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[lutzey]

So I been looking online at all the different boilers and trying to decide if that is a route I want to go for a 2nd home that I am at 4-5 per winter. I think I have concluded that all the major name brands are overall pretty comparable and most likely would be happy with any of them. But yesterday I ran across two names I haven't seen before. First one is Timberwolf Furnace Company Inc. in Michigan. He is advertising them new on Craigslist for $2000 - $4000. Here is a link to his website and craigslist ad:

http://timberwolfstoves.com/timberwolfsept.htm

http://muskegon.craigslist.org/for/2196799611.html


Then on eBay I saw the Lil' Powerhouse. It too is pretty cheap at under $3000 and claims greatness but only comes with a 90 warranty which did not impress me. It's link is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/OUTDOOR-WOOD-FURNACE-BOILER-HEATER-STOVE-FREE-HEAT-/320655940214?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa8955a76


Is there anyone out there that owns one of these units and can tell me about your experience?


Thanks,

Jeff

[RSI]

The picture page on the timberwolf website looks like they are built pretty crude but for those prices that would be expected.
http://timberwolfstoves.com/timberwolfsept_008.htm
Pic 2 self explanatory  pic 3 the shutoff plate was obviously torched off at the edges. Makes it look like some guy is making them one at a time in his garage.  It looks like the solenoid pulls straight up with the chain going at an angle. I would think that would wear the solenoid out pretty fast. Door looks thin and might warp easily. The latch looks questionable from the pic. The last pic looks like the return is less than half way up and not that far from the supply. Could have poor circulation.
I wouldn't buy one without looking at it first. I would look at what is the thickness of the steel in the firebox and water jacket is, What is the secondary burn chamber like, Does it even have one? I don't like that it doesn't appear to have an ash pan and the blower is on the door. Oh, just looked again and it looks like there is no blower, I guess it is natural draft.
There are no pictures that show the inside the firebox. I wonder if there is a reason they don't show it.
It looks like they have spray foam insulation. If they are designed poorly and leak on the outside the water jacket (crack) it will be expensive to fix the insulation.

If you look at one, if you can, take some pics of the inside and post here.

The second one I would pass on just because the way the ebay ad is with all the different colored large text. I try to avoid any company that advertises that way.

I was half sleeping when I wrote this so I probably said some stuff I shouldn't have. lol
I was just trying to point out some stuff you want to look close at.

[lutzey]

Thanks for your feedback RSI. You obviously know why more about these than I do! I did find a few more forums with postings about the Timberwolf, and the feedback was mixed. If I decide to look at one in person I will take pictures and post.

I did find yet another brand last night, and it seems to be a solid unit... maybe too solid? It is Acme Furnace Company out of Missouri. Here is a link:

Craigslist ad      http://quincy.craigslist.org/for/2149733401.html

Company website     http://www.acmefurnacecompany.com/home-additional.html


Since I'm asking for opinions, if I buy an OWB can I use RV antifreeze in place of (or with) water? This is a 2nd home so I am not there to keep a fire going. So obviously straight water will freeze up on me.

[eco-extend]

rv anti freeze will evaporate @ 160 degress the alcohol in the rv anti freeze will evaporate and all you will have left is water ive seen it done before even under presurized units.

[RSI]

I have never seen an Acme in person either so it is hard to say. I personally would avoid them if it came down to having to make a choice between that and something similar just because of this statement on their website:

Acme Furnaces have a 235 gallon capacity giving you more BTUs for your money.
A BTU is the amount of heat it takes to raise the temperature of a pound of water by one degree.
If you start with 55 degree water and you raise it to 180 degrees this is a 125 degree change.

Water weight 8 lbs. per gallon.
235 gal. x 8 lbs. = 1880 lbs.
1880 lbs. x 125 degrees = 235,000 BTUs

Don't be fooled, this is a proven fact you would have to heat 100 gallons of water to 435 degrees to extract 300,000 BTUs. That's not possible or even smart to try!

Seeing something like that makes me think they are clueless about designing a boiler too.

With any off brand boiler I would look very close at the welds. Larger companies use very experienced welders if done by hand or robot welders that can make perfect welds. If they are sloppy lumpy welds I would look at other options.

[willieG]

Don't be fooled, this is a proven fact you would have to heat 100 gallons of water to 435 degrees to extract 300,000 BTUs. That's not possible or even smart to try!

Seeing something like that makes me think they are clueless about designing a boiler too.

im not sure where all this size of the tank converts tot he btus of the stove? yes the size of  the tank indeed will let you store some btu and the bigger the tank the more storage but i would think when you are buyingn a stove you should be looking at how many btu per hour the stove can deliver (that is what the btu rating on a indoor stove is) that way you can match your stove to the heat loss of your home. the idea i believe is to buy a stove that can deliver the required btu per hour for your home on the codlest day of the year. how many btu get to your house per hour depends on a few things..temp of the water going to the house, speed and gpm going to the house and the amount of btu's being created (which i think would be determined by the amount of wood in the stove and the amount of air feeding the fire and the speed of heat transfer and the most important thing the efficiency rating.  also you have to have the proper sized equipment to extract the heat once it enters the home


also we (you and i and all with an OWB) can not heat water to 450 degrees but to say it can;t be done is not quite true. super heated steam that is pressurized to say 1200 psi is in fact about 1070 degrees

[RSI]

The point I was trying to make is that the water capacity of the stove has nothing to do with the BTU output. All more water does is allow longer burn cycles. I wonder how they would explain a gas boiler with less than 100 gallon capacity and half million btu output. 
If it takes there stoves exactly one hour to to take the water temp from 55 to 180 degrees is the only possibly use that whole thing would make any sense but they don't mention anything like that and I doubt it would do it in that exact time.
You can not heat a house with 55 degree water so it isn't even the storage capacity of the stove.
In other words they don't know what they are talking about. 

[lutzey]

Thanks for the excellent feedback everyone! I guess I am just trying to find that "needle in a haystack" that is new and lower cost. As my initial post stated, this would be for a 2nd home. However, given the antifreeze dilema, is it not practical for me to use an OWB given the fact that the water will freeze since I can't heat it for a month at a time?

[RSI]

I wouldn't rule them out completely, just look very close at them especially stuff that is done different that the more common brands.
How big is the house you want to heat? I would look for boilers with smaller water capacity if you need to use antifreeze so that less is needed. If you could get by with something as small as a Nature's Comfort NCB-120, they are running a sale right now for $500 off them. The $500 would about pay for enough antifreeze for it.