Hello, I was toying with an idea and wanted some opinions, I am interested in saving some money during the winter and have an idea about using a wood stove as a boiler but outdoors.
I have some ideas and also my situation is a unique one so here goes, please be patient while I explain some helpful information first. I am thinking of going this route due to the high cost of adding a wood stove to an old home and insurance problems with wood stoves as well.
I have a boiler in my home as the main heat source with a new high efficiency boiler installed recently. I also had an energy audit and lots of work done on my house including about 18 inches of blow in insulation in attic, sealed up around windows and doors and added insulation inside walls so the home is sealed up pretty tight as far as weatherization. I also recently painted most of the house and worked on sealing the foundation cracks and everything else I could see as a problem that the contractors did not work on.
I am toying with the idea of using a wood burning stove as a boiler outside the home for a few different reasons and this is where I want an opinion on feasibility and potential problems. I would like to use a wood stove because I can get one pretty cheap from craigslist or probably a relative who has one sitting around, I have a few possibilities but have to check them out first. I saw on one site a coil called Thermo-built and another that installs in a hole in the stove and has an 18 inch or so rod that circulates water through it for heating but I don't remember the name or company I found it at.
I want to put the wood stove boiler in the middle of my yard and run water/antifreeze lines to house and later to garage for radiator heating. Radiant floor heating is out because my house has wood floors on the main floor. The boiler would sit 15 feet from home on a small concrete pad and lines would run along ground to house and if it works I could later bury them but I would want to first run them on top just to makes sure everything works, I can pretty them up with a cute wall or something, looks are not important. It would have to use antifreeze as some of the plumbing runs outside, is this a problem with a system like I am wanting?
I would then put a small, easy system of a couple of radiators on the ground floor with zone controls/expansion tank/circulation pumps in the basement with the lines running up to each radiator from the basement. I am think about using two radiators at first to add some heat to my dining room and living room as a supplemental source just to add to the homes main heat.
I work from home so being here most days during the week is not a problem. Can I do this without much in the way of cost, say less than the do it yourself kits advertised well over two thousand for just the manifold zone systems and pumps alone, cost is a major factor. I can do plumbing and have worked with PEX a little but the main thing is simplicity and keeping cost down.
What are your opinions?
I have some ideas and also my situation is a unique one so here goes, please be patient while I explain some helpful information first. I am thinking of going this route due to the high cost of adding a wood stove to an old home and insurance problems with wood stoves as well.
I have a boiler in my home as the main heat source with a new high efficiency boiler installed recently. I also had an energy audit and lots of work done on my house including about 18 inches of blow in insulation in attic, sealed up around windows and doors and added insulation inside walls so the home is sealed up pretty tight as far as weatherization. I also recently painted most of the house and worked on sealing the foundation cracks and everything else I could see as a problem that the contractors did not work on.
I am toying with the idea of using a wood burning stove as a boiler outside the home for a few different reasons and this is where I want an opinion on feasibility and potential problems. I would like to use a wood stove because I can get one pretty cheap from craigslist or probably a relative who has one sitting around, I have a few possibilities but have to check them out first. I saw on one site a coil called Thermo-built and another that installs in a hole in the stove and has an 18 inch or so rod that circulates water through it for heating but I don't remember the name or company I found it at.
I want to put the wood stove boiler in the middle of my yard and run water/antifreeze lines to house and later to garage for radiator heating. Radiant floor heating is out because my house has wood floors on the main floor. The boiler would sit 15 feet from home on a small concrete pad and lines would run along ground to house and if it works I could later bury them but I would want to first run them on top just to makes sure everything works, I can pretty them up with a cute wall or something, looks are not important. It would have to use antifreeze as some of the plumbing runs outside, is this a problem with a system like I am wanting?
I would then put a small, easy system of a couple of radiators on the ground floor with zone controls/expansion tank/circulation pumps in the basement with the lines running up to each radiator from the basement. I am think about using two radiators at first to add some heat to my dining room and living room as a supplemental source just to add to the homes main heat.
I work from home so being here most days during the week is not a problem. Can I do this without much in the way of cost, say less than the do it yourself kits advertised well over two thousand for just the manifold zone systems and pumps alone, cost is a major factor. I can do plumbing and have worked with PEX a little but the main thing is simplicity and keeping cost down.
What are your opinions?
