OUTDOOR Wood/Coal Furnace Reviews/Experience--Please post here...

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I have heard all the complaints about purchasing a Shaver from the manufacturer. Doesn't sound good. I purchased a Shaver 250 from a local dealer who had it on hand. Virtually no problems with it and have been VERY satisfied with the performance this winter. I think the trick is to find a dealer who has one on hand and has some knowledge about the install and maintainence.
 
I am into my 4th winter with my Hardy H2. We love it. It has already paid for itself during last winter. All that money I have saved on paying the gas man has allowed me to buy a bunch of chainsaws.:clap:



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I am into my 4th winter with my Hardy H2. We love it. It has already paid for itself during last winter. All that money I have saved on paying the gas man has allowed me to buy a bunch of chainsaws.:clap:

Why if SS is so bad to use in an owb has no one had leaks/cracks in their Hardy?
 
I have a 12 yr old CB CL40 with no issues at all.It works fine and other than adding the anti-rust liquid every fall,I see no reason to be near a dealer.I installed it myself by just following CB's instructions.The dealer set in on spot for me and away I went.CB is a very simple unitwith only a simple 120 volt mechanical linkage solenoid for the entire system.It could not be simpler.The chimney wrap is getting pretty crappy but that is no big deal.I clean it out good every spring and give it a light coating spray of diesel fuel inside.I would buy another in a heartbeat.I am heating around 3500 sq ft with it and only clean it out 3 times the entire season which the ashes go into my garden.I use about 9 cord of pine to maintain my house in the 70-73 degree range along with heating my domestic water.It lowers my electric bill $25/month during the winter since my water heater is electric.If I were to do it again I would build a shed around it so I would not have to tarp my wood.I would probably beable to lower my consumption by a couple of cord if I used some hardwood in the mix,but I sell my my hardwood.
 
I am into my 4th winter with my Hardy H2. We love it. It has already paid for itself during last winter. All that money I have saved on paying the gas man has allowed me to buy a bunch of chainsaws.:clap:



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Why if SS is so bad to use in an owb has no one had leaks/cracks in their Hardy?

I never said that stainless was bad for an OWB...someone else must have said that but I would challenge their conclusions...Again I have had great success with mine and I would recommend a Hardy to anyone.
 
I bought a shaver 290. Was looking at the heatmor, even went to see one running. Looked nice but was at least 4,000 more that the shaver .It was a smaller stove too. I had some problems at first with the shaver but with the help on here its working perfect now. Heating 2300sq house and 2700sq shop ,hot water in both, and the pool in the summer. There hot water set up works perfect and is very easy to install. I made my own lines using shavers recommendations .Lines cost around 5.00 per foot compared to 12-14 per ft for the pre made lines. I'm happy with the shaver and also saved a lot of money. I have lots of info on the install if you need help. Good luck. Russ
 
I never said that stainless was bad for an OWB...someone else must have said that but I would challenge their conclusions...Again I have had great success with mine and I would recommend a Hardy to anyone.

sorry, did not mean to direct that at your accusingly. Iv'e read in my research that the stainless does not handle the stress of the heat and it is prone to cracking. but ive yet to hear anyone say they have had trouble with the Hardy SS cracking (or any problems for that matter)
 
Tom

Been looking at this thread, and wondering why you can not use an OWB inside, for example in a basement and capture any heat that may be escaping from the unit? See some companies sell the gassification units without the jacket for supposed use inside? Also are any of these units set up for 12 volt operation or convertable to dc voltage operation for use with a solar system....see 12 v circulators so that would cover some of it....thanks for the replies...tom
 
Owb -

I am looking at owb furnaces and came across one that costs only $3,000 vs $10,000 plus for my state of MD. The maker claims to only need 30 gallons 0f water IF you only burn dry cured, wood and uses a gasification process. The website is www. lilpowerhouse.com. any thoughts on this? This seems out of line and too good to be true. I could use some feedback please.
 
Central Boiler is the best.I burn alot less wood then my brothers who have hardys. They are amaized how little wood i burn. Hardys are a good but they use alot of wood. I don,t like stoves that have a fan in the firebox. They blow alot of your heat out the pipe. Central Boiler,s have a vent that opens for the firebox so they don,t blow the heat out the pipe. It burns green wood just fine. Best thing i ever bought.
 
hardy or central boiler

I have had a Hardy for 12 years and been happy, other than it's appetite.

A highway is going to be taking our house, so we are building a new one and am thinking about buying a central boiler.

I think the hardy has insufficent insulation. and was wondering how much less wood a cb would use.

Our daughter and son in law are going to move our house and take the hardy. He has a much younger back for hauling lots of wood.
 
Tigrod

WE are looking to buy some type of OUTDOOR wood/coal furnace this summer. Oil is just too out of hand, I've had enough. We live in the country, have acres of free wood if we need, coal is available nearby , plus no neighbors to smoke out. I have researched & researched what is available from about 10 different companies, everyone says theirs is the BEST. I searched them all out on the Better Business Bureu to see how many complaints each company has had, some I found can not even be found on there with thier addresses & phone numbers. So far I am considering a HeatMor (409 Stainless) or a Hardy (304 stainless). Each company has written papers on why their Steel is better than the other. Both have good records with the BBB, no complaints in last 36 months anyway. Everyone says something different. Please tell me YOUR experience with YOUR outdoor Boiler, good , bad, which company , warrenty issues, cracking, advice, please be very detailed. Thank you all.

I am on my second winter with a HeatMor constructed of stainless steel. The fact of the mater is that either steel or stainless will have a problem if you let your water in the boiler become too acidic. The stainless in this situation is more durable but would fail eventually. This can be verified by talking with anyone involved with commercial boiler chemicals.
 
My CB Classic experience

I bought a Central Boiler CL40 back in 1995.My house is 2600 sq ft but my ceilings in 1400 sq ft of it are 20' high so theoretically I am heating alot more.I also use it for all my winter domestic hot water.Originally I was heating the 1400 sq ft part with 3 cord of seasoned hardwood per winter.I have no other heat system in my house other than the wood.Because of the high ceilings I must run the thermostat in the one part of the house at 74 degrees to stay comfortable or run ceiling fans all the time.The 2nd zone is very comfortable set at 68 degrees.I burn roughly 8-9 cord of mostly pine and poplar with very little hardwood.I get this all for free which saves me cutting off my property.If I were to use all hardwood I am sure I could knock 2 cord off my total easily.My only complaint with my boiler is the heighth of the door opening from the ground.The newer ones were raised up some.Also apparently I must know how to use one properly since I have a steel door with no warpage whatsoever.My only breakdown was replacing the rope door gasket which was very minimal and partly my fault.Also I have the 1st generation pex which is sandwiched between the 2 pcs of blue foam.It more than likely needs replacing with the newer insulated piping.I am very,very satisfied with Central Boiler.16 yrs and still going strong.
 
have you checked out...................earthoutdoorwoodfurnace
 
owb

I have a friend that has a Hardy,this will be his 26th year on it .Had small peoblem with a leak by the door but fixed it.A couple pumps,gaskets etc.Runs a 20 foot chim. on it to get above the house.Heats a 2000 foot house and a 1500 foot shop.from his experence,we was going to buy a new hardy but found a nice 450 Taylor for $500 that we bought.Happy with that also
 
WE are looking to buy some type of OUTDOOR wood/coal furnace this summer. Oil is just too out of hand, I've had enough. We live in the country, have acres of free wood if we need, coal is available nearby , plus no neighbors to smoke out. I have researched & researched what is available from about 10 different companies, everyone says theirs is the BEST. I searched them all out on the Better Business Bureu to see how many complaints each company has had, some I found can not even be found on there with thier addresses & phone numbers. So far I am considering a HeatMor (409 Stainless) or a Hardy (304 stainless). Each company has written papers on why their Steel is better than the other. Both have good records with the BBB, no complaints in last 36 months anyway. Everyone says something different. Please tell me YOUR experience with YOUR outdoor Boiler, good , bad, which company , warrenty issues, cracking, advice, please be very detailed. Thank you all.

I have a central boiler 6048..carbon steel..with propane back-up........4 years old......no problems... heating 3000 sq. ft. house.
 

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