Thread: Outside Wood Boiler Choices.

What do you use? Good points/Bad Points. Looking at the Central Boiler and would look at other recommendations.Considering one to retrofit a groundwater heat pump.Going into an existing forced air system. I have a great wood source available. Thanks for reading and posting. Keep warm.

CB hooked into existing hydro-air system.......pure joy

Central Boiler. When looking at their design and quality I felt they offered the best product. I have some friends with Mahoning stoves. I seem to use less wood while heating more.

I just set-up with a Crown Royal mod.7300, This is a 409 SST unit,now this is my first owb so i have nothing to compare to, but i studied and looked for 2 years befor buying. what i liked compared to other units besides the sst was a blower system top and bottom,and the number of gallons. with the blower system when they kick in its like a torch and roars creating a HOT fire FAST and you can burn any wood,earcorn,or coal. Most i believe are just sylinoids and just open dampers for air. some are in the ground which suck the effiancy away.

Acme Funace Company
I have the 320 gallon, love the price. Had a cb, built a larger garage and needed a larger unit. Wanted a forced air for better recovery without having to have temp at 180.

Just so you know still use the CB but only part time for my Kiln.

Lets hear more about the kiln ! I looked at them a few years back to dry firewood and decided it would eat too much hydro. What do you dry in t ??

Second season and I like the simplicity of my Central Boiler 5036. The ones with forced air looked like extra energy waste to me. I know it is not much but it all adds up.

Grates are just trouble also if you ask me. Shoveling out a little ashs once a month in the hard burning months is very easy....... Just let her burn down and take a few shovel fulls of ash out.

CB 6048 works for me. IMOP heat transfer is more efficient when things are slowed down a bit thats why I stayed away from the forced draft. Comparing my wood usage to friends with blowers we all agree I burn less wood.

CB 6048 here also. Everything is good about and would highly recommend one.

I bought a very used semi trailer I think 43footer anyway I placed Green Fan fold on the inside walls and then placed a Modine heater on each end, placed a termostate (200) degree inside a two sided box in the middle of the trailer on the floor. This trailer was an old moving trailer so I have a door at 3/4 the way into the trailer and the back doors as well. I load with wood already split and stacked on palets and strapped with nylon strapping then dolly to position. Im able to dry 24 cord of wood in one load and able to do this in 3 days at about or around 175 degrees with the time for empty and refill. My primary is Oak and Ash with some locust mixed in as well.
I do this all by using crap wood like Cottonwood, cedar, pine, and any other wood I feel does not sell good for my clients.

crown royal, round fire box,round water jacket means minimum seams(welds) where all the problems are on the other units. shaker grates are great with no problems,dumping white ash only. fast hot fires and storage of heat in the water is the most efficiant way to go according to Walter Garn, the king of hydronic engineers.check out the garn units and theory.

Ditto on the CB...happy w/mine.....do your homework, size all components correctly.

I'm using my Mahoning 300MF ODF for the second season.

I've learned alot about how to manage the stove over this time.

I've found it works best with wood with a good air flow from the combustion blower but wood consumption is high.

A combination of coal and wood is the most efficient way to run the stove. BUT, we here in NE PA have the best coal in the world available. The anthracite coal sort of turns into a lava rock and stays very hot in a big lump and does not require as much air flow as the wood to burn clean. It stays very hot while the stove idles and requires less stove burn cycles. During this phase if wood is in the box it charcoals leading to cleaner wood burning also.

Please note that I also learned to set the grates so I can force ash to drop into the ash box. I set the grates slightly open so the bar that comes with the stove can be run through the grates through the ash bed. Like a long hook. It works.

The coal is reasonably priced here and it makes the stove operate more efficiently in my opinion. Its a balance. Of coarse, the stove mostly idles in less cold times like fall and spring.

I really like it under these operating conditions.........Just my thoughts.....J

I've had a Central Boiler 5036 since 2003 and I love it! Got it to replace an old fuel oil furnace. The dealer took a good amount off of the price since I poured the concrete pad myself, trenched in the water lines and helped him install it.