I think it is what they call pulp wood cuttings that they salvage off the large tree cuts.

 

It really does sound like a neat setup. I heat with wood, but just the house, and its air convection. Pretty even heat distribution in a 125 year old house. It leaks air so bad it just flows everywhere! LOL

 

My parents have a wood furnance in their house and it is great. But my uncle has a outdoor burner and I like that a lot better. The biggest thing to keep in mind when looking for one it how efficent it is. Some are only have about 30% effiecency while some have higher. What makes them more effiecent if the number of pipes it has run through it. The pipes the more effiecent it is because you are using more of the heat. Just something to look for.

 

My dad had one of these furnaces that burned wood and like others have said it kept the house and garage nice & toasty. Chasing the free wood was seldom free and it was hard work too.
Myself I use a pellet stove that burns wood pellets. I burned wood I cut, split & hauled for years. 7 cords a year like clock work every year. The price was right and the heat outstanding. It was a LOT of work and the Dodge Cummins I drive now only hauled a few dozen cords of wood before I made the switch. Pellets run anywhere from $120 a ton (50 - 40 lb bags) to $180 or so around here in the pacific northwest. I see these same stoves will burn CORN and they sell pellet stoves in corn country that'll keep you warm burning there what they seem to have a lot of....dry CORN (kernels). While I own and use a stove that's fueled with wood pellets, they also make furnaces that burn these corn or wood pellets too. You can do a google for more info. When it comes to heat there seems to be many choices in these days & times. Good luck!! Chuck

 

I grew tired of dealing with a wood burning stove. I have 2 pellet stoves, one in my workshop and one in the house. The one in the house is a new Harman Accentra. It is a great cast iron stove and does a wonderful job at heating the whole house, about 1900 SF. Last few nights have been down to -8 and -10 degrees, the pellet stove was working hard, but did a great job. I will never go back to wood, just too much hastle for me. Oh by the way, pellet stoves, at least the good ones, take an average of 4 months for delivery, at least in the area I am, and costs me around $3,400.00 for the stove and the vent kit. I did the install myself.