Talk me out of buying an Outdoor Wood Burner!

[johnnylabguy]

Like an old volkswagen commercial i remember so well I've got an outdoor wood burner growing on my forehead to such immense proportions I can barely raise my neck.

It started just a few weeks ago when the weather got unseasonably cold here. I'm talking 25 F for the high and low teens for the lows. A good month ahead of schedule for what we are normally accustomed to here. It didn't help that November started with a solid week of temps in the 60's.

Until now I've been happy with the low budget US stove Hotblast 1557 I've been using the last 3 years. It heats the house nicely as long as I'm around to feed it every 4 hours and keep an eye on it. Quite frankly, I've enjoyed the tinkering it takes to get the right heat vs. long burn time vs. not burning the house down from a creosoted chimney game I've been playing. Until now.

So a week ago I'm getting a little tired of starting a new fire in the Hotblast every evening after being gone for 9 hrs with a cold house and two kids bickering upstairs while I fiddle for another 30 minutes after stoking a fresh fire from minimal coals and everlasting kindling scavenging when the light goes on in my head. Dam, I need an OWB.

I have 13 acres of woods, 6 chainsaws, and plenty of time and ambition on the weekends to cut wood for an OWB. During the week, the job and the kids suck up that time that I can only keep a fire from 5 pm to about 7 am. Thats where and OWB would be sweet.

A great guy that goes to my church that I grew up with just happens to sell Central Boilers. When I called him tonight just asking him to stop by tomorrow to check out my set-up to see if its even feasible, he said on top of the rebates he'd like to sweeten the deal to move one of his last few before the first of the year.

This is where I ask you to talk me out of it only because my wife is wondering how much more money AFTER the hotblast furnace, chimney liner, new 4 wheel drive truck, log splitter, umpteen chainsaws, and 13 acre woods are we going to have to spend to SAVE money on heating the house???

I've never had so much fun "saving money" and she doesn't belly ache about it being 74 degrees in here either!

 

[jbird77]

owb

I cant talk u out of it . I bought a used Hardy h4 and I LOVE IT . Never run out of hot water , and when i want the house warmer i just raise the t stat , and throw some more wood on in the mornin

 

[4seasons]

Until now I've been happy with the low budget US stove Hotblast 1557 I've been using the last 3 years. It heats the house nicely as long as I'm around to feed it every 4 hours and keep an eye on it. Quite frankly, I've enjoyed the tinkering it takes to get the right heat vs. long burn time vs. not burning the house down from a creosoted chimney game I've been playing. Until now.

So a week ago I'm getting a little tired of starting a new fire in the Hotblast every evening after being gone for 9 hrs with a cold house and two kids bickering upstairs while I fiddle for another 30 minutes after stoking a fresh fire from minimal coals and everlasting kindling scavenging when the light goes on in my head. Dam, I need an OWB.

Well if you want an OWB don't take someone's advice not to get over what you want to do or you will be regretting your decision and blaming someone else. That said I don't have an OWB and have no trouble with burn times and keeping the house warm with my stove. My stove is a cheep model but I can get 8-20 hour burn times out of it depending on wood type and outside temps. I would be mad if I had to feed the fire every 4 hours too. My house is fairly well insulated and 1200 sq-ft 1 level so it is not hard to keep warm. Right now at 5:30 am the house is 81* and the outside temp is 22. I loaded up the stove last night at 8:00 pm and it still is 1/3 full of hot coals from the white oak and hickory that I put in last night. I'll fill it back up before I leave for work in a few minutes and turn it back so I'll come home tonight to a 75* house with a good bed of hot coals to reload again. I also don't have creosote problems because I am burning 3 year old oak and I run a brush down the chimney every month or 2.

 

[beerman6]

mine paid for itself within it's 2nd season.

chimney fire?

it sucks when you have to load it every 48 hours in mild weather,really sucks when when the weather is at it's worst and you can only get 16 hour burns...

 

[avason]

I have an owd and love it. I have a central boiler. I wouldn't talk anyone out of it. It is alot of work but it gets me out of the house. I bought mine around 4 years agoa and heat a 3500 sqft house. That's not including my three bay garage.
I wish they had the new burners they have now. I'm talking about the ones with the gasification system. You are supposed to get more btu's out of it.
Good Luck!

 

[Uncle John]

OK A couple of negatives: You'll pay a lot more for an owb than an efficient indoor furnace. And you'll burn a lot more wood.

 

[dave_dj1]

I don't have an outside wood boiler but I do have an outside hot air furnace that I rencently put together. I built mine just to heat my garage when I want to work in there (I always have a project of some sort). This past week has been unseasonably cold and the garage has been a comfy 70 degrees all week. As I said, it started out to have heat other than the kero furnace but I'm enjoying it so much that I have been keeping it going 24/7 this past week. Now mind you that I don't realy load it at night, I throw in a large log at 6-6:30 pm and have a nice bed of coals at 6:30 a.m. when I throw in a couple more logs to get her going again.
If I "had" to do it things might be different but I haven't burned wood in ten years, before that I burned it pretty much all my life.
I guess it boils down to wether or not you will enjoy doing it, can get a reasonable payback period and it will suit your purpose.
I babysit my brothers central boiler from time to time when he's away and I am amazed at how much wood his eats up morning and night.
whatever you do, enjoy it!

 

[Alan Smith]

best thing i ever got but you do what you think is right

 

[scag52]

You could keep the inside stove . Always nice to have a back up . Thats what i did. I love the owb . Second season and house and shop are warm . Hot water will lower your electric bill.

 

[logbutcher]

Don't listen to the naysayers: get what you want. You're an adult.....aren't you ?

BUTT: Look at the total cost in $$$ and time getting that OWB up an running.
Do you want to run outside to load ?
Can you run the pumps when the power is down ?

Look into other options if you want a central boiler such as one of inside ones like Tarm. Some of the so-called "gasification" furnaces will switch automatically to another fuel such as gas or oil when the wood side runs out.

Then again, we heat 100% with two high end EPA wood stoves. They'll run for a good 8 hours heating with the right log load. Easy to isntall, simple maintenance, nice warmth and ambiance, no power needs, no pipes.

Final thought: some OWB's are wood eaters, inefficient, CAN be smoke dragons to your neighbors.

Don't fall in love without using the other brain up top.

 

[H-Ranch]

The only way I can talk you out of buying an OWB is building it instead! But if I was getting a good deal on one, plus the rebate I might reconsider. Plus building one won't get it done this season.

As far as winning the wife over I only know of 2 theories to arguing with a woman and neither one works.

 

[avason]

Sorry one more time.....Best think I ever did.

 

[blakey]

I have had a CB for 10yrs and it has been a very good investment, even though I buy a load of logs most years it has paid for itself years ago. I located mine beside an existing shed for wood storage. I don't know how much snow you get but it really sucks digging wood out of the snow or have it sopping wet from being rained on all week.

I line the walls of my shed with a row of pallets then use the front end loader to pile the wood up almost to the rafters, no stacking here.

So what I am saying is, "don't forget the woodshed"

 

[bluestem]

Good points all around so far. I will say that you need to look at your whole living situation before making a huge investment like butcher said. Me I'm in my second season with the 6048 and I have come to the realization that it may be too easy!! I check it in the morning before work (maybe throw in a few pieces, this takes 5 minutes) and then again load it when I get home from work, maybe 10 minutes. No extra trips outside. I scoop out the ashes on the weekend.

Our propane furnace is getting older but the fan will run for a good long while, we start it up in the fall to make sure the thing still fires up and then it gets turned off again. We have a backup generator so when that ice storm pulls the lines down we can watch the tube and still be warm.


The 6048 does smoke for a little while after you load it up but once that first cycle is over I never notice it, burning good seasoned wood I don't think smoke is an issue. My nearest neighbor is about a 1/2 mile away so I know I'm not bothering anyone anyway.

My dealer made one suggestion that I'm glad I listened to, I was originally looking at the 5036 but after telling them about our big, drafty, 125 year old farm house he set me up with the 6048. I easily get 24 hour burns, only exception is when it gets to 10 below then I will load it every 12 hours.

I would say go for it, if the conditions are right, I'm expecting to have it paid for by the middle of next winter, then free heat baby!!

 

[forcedintoit]

I have had a CB for 10yrs and it has been a very good investment, even though I buy a load of logs most years it has paid for itself years ago. I located mine beside an existing shed for wood storage. I don't know how much snow you get but it really sucks digging wood out of the snow or have it sopping wet from being rained on all week.

I line the walls of my shed with a row of pallets then use the front end loader to pile the wood up almost to the rafters, no stacking here.

So what I am saying is, "don't forget the woodshed"

Agreed on the woodshed, I have had my Heatmor OWB for 4 years now and this is the first year with the carport over the wood all summer and let me tell you what......one third the smoke "keep wood dry" and seasoned! I LOVE MY OWB!!!!!

 

[beerman6]

I timed my night loading last night.

5 minutes from recliner back to recliner and I even stopped to pee.

I have a old carhart jacket I hang by the back door,slip that on with a old pair of shoes that I can step into,throw on the welding gloves.You usually arent outside long enough to get cold.

You WILL use a BUNCH of wood.

 

[applefarmer]

Me I'm in my second season with the 6048 and I have come to the realization that it may be too easy!!

Agreed! I did the wood add on for ten years, cold house if you were not there to tend it, the thought that is always in the back of your mind about a chimney fire..... Third season with my hawkin I finally have everything dialed in. I would never go back, mostly due to shear lazyness. A properly set up owb spoiles you. House constant temperature, tend furnace for 10 minutes every 24 hours. Even for me the cutting goes faster, large wood almost no splitting, and I might use 2 cord more than I did with the add on. Oh ya I forgot about the free hot water, and turning a dial to warm up the garage.

 

[Whitespider]

OK, I'll talk you out of it.
But first... as a qualifier... I DON'T HAVE ONE.

1. I like the feel of wood heat in my home. An OWB doesn't provide that.
2. You have to go outside (where it's cold, windy, snowing) to get it going, check on it and load it (I check/load my stove in slippers and PJs). But, with that said, I wouldn't have a wood stove sitting in a living area of my home either. I live in a single story, 100-year-old farm house, the stove sits in an unfinished basement at the bottom of the steps next to the old coal storage room. I toss the wood down the old coal shoot and carry the ashes up the (non-carpeted) wooden steps and out the door... I.E., the mess is confined to a relatively small area of an unfinished basement. The stove heat is piped into the forced air duct-work of my LP furnace; I use the furnace blower to distribute it throughout the house. I have adjustable dampers installed in the duct-work so I can control the flow of heat to each room (no hot or cold rooms). Enough heat still radiates from the stove to keep the the floors of the house warm enough to go barefoot all winter, and I have a couple vents I can open in the basement if needed on those wicked cold days.
3. The air gets dry during winter; floors creak, wooden furniture gets loose, your nose drys out, it cause air to feel colder than it is, etc. I know a lot of people that run a humidifier during winter to help counteract the discomfort associated with winter dry air... I just set a large "hog pan" on top of the shroud of my wood stove that holds about 1.5 gallons of water, fill once a day (considerably more effective than a humidifier). Guests always comment on how warm and comfortable our house feels... You'll want a humidifier running in the home with a OWB.
4. Maintenance. I know there's some maintenance with any wood burner, but all I do is clean out the ashes and replace the flue pipe/damper every 2-3 years as needed. Creosote has never been a problem in the brick chimney that runs up through the center of the house (I could see the "color" of the brick inside the chimney when I replaced the flue pipe last month), and there's only 4-foot of flue pipe. Maybe it has something to do with the LP water heater and furnace (that rarely runs) keeping the chimney clean (gas fired appliances use a hooded exhaust so the draft is always strong inside the chimney).
5. Cost. An OWB and installation isn't cheap. My currant wood stove was given to me by a friend that upgraded, that was over 20-years ago, I installed it myself and the old one (also given to me) was moved into the non-attached garage (I use it rarely).
6. I hear that OWBs use a lot of wood... never owned one so I can't varify.
7. Electricity, OWBs need it. Draft motors, dampers, water pumps, etc. Even if the power goes out at my home I still have heat. Sure, the furnace blower won't be running but the heat "flow" from the stove sort'a reverses (due to convection) and begins coming out the cold air return vents in the floor. A few years ago we had an ice storm in February that took out our power for 6-days... I wasn't burning wood 24/7 at the time but we fired up the stove and stayed warm the whole time. And because we have an electric kitchen range and well pump the only way to heat food and melt snow/ice for flushing the toilet/washing up/etc. was with the wood stove, try that with an OWB in February! I used the small generator to run lights, fridge, televisions, coffee pot and other niceties... hardly even noticed the power was out.

 

[23putts]

Here are a few things I found out I needed after buying the OWB:

Couple saws - (already had one)
Splitter
Wood Shed - (a must - used tarps for 2 years)
Tractor W/Loader - (Already had this / endless amount of uses)
6x12 tandem axle trailer to pull behind my Jeep - (don't own a truck)
Small trailer for atv - (gets in the tight spots)
Steel toed boots
Carhart bibs/Jacket
Leather Gloves
A lot of time and a love for cutting wood. (8 full cord year / 24 rank)

I love my Taylor 450, bought 200 gallons of LP in three years.

 

[loadthestove]

This is where I ask you to talk me out of it only because my wife is wondering how much more money AFTER the hotblast furnace, chimney liner, new 4 wheel drive truck, log splitter, umpteen chainsaws, and 13 acre woods are we going to have to spend to SAVE money on heating the house???

I've never had so much fun "saving money" and she doesn't belly ache about it being 74 degrees in here either!

Our wives must know each other I 've gotten that speech in the past.
The Owb's have good points and bad ones.
I use a homebuilt that loves the wood,,but I'm heating 3300 sq ft so my wood usuage is really not that bad
The mess is totally outside,,Wife loves that ,plus I have a kid with sinus troubles and the indoor stove aggravates that.
No worry about chimney fires,,

You must have electric to power the pumps and blowers,but I dont mind that and like the fact that ALL the rooms in my house are warm.not just ones closest to stove.

As mentioned OWBs love wood,but it just more time my boys 13-15 and I get to spend together gathering wood.

I have to go outside and load,,but its only twice a day so I can live with that.

Guess you could say I'm PRO Owb