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General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Sheltered vs Unsheltered question. Looking for opinions

« on: May 11, 2011, 12:14:18 PM »

OK...here is my situation.  I currently have a ranch style house.  Basement has 18-1900 square feet of concrete.  The floor has the hydronic heat throughout.  I have an electric boiler that currently heats it.  Love the system.  In the past I have had houses and heated with wood using stoves and inserts...so I am familiar with splitting, stacking, maintaining a fire..etc etc....and I generally enjoy it and the exercise associated. 

The main floor of the house is also around 18-1900 sq feet.  There are a few open stair wells and other options for heat to flow up.  House is well insulated.  Upstairs has baseboard electric heat as primary heat.  Entire house has propane furnace as a backup.  My electricity is on "off peak" so I get a cheaper rate but power company can turn off when they want.

I live in Fargo, ND area.  Kinda rural.  Have plenty of trees on my property and have options to get "free" wood.  Basically just my labor.

The garage I am talking about is an attached 2.5 car garage. 

Anyway I would like to add a loop to my hydronic system so that I can heat the anti freeze fluid with wood to replace or supplement the electric.  Goal being to save money by using less electricity.

What I need opinions and information on is whether or not I would be better off to get a sheltered unit and put it outside my house close to my garage or if I should get an unsheltered unit and put it in the corner of my garage.

My garage is somewhat insulated but not heated.  One of the benefits I am hoping to get is some heat in my garage.  Also can keep a few days wood in the garage so reloading will be out of the snow and I can wait until relatively good days to reload the garage supply of wood.

Questions.  How much heat do the unsheltered units give off by radiation...as in how hot are they to stand next too. 

I do not have a flue in the garage and obviously would have to add one.  I think I would rather go up, make a turn and go out a wall and then go up on the outside...rather than straight up so I can avoid penetrating a roof...but looking for comments on that as well.