Thread: Outdoor Stove

I'm looking for opinions for a quality outdoor wood stove/furnace/boiler......what ever you call them in your neck of the woods. I have a 1600 sq. ft home with a down draft furnace on a basement. There are two bedrooms in the basement, but the're used for storage for right now and aren't a big concern for heating. I installed a cheap wood stove in the living room to help off set propane costs for this year until I can afford a decent outdoor burner. I have been cutting wood with a couple of friends, one has an indoor furnace, and the other an outdoor. It is really nice to cut those logs a bit longer for the outdoor furnace and the less I'm moving it around,the better. So.... what is every one's opinion on one of these and how much am I looking at spending on a quality unit?

woodmaster . Search previous threads, plenty to chew on.

Lots of info on here about OWB. Tips I have are: Plan on having a lot of wood at least 12 cord a year. You may need even more you do not want to run out then you need to buy wood at what ever the price is at the time.

Don't skimp on the install buy the good pipe ($11+ a foot) Buy the good pumps B&G (shamless plug) and don't buy one if you live in the city or close to other homes. They do smoke.

Also look into a gasifacation unit. (garn and several others)

Hope that helps.

Yeah, I probably should have seached past threads a bit. 12 cord is alot of wood,guess that would justify a bigger saw...
thanks and sorry for a repeat thread!

I like my Central Boiler 6048. Did alot of research before I bought. Rear exit flue is far better than top exit. Foam insulation better than fiberglass. Draft fans and shaker grates are unnecessary. Stainless steel is more expensive AND prone to cracking and failure. Mine had zero manufacturing flaws. Its the most satisfactory item I have purchased that I can think of.

Originally Posted by flashy

I like my Central Boiler 6048. Did alot of research before I bought. Rear exit flue is far better than top exit. Foam insulation better than fiberglass. Draft fans and shaker grates are unnecessary. Stainless steel is more expensive AND prone to cracking and failure. Mine had zero manufacturing flaws. Its the most satisfactory item I have purchased that I can think of.

I'll second that, and better make that 15 no better be safe 20 cords. Seriously they burn a ton of wood.

A friend of mine put an outdoor burner in and heats a three car garage and a 2400 sq ft house. Works great, wish I could afford it, cost him about 10,000 installed. He is a logger so all his wood is basically free. Not sure what brand he went with. Is it getting cold and snowy down your way?

My a timberwolf OWB...... They start at $3890.

www.grantswoodshop.com

I bought a Woodmaster 4400 last year in Sept and am very happy with it so far. I started using it full time on 1 Jan when we moved up here. From the first of Jan to may we used about 4 4x4x8 cords of wood. I am heating just slightly over 2000 sg ft of space and all of our hot water. This summer I had to fill it once a week for the hot water. When I was downstate I built one and used it for 8 years and the most wood I used there was around 8 cords a year. This stove is still being used and I would of built another one for up here but I did not have the time to do it.

Woodjunkie, you might want to check your local zoning [if you have it] Many towns have outright banned OWB's - Ours has a 500' rule to your closest property line - Just a thought before you spend $$$$$$$$$.

yup, some need to be EPA approved. When I was picking up my piping in Maine, the CB dealer was telling me that Jan 1 '08 all OWBs in ME will need to be EPA approved. Cost of CBs was around 10 grand just for the unit.

Originally Posted by ktm250rider

yup, some need to be EPA approved. When I was picking up my piping in Maine, the CB dealer was telling me that Jan 1 '08 all OWBs in ME will need to be EPA approved. Cost of CBs was around 10 grand just for the unit.

What about the units that are already installed?

The OWB's are used quite a bit around my neck of the woods. But that is a good suggestion to check with ordinances and such... I have considered the indoor furnace as it would be a bit cheaper and burn less wood. But as I said earlier, kinda nice to just pile it up next to the burner and call it good....Has anyone had any bad experiences with a OWB.......parts replacement,etc....

I bought a Global Hydronics GH-1000,2 weeks into my first season the pump started squealing,I called the dealer I bought it from(now out of buisness)and they said"You need to send the pump to Grundfoss,they test it and if they deem you need a new one they'll send ya one"...WTF am I supposed to do in the meantime?

It made me a nervous wreck,but the pump lasted all season.I did buy a new one from Grainger $92 for the 2nd season.

One of the draft inducer solenoids went bad and stuck open,burning up a bunch of wood and boiling a bunch of water,I think that was like $18 from Grainger.

Towards the end of the 06/07 season I developed a few water leaks and after many phone calls and slow responding e-mails they determined that it could be fixed on site and it was up to ME to find a welder to fix it,pay him and wait for a reimbursment check from GH...SCREW that if I take a car in for warranty work,it dont cost me crap cept my time.

I love the OWB concept and I like the simplicity of the Global Hydronics unit,but their customer service and warranty policies suck arse.

Originally Posted by hockeypuck

What about the units that are already installed?

Usually something you already have gets "grandfathered" - Like when they up the emmisions standards for cars, they can't ban all the old ones. One never knows though what the EPA has on their mind though -