Outdoor boiler

[ajr]

I was looking into outdoor boilers,I have a wood furnace in the basement and getting tired of the mess, the inefficient burn times and how far away it is from my processing area. I was wanting something more efficient,but something that will take less than perfect wood. What are my options. Thanks!

 

[brenndatomu]

I was wanting something more efficient,but something that will take less than perfect wood. What are my options. Thanks!

If you are gonna burn wood, why not go ahead and get ahead so that you have "perfect" wood...in the long run its less work because then you can buy that more efficient furnace, which will use less wood just because its more efficient, and because you don't blow a bunch of heat up the flue in the form of steam while the wood dries out enough to burn...in the long run its less work, and then you have reserves if you would have a year where you can't process firewood (broken arm, sick, etc)
If you want to keep burning the same wood, just keep what you got...nothing out there that will burn it will be much (if any) more efficient, (probably less) so why spend all that money on it?

 

[peakbagger]

Sad to say you are going in wrong direction. Get a more efficient indoor boiler, spend the time to syour wood and then you will use less wood so less processing time.

 

[ajr]

Sad to say you are going in wrong direction. Get a more efficient indoor boiler, spend the time to syour wood and then you will use less wood so less processing time.

Wrong direction? How so. Wanting to get the mess outside?

 

[peakbagger]

The mess is related to how much wood you are burning. An indoor boiler loses heat into the house so its really not lost. An outdoor boiler loses heat to the outdoors so overall efficiency is lower on two identical units. A modern indoor boiler will have hot water storage. Its run once a day on average at full throttle, outdoor wood boilers do not have storage and smolder when there is no call for heat. That creates creosote and loss of efficiency. Burn less wood, let it dry and the mess goes down. In most cases, an indoor boiler will use at least a third less wood in some half. It also will not pollute the neighborhood like an OWB inevitably does.

 

[stoveliker]

So you want something that can deal with wet wood, but has less inefficient burn times. I don't think you are going to find what you want.

 

[Bad LP]

I don’t get “the mess” comments. I’m not sure there are many who can’t stand the mess more than me. NOTE: I want and maintain a clean house.
My design has the boiler in my basement shop. A fast broom, toss it into the fire and walk away.

The aluminum chips around my milling machine are more messy.

 

[yooperdave]

You are not gaining anything by burning "less than perfect wood". If you plan on buying an OWB for the ability to burn that type of wood, do everyone a favor and just get ahead a year or two on your existing firewood and you'll be happy with the improvement and cost savings.

 

[sloeffle]

In most cases, an indoor boiler will use at least a third less wood in some half. It also will not pollute the neighborhood like an OWB inevitably does.

There are OWB's now that are more efficient than a lot of the indoor wood boilers. The most efficient cord wood boilers at the top of the EPA list I linked are "traditional OWB's".

 

[peakbagger]

Efficiency is tricky term. I have no doubt at steady state a properly designed OWB could meet or exceed the efficiency of indoor boiler. The key is the term steady state. If you look at rather efficiency over a period of days, and indoor boiler with storage is going to have a higher operating efficiency as the standyby loss is lower as the IWB has zero combustion going on during standby and any heat radiated out into the interior space is not wasted. An outdoor wood boiler is going to have some level of combustion going on when there is no heating demand, this may be minimized with better engineering but its still buring and that heat is going outdoors. If it was comparision with a outdoor pellet boiler compared to an indoor unit my guess would be the operating efficiency over several days would be close but the OP is also asking for a device that can bunr marginal wood and pellet fuel is definitely not that.

 

[maple1]

You have a furnace in the basement or boiler? I will take it as furnace as you typed.

An OWB will not be as efficient especially if you are wanting to burn wood that isn't dried like it should be. How much wood do you burn now and what is your budget?

 

[hedge wood]

I was looking into outdoor boilers,I have a wood furnace in the basement and getting tired of the mess, the inefficient burn times and how far away it is from my processing area. I was wanting something more efficient,but something that will take less than perfect wood. What are my options. Thanks!

These things don't work together efficient and less than perfect wood. I understand not wanting the mess in the house. In 2009 that's why I installed a Garn. If you already have a indoor wood furnace. I would just work on having better quality of wood to burn it in and save that fifteen to thirty thousand dollars your going to spend on a OWB that is not going to like less than perfect wood either and you will be unhappy you spent the money. Good quality dry wood is the key to heating with wood.

 

[sloeffle]

Efficiency is tricky term. I have no doubt at steady state a properly designed OWB could meet or exceed the efficiency of indoor boiler. The key is the term steady state. If you look at rather efficiency over a period of days, and indoor boiler with storage is going to have a higher operating efficiency as the standyby loss is lower as the IWB has zero combustion going on during standby and any heat radiated out into the interior space is not wasted. An outdoor wood boiler is going to have some level of combustion going on when there is no heating demand, this may be minimized with better engineering but its still buring and that heat is going outdoors. If it was comparision with a outdoor pellet boiler compared to an indoor unit my guess would be the operating efficiency over several days would be close but the OP is also asking for a device that can bunr marginal wood and pellet fuel is definitely not that.

I'd agree with you that on an apples - apples comparison, an indoor boiler is going to put more heat into your house when the OWB is installed outside the envelope of thes house. The upside is, the mess, and flame are outside of the envelope of the house. Also, if you can stack your wood where your OWB is then you have to move your wood less. As I get older, all of the items I mentioned become more important to me.

If you installed a gasifying OWB inside a building you wanted to heat, then I'd say there would be no difference between the two. I'd actually say at that point the gasifying OWB would more than likely have a higher steady state efficiency because it's more efficient at burning wood based off of the EPA data.

The gasifying OWB's of today are not the same OWB's that were put out ten years ago. Unfortunately they still get a bad rap because traditionally a lot of people have burned everything and anything in them.

 

[LogCabinFever]

There are OWB's now that are more efficient than a lot of the indoor wood boilers. The most efficient cord wood boilers at the top of the EPA list I linked are "traditional OWB's".

I’ve seen that. However, despite that fact, several people on this forum have mentioned that indoor units are still superior because any heat loss is absorbed into the home.

As far as the mask goes, I’ve never understood why people think that wood is messy. If you have a way to store a decent amount of wood inside, then your mess is cut down quite a bit. I have the capability to store a month worth of wood inside. So I spend one night a month mobilizing the wood and then sweeping up all the debris afterwards. That’s pretty much it.

 

[peakbagger]

One thing that does change is stack height. OWBs tend to have short stacks and that impacts dispersion. I have an old school OWB next door and when it would go into bypass with its short stack it would skunk out my house and on occasion set off a smoke detector in my attic. It was an illegal install and the town compromised into letting him keep it if he put in a taller stack. He now had about 30 foot stack and it helped. Of course it still skunks out the downwind homes. He burns at best 6 months old green wood.

 

[brenndatomu]

HeatMaster boilers (at least the G series) are approved for indoor install and can have up to a 15' chimney...above that height they say to call them...so I assume some changes can be made for taller chimneys.

 

[salecker]

I’ve seen that. However, despite that fact, several people on this forum have mentioned that indoor units are still superior because any heat loss is absorbed into the home.

As far as the mask goes, I’ve never understood why people think that wood is messy. If you have a way to store a decent amount of wood inside, then your mess is cut down quite a bit. I have the capability to store a month worth of wood inside. So I spend one night a month mobilizing the wood and then sweeping up all the debris afterwards. That’s pretty much it.

There is more mess
smoke rollout,you will get some,
and fly ash.
My Econoburn boiler is in it's own building,initially done because my x and daughter had asthma,plus our town has a volunteer fire department. Any insurance i looked at was going to cost mega bucks because of the fire department,and my log home.Add a wood fired apliance and there went my daughters University Education.
After 13 years of my system i know for a fact i will never have a wood fired appliance in my home.Cabin in the bush sure.

 

[maple1]

My boiler is in my basement. No mess issues. One big factor is forced draft vs. induced draft. A very large difference in smoke rollout potential.

 

[all night moe]

I'm in the same boat as the OP. Some other comments and threads I've posted on reflect that. For me, it's not the mess. It is the handling the wood multiple times before burning for heat. Bringing the wood in, most of which is dropped off by me, is one step. Then splitting and stacking, although some gets to be just stacked eliminating one additional step. Lastly, after seasoning/drying, load into my pick up performing wheel barrow duty, and throwing down the basement stairwell. Then restack inside.

I can fit almost a whole season's worth of heat in the basement. This is the point in time I would be running out. Previous HO experienced the same. Problem is trying to keep insects out of the house.

For me, I'd like a gassifier OWB in its own boiler shed, big enough to keep a couple cord inside along with some wood handling tools. Insulate said shed for ease of reloads during nasty weather and a place to duck inside for warmth while processing wood out in the cold. I'd also have an outside woodshed butted up to the building with separate entry. The fire insurance is also a good factor here.

To the OP, don't forget to factor in the underground lines and do not scrimp on them. I was going to do my own at 150' but decided it wasn't worth not having a manufactured run of piping. When shopping for an OWB, a gasser is the way to go. Even if they are picky about well seasoned wood. In either case, work on your wood supply. I've been in this house since Nov 2020. I am now one year ahead. I'd like to maintain a 3 yr plan.

 

[sloeffle]

I'm in the same boat as the OP. Some other comments and threads I've posted on reflect that. For me, it's not the mess. It is the handling the wood multiple times before burning for heat. Bringing the wood in, most of which is dropped off by me, is one step. Then splitting and stacking, although some gets to be just stacked eliminating one additional step. Lastly, after seasoning/drying, load into my pick up performing wheel barrow duty, and throwing down the basement stairwell. Then restack inside.

I feel the same exact way. After awhile doing things very inefficently gets old. I'm actually in the process now of buying a G4000 from Heatmaster because I want the mess, smoke and fire danger outside of my residence.