Sway me owb vs fah

You should have all the factors by now to make the decision. We don't have the ones that usually swing the final call - personal preferences & priorities, & where they make the factors line up. Plus the direct input from your other half.

Your call!

EDIT: One last thing I thought of I don't think was mentioned yet. If you're worried about making the wrong call, a furnace is likely cheaper & easier to undo than an OWB - maybe. That comes down to the site situation too.

tjcole50 said:

Figure instead of annoying the sh** out of my wife i can annoy you guys who enjoy these discussions

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hahaha....that's what we are here for.

To your question though. I don't own an owb, but if I could afford it I would get one. I honestly hate throwing wood inside and it is really messy. I live in town though so my neighbors I'm sure would complain so I'd more than likely have to get an indoor boiler.

It's your party man...and you're buyin, so...

Have you taken into account all the little stuff that goes into hooking up the boiler? There will be a TON of little fittings, valves, pumps etc, etc, etc. and that stuff seems cheap enough until you add it all up when you need quantity x 10 or 20, it REALLY adds up.

Wisneaky said:

I honestly hate throwing wood inside and it is really messy

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That part of it doesn't really bother me, but I have a walk in basement and the part of the basement that the wood gets carried through is not really finished.
If I didn't have a walk in basement I'd do like my neighbor did. He cut doorway in and put in one of those outside stairwells with the double door/cover. He built wooden steps that are easy to remove and takes 'em out in the winter, loads up that whole area with wood, closes the doors and then that usually lasts 3-4 weeks, kind of an underground storage bunker.

maple1 said:

If you're worried about making the wrong call, a furnace is likely cheaper & easier to undo than an OWB

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Gooood point...good point!

brenndatomu said:

That part of it doesn't really bother me, but I have a walk in basement and the part of the basement that the wood gets carried through is not really finished.
If I didn't have a walk in basement I'd do like my neighbor did. He cut doorway in and put in one of those outside stairwells with the double door/cover. He built wooden steps that are easy to remove and takes 'em out in the winter, loads up that whole area with wood, closes the doors and then that usually lasts 3-4 weeks, kind of an underground storage bunker.

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I only have a really small window to get mine through.

I have a few friends with OWB, and while I could afford a setup, I never would own one. We burn a fraction of the wood they do, and I load my furnace in my undies in a warm basement. When we had the old woodfurnace, I was fetching wood from outside constantly. With the new furnace however, it sips fuel. This allows us to spend maybe a half hour or so once every week or two (or more in warmer weather) to bring in wood. What would last us a few days now lasts over a week. We have the view of the fire with the furnace, and our basement is always warm as well as the rest of the home.

tjcole50 said:

What furnace and is it controlled? Say i set my tstat at 74 will it hold 74 or heat past it? Walk out basement or launched through the window? Whats the realistic time it will hold a temp in your house i know some people say useable heat as in 250 degrees stove temp but i mean whole housd temp. How oftrn are ashes emptied?

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We have a re badged Caddy. It's controlled by a wall thermostat, which in milder weather can overshoot if we put too much wood, but colder weather can hold things within a degree. The house does drop in temps towards the end of the burn, but it's by no means cold. We see between 6 hours when it's -20 to over 12 hours in the 30's. The backdraft dampers are to keep the woodfurnace from backfeeding. While you might be able to get away without them, they play an important role in the system. As far as ashes, that's preference. I rake ours daily and empty every few days, others let theirs accumulate.

tjcole50 said:

Csnt imagine moving air would decide to say screw it im pulliny a u turn and going back down this plenum

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It called pressure. High pressure always heads toward low pressure

Air will flow the path of least resistance. You pressurize the ductwork, and air will backfeed without something to stop it. With an open duct leading to the plenum of the central furnace, you reduce the output at the registers. Not saying it won't heat, but distribution will be poor at best.

Again? is there something in the water.

tjcole50 said:

With a kid on thr way

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Congrats man!

tjcole50 said:

keep up feeding my stove let alone the extra couple/few cords for a owb so theres that thought too

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We have a 8 mo old...it does cut into "free" time, especially when mama is taking evening classes. Fortunately, Jr. seems to be fairly content to hang out and watch his old man work. (better than these modern "cartoons" )

If you don't mind me asking, whats the cost of the OWB?

Also, you only have a hot air system for heat? No baseboard or any kind of hydronics?

What is the OWB? New or Old? I installed one in the fall of 2004 new (Woodmaster 5500) and use it in radiant floors and forced air. It is nice keeping the mess outside. Very nice but it does like to eat every bit of a cord per month easily. I usually burn 8-10 cords per year heating only with the 5500 which is another reason for the pellet stove purchase last fall. To save wood during the shoulder seasons. In the cold it usually uses a face cord per week. It will do 10,000 SQ FT. This year I may go 100% pellets again or I may go pellets until the cold, cold stays around sometime in December thru Feb. and then fall back to the pellet stove to end the heating season. Not sure yet. It all largely depends on the weather and my schedule.

I heat my hot water, home, garages, and a pole barn. It is old tech now but works well. I like my smoke dragon but I started hating it two winters ago trying to keep up with its appetite. I installed a pellet stove last Oct because I had been working out of town from Jan - June each year so the wife couldn't handle everything alone while I was gone. She did it but when I was home on the weekends all I did was firewood moving into the barn for another round etc. The pellet stove solved that problem and made life easier on her and me. This year I'll be around so the OWB will be used more but likely not until the real cold sticks around consistently.

I'll be honest. You will be working on wood a lot. I just ran out of time being gone etc. 3 kids and a working wife made it difficult on everyone. Mainly her while I was gone during the week.
The pellet stove is much easier but you buy the pellets. I'm not sure what your wood situation is but I have plenty on my acreage. Slim to no time to deal with it though even when I am in town.

I do like it and the thing really produces more heat than can be used all said and done. I was in the habit of loading it in the AM and then again in the PM. Before I'd leave for work and maybe a small bump load before I went in once home and then a load before bed. 12 hour burn times were not a problem at all even during the coldest months.

I had entertained an indoor deal but was tired of dragging wood in already. Been there.....Done that. Lame burn times and all. Waking up in the middle of the night cold and so on with wood stoves. Wood heat is a bunch of time and work so don't kid yourself but at times very well worth it. I am in the process of working up a large sum of wood stash and keeping it there ahead of schedule. Especially if pellet prices continue upwards. Right now the cash layout for pellets is well worth it for me but that's subject to change.

There are so many options and such with wood and pellets it's a tough call still but after a bit you just say to hell with it and pull the trigger. It's what will work for you best as there are no great answers. I have beat myself to death for decades now without any real solid solutions other than now I have several options. This year I actually can say I wish I had an oil or propane system for a cheap break from it all. How F'ed up is that? This cheap oil situation is just another pipe dream but some will be able to take advantage of it. Not me. Look at the thread here with the guy asking how to moth ball his Pro Fab OWB.

Opinions are also like a-holes. Everyone has one. There's mine. Good Luck but do your home work. I will say I have no regrets doing my OWB. I was waffling between that and a Geo system but the Geo was not in my budget at the time so I passed. Sort of glad I did but at times wish I would have. Now with electric costs and needing a heat pack with a Geo I guess it all worked out. But there were times when I thought that would have been the best. At this point I feel having different options to play the energy game with is the safest bet. Not cheap but at least you feel like you are winning for a minute. Good Luck!

We also have the new style heat pumps. nice supplement, work well down to 0 degrees. Actually will keep throwing heat until about 12- or -14f.

Just another idea. Plus you get Ac in the summer. Run fairly cheap.