External Woodstove - Air Circulation

[toddnic]

I have a good friend that has been reading about an outside wood stove that pulls the air into it from inside the house and then pushes the heated air back into the house. Is anyone on this forum familiar with this type of stove? Are they worth the investment? My friend said that the one he was looking at was around $1,600. Thanks for any input!

 

[webby3650]

Ya, it's called the "Little House" heater. The only thing good I can find about it is from the manufacturer. Go figure.
It's gonna be about 35% effiecent, use gobs of wood and smoke like crazy! To top it off, you get to go out in the snow to reload it every 6 hours.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I have to agree with webby on this one. I would not want to have to go outdoors to put wood in the stove. About the only thing I can think of that is positive is that it would keep any mess from wood or ash out of the house. However, we get so little of this that it is a non-issue here.

 

[begreen]

Google for: outdoor warm air wood furnace. There are a few brands on the market.I have no idea how efficient or well they work. Heat loss and chimney height next to the house would be a couple concerns.

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Wood-..._a_7c4340005&gclid=CIv8_dORiLkCFcaDQgodzD4AbA

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/h...mpaignId=T9F&gclid=CK32io-SiLkCFYaDQgodUWIA8A

 

[webby3650]

However, we get so little of this that it is a non-issue here.

Same here! That's the biggest reason people use for getting an outdoor boiler. I don't get much mess.

That being said, the only really "efficient" way to burn outside is with a gassifying boiler, it circulates water, not air. But they are more like $10K, and you still can't load it in your underwear!
Moving warm air from outside the home is probably the least efficient way to heat your house.

 

[webby3650]

Talk him into a PH! Or, sell him yours and get the Union!

 

[toddnic]

He loves my PH but his wife says that she "will not have a woodstove in the house because he is a MESS!" Hopefully we can keep working on her as we use our PH through the winter.

I have a neighbor that has a external wood stove that heats and circulates hot water. It does an amazing job but they can't 'fire it up' until it gets fairly cold because it will roast them out of the house.

 

[fox9988]

I know a few poeple using wood furnaces similar to this. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...i_sku=161615&gclid=CNf-7KWiiLkCFcqe4Aod2lAASg
Most are in a garage/carport and only need loaded twice a day. Set your thermostat on the wall in the house and keep a fire burning. They like them but say they use more wood than a stove. I considered one when I built a new house.

 

[toddnic]

fox9988 thanks for the information. There are definitely some options if he wants to go that direction. It is interesting that none of the ones I have looked at this evening have effeciency ratings :/

 

[webby3650]

It is interesting that none of the ones I have looked at this evening have effeciency ratings :/

Go figure, it's kinda like putting a rating on an open fireplace.

 

[webby3650]

It does an amazing job

What these people don't tell you is the amount of wood they go through! I know several people with em, they don't know for sure because they never stack it. They measure it by the tri-axle load!

 

[DexterDay]

Guy down the street has an outdoor wood furnace, but it is ducted (forced hot air). It has a return line and everything. It sits about 12'-15' away from the house and goes in through where a basement window once was. Smokes a lot, gobs of Sote grow out of the 3ft of Class A attached to it. But that is all his fault. Cuts as he burns...

 

[webby3650]

Cuts as he burns..

They all seem to. Because they can't keep up!