Outdoor wood boiler

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Syleng1

Syleng1

Karma is real and Life is short...
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Looking into outdoor wood boilers for the house and shop. We have lots of acres of trees we need to clear and hate to waste the wood. Years worth- like hundreds of cords.
Ideally one boiler for house and add ones like shop and pool, hot tub chicken coops ( okay- chickens want that not me lol! It’s on their wish list)
Who here has a wood boiler for outdoors and what brand did you pick? Why And how long have you had it? How do you like it? Anything you would change?

Thanks in advance for your input.
Joe
 
Syleng1 said:
Looking into outdoor wood boilers for the house and shop. We have lots of acres of trees we need to clear and hate to waste the wood. Years worth- like hundreds of cords.
Ideally one boiler for house and add ones like shop and pool, hot tub chicken coops ( okay- chickens want that not me lol! It’s on their wish list)
Who here has a wood boiler for outdoors and what brand did you pick? Why And how long have you had it? How do you like it? Anything you would change?

Thanks in advance for your input.
Joe
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We have a Hardy Stainless steel outdoor boiler. Installed in 1986, still works and has held up very very well. It heats currently 2 living structures and a garage. You don't need multiple out door boilers. just one pump per building. generally. Highly recommend them. Warning, they ain't cheap but mathematically, if you have acres of dead timber like we do, it'll pay for itself in 3-4 years over propane or electric.
 
BTW, it uses a forced induction blower that looks like a turbo, it will heat up very quickly and can damn near burn anything to fine powder ash.
 
I see nothing wrong with them if you have readily available fuel. Just be careful when you install it, you think about freeze protection. You may want to run glycol in the loop
 
67Dart273 said:
I see nothing wrong with them if you have readily available fuel. Just be careful when you install it, you think about freeze protection. You may want to run glycol in the loop
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the lines get run 32 inches deep, we live in indiana. Its hooked to the fresh water line in the house. Never had a problem. Even if the fire were to go out, the lines are heavily insulated inside the boiler.
 
Use the standard steel wood stove in the shop.

The trick to this one it has a 1/4" steel octagon shaped burning chamber that really captures the heat without the heat going up the chimney right away.

Then it has a 3/16" thick steel chamber around the burning chamber that captures the heat and allows you to blow it though the shop with the squirrel cage fan on the back.

Use an LP furnace first thing in the morning to take the chill off, then crank up the wood stove for maximum BTUs on the cold days.

Wood stove really cranks out the heat, like T-Shirt weather when it gets cranked up. Nothing like that radiant wood heat, comfortable.

Screenshot_20201022-181252_Gallery.jpg
 
George Jets said:
Use the standard steel wood stove in the shop.

The trick to this one it has a 1/4" steel octagon shaped burning chamber that really captures the heat without the heat going up the chimney right away.

Then it has a 3/16" thick steel chamber around the burning chamber that captures the heat and allows you to blow it though the shop with the squirrel cage fan on the back.

Use an LP furnace first thing in the morning to take the chill off, then crank up the wood stove for maximum BTUs on the cold days.

Wood stove really cranks out the heat, like T-Shirt weather when it gets cranked up. Nothing like that radiant wood heat, comfortable.

View attachment 1715617642
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I like that yours is V8 powered.
 
Jadaharabi said:
I like that yours is V8 powered.
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Lol . .

Engine on the run stand there. Just for the fun of it I wonder how much heat you could make with that V8 running outside then plumb the coolant to the inside the building to a radiator with a fan on it for heating.

Burn a little gas, but oh well. If you have a 10:1 cr engine that will make heat sitting there running.

Hence the Outdoor Boiler . . .
 
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George Jets said:
Lol . .

Engine on the run stand there. Just for the fun of it I wonder how much heat you could make with that V8 running outside then plumb the coolant to the inside the building to a radiator with a fan on it for heating.

Burn a little gas, but oh well. If you have a 10:1 cr engine that will make heat sitting there running.
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Put a pusher electric fan on the radiator and run the exhaust out of the wall. You could set a fan behind the engine also.
Maybe an exhaust fan to pull any co2 outside also.
Let the engine make the electric power for doing this.
 
Jadaharabi said:
Put a pusher electric fan on the radiator and run the exhaust out of the wall. You could set a fan behind the engine also.
Maybe an exhaust fan to pull any co2 outside also.
Let the engine make the electric power for doing this.
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Like your thinking, not only make heat but electricity too. Good ideas . . . possibilities.
 
The outdoor wood boilers are nice because it keeps the mess and fire hazzard outside.

Plumbing the hot coolant into the home only takes a couple 2" holes to get into the home for the heat source, and insulating the coolant pipe so it does not loose heat.
 
If firewood is readily available, and you are already equipped to cut/haul/process said firewood then it should be a no-brainer in my opinion. Dont cheap out on the boiler, as above, stainless is a good choice.

a hot fire is the best for longevity, an idle fire produces acidic compounds as well as creosote. When i was in search of some pellet feeder parts i made contact with a very knowledgable fellow, his best advice was run burner hot enough to prevent condensation in the chimney/heat exchanger. i run pellet stove in shop,and in house.300 feet between buildings makes a boiler impractical.
 
George Jets said:
Lol . .

Engine on the run stand there. Just for the fun of it I wonder how much heat you could make with that V8 running outside then plumb the coolant to the inside the building to a radiator with a fan on it for heating.

Burn a little gas, but oh well. If you have a 10:1 cr engine that will make heat sitting there running.

Hence the Outdoor Boiler . . .
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Well you should run the engine IN the shop. They radiate a fair amount of heat right off the block/ heads LOL
 
I have a few friends with outdoor boilers. The good thing about them, is you can throw any kind of wood you want to in them. You don't have to worry about burning pine and it gobbing your chimney full of creosote and burning your house down. Most of them are big enough to pack it full of wood, and it will burn for 8-10 hrs before it needs refilled.
 
Don't forget the incidental expenses-
A GOOD chainsaw, safety equipment and the ability to safely use it.
A good woodsplitter. I don't know about you, but I'm getting too old to swing an axe much anymore.
A healthy sized generator/inverter. If you're going to count on your woodburner(s) for heat, make sure you can keep the induction & circulation pumps operating in case of a power loss. The inverter or line filter makes the power "electronics-friendly", so it doesn't play havoc with any control boards, computers or other sensitive electronics in your home. That way you can stay on FABO. :)
I have a Central brand (forced air)- it' okay, but I sometimes wish it had a bigger firebox door. My brother in law has one that has a large door that he can load stumps/crotches and other big pieces into- very handy. I don't remember the brand offhand, but it's a closed system (not connected to home's potable water) and he runs an RV antifreeze mix in it. Heats his home and shop with it easily in northern Minnesota; land of the nine month winter...
 
67Dart273 said:
Well you should run the engine IN the shop. They radiate a fair amount of heat right off the block/ heads LOL
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We know that of all the energy in gasoline, being burned in a gasoline engine; only about 1/3 gets to the crank. Another third goes to the cooling system, and the last third goes out the exhaust, so I would think that the best idea is to;
Just pour the gas on the concrete floor and lite it up;
for 100% efficiency!

But seriously;
I investigated installing an outdoor boiler this past summer. I ran into some roadblocks.
#1, coal as a space heating fuel, is illegal in Manitoba.
#2, propane is cheap, but it takes a lotta propane over the winter.
#3, Heating fuel is ridiculously expensive
#4, I don't have timber to burn, I'm too lazy to harvest it, and it gets real expensive to truck it in
#5, the municipality changed the rules on me! The stove now has to be 75ft from the nearest wood structure. With my house in the middle of the lot, they basically made it illegal for me to have one in town.
Sigh.......
I guess another 3Gs are going into hydro this winter......... 3Gs Net after taxes is 4Gs I have to earn, or 200 hours or 10 stinking weeks worth. Maybe I'll be less lazy next summer....... as
I do have a wood-fired boiler in the basement. It only eats about 10 cords in a winter..But it's soooooooo much work.

Might be cheaper to board the house up, and go be homeless in Florida.
 
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AJ/FormS said:
We know that of all the energy in gasoline, being burned in a gasoline engine; only about 1/3 gets to the crank. Another third goes to the cooling system, and the last third goes out the exhaust, so I would think that the best idea is to;
Just pour the gas on the concrete floor and lite it up;
for 100% efficiency!

But seriously;
I investigated installing an outdoor boiler this past summer. I ran into some roadblocks.
#1, coal as a space heating fuel, is illegal in Manitoba.
#2, propane is cheap, but it takes a lotta propane over the winter.
#3, Heating fuel is ridiculously expensive
#4, I don't have timber to burn, I'm too lazy to harvest it, and it gets real expensive to truck it in
#5, the municipality changed the rules on me! The stove now has to be 75ft from the nearest wood structure. With my house in the middle of the lot, they basically made it illegal for me to have one in town.
Sigh.......
I guess another 3Gs are going into hydro this winter......... 3Gs Net after taxes is 4Gs I have to earn, or 200 hours or 10 stinking weeks worth. Maybe I'll be less lazy next summer....... as
I do have a wood-fired boiler in the basement. It only eats about 10 cords in a winter..But it's soooooooo much work.

Might be cheaper to board the house up, and go be homeless in Florida.
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Should be easier to clear 400 a week as a bum in florida too
 
AJ/FormS said:
We know that of all the energy in gasoline, being burned in a gasoline engine; only about 1/3 gets to the crank. Another third goes to the cooling system, and the last third goes out the exhaust, so I would think that the best idea is to;
Just pour the gas on the concrete floor and lite it up;
for 100% efficiency!

But seriously;
I investigated installing an outdoor boiler this past summer. I ran into some roadblocks.
#1, coal as a space heating fuel, is illegal in Manitoba.
#2, propane is cheap, but it takes a lotta propane over the winter.
#3, Heating fuel is ridiculously expensive
#4, I don't have timber to burn, I'm too lazy to harvest it, and it gets real expensive to truck it in
#5, the municipality changed the rules on me! The stove now has to be 75ft from the nearest wood structure. With my house in the middle of the lot, they basically made it illegal for me to have one in town.
Sigh.......
I guess another 3Gs are going into hydro this winter......... 3Gs Net after taxes is 4Gs I have to earn, or 200 hours or 10 stinking weeks worth. Maybe I'll be less lazy next summer....... as
I do have a wood-fired boiler in the basement. It only eats about 10 cords in a winter..But it's soooooooo much work.

Might be cheaper to board the house up, and go be homeless in Florida.
Click to expand...

If you don't have a cheap source of fuel, and that is most universally wood, there is NO advantage to an outdoor anything. There is NO reason to put any commercial fuel burner outdoors, except maybe coal, but certainly not LP/ nat gas or oil

Depending on your situation, such as electrical rates and the amount of property and your ability, a ground source heat pump can do pretty well
 
The being a bum in the Florida shack is my plan B to deal with the cold Winter here in MN. Shut it down and head South.

Ddaddy photoshopped the Satellite into the Florida property photo for me. Simple trailer on its own double lot, got room to park things too.

'69 Trailer Home and '69 Satellite, back in time.

Works for me . . .

69SatFlorida.jpeg
 
^^Uh, aren't those things a bit flimsy in tropical storms and hurricanes 'n such?^^
 
67Dart273 said:
^^Uh, aren't those things a bit flimsy in tropical storms and hurricanes 'n such?^^
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They are, fortunately this '69 model was well built with. 050 ths thick aluminum siding then I upgraded it to a structural strength improving new steel roof, that ties the roof to the sidewalls.

The people that first set up the trailer back in '69 poured a full Concrete Slab under the trailer with 6 tie down guy wires anchored onto the cement. Other trailers in the nearby area are set up on sand with cement blocks.

So yeah this particular trailer has stood up to the big storms very well. Other cheaper built trailers in the area were tore apart by the high winds, and some were even a total loss.

For an old shack it has a lot of good things going for it, underground wiring too . . which no other home on the block has, they all have the overhead wiring that the wind can tear down. And this one happens to be on the highest point of elevation in a 5 mile radius so flooding is not an issue.

Got Lucky on this one . . had my eye out for something like this for 10 years and then this one came along. Needed some work, got it taken care of. Happy with the way things have worked out.

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