waterstove or wood stove?

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CHeath

Feeling the Heat
Feb 18, 2013
273
Northwest NorthCarolina Mtns
[Hearth.com] waterstove or wood stove?

I have a friend that can get me a pretty decent deal on a new 500 gallon water stove. The company has been in business making them for probably 40 years. Really nice units. However, the upfront costs are pretty high. Looking at around $10k for the stove and installation on a cement pad. Course, I would want a nice little shed built around it for the stove and the wood.

This is verses me doing a new stove (englander 25-3500) and a new heat pump water heater. Mine is 18 years old. My biggest question is summertime wood usage. Some say that they fill theirs in the morning and in the evening during winter and one or twice per week in the summer.

If any of you guys have one, please chime in.



Thanks!
Chris
 
Is the water stove an EPA compliant unit? I'd check into that.
 
Is the water stove an EPA compliant unit? I'd check into that.
Good point, that's a pretty significant investment to only be legal for another 3months.
As I understand it, once the new rules take affect you can only use non compliant heaters at their current installation, for as long as you live there. You can't sell it with the property, you can't sell it separately, can't take it with you...(legally)
 
My understanding is that any wood burning water stove (hydronic heater) manufactured after May 15 2015 must pass the EPA standard. Used older units are not regulated by the EPA, just new units.
Don't take my comment as anything negative towards a wood boiler tho.
I'm a huge fan of hydronic wood heat. That's why I joined this forum. The comfort, savings, safety, etc. is unbeatable.
Whole different animal than a regular wood stove.
 
To have hot water?

I Am not sure. Ill check into it.
I never understood that is it really worth it to burn wood all summer to heat domestic water? It doesn't seem to make sense to me at all.
 
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I never understood that is it really worth it to burn wood all summer to heat domestic water? It doesn't seem to make sense to me at all.
I figure my electric DWH costs me $20/mo to run...I can't justify all the extra CSSing to save $120 in six months...not to mention the smoldering smoke all over the place and the goopy mess it must make in the boiler...yuk
 
I figure my electric DWH costs me $20/mo to run...I can't justify all the extra CSSing to save $120 in six months...not to mention the smoldering smoke all over the place and the goopy mess it must make in the boiler...yuk
my thoughts exactly
 
View attachment 194423

I have a friend that can get me a pretty decent deal on a new 500 gallon water stove. The company has been in business making them for probably 40 years. Really nice units. However, the upfront costs are pretty high. Looking at around $10k for the stove and installation on a cement pad. Course, I would want a nice little shed built around it for the stove and the wood.

This is verses me doing a new stove (englander 25-3500) and a new heat pump water heater. Mine is 18 years old. My biggest question is summertime wood usage. Some say that they fill theirs in the morning and in the evening during winter and one or twice per week in the summer.

If any of you guys have one, please chime in.



Thanks!
Chris


Today is the last day to order a Froling at a very attractive price point.
 
I figure my electric DWH costs me $20/mo to run...I can't justify all the extra CSSing to save $120 in six months...not to mention the smoldering smoke all over the place and the goopy mess it must make in the boiler...yuk

Pretty much, ya.

I'm also saying that after investing money for a really good DHW wood heating setup with no smoke or goop. Unless I have some junky wood laying around I want to get rid of, I am now letting the electric heater do it in the summer, for about $25/mo.
 
With a wife and 4 kids mine stays running all year. 40 gallon water heater doesn't cut it. But I tend to do a once / day evening batch burn in the summer.
 
With a wife and 4 kids mine stays running all year. 40 gallon water heater doesn't cut it. But I tend to do a once / day evening batch burn in the summer.
if it works for you great but there is no way i would burn wood all year. I would run 2 tank heaters before I did that
 
Yeah, I'm weird like that. I like fire. A lot of guys around here let the water heater take over in the summer. To each his own....
:)
 
yea, I may just stick to wood heat.
 
Yeah, I'm weird like that. I like fire. A lot of guys around here let the water heater take over in the summer. To each his own....
:)
yeah not saying you guys are wrong by any means. Just not for me. Well I dont heat water with wood at all so for me it is a moot point but I used to with coal and even that I would shut down in the summer.
 
Yeah, coal is a lot harder to keep lit in the summer. I've burned some in a wood/coal boiler but only in real cold weather.
 
Yeah, coal is a lot harder to keep lit in the summer.
not in a stoker boiler you just have to empty the ash and dump coal in the hopper every so often. But it was in my basement and heated the house up to much. That and it actually cost more than an electric tank anyway.
 
Gotcha. Makes sense. I had an outdoor boiler with shaker grates. Coal would go out during the idle times when it got warm in the spring. I ended up burning wood blocks and sawdust. That worked very well as the sawdust would almost never go out and I wasn't pulling a lot of btu's.
 
Gotcha. Makes sense. I had an outdoor boiler with shaker grates. Coal would go out during the idle times when it got warm in the spring. I ended up burning wood blocks and sawdust. That worked very well as the sawdust would almost never go out and I wasn't pulling a lot of btu's.
Yeah that is totally different.