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[maine owb]

I am in the plumbing trade and I decided to buy an OWB in 2008, I have now run it for a full year in the cold and can provide folks
with some tips I have learned as well as ways I have set my unit up. I have an Empyre Gasification unit located 75 feet from my house.
It runs through a heat exchanger to keep it isolated from my main system. The house uses forced hot water in base board and in the floor.
I am heating about 3000 sq feet including a 600 square foot garage with radiant heat. I also heat my domestic hot water. I have 30%
glycol in my system. My system has a total of 85 gallons of water. The glycol gives me good burst protection. In addition to that
I have a refrigeration control connected to the OWB which will keep my water at 40 degrees if my wood boiler goes out, it uses very little hot water from my oil system to maintain this if needed. I used 1 and 1/4" pex lines for my supply and return and use a small pump to circulate water around that OWB loop, My pump uses .65 amps at about $10/Month. The pex is burried 3 feet deep and insulated and each line is placed in its own 4"
pvc conduit. I placed a 2' wide strip of 2" thick rigid insulation on top of that. I get less than a 1 degree drop in temperature from any ground losses.
I do not worry about going on vacation in January or the fire going out. I left suddenly for a week last month and everything worked perfectly and
the oil burner came on as planned. I use 1 and 1/3 cords of wood per month during the cold months. Much less than most people I know using a traditional OWB with a similar sized house.
I am always trying to make things better, I would love to know how other peoples systems are working.
Josh

[willieG]

Josh what is 1 and 1/3 cords...1 and 1/3 face cord or 1 and 1/3 bush cord? bush cord being 4x4x8 feet?
i am in ontario and light my stove in mid october and burn till mid april, i normally burn about 10 to 12 bush cords for the season with a home made stove that i know has much room for improvement.  how much wood do you use for a whole season and just how long is your season?

[markc]

it sounds like you got the beast dialed in right,i believe probaly the best thing you can do is make sure your not loosing heat in the ground and it sounds like you did that right
i loose 2 degrees round trip on my temp, i spent a lot of money doing it but its worth it my stove sits 275 feet from house one way not counting the 500 feet of  copper in the house.
its all about less trips to the stove!!!!!!!!!!

[maine owb]

willie g, I burn a real 1&1/3 cord of wood per month or 128 sq feet of 16" logs. From the months of November - May i would use just about the same amount per month on average. I began using my wood stove in December and will keep it going until May, during that time I will use about 6&2/3 to 7 cords(4x4x8) of wood. That includes all heat(3000 sq feet) and all hot water needs. I use oil in october, november and part of may. It uses only a small amount of oil and it by that time I have had enough of wood for the year, I will start cutting wood to be used two years from now. I keep a years worth of wood ready in advance, also because i cut some red oak.

[willieG]

willie g, I burn a real 1&1/3 cord of wood per month or 128 sq feet of 16" logs. From the months of November - May i would use just about the same amount per month on average. I began using my wood stove in December and will keep it going until May, during that time I will use about 6&2/3 to 7 cords(4x4x8) of wood. That includes all heat(3000 sq feet) and all hot water needs. I use oil in october, november and part of may. It uses only a small amount of oil and it by that time I have had enough of wood for the year, I will start cutting wood to be used two years from now. I keep a years worth of wood ready in advance, also because i cut some red oak.

thanks for your reply.  i too keep 2 years ahead on the wood supply...better burning and far far less smoke

[woodywoodchucker]

willie g, I burn a real 1&1/3 cord of wood per month or 128 sq feet of 16" logs. From the months of November - May i would use just about the same amount per month on average. I began using my wood stove in December and will keep it going until May, during that time I will use about 6&2/3 to 7 cords(4x4x8) of wood. That includes all heat(3000 sq feet) and all hot water needs. I use oil in october, november and part of may. It uses only a small amount of oil and it by that time I have had enough of wood for the year, I will start cutting wood to be used two years from now. I keep a years worth of wood ready in advance, also because i cut some red oak.

Why burn oil during the warmer months if your burning so little wood during the colder months?You should be burning half the wood in oct and nov.

[maine owb]

I am around more in the winter. Once winter is over I am all over the place and for the little amount of oil I use its not worth my time
to burn wood, although i would burn half the wood, it is still burning, the oil comes on only when needed and my usage is minimal. Being in the
plumbing and heating trade I have a very efficeint system. I also do get tired of playing with wood by spring time and in the fall I am busy enjoying the nice weather and going on trips. I figure I am hitting the coldest part of the year with wood and managing the rest of the year with oil. In the summer I heat my water with electricity. I spend less money on electricity heating my hot water here in maine than I would using oil. We use much less hot water in the summer. I feel this system uses the benifits of all heat sources. My wood boiler gets a break, my oil burner gets a break and my electric hot water tank gets a break. This will increase the life of all my appliances.

I expect to use 6-7 cords of wood per winter.
200-300 gallons of oil per year.
electricity for 3-4 months for my domestic hot water.
All this and have a life away from cutting, stacking, and burning wood.

Have fun : )