OH_Varmntr
Burner of stored sunlight
Me too. Don't get me wrong I love my CB 6048, but I could gradually build one then sell my 6048 and end up pretty happy I think.
So you want to build an OWB you say...
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Me too. Don't get me wrong I love my CB 6048, but I could gradually build one then sell my 6048 and end up pretty happy I think.
Thanks fellas. Cost is not too bad on the decking when it comes from the scrapyard! I went there to get any kind of steel siding and found that. Mounted horizontal it looks a bit like a log building to go with the house (probably even more if I painted it brown.) It sure is more heavy duty than standard siding so that may have kept it from flying away in the wind on Sunday.
The site crashed in the middle of posting this thread and then I've been without internet since Sunday's wind. Anyway, I have about $2400 in the entire install. That includes material (mostly from the scrapyard), PEX, plumbing, electrical, trenching, boring through the foundation wall, and even a spare pump. I think I even counted a pair of welding gloves that I wore out during the build. I paid more than that in propane the first year in the house so it's more than paid for itself going on the fourth season.
Agree with you on the bigger firebox. My next one will probably be with the 42" tank being the inner, with a larger outer tank.
The tanks came from a local scrapyard - they usually have a large pile of tanks to choose from. They even cut the larger tank in half and loaded it on my trailer with the magnet.
I do see mice scurrying from the woodburner to the woodpiles on occasion. Doesn't seem to bother, though I would prefer them not to be in the insulation. If I ever finish the shed around it I'm hoping to keep it sealed so they can't get in.
That was kind of the intent - heck, if I can do it, then most people reading this can too.
midwest_170
ArboristSite Operative
How much area are you heating and what kind of burn times do you get? I have a newer home that is 1950sf on the main floor with a finished basement that I will also be heating. I also have a 4000sf insulated shop that I'd like to keep in the 40-50 range. Based on your application what size firebox would you suggest for me? BTW, love the build thread, thanks for posting.
lapeer20m
ArboristSite Operative
My home built owb is similar to the one in this thread. My firebox is 4 feet long and is made from a 119 gallon tank.
I heat a 2,300 sf house built in the 1970's. I can easily go 12 hours between loading the firebox burning pine poplar and other soft wood. I can go almost 24 hours if I load it up with cherry or elm. Occasionally I have been gone for 26 hours and still had coals hot enought to start another fire, but the outdoor temps have to be above freezing to make this happen.
A buddy of mine I met through this forum has a fire box built from a water heater that is only about 80 gallons and he only gets about 8 hour burn times. That's frustrating if you work an 8 or 10 hour day and expect to have heat when you get home.
I heat a 2,300 sf house built in the 1970's. I can easily go 12 hours between loading the firebox burning pine poplar and other soft wood. I can go almost 24 hours if I load it up with cherry or elm. Occasionally I have been gone for 26 hours and still had coals hot enought to start another fire, but the outdoor temps have to be above freezing to make this happen.
A buddy of mine I met through this forum has a fire box built from a water heater that is only about 80 gallons and he only gets about 8 hour burn times. That's frustrating if you work an 8 or 10 hour day and expect to have heat when you get home.
House is 2500sf with 25' vaulted ceilings and a full basement. The walls are insulated well, but the roof has only a couple of inches of foam - such is the penalty for the design. Generally I can get a 12 hour burn so I usually load it once in the morning and once at night. When it's been down around 10 degrees this week it may be more like 8-9 hours. Actually, overnight is not a problem, but my wife has to load it during the day before I get home. I have gone away over a few weekends before when it's 25-30 degrees - load it Friday night, turn the thermostat down, and come back Sunday afternoon to 100 degree water. If I had it to do over I would use half of the 500 gallon propane tank as the firebox and get one of the fatter tanks for the water jacket. As it is now, my firebox is about 32" diameter and 48" long.
midwest_170
ArboristSite Operative
Thanks for the info.
John D
Addicted to ArboristSite
Whatever size your going to go with ,go bigger...I was going to go with a smaller unit,thankfully I changed my mind thinking I'd heat my 1600 sq ft shop down the road...thank god I did,I barely make it home now to feed my boiler sometimes.I wish I had a smaller boiler that had a smaller door, require more splitting,held less wood,dropped temperatures more,and required more frequent filling.......said no one ever.
lapeer20m
ArboristSite Operative
Just yesterday I split 1/3 of a cord or so of ash by hand for my father and his small wood stove. It made me happy to think that I would not have wasted time amd energy splitting any of those rounds if they were destined for my boiler.
Jake Wise
ArboristSite Member
I am in the midst of building the same basic set up with as you and I have a couple of questions. In the picture where you show the baffle welded in I see that the pipe comes below the baffle. What is the benefit of that as opposed to having it above the baffle. My second question is about the pump. I too thought about mounting it inside, but I was afraid that it would not be able to pull the water up from the tank. Are your tank and your pump on about the same level or is one higher than the other?
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A couple of OWB manufacturers use a system with a low exit for the stack. It is my understanding that the smoke tends to sit higher in the firebox so the low exit is more likely to take cleaner air. I have opened the door many times to smoke that seems in the upper half and have also opened it to what seems to be almost like a secondary burn with flames filling the upper half of the firebox. I wouldn't mind experimenting with adding a small amount of air to see if I can get it to burn more but I'm quite happy with how it operates. On the next one I will try a little different design since the baffle plate has gotten somewhat distorted from the heat. I originally had it welded to both sides and the difference in expansion of the baffle plate and the tank caused the welds to break. Right now it is welded on one side and sitting on a shelf on the other side to allow some movement. Just so it's clear - the exhaust exits through the low pipe in the rear of the firebox, above the baffle plate toward the front of the firebox, around a vertical fin above the baffle, then rearward to the stack in the rear of the firebox. This "torturous path" does two things - gets more heat out of the exhaust, and minimizes sparks coming out of the stack. At least that's my theory. On the sparks I KNOW it works. On the heat I'm only speculating.
My pump and OWB are probably pretty close to the same elevation. You may want to check how much the pump you plan to use can lift, though keep in mind that one side of the line will be pushing and the other side will be pulling so I don't think it's quite the same as a lift measurement to pump water to say the 10th floor of a building. My guess is that most pumps will easily perform on your system if the furnace and OWB are within a reasonable elevation. Heck, if it doesn't work inside then you can always move it. At least it's warm to work on if it's inside.
I may have a few more photos if you want to see anything specific in more detail.
Jake Wise
ArboristSite Member
Thanks, that is what I needed to know.
I thought the tube visible in the picture went straight out the top of the firebox, which was why the baffle confused me.
I think my pump should be able to handle some lift. The one I ordered was the Taco 2400wb, which Alt Heat Supply said was designed for open system outdoor wood burners. The stats on it are about the same as the Taco 13 and from what I can tell online most people are getting by just fine on the smaller Taco 07. So, I should have pump to spare, and if not I can move it farther up the hill towards the front of my house (as long as I can make it look good enough my wife doesn't complain).
I thought the tube visible in the picture went straight out the top of the firebox, which was why the baffle confused me.
I think my pump should be able to handle some lift. The one I ordered was the Taco 2400wb, which Alt Heat Supply said was designed for open system outdoor wood burners. The stats on it are about the same as the Taco 13 and from what I can tell online most people are getting by just fine on the smaller Taco 07. So, I should have pump to spare, and if not I can move it farther up the hill towards the front of my house (as long as I can make it look good enough my wife doesn't complain
).
Jakers
Owner - Arbor Jake's Tree Service, LLC
Any updates? Tricks or tips? I'm in the planning and knowledge acquisition stage of my own build. I've read tons already but your original build intrigued me when I first read it. Re-read it many times now
You should be in the wood planning and acquisition stage right now! Then if you build it for next season you'll be ready. Seriously, one of the best things I can advise is to burn seasoned wood. If you can get 2 or 3 years ahead on wood all the better. More heat and less smoke, plus if we get a hard winter you'll have something to draw from and not run out. You also want to locate the wood burner close to your wood stacking location for ease of access. Some of that depends on where you need to plumb for access to furnace and your particular property details - the best for mine happened to be to the east of the house which is the usually preferable for wind direction.
Get the best insulated PEX you can. That's not a job you want to do over. Insulating the shed is money well spent too. I ran more power than needed for the controls at the wood burner and installed a covered GFCI outlet on the shed. It's always there when you need to work on the wood burner and it doesn't hurt to have another power source in the yard. If you think you have a use for more power, phone line, thermostat wire, etc. the time to put it in is when the trench is dug. I would put at least 2 inlet/outlet ports in case you ever want to add hot tub, swimming pool, garage heat, or whatever and put shut-off valves everywhere so you can isolate zones if you need to work on something later. I would not recommend the outlet to the house from the very bottom of the tank in order to minimize sediment to the pump. Definitely mount the pump inside where it's warm. Make the legs longer than you think you need to - it's nice to look in the door without bending over and my wheelbarrow fits nicely under the door to empty ashes. I would face the door away from the usual viewing position from the house, but it really doesn't matter - some guys locate it on the upwind side to minimize standing in the smoke during refill.
A few other things I have on my long term to do list: water level indicator, indicator lamps that I can see from house/wireless display in house, heat shield on inside of door with stand-offs, ground rod, and tool hooks to hold shovel/poker outside as needed. I did have to replace the smoke baffle again this year - I'll post pics of that in another post.
My original intent to show this was to motivate others to build their own. "Whether you think you can or think you can't - you're right."
New baffle design to update thread. Original warped to the point it was no longer working as intended. So far this one has held up (only 4 weeks into season.)
fred bergman
ArboristSite Operative
looks great
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