Homemade vs buying outdoor wood boiler

[Farmer Cody]

i have been planning on purchasing an outdoor wood boiler phase 2, not sure which brand yet. My father in law was talking to a guy he works with and he had built one. He said he would build me one. I have drove by his house and from the road it looks good. Everytime I have drove by though it was always smoking. How efficient could that be? Says he fills it once a day but it looks big from the road. Would I just be better off buying one? I could use some opinions from you guys. Thanks a lot!

 

[arbutus]

2 questions are present for you to evaluate:
How much money do you have to buy vs make?
How much wood do you want to process or purchase and burn?

Lapeer20M and Allan (and others) have built boilers, use the search function to find these threads.
Both are impressive in their own ways.

 

[GENECOP]

No one can answer.....without knowing, the details of the home built including cost....The smoking " every time you drove by" not good, would not consider unless he can include some kind of secondary burn chamber in your build...

 

[Farmer Cody]

thanks for the replys! My house is a bi level 2200 square ft with attached garage that I might possibly heat in the future or build a small garage to heat some day. I would like to spend as little as possible but yet I'd like it to be efficient and not burn any more wood then I would have to. The build thought he could have lines, pump, etc all for $3500. Not sure if it's worth it or not. It's always nice to have a dealer around though just in case I run into problems I'd have somebody to turn to. Thanks again!

 

[salecker]

Look at it as a gamble
Will you be able to laugh and walk away from a $3500 mistake,and spend the 10K you will spend on a good gasifier with storage and proper lines that will last you 10 + years?
That is if the other one doesn't work out.It might,but the big clouds of smoke and loading once a day doesn't sound like a modern hydronic heater.
Spend a bunch of time reading on here before you commit any money to any boiler or water heater.That will probably save you the most money.
Thomas

 

[maple1]

We have no idea how that boiler was built, or how it works. So can't help you there.

How much wood would you be comfortable putting up each year?

 

[Hydronics]

I personally wouldn't spend $3500 on what's likely a steel firebox surrounded by water. I would get a P&M or Econoburn OWB or better yet an indoor gasifier in an small building. You won't want to be loading any boiler in the rain and snow so you want a shed roof with wood storage area at a minimum. Do yourself a favor and wait and save until you can afford a well designed boiler. Another thing: start cutting and splitting so wood will dry. Good luck.

 

[Karl_northwind]

For a house that size in Southern Ill, I would think about a kuuma if you have forced air.

karl