I am thinking about a outdoor furnace for my house . the current system is oil hot water with cast Iron radiators there is nothing wrong with current system I just want to tie in and use it and keep oil backup One of my suppliers for my chainsaw shop is a Classic distributor and I am able to purchase at dealer cost but there are so many different makes and I just gathering info at the moment and was interested in input from the members here on their systems . The location where I am thinking about is a 40 ft run for the piping the current oil furnace is 130000 BTU the house is @900 sqft Thanks in advance for any Input !! JB
I don't have on of these yet. Been doing a lot of research. Will be installing one for a customer. What I am wrestling with. Closed versus open systems Gasification burners are more efficient but does the stainless hold up over time Storage increases efficiency also Placing boiler and storage in separate building Good underground piping and proper installation to prevent ground water from sucking away heat. And of course the government regulations...
I have a Crown Royal and I love it. I would go a little over sized but not much because it really effects the burn cycle if you don’t have enough draw on it. For example I heat my domestic hot water , my pool , and my house , all done with the proper heat exchanger for the applications. In the summer when I am not heating anything my wife wants me to run it to heat the domestic hot water. Saves us about $100 a month but it’s just not enough draw off the wood boiler to get it to run probably. It will do it just not efficiently. Definitely go with the insulated pex pipe that is ready for direct bury. I have seen people try and make some instead of paying that high $ for the good stuff but it always ends bad. Whatever brand you pick do some homework. Lots of great options but to be honest there is some junk out there as well. I would try and talk to someone in your area using that model or at lest that brand. good luck keep us posted.
That's a pretty small house for a OWB...you will certainly be looking at the smallest models. How many gallons of oil do you use per year typically? That would tell us more about your heat load (insulation/air sealing levels) because 130k BTU furnace probably has a 1 GPH nozzle in it...so you can easily figure out how much it actually runs. As has been mentioned, DO NOT cheap out on the underground line...for a 40' run its a no brainer to buy the good stuff. As far as brands, do you have a Heatmaster dealer nearby? My dad and brother (2 houses, shared OWB on the home farm) have been looking at replaced their old CB and have been shopping pretty hard...Heatmaster is on the short list now. Make sure you get something that is on the EPA 2020 certified list, since that will get you the 26% tax credit for the whole install cost. (that is available this year and next, then it drops a few % for the final year) HeatMasterSS Stainless where? Keep in mind the high temp burn chamber/tunnel is made of replaceable refractory...the stainless is in the heat exchanger tubes, and some inside the wood box...which sees very little fire since these gasifier machines are all downdrafters.
Somewhere along the way the hot gasses go from the burn chamber where they reach +/-2000 and enter the heat exchanger where the heat is transferred thru the stainless steel to the water. At the point of entry to the heat exchanger I'm guessing the gasses are close to that 2000 when the unit is in full burn mode. When the unit satisfies temp in the water the heat exchanger cools down to 180-200. It's this cycling of super hot to warm that concerns me. Expansion and contraction over time with fairly thin welded stainless steel. I'm not sayin it won't/can't last a long time, just that it may be a problem in the long run.
I am actually on my 2nd OWB. It is my only heat source for our home and domestic water. Both were Central Boilers. Bought the 2nd one before the first one was junk due to wanting the old style not gassier. Sold my first one to another family. Here is how I see it: Pros: All wood stays outside. Less splitting (uses larger pieces). No mess and bugs in house. Ash removal can make a mess (it is outside!). No smoke inside the home. Only fill it twice a day (same time I am outside doing animal chores). No middle of the night get up and fill wood stove. Whole house is warm. Keep our house much warmer than we would if buying LP. We have trees on our farm. Grandkids now are old enough to be great help and love helping me cut and stack wood. Cons: As I get older, lost my helpers (girls got married and moved to their own homes, wife got a foot smashed at work and walks with a cane). Don't know which side to post this one. Makes you aware of your vulnerability, have your wood ready. COLD weather requires more wood. No blame game allowed, if you run out it is your fault. We have livestock and are hermits, but it does tie you to your home or to a reliable person to feed it if you go away.
Separate building is a must for me regardless of what brand, when its -1000° windchill and you have to change a pump or do maintenance its worth 10 times what it took to build it Extra large too for stacking a lot of wood in,
Hey Thanks for the replies the wife likes the house warm typically use @6-700 gallons a year when we do not use the woodstove the woodstove is in the basement and the wife can no longer manage the stairs to basement and it is a wood eliminator needs to be fed all the time . When using the woodstove we had oil in the tank full for 3 years . The piping run will be so short I was using the best I can get only want to do it once Thanks again JB
Hey thanks !! the cons you listed are on my list I have pets no kids and cats are no help with wood although they love the stove when running !! the stairs to the basement are tough for me also that is why I am thinking about this outside boiler . My wood supply is pretty much endless with the sawmill here I generate so much locust slabwood it would be nice not to have to cut it so small . As to being a hermit I am with you there I am always here wood cutting is my vacation JB
Based on this installed pricing (not local to you, but gives you an idea...and I've talked to this guy a bit, he's a no BS straight shooter) it looks like a HeatMaster G4000 installed cost would run you $9-10k, if you can take advantage of the tax credit. https://www.heatmasterfurnace.com/install
One thing I forgot to add is that all my systems have backup so if I go out of town or something breaks it’s just the flip of a switch and I am back on natural gas. I would always have some sort of back up for the just in case.
Definitely go with a closed system. I know that my wife would love a system that wouldn't bring any ash into the house, but I'm not sure what kind of outdoor systems are available.
That's why I think a kuuma or similar basement stove/ furnace that ties into the ductwork is the best solution for us. The chimney/ pipe would be the most difficult thing to figure out. It would need to go out the side of the house and then up.
Chimney is not that hard...I put one through the wall and up for my sister at her place...had to dig in and install a "window well" outside to be able to keep the ceiling CTC right inside, and still be able to get cleanout cover off the bottom of the tee outside...works fine though...
That’s exactly what I have. I did plumb some electric valves in so that when the unit is not calling for heat you are not baking the system the whole time. I used US valves off Amazon because they had a good rating. After I did it I started second guessing and thought I should have went with Taco but this is going on year #3 and they haven’t let me down yet.
Yeah, I'm familiar with those. I just don't know if I'm wanting an owb, vs a kuuma or similar wood furnace. We would still use the fp insert when we want. Just wanting a way to keep the dust down.
This post pretty well sums it up imo. I too went with the very simple open loop non gasser. Pump & solenoid are the only parts I need to worry about. I'm heating 2600 sq feet with a 150K btu unit. Load it at 8 & 8:00 and forget about it. I do burn a lot of wood due to the doors up & down all day (auto shop). Don't care cause it's warm & way cheaper than LP. If you've got unlimited wood supply you're good to go. Heating only 900 sq ft you should get long times in between loads. Smaller unit for sure or it'll just sit & smolder.
