Looking for a wood boiler

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Work Less Play More

New Member
May 7, 2009
14
Central NY
I am looking for a wood fired boiler. Maybe with a steam output of 400F or so? Anyone know of any?

I would consider a more elaborate heating system with a gas boiler to help boost the temp, as well. However, it would be be nice to be able to use wood (as I have an unlimited supply), to get it to the steam phase (get all the LHOV from wood, instead of more expensive gas).

Any ideas?
 
Not sure if you will have any luck finding a wood fired, pressure rated, residential steam boiler.

Most systems are hot water so that the owners can avoid the requirements & inspections of a pressure rated steam system.

Here you would need qualification as a power engineer to operate the system as well as a certified steam fitter to put it all together, then you need to pass inspection by both of those branches (steam & power) prior to start up as well as ongoing inspections & a minimum education/training level of anyone operating the system.

I am not sure of the requirements in N.Y. but I suspect they are close to the same, hence one of the reasons that most systems are hot water & operate at no more than 30 p.s.i.

Above that (here) you run into the requirements of the steam & power branches.

Here we only see a steam system in large commercial/industrial applications in large part due to the requirements & also the costs as a steam system capable of enough p.s.i. to have an advantage over hot water is very costly.
 
If I can maintain a high enough pressure, I can keep it from turning into steam...

I have a background that makes me feel comfortable with such equipment... and the inspection part, well, what they don't know won't hurt them.

I need to heat a room to 200F. Can't figure out a way to do that with wood, which would be preferred, but not sure how to do it without creating hot spots and damaging equipment.
 
what kind of room are you talking about, and for how long? I've heard of oil as a heat transfer fluid in wood drying kilns. They use wood in the other kind of kilns to get a whole lot higher than 200.

You may find an old medium pressure boiler that you could convert to wood, but it seems like a lot of work just to get to 200 degrees.
 
I had thought about eventually a wood kiln for firewood. But I have another immediate project I am working on (I apologize for the lack of details on that, but I can't divulge too many details for this project). I have actually looked at wood kilns, since it is the same equipment, but different application.

I need a low temperature oven. At the moment, am I looking at shipping containers, but don't need something that big, so hoping to run across an insulated truck box soon. 200F for maybe a week? I also don't need a control system as complicated as what runs normal wood kilns. No timer, no gradual heating... just put the heat to it and keep it there.

My worry with wood is two fold. The closer to the fire temperature the oven temp is, the less efficient it is. Also, if have a roaring fire at one end of the container, I still need a way to move a lot of heat around the container, so I don't warp anything close to the fire.

However, since I do have unlimited wood that is easy to get, if I can solve the above issues, I would be very happy.

I had thought about using an electric heater too, just for the simplicity... but the power to cost would sting a bit.

Somehow I had not thought about oil. Thanks for the heads up on that.
 
benjamin said:
what kind of room are you talking about, and for how long? I've heard of oil as a heat transfer fluid in wood drying kilns. They use wood in the other kind of kilns to get a whole lot higher than 200.

You may find an old medium pressure boiler that you could convert to wood, but it seems like a lot of work just to get to 200 degrees.
Click to expand...

+1
Just do a google search on heat transfer fluids ..........There are lots of them . I seen fluids capable of 600 + temps . This might be something of interst to you . I also thought there were some europeans that use a type of oil in there heating systems so as to run higher temps
 
I was thinking of a wood fired forced air heat distribution system. 200 degrees is not that much higher than what old hot air systems operated at, and if you're only heating a small space that is somewhat tight and insulated then you may get by with all standard components. The efficiency drop from raising the operating temp of the air from say 130 to 200 is insignificant compared to the efficiency drop of the other alternatives. Of course it will make a huge difference if you can operate this thing only in the summer.

Always fun to be a mad scientist.
 
Did a quick google search for the boiling point of water at say 15 psi:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3828/is_200308/ai_n9294683/
"We learned in grammar school, however, that water boils at 212[degrees]F at atmospheric pressure, at sea level. If we put the water in a sealed container and increase air pressure to 15 psi above atmospheric pressure, we can raise the boiling point to about 250[degrees]F."

I am not sure what it would take to get a room to 200* with say 240* water, but it would probably involve a lot of heat transfer surface in terms of radiators or water to air heat exchangers, a VERY well insulated room, and properly sized boiler. Without more specifics on the size of the room, insulation, heat deliver method, and of course why you would want a 200* room, it is hard to come up with suggestions...
 
Work Less Play More said:
I am looking for a wood fired boiler. Maybe with a steam output of 400F or so? Anyone know of any?

I would consider a more elaborate heating system with a gas boiler to help boost the temp, as well. However, it would be be nice to be able to use wood (as I have an unlimited supply), to get it to the steam phase (get all the LHOV from wood, instead of more expensive gas).

Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Wood Gun makes a steam boiler. I don't know the max temp though. I believe you could get an oil gun option with this also, Randy
 
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