critser660

Hey all,
Just wondering about experiences, good or bad, with outdoor woodburners. I am looking at a Central Boiler. I really like the simplicity in the design along with the materials, although it is a little pricy compared to some of the other brands. I also have looked at Taylor, although I'm not sure about the double backed flue in the water chamber, just incase it needs cleaned or happens to spring a leak in that area. I'm not too sold on the idea of heating and cooling stainless for years at a time and it not cracking. Any suggestions or comments?

Nick02Ram

I built my own, 3x3x4 firebox, you can stuff a ton of wood in there and let it go for a while. They are nice, we've heated our house with it for 2 years now w/o using a drop of LP (other than hot water heater). As for cracking, it depends on what type of stainless they use, some kinds are not as brittle, and hopefully they engineered it and tested that, or else they wouldn't be selling them. The one I built has the double back flue design, with a plate over the top part of the smoke box, that way, I can take the cover off and clean it, not sure if that one has that option.

pind

I have a central boiler that I have yet to set up, however, I know several folks who use them. As well, i do maintenance work for the dealer, on his other equipment. They seem to be good units overall, fairly efficient, and not at all hard to maintain. On a larger unit, if it is firing correctly, 1 cord of wood burned, should create approximately a wheelbarrow full of ash.

Another product to look into, is Homesteader. Their boilers are cheaper than central, and extremely well built. They have optional feed hoppers, and are built to burn both wood, and coal.

Justwannabeme

got a 120,000btu Hardy stainless steel. probably the cheapest as it was out before this burn unit was popular- anyhow:

get a design that has a slide out ash pan. cut your wood inch less than box depth for best burn. ours heats a 6,00 sq ft home, hydronic heat flooring in a 420 sq ft apartment and our 100 gallon hot water for six straight months on 30 face cord (32 inch lengths). we could use it to heat the barn but we just aren't that worried about the cold here in upstate new york. carharrt's and salamander heaters still do well....

ash goes on garden soil and works very well killing stumps when mixed with oil.

stainless anything is good for 10 years max when hot and cold.

we re fabbed our boiler last summer. already had stainless removable cover for all access. seam splits were the problem on the interior firebox and the exterior rear water jacket. no other building around it, but that does save one third of the heat/fuel/wood if you do build one. we may, we are just
not in need right now.

hope that helps!

upersleder

Central boiler is a very good choice. I have experience with them, my sis has had hers for 7 years now without issue. dad just put one in his new house, he never buys junk. if he bought one, it may as well be the only unit made LOL

brad ericsson

i have had a Central boiler for two years now and it is the best money i ever spent. I live in South Dakota and it was realy put to the test this year. Doesnt burn as much wood as one would think!!! I have it as forced air and 2 kick space heaters in basement and alsow does the hot water heater. Dont have any regrets on the purches

critser660

Thanks for the replies, guys. Did you buy a kit to do it yourself from Central or piece it together off the internet? There seems to be some pretty good deals out there, I just question where they get the parts if they can sell them so cheap. I guess as long as they are name brands that we recognize they should be ok. Dealers seem to try to make the money on installs and parts for those that choose to do it themselves.

brad ericsson

i did the install myself -was not bad to do - they supplyed the crimping pliers for a deposit.

Justwannabeme

if you can assemble Christmas bikes, do brake jobs on cars, plumbing repairs in the house- you can do the boiler. print out a lot of info- maybe one or two dealers will try to say it is outdated or hassle you like a used car sales. best of experience and yeah- testimony is the best advice. good luck

ErnaC

There are lot of issue with wood burner,you need to clean the chimney at least once a year.For some the effort of keeping the wood stove fully stocked constantly may be too much work,carrying the wood is also a diffiult and if you are a beginner you will find difficult to start the fire.If your house is big you must opt for comfortbilt Hp 22 as per my experience they are best , are quiet and their sides also don't get warm and the best thing is its good for those who need an efficient corn wood fueled one. It comes with a variable speed blower as well, giving you the convenience you need to keep your home warm. if you would like to know more about this pellet or any other pellet stove then check this source https://topreviewedten.com/best-pellet-stoves/ .

Mexstan

How about a rocket stove as an option? Lots of plans available to build your own.

j_martin

Hey Stan. Where most of us live, 0° C high is a warm day.

Seriously, back in the Arab Oil Embargo days I was the multi-state GURU for Woodheaters Supply. I've designed and installed everything from a small add on air unit to multi-fuel district heating boilers heating multiple buildings.

Here's a few things I learned.
1. Do a heat loss study, or at least figure out the actual worst case heat load from your present fuel usage and furnace efficiency Match your install to that. Too small, won't pull the load. Too big will waste fuel.
2. Wood has about 8000 BTU per pound (at 5% moisture, which is "bone" dry). The average well installed single pass (shell type) boiler is about 50% efficient. A ton pf wood will yield about 8 MBTU of useful heat.
Light woods are around a ton per cord. Heavy woods (Oak, Hard Maple, etc) a little over a ton and a half.
3. At 80% efficiency, that's about 110 gallons of propane, or 72 gallons of #2 fuel oil, or 10 mcf of Nat Gas
4. A single pass hand fired boiler will be about 50% efficient. 2 pass 60-65% efficient, 3 pass 70-75% efficient.
5. Multi pass systems have cooler flue gasses, thus unless they burn very cleanly they will creosote up faster. They also require more routine maintenance.

II've seen big fire box outdoor boiler installs get less than 25% efficiency. The rest goes out the side, or up the stack as unburned fuel.

Boiler heat transfer is improved as temp goes up. Pex plumbed systems are limited to about 180° F and 0 psi pressure. Metal piped systems can go to 220° F and 25 PSI safely. Figuring 140° discharge air from whatever is transferring the heat, that about doubles the heat transfer with the same piping and exchangers. Do not ever try to run a presurized boiler system with PEX. (Don't ask)

What do I use?. An 80.000 BTU single pass boiler in a shed, and a coil in a hot air furnace. 10 cords of oak replaces about 1300 gallons of propane. I burn a lot of free scrap dimensional stuff as well. I figure a pickup load is worth about $100 to me for fuel.

Hope it helps.

Mexstan

A high of 0° C ......... horrible!

John got to say that you do know your stuff. Guess being and old fart with so much practical experience pays off. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

NJTman

Holy Frijoles......

That's a lot of great info.



Too bad I live in a state which prohibits using these "outdoor wood burners".

(this should be of no surprise to anyone on these boards)

oliver foster

I have an old single stage outdoor wood boiler. It heats my 4,000 sq ft shop and my 1350 sq ft house in a very cold location of VT. We see -30F every winter at night several times. The boiler runs for 6 months straight. I had it running yesterday to take the edge of the shop and lower the humidity in there.
I go through at least 8/9 cords of dry hardwood. If I am burning left over soft wood from my neighbors saw mill operation and logging, picture slab wood and punky lower ends of the trunks, I will burn 15/16 cords.
The problem with just burning soft wood is there is little embers left in the morning to get the fire going again. If I burn hardwood, I don't have to start a fire from scratch for months at a time.

It is a lot of work compared to a propane heater, but it saves me a ton of $$$.