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[bbaumer]

Hi.  I've done a lot of poking around the net over several months looking for a very small outdoor boiler just to use as supplemental heat / emergency heat likely with fin tube radiators in a couple rooms in my home.

Buying an $8,000 and up boiler to heat my entire home with would never pay for itself not to mention I don't want to cut that much wood.

I have not been able to find such a boiler.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Before you say it, I am aware I could use a wood stove inside the house and already have a fireplace but but I don't like the mess in the house and having experience a flue fire as a kid I am shy about burning inside the house.

Thanks in advance for your input.

bbaumer

[RSI]

You could put an indoor boiler in a small outbuilding or build an enclosure around one.

[HandyMark]

You could put an indoor boiler in a small outbuilding or build an enclosure around one.

My father-in-law has a set up like this to supplement his gas heat. Building is metal frame and built on runners so he can pull it away from the house during the warm seasons. My only question is: If you only want it for emergency heat is an indoor unit really that much of an inconvenience. Especially for the $6000 difference in price. I heated with an indoor wood furnace like found at farm Tractor Supply and I hated the mess but I used it as my sole heat source. I wouldn't give up my Central Boiler now.

[MattyNH]

Looks like from what I've read..Your best bet is a reg pellet stove..No mess.. No wood cutting, no splitting.. Just buy it by the bag  and fill the hopper and off you go. Pellet stoves can be vented by your chimney or vented through your wall..Loose power..Some have battery back up...Seems like to me buying a outdoor wood boiler just for emergency heat or heating a couple of rooms is a lot of money..Outdoor wood boilers are designed to be your full time heat and hot water and require some work to keep running..

[bbaumer]

Thanks for taking the time to respond thus far.

RE: the indoor boiler, I could do that as I have a detached garage close to the house so a new building wouldn't be necessary.  Any suggestions on one?

RE: Pellets, I don't want to buy fuel as I have about 10 acres of woods on my property with enough dead and/or down hardwood plus a lot of osage orange I can cut green and not feel bad about to last me a long time if I am not heating my entire house with wood.

My dad has an outdoor boiler and has had for years.  If cut as much wood as he does my supply of my own wood would be exhausted in a few years and I'd have to look elsewhere.

Back to the indoor boiler, I have come across one or two of those in my websearches but would appreciate some help if anyone here actually has one.

Thanks again,
bbaumer

[timbur]

The Empyre Elite indoor is a 120,000 btu boiler 90% eff or for a couple $100 more you can go with the XT100 the outdoor version of the Elite indoor .

[bbaumer]

The Empyre Elite indoor is a 120,000 btu boiler 90% eff or for a couple $100 more you can go with the XT100 the outdoor version of the Elite indoor .

Those look really nice but out of my price range.

I have a heat pump now.  A high electric bill for me in the winter is $400.  Closer to $300 most of the time.

A spring / fall bill without much heat or cooling is about $100.

I have no gas or oil bills.  Only electric.

If I converted over to a boiler to heat the whole house I'd end up with at least $8,000 in it minimum.  Probably more like $10,000.  I would then have to cut and handle the wood too.

If I could save $200, 6 months out of the year, maybe even 8 months out of the year that would be $1,600 or about 6 years of cutting wood to just break even.

Not worth it.

If I could get a very small system to supplement only for $3,000 or less I would consider it though just for the peace of mind I could run the blower and controls off my small generator and still have heat during a lengthy power outage all the while being able to heat the down stairs all winter reducing my electric bill and not using up all my wood or having to spend weeks cutting wood every year.

I'm beginning to think an indoor wood stove is my only option that meet my criteria.  Either that or build a boiler.

Thanks.

[HandyMark]

Tractor Supply and Rural King sell several different sizes of these furnaces. I used a smaller version of this to heat my 1200 sq feet for 5 years as our sole heat source. I like the setup and the quality. If your existing furnace is close to your garage you can share the ducts.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/united-states-stove-hot-blast-warm-air-furnace-2-500-sq-ft--5095270

[MattyNH]

 Check out www.buderus.com ..Well known for their oil boilers..They make a indoor wood boiler..Seen one set up along with the oil furnace..Nice set up..

[HandyMark]

Check out www.buderus.com ..Well known for their oil boilers..They make a indoor wood boiler..Seen one set up along with the oil furnace..Nice set up..

I hope the product is better than their web site. I only found two paragraphs on the wood boilers and no real info, specs, or diagrams.

[HandyMark]

Check out www.buderus.com ..Well known for their oil boilers..They make a indoor wood boiler..Seen one set up along with the oil furnace..Nice set up..

I hope the product is better than their web site. I only found two paragraphs on the wood boilers and no real info, specs, or diagrams.

http://www.buderus.us/ is a little better.

[RSI]

If I were you I would just watch craigslist for a used indoor wood boiler and put it in the detached garage. You can probably get one for $500 - $1000 easily if you watch long enough.

If it isn't going to run all winter you will want to look for one with a real small water capacity so it won't cost too much for antifreeze.

[AirForcePOL]

Unless you can get a really good deal on something I wouldn't even bother with it.  For me, it would be a huge hassle to only get the wood boiler going only when you needed heat every once in a while.  It takes a little time to get them going and then will take quite a long time to get the water up to temp.  It just seems like too much work if you weren't planning on using it all of the time.
 
I would go with a pellet burner if you are only looking for supplemental heat.  Keep a few bags in the garage just in case and call it good.  You can find pellet burners on craigslist all day long.  This is just my opinion, good luck.

[woodman6666]

Could you or someone you know a welder friend possibly, build a small boiler? They really are very simple, I have built a few and one was small, find a 300 gallon tank and one a little smaller, slip one inside the other, make your door etc etc and for less than $1500 you could probably get what you want. Just a thought.

[TheBoiler]

A small wood stove.