indoors going outdoors

[StackedLumber]

I'm considering taking a wood boiler or furnace and putting it outdoors in a mini shed and and insulating it against heat loss. it wouldn't be that far from my house but far enough that the insurance people won't whine about it. Anyways, I'm looking for thoughts on insulation materials that work good and pros and cons of this set up. I don't have the $$$ to put into one of those fancy outdoor set ups, but I could spill for a indoor boiler and a self-made shed. Isn't that more or less what those manufactured deals are?

 

[StackedLumber]

my other option is to do this w/ an indoor forced air stove and put it outside and do the same. my current heating system is a forced air set up so if I go w/ the boiler i'll have to spill for an exchanger in the plenum, but that's not too bad.

 

[Mid Michigan]

My wood boiler is in a shed outside along with my corn burner. The shed is 12 X 14. It makes a nice place to store and dry a few cord of wood too. I think its a great idea. Capture the heat of the stove and use it to warm shed is a nice benefit.

 

[StackedLumber]

did you use anything to insulate your boiler or did u leave it uninsulated . . . also, since u are in mid-michigan, how much wood did you go through in a winter w/ a heating set up like this?

 

[ikessky]

My guess is that you will need to upgrade the blower if you run a forced air setup and you will probably need to run some kind of duct booster in your return air. I know a guy who tried a similar setup with forced air and ended up abandoning the project because the electrical cost of running all the extra blowers would have been the same as if he just kept burning NG or propane (not sure what he was using). A boiler system would be another story though. I've actually been thinking of doing something similar with a boiler in a detached garage that I would like to build, but I still have to figure out what my insurance would make me do.

 

[StackedLumber]

If my idea set up, is only 12 ft from my current furnace plenum, wouldn't a 1000 scfm blower do the trick and just have the cold air return run to the blower? Or am I nuts? (please don't ask my wife!)

 

[Mid Michigan]

The boiler and the shed is insulated. My stove is one I built myself. I do not know the efficiency of it. I go through 10 pulp cord of wood a year from Nov-April. Next years I will but a new gassification boiler and see how much less wood I use. I know a few who have forced air wood stoves. Most are in basement. The one that is outside right next to the house works but it makes you wonder how efficient it is. You have to do what works best for you.

 

[sgschwend]

Look for a good used gasification boiler and then move the heat by moving the water and installing a water to air heat exchanger in your furnace.

You add a second thermostat that will run the furnace fan and the other fuel becomes a backup because the original thermostat is still there and will start the furnace if the wood fire is out.

 

[ikessky]

If my idea set up, is only 12 ft from my current furnace plenum, wouldn't a 1000 scfm blower do the trick and just have the cold air return run to the blower? Or am I nuts? (please don't ask my wife!)

12ft probably wouldn't be too bad. I think this guy had at least 40 feet, maybe even more.

 

[Tony H]

I have a gasification boiler in a shed about 75' from the house. The shed is 10 x 12 metal and cost about 300.00 the floor is concrete block over 5" packed gravel.
My shed is not even insulated but all the pipes are well insulated and it all runs thru a insulated buried pipe to an sidearm and an HX in my forced air furnace with no storage. Future plans include storage, a larger insulated shed, and some panel / baseboard units in bathrooms and cool bedrooms.

I have seen a forced air unit designed to sit close to the house and dump thru a large insulated duct with no return air made for houses with an open floor plan and they are priced fairly decent 2500-3500 or something like that.
When talking to my insurance guy I think it had to be at least 30' from the house to not be a factor in insuring the house.
There are quite a number of owners around here with boilers installed in out buildings and the common theme seems to be insulate and size the buried pipe properly with the right pumping power and the setup works great.

 

[StackedLumber]

I think my biggest concern is that the boiler i'm using only has a 20 gallon storage capacity. I'm not looking into getting into a complex system, just something that will run to a heat exchanger in my furnace plenum and a side arm exchanger for my DHW. I talked w/ my insurance guy and he said as long as it was 10' from the house and the chimney was 3 ft above the roof-he was fine w/ it. The boiler I was thinking of using was a Menominee MBW-9500. Know anything about the boiler?

 

[Gooserider]

See all the discussion about adding storage, it is most useful when dealing with gassifiers, but ANY solid fuel boiler will benefit a great deal from an appropriately sized storage setup... I would also seriously suggest doing a gasser if the finances allow, as you will burn a lot less wood with one... There are all sorts of options for sheds, but one that I think is a really neat concept is to get a freight shipping container - I've heard they can be had for suprisingly little money in most places, and it's a nice "drop in place" instant building that is built like a tank, weather proof, fireproof, etc.. Spray foam it for insulation, and slap a layer of siding on the outside to make it less ugly if need be...

Otherwise, it's easy enough to do any variety of stick-built or metal prefab sheds, it is just a matter of what your tastes and budget allows...

Gooserider