Wood Boiler VS WOOD Stove

[RoosterBoy]

hi guys i have a very well insulated house and was wondering what uses less wood to heat my home a new wood boiler or a new Avalon wood stove.

i would think a wood boiler uses more wood but nicer because you can control the heat with t-stat.

but since i have to pay for my wood in tree lengths and cut it and split it myself id rather have something that will cost less to run. > less wood<

thanks
Jason

 

[fudrockcity]

Boiler vs. Stove

I have 2 avalon stoves (olympic & rainier). I've used them for the past three years full time during the winter with no problems. A friend of mine also has two Avalons (olymipic) and has heated his house for a number of years prior to purchasing an outdoor wood boiler (Heatmor).
To sum it up: The beauty of the outdoor wood furnace is that you can not only heat your house but you can also heat your hot water as well; during winter and summer seasons. That is a major advantage over stoves. Although he burns a few cords more wood in the winter than I do, during the summer he loads his furnace once a week and has hot water...it's that efficient!
If you are considering buying an outdoor wood boiler, consider Heatmor: They are made of stainless steal (thus preventing the most common boiler failures i.e. rusting out) My buddy has had his for 9 years with no problems.

 

[bassman]

I have both.
stove burns less wood but is alot more work if that is all you have for heat.
boiler will heat your house garage and water all at a good rate.
my stove heats a room well and thats it.
so if i was you i would look into a boiler and run it all winter with the stove to add that wood stove feel and to help out on really cold days.
shayne

 

[RoosterBoy]

thanks guys fudrockcity i want to buy the Avalon renire how do you like that stove? and do you only heat your house with wood in the winter? if so how many cords of wood do you per year?

thanks

 

[fudrockcity]

Rainier & Olympic

I have nothing but good things to say about these stoves. I usually go through about 7-8 cords in my house (old colonial 1800 sq. ft.) and despite the drafty windows, the thermostat rarely dips below 70 degrees. My Olympic stove has a blower installed, which helps push the heat around and gets the air circulating more effectively than relying on convection alone.
At this point I am happy heating with these two stoves, but in the future I would like to get a Heatmor and just use my stoves as backup. Wood furnaces will burn pretty much anything, and require less cord wood prep (i.e. green, not split, no problem).

 

[laynes69]

If I were you I would consider looking into a wood gasification boiler. High heating efficiences and long burn times. Whats nice is they burn very clean and hot look into these.
http://www.woodboilers.com/wood-gasification.asp
http://www.newhorizoncorp.com/
Basically they dont burn the wood but the smoke at over 1200 degrees. And they can be controlled by a thermostat.

 

[stumpguy]

If I were you I would consider looking into a wood gasification boiler. High heating efficiences and long burn times. Whats nice is they burn very clean and hot look into these.
http://www.woodboilers.com/wood-gasification.asp
http://www.newhorizoncorp.com/
Basically they dont burn the wood but the smoke at over 1200 degrees. And they can be controlled by a thermostat.

very interesting. looks like the technology is really taking off.

 

[046]

wood gasification boilers works very close to my JUCA wood burning insert.

principal of turbo charging burn proccess by carefully constructing burn chambers angles to accelarate flow of air. When you close the door to a JUCA you can see the fire accelerate.

wood gasification works by using an auxilary blower to acclerate burn VS JUCA achieves same results by careful construction of firebox angles. not surprisingly both achieve close to same effeciencies.

heat exchanger suround the firebox, with huge heat exchanging tubes directly over fire. then damper is used to control rate smoke leaves the firebox. the longer hot smoke maintains contact with heat exchanger, more heat is extracted.

all JUCA's are forced air designed to feed into heating ducts to supply heat all over house. how large of motor you chose decides cfm.

my insert is rated at 155,000 btu and will whop it out. if you chose to crank it up. JUCA burns so clean, almost no smoke comes out, if you use seasoned wood.

JUCA will happily consume 12in X 24in green logs. with a firebox of 12.5 cubic feet. it will hold some series wood.

here's list of technical info related to wood burning. don't be surprise once you find out no JUCA's are available.

http://mb-soft.com/juca/print/index.html

 

[MS-310]

I have 2 avalon stoves (olympic & rainier). I've used them for the past three years full time during the winter with no problems. A friend of mine also has two Avalons (olymipic) and has heated his house for a number of years prior to purchasing an outdoor wood boiler (Heatmor).
To sum it up: The beauty of the outdoor wood furnace is that you can not only heat your house but you can also heat your hot water as well; during winter and summer seasons. That is a major advantage over stoves. Although he burns a few cords more wood in the winter than I do, during the summer he loads his furnace once a week and has hot water...it's that efficient!
If you are considering buying an outdoor wood boiler, consider Heatmor: They are made of stainless steal (thus preventing the most common boiler failures i.e. rusting out) My buddy has had his for 9 years with no problems.

Not nockingon heatmors but i have been putting in outdoor wood stoves for like 5 years put in lots and lots of them many diff. types also i would really look in to a Central boiler If you wanted all the nick naks stainless steel is not so easy to fix when it does crack. Old boilers sience the 20s are still running with boiler plate steel so trust me i would go with the steel then stainless.

 

[fudrockcity]

Mild steel over stainless?

Mild steel over stainless? Nah...just doesn't make sense. Stainless simply lasts longer than mild steel and not only prevents rust but warpage as well.

 

[046]

wonder why they only will give stainless version a 10 year warranty VS 1/4 in thick mild steel versions w/lifetime warranty?

they've got to have a good reason to use stainless, with it's higher costs...

 

[laynes69]

There are different grades of stainless, and im sure these arent the higher grades. I also think stainless doesnt like hot and cold, over time can produce stress cracks. If I ever bought one, I would buy one with the steel plate. People think stainless is the best, but only for certain things, and can corrode with the right conditions.

 

[NORTHERN NYer]

I work in a Dairy plant and weld and fabricate stainless steel for a living. Stainless does get a film on it but doesn't corrode to the point of deterioration from what I have seen,and we use a lot of high alkaline soaps and acids for washing equipment. We generally use 316 and 304 stainless, 316being the better grade. As far as stress cracks I weld a lot of cracks in tanks and silos and pipes. From my experience stainless transfers heats really quickly, possibly the reason for it cracking so easily. The stuff we are using is definitely not 1/4" thick, thin wall tubing and maybe 1/8" stuff in the tanks and silos. I would be torn to choose between the 2. I can see the benefits of both. I would like to hear the theory behind the warranty issues, keep us posted.

 

[cnlpar]

Stopped by a dealer of outdoor wood boilers last weekend. As we were talking to the sales person, three (Yes, 1,2,3!) people came in with there boilers to have repairs made on them. Every single one was Stainless Steel. Every customer had to bring the boiler into the dealer themselves. This brand doesn't have a warranty service dept. that comes out to fix the problem, you bring whatever it is to them. Keep that in mind also when you purchase. I for one would rather I had mild steel so I could weld it myself, if I had to. Besides any TIG welding is pretty big $$$.

 

[fudrockcity]

I don't know what company you're talking about bud...my Heatmor is stainless complete with a 10 year warranty. Obviously the manufacturer would anticipate that the life expectancy of mild steel would be shorter. Additionally, all heatmor boiler systems are segmented in design to allow you (or a tech) to disassemble parts individually. To bring a complete boiler back to the factory? Maybe the owner was just feeling energetic, or numb, or simply wasn't well informed. My neighbor had a problem with his (mild steel) system 2 yrs ago, so he contacted the company and they offered to send a welder out and repair his system free of charge. Finally, stainless steel does not require TIG welding nor is it expensive...stainless steel rod can be used instead...That's my experience.

 

[Grace Tree]

'Been using the same HS Tarm mild steel boiler since 1978.
Phil

 

[cnlpar]

I don't know what company you're talking about bud...my Heatmor is stainless complete with a 10 year warranty. Obviously the manufacturer would anticipate that the life expectancy of mild steel would be shorter. Additionally, all heatmor boiler systems are segmented in design to allow you (or a tech) to disassemble parts individually. To bring a complete boiler back to the factory? Maybe the owner was just feeling energetic, or numb, or simply wasn't well informed. My neighbor had a problem with his (mild steel) system 2 yrs ago, so he contacted the company and they offered to send a welder out and repair his system free of charge. Finally, stainless steel does not require TIG welding nor is it expensive...stainless steel rod can be used instead...That's my experience.

Damn Fud! I wasn't the one that pissed in your Fruit Loops! I just was observing what was going on a this particular dealer. Sorry again FUD..I also meant to say MIG welding not TIG welding. I had only spent the previous 8 hrs TIG welding a bunch of aluminum pieces together..