Hardy OWB owners ?'s

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buddylee

Member
Feb 16, 2011
98
middle georgia
I realize most folks on the forum are into "gassers" but I'm curious to see how many folks are using OWB's and in particulary Hardy's. Curious as to where you live and how much wood your burning. I installed my unit this spring and have no idea how much wood I'll need. I have about 2 cords cut and split and hoping to cut more in the next few weeks. Another thing I've been wondering is how dry does my wood have to be to burn good. I know a Hardy can handle a fresh cut tree but that is too smokey for me.
 
I was planning to go Hardy because there are tons of them all around me here in the hills of TN north of the AL line. Being somewhat a geek my research led to a gasser. So when the locals see it it's like a calf looking at a new gate. That said all the folks here that have Hardy's love them then they often go on to say the eat wood. But where we are lots downed trees all the time on fid edges. Since firewood plentiful we just bring it in and burn. Depending on how big you home and how dry your wood prepare plenty. We live about the same latitude as you but our home size and boiler type is not a good match. I only chime in here because I rarely see Hardy folks posting but know a lot of them. Seems like they last forever. Far a I can tell you did good as far as OWB. I do see pretty big stacks beside those shiny stainless cubes! Too much drying now is your best bet. Best wishes.
 
I've got some friends of the family who have had Hardy's for 15-20 years with no real problems... they do eat a ton of wood, maybe 8+ cords in a season for 2000 square feet in South Jersey... if you've done your research, and feel an owb best fits your needs, they're affordable, simple, and durable.
 
Hello fellow wood burners,

We live near Murfreesboro and have used a Hardy H4 for
about 15 years and when someone asks how much does it burn?

We say a small forest.

But that's not totally true, some wood is hard like Bodock and gets real hot for a long time
and other wood like pine, is gone in no time, so wood consumption varies quite a bit
between size of house, insulation, mines about 3000 sq ft, Liv Rm and Din Rm are 100 yrs old and I
half way heat my shop with almost no insulation and I'll go through 10 to 15 - 40 ft trees from mid December
to the end of March.
 
Have you thought about investing in some caulking and insulation to lower the tree bill a bit?
 
Man, hate cutting that Bodock and the thorns, but you're right it burns awesome once dried. I don't think bodock is up north. It eats chainsaw blades like candy.
 
Tennman said:
Man, hate cutting that Bodock and the thorns, but you're right it burns awesome once dried. I don't think bodock is up north. It eats chainsaw blades like candy.
You're right, up north it's bois d'arc, hence bodock if you get far enough south to distort the pronunciation enough. Makes good a good archer's bow (d'arc) or oxen bows for that matter.

Osage Orange, Horse Apple, Hedge Apple, Hedge, Ioxylon pomiferum. Burns great up north too!

--ewd
 
Funny EWD, Spent a lot of time in the woods as a boy in Pennsylvania and never came across a tree as evil lookin as a bodock (hadn't heard the fancy name) till I lived here. I've seen some hand made bodock bows made by local craftsmen and they were beautiful. That yellow wood makes oak seem like balsa. Between the thorns and the drooping limbs that want to grab you.... looks like something right out of the Lord of the Rings when you walk thru the woods at dusk. Cheers from a transplanted Yankee
 
If I was to get an OWB it would probably be a hardy. We installed a bunch of 'em back in the day. (15+ years ago) and as far as I know the only one that is out of commission got burned up when the wood pile stacked next to it caught fire. No joke.
One of my boys has an H-4 that is 12 years old and I think we had to replace one water inlet solenoid (a feature I really like) I also like the fan forced combustion as opposed to natural draft like a Central Boiler. Much less time coming out of idle mode.
None of the OWB's is worth a tinkers toot when it comes to efficiency and the Hardy is no different. I have never tested one that hit 40% eff. That being said they hold up better than most and as good as any.
 
I've had my Hardy for nearly 10 years and its going strong. As Tennmann said there are a ton of them up the hollers in southern middle Tennessee. I've had a fan seize up and have replaced a pop-off valve and a pump center. The guts of the thing are built like a tank. My FIL has had his for 15 plus years and a man at church for over 20. They will take a beating and will flat out burn anything. I generally light it around first of Nov and it'll burn 24/7 until sometime in April. Heats the hot water and most of 3000 sq feet. Can't begin to tell you how much wood I burn, but its a bunch. Good dry wood will help but mine is still pretty smoky. Got a Jotul last year and really enjoyed burning it during the snowy periods when I was home more. It practically sips on the wood compared to the Hardy. Course its not heating the hot water or the whole house evenly either. I like having both.
 
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