Which style and or brand of furnace?

[WillyWoodcutter]

I am about to take the plunge and install a wood or wood/coal outdoor furnace.

Several friends have the new gasification furnaces and there seems to be mixed reviews.

Another buddy is moving on to his 3rd wood furnace and is leaning to a wood/coal furnace with shaker grates... I like the possibility of dual fuel but the higher efficiency of the gasification units and the promised reduction in wood used is attractive too... I would value opinions and even more, experiences!

 

[November Wolf]

I just installed a Central Boiler 6048 and I am extremely happy with it. I heat 2200sf and DHW and I load the thing every 24 hours. It will burn seasoned or green wood. If you get a gasification model you will have to burn seasoned wood only. There are alot of posts about OWB on this site and alot of information to be learned here. Good Luck!

 

[cjk]

I am looking very hard at a Garn system. It seems to be a proven system and easy on wood.

 

[whiting-5]

clayton 1600 or 1800 both designed wood/coal shaker grates draft fan ,blower,fair priced i have the 1800 happy with it.

 

[kalib stock]

Stove

taylor Makes a wood/coal outdoor furnace. Mine is seven years old and i love it! =]

I am about to take the plunge and install a wood or wood/coal outdoor furnace.

Several friends have the new gasification furnaces and there seems to be mixed reviews.

Another buddy is moving on to his 3rd wood furnace and is leaning to a wood/coal furnace with shaker grates... I like the possibility of dual fuel but the higher efficiency of the gasification units and the promised reduction in wood used is attractive too... I would value opinions and even more, experiences!

 

[kalib stock]

stove

Taylor makes a wood/coal stove!

 

[WillyWoodcutter]

Thanks guys!

I appreciate the input and will track down these models but have any of you used coal and wood? Interested in ads and disads of coal.

 

[WVwoodsman]

Willy, I have a Mahoning model 300 that is in it's second season of use and I couldn't be happier with it. I'm heating a 3100 sq. ft. house with it. It's rated at 225,000 btu's and has shaker grates for burning coal. I have never burned it, but I am wanting to. Coal produces more btu's than wood because it burns hotter. Coal is a little more messy to deal with, but when it gets as cold as it has been I think it would make a big difference. The tank on my owb holds 290 gallons. This is an important factor too when considering an owb. Ask questions and get to know the dealers of the various models that you are interested in. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

 

[WillyWoodcutter]

Keep those reports coming!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to offer experience and advice!

I want to do this once and do it right so I am trying to garner as many options to mull as possible!

 

[kalib stock]

Another important factor in buying a wood/coal owb is the shaker grates. Are they steel or cast iron? Cast iron won't warp or burn out compared to steel grates that I've seen warp after one to two year down the road in Freedom or Mahoning.. Taylor makes their's with cast, I'm not too impressed with Mahoning's design. Their smoke goes right out the stack. The Taylor has a double flue system so the smoke goes clear to the back,up, then clear back to the front, and then out the stack. Wich makes them more efficent, and the T-500CB holds 400 gallons of water compared to 125-290 gallons from the other brands.
You can't go wrong with a Taylor! Just trying to help ya out.. Good luck with your purchase!! =]

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to offer experience and advice!

I want to do this once and do it right so I am trying to garner as many options to mull as possible!

 

[henryjacobjoshu]

Willy, I have a Mahoning model 300 that is in it's second season of use and I couldn't be happier with it. I'm heating a 3100 sq. ft. house with it. It's rated at 225,000 btu's and has shaker grates for burning coal. I have never burned it, but I am wanting to. Coal produces more btu's than wood because it burns hotter. Coal is a little more messy to deal with, but when it gets as cold as it has been I think it would make a big difference. The tank on my owb holds 290 gallons. This is an important factor too when considering an owb. Ask questions and get to know the dealers of the various models that you are interested in. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

WVwoodsman, I have a Mahoning 400 and have gone through alot of wood since we first fired it on Jan 1 of this year. It has a capacity of 352 gallons and is a wood hog in my opnion. Can you tell me how much wood you burnt approx. in the first season. I'm heating a 2500sq' home and a 1280sq' 2008 mobile home and used approx. 6 to 7 cords or more to date. I cannot get by without tending to it 3 times a day. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.