ran much better than the CB. To my curiosity this season I installed the Empyre Pro 200, now were talking, This boiler is truly the cleanest burning boiler that I have seen, I am heating my 1800sg house ,my DHW and my 1500sq ft garage. I have cut my wood consumption by 4 cord per year over my origional OWB. Very happy with the empyre.
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Cmbb, Here is my 2 cents. First I will tell you I am a Portage & Maine dealer and also an Empyre dealer, I have personaly run for at least a full season a Central Boiler 2300 series, this boiler drove me to become a P&M dealer with all the issues. 2 years ago I ran a Portage optimizer 250 gasser and it ran much better than the CB. To my curiosity this season I installed the Empyre Pro 200, now were talking, This boiler is truly the cleanest burning boiler that I have seen, I am heating my 1800sg house ,my DHW and my 1500sq ft garage. I have cut my wood consumption by 4 cord per year over my origional OWB. Very happy with the empyre.
Not sure where you live..I guess my only question is....You saved yourself 4 cord of wood by your new Empyre??..I don't see how you can say that for someone else..Its like someone in the south having the exact same boiler as mine..He burns 4 cord a season and I burn 10 cord a season and I live in the North..Theres is no one on this forum that can tell someone that he is burning too much wood.. So many different situations...
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The amount of wood used does depend on the owb you have but also depends on your location, size of heat load (house garage dhw etc.) type of wood and other factors.
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The amount of wood used does depend on the owb you have but also depends on your location, size of heat load (house garage dhw etc.) type of wood and other factors.
Guys I think what he is saying is, the empyre used 4 cord less than his original boiler (I assume the cb2300) with the btu requirement remaining the same. His house and garage are in the same location regardless of where it is.
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The Empyre will not burn 4 less cords than a CB 2300 or a P&M 250. I am positive that the comparison he is making referred to his Empyre vs his conventional OWB he owned before any of his gassers. The Empyre, CB, and P&M are all very close where efficiencies are concerned. I'll leave it up to you folks to find out for yourselves from Intertek(one of the EPA qualified testing facilities) which one is most efficient.
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The amount of wood used does depend on the owb you have but also depends on your location, size of heat load (house garage dhw etc.) type of wood and other factors.
..I agree on like you said location, heat load ,type of wood burning..I'll add the way its hooked up..Only thing I disagree is on the " depend on the owb you have"..Not sure how you can say that..
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The Empyre will not burn 4 less cords than a CB 2300 or a P&M 250. I am positive that the comparison he is making referred to his Empyre vs his conventional OWB he owned before any of his gassers. The Empyre, CB, and P&M are all very close where efficiencies are concerned. I'll leave it up to you folks to find out for yourselves from Intertek(one of the EPA qualified testing facilities) which one is most efficient.
Dealer pushing his products!!!
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Sorry Guy,s I ment I saved4 cord over the old smoke dragen, Went from 12 cord down to 8. Location is central mass on top of a very windy hill. :)
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The amount of wood used does depend on the owb you have but also depends on your location, size of heat load (house garage dhw etc.) type of wood and other factors.
..I agree on like you said location, heat load ,type of wood burning..I'll add the way its hooked up..Only thing I disagree is on the " depend on the owb you have"..Not sure how you can say that..
I am sure that my Hardy H2 is not as efficient as some other owb brands that are here. If I had a more efficient stove I would burn less wood.
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Sorry Guy,s I ment I saved4 cord over the old smoke dragen, Went from 12 cord down to 8. Location is central mass on top of a very windy hill. :)
I have a couple of questions.
1) What didn't you like about the P&M 250?
2) My actuator is making a noise that I've never heard before. It is still working perfectly, but I'd like to keep one on hand just in case. Do you stock them? If not, can you get me one?
Thanks in advance