Anybody using this wood-fired heater?

[cityevader]

http://www.outsidewoodheater.com/id1.html

Just curious about performance and overall satisfaction of users.

I really want an indoor wood-furnace, but there is no ductwork and no possibility of internal or underhouse ducting....but maybe I could run som external return air ducts instead.

The wife is tired of uneven house heating and wants central heat.

 

[windthrown]

Good luck with that thing. All I can say... (I think we trashed it on AS last year).

 

[whiting-5]

how big sq feet single or 2 story can u run duct through out side wall into living area how much are u willing to spend?

 

[AOD]

Seriously man, that thing is a pile and the dude who makes and sells them is a turboXtian nutjob. You'd be better off with a HotBlast or FireChief and build a little building around it, there is nothing impressive about a 16 ga. fire "barrel" You can almost cut 16 ga with tin snips!

 

[southbound]

You'd be better off with a HotBlast or FireChief and build a little building around it

Hot Blast 1557...

 

[cityevader]

The reason I found it interesting was wanting whole house heating, keeping the mess of wood handling outside, and avoid huge expenses of OWB's.

Guess I gotta keep tooling along with what I've got.

 

[windthrown]

Well, one big problem with an indoor stove or fireplace insert is that the heating is in one location, and will not be distributed through the house evenly. That is why we went with an OWB and a hydronic floor heating system at the last place I lived. It was expensive, but it will pay for itself in less than 5 years. That is pretty good return time, and we could keep the house at 70 degrees all winter in central costal Oregon (which was a lot colder than the Santa Cruz Mountains, we both lived in the bay area before moving there; she lived in Skylonda and I lived in Los Gatos).

I am surprised that your insert does not work any better than it does, but I have also tried heating with an EPA outside air supplied fireplace with an insert. They heat regions of the house at best, and overheat the living space that they are in. Hydronic radiant heat distributes the heat though the house, and is far far better for living in than forced air heating.

If you have the resources and ability, I would look at building a Russian style fireplace. I have posted about a guy on some other threads on AS that has a CD that he can send you with several Russian style fireplace plans. This style fireplace is not that commonly built, and there is not much information on them in the US. He built one in his house up near Crater Lake, and uses 1/3 the wood that he did with an indoor wood stove. He also had one in his house in Montana. Basically it is a huge massive fireplace with several types of brick in it, and it radiates heat from a small fire burned in a lower chamber. They smoke very little, and they burn hot and fast so that there is little creosote buildup or heat loss.

 

[hickslawns]

Ignore the naysayers. I have one I am using for the first full season. Installed it last January. I have NOT turned on the natural gas furnace as of yet. 17 degrees outside, 10 with the windchill, and my house is sitting at 69. I have a 2 story that is 1800 sq ft. The upstairs is 5 degrees or so cooler, but I am going to make some modifications to help with this. I would not overlook them because one person bashed them that does not use one. The air is obviously warmer right where it comes into the house. Same thing as any other fireplace inside the house. With the blower pulling cold air returns from the opposite side as the inlet it DOES heat the entire first floor of our home pretty evenly. The upstairs is respectable. For the price, I could not justify an OWB with an $8k price tag. That would take me 4.5 years to pay off not including time to cut the wood and expenses related to cutting the wood. This will have paid for itself by the end of the season including expenses involved with cutting the wood. Does not cover my time invested in wood. Good luck with your decision and feel free to PM me. Heck, you can call me at 419 233 9339 if you would like. I do not sell them. I am not affiliated with them. I own one, and I would recommend them. One of my employees is currently buying and installing one after being in my house and seeing the benefits.

 

[laynes69]

If it won't heat 1800 square feet past 69 then something aint right. I have an inside wood furnace, usstove 1500, basically same as the 1557g. I have 2400 square feet, 10 foot ceiling victorian and when its 15 out, the whole house is 75 to 77 degrees. I wouldn't buy one, they aren't built with any quality. Can't see any benifits getting one. JUNK. He must have a sales pitch.

 

[yukiginger]

Benefits

If it won't heat 1800 square feet past 69 then something aint right. I have an inside wood furnace, usstove 1500, basically same as the 1557g. I have 2400 square feet, 10 foot ceiling victorian and when its 15 out, the whole house is 75 to 77 degrees. I wouldn't buy one, they aren't built with any quality. Can't see any benifits getting one. JUNK. He must have a sales pitch.

Well, hickslawns is an actual user and seems satisfied - good for him. As to benefits, I don't know - cheap (probably a little over $2,000 installed), and no need for dirty wood in the house nor the effort to move it into the house (same benefit as an OWB). Those two are probably enough for many people to justify taking the chance.

Now, personally I don't see how the manufacturer can sell many when the pictures of the product are with the unit set up on concrete blocks (you think he would have one installed on a pad and use that as the sales model), but all the power to him. On the website he has a post back in September stating they were backlogged at least four weeks. Business must be good.

MarkG

 

[hickslawns]

laynes69- No sales pitch. Just willing to let cityevader pick my brain if so desired. If you want a sales pitch and you are in my area, I would be willing to try to sell you some of our property maintenance services, sell you some mulch, top soil, day lillies, etc, maybe plow your drive, or sweep your parking lot, fertilization program, etc. Just a satisfied end user. I went with this unit as I have less invested than what it would cost me to put a chimney into my house. 1/4 the cost of a dedicated OWB. No mess in the house. Bought it with hopes of being a whole house unit realistically expecting it to supplement the 90% efficiency natural gas furnace we have. It has done more than that so far. Haven't turned the furnace on yet. I have had the house as hot as 78 degrees last year when I was figuring it out. Yes, as with any wood burning heater there is a learning curve. Have to figure out when to load, how to load, etc. There is a damper which once you figure out the temperature you like your house it pretty much never gets moved. I think hovering around 69-72 degrees is plenty warm. No sense in burning anymore wood than I need to. I am not trying to pick any fights or sell anything. I just think this is a nice unit in the right application. I call it the compromise between OWB and indoor unit.

yukiginger- You are right on the money. I have $2100 invested including the flu pipe, wiring, and cold air returns.

The modifications I am going to make to better heat the upstairs have begun. Better insulation (actually just adding more as I was pretty thin in the attic), eventually windows will help, and putting a couple ceiling to floor ducts to allow natural flow of heat upward will help. Our house was added onto and this kinda screws up the flow of air through the house. I will also be adding a ceiling fan in the one room which has the inlet to push the warm air down and into the other rooms. Our house had a 10x12 breezeway which was opened up the full depth of the house making it 10x30. In order to do so and have the necessary structural support, when we took out the old exterior wall of the house we ran a 15" header the full 30' depth with a couple pillars as well in between rooms. THis traps 300 sq ft of heat in the header area which we will combat with the ceiling fan.