you can keep your OWB but mine is going!!!

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bassman

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
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Location
canada
24 cords of wood and 3 times a day to fill it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

going back to gas and not going to worry if the fire is out no more.

I am a little pissed that I spent 15 grand on a pipe dream.

there is more to life than filling a boiler and trying to find a semi truck load of wood to keep warm to save a few bucks at the cost of my back and sleepless nights.
 
ok.




But filling 3 times a day doesn't seem bad compared to us indoor furnace and wood stove guys... 24 cords? Will you post back with your gas bill...? :D
 
24 cords of wood and 3 times a day to fill it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

going back to gas and not going to worry if the fire is out no more.

I am a little pissed that I spent 15 grand on a pipe dream.

there is more to life than filling a boiler and trying to find a semi truck load of wood to keep warm to save a few bucks at the cost of my back and sleepless nights.

Im sorry it didnt work out for you.I get frustrated sometimes,only because of the flucuating oil prices,I feel much better having the OWB.Nothings for free,an OWB isnt easy,its a lot of hard work,off the bat,your unit is too small,3x a day is too much.I enjoy cutting wood,and stacking it,it keeps me in shape,dont need a gym membership.OWBs work best for those who have access to free wood,you had 2 things going against you.
 
Where are you at in Canada?

I'll gladly take that nasty burner off your hands, bring it down here, and flog it mercillessly.

I fill the burner 4-5 times a day with smaller loads, but have fun cuttin' and splitting the wood.

Sorry to hear it ain't workin for ya.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
I now have to find a way to heat the floor and other rooms that I have plumbed water to.

my gas bill was about $2400 a year now they are about $1600 but I paid $2600 for 20 cords of birch delivered and cut into 3 foot pieces.

we heat a small 20 x 40 greenhouse for 3 months and the boiler was to only heat that but was also plumbed to the house to help pay for itself.

I have the house loop shut off and it is just heating the greenhouse ....

I just want a gas bill and a good nights sleep!!

I would gladly fill a woodstove with 2 18 inch logs 3 times a night compared to a wood boiler with 8 to 10 3 foot logs..
 
good grief... 24 cords a season!

can't imagine all the work it'd be moving that much wood.

what brand OWB are you using? how many sq ft?
is the house insulated well?
 
cozeburn 250

2800 sq ft home with one room only heated with boiler that is 700 sq ft
kitchen floor 12 x 24 heated with water as well

the rest is heated with gas furnace or woodstove.

the house would get a 16 hour burn on a 3/4 fill it is the greenhouse that is the pig!!
2 layer inflated poly that will go from plus +20c to 0c in 30 mins when the outside temp is minus -20c
 
cozeburn 250

2800 sq ft home with one room only heated with boiler that is 700 sq ft
kitchen floor 12 x 24 heated with water as well

the rest is heated with gas furnace or woodstove.

the house would get a 16 hour burn on a 3/4 fill it is the greenhouse that is the pig!!
2 layer inflated poly that will go from plus +20c to 0c in 30 mins when the outside temp is minus -20c

bassman,

Part of the issue is the birch you're burning.
It burns FAST.

Any chance you could sneak a bit of coal in the burner now and then to prolong burn times?

A switch to Oak or other longer burning higher BTU wood might help your back as well.

On another front, can you write off heating expenses for the greenhouse?
If so, heck yeah!!!
Switch over and just heat the house with the boiler LOL!!!
(but keep a line "T" in the loop back to the house just in case;) )


With input costs going batcrap anyway, what's a bit of gas gonna do..

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
If I could get another one for the price I paid,I would and use it for the barn...of course then I would have to spend thousands to insulate it...
 
Without really knowing your set up I'm just gonna guess that your asking it to do something more than it was intended.
I can heat my 2000 sq. ft. of house to 74° on less wood than it takes to heat my 768 sq. ft. garage to 50°. I can't explain it but that's how it works for me. If I heat ONLY my well insulated house it consumes an average amount of wood with 2-3 loadings a day and the inducer fan will seldom run. Once I flip on the garage (poorly insulated) the inducer fan will be on within an hour and seldom shut off and I'll be loading the boiler WAY more.
OWB's (at least mine) don't seem to like poorly insulated enviroments. I would guess that a poly green house constitutes a "poorly insulated enviroment".
 
OWB's (at least mine) don't seem to like poorly insulated enviroments. I would guess that a poly green house constitutes a "poorly insulated enviroment".

A fellow around here heats 2 big greenhouses with a big OWB and has to load every three hours for 2-3 months. But he has his own wood source and saves $6k/yr in gas.
 
Bassman, I'm sorry to hear you havent gotten the favorable results you were hoping for, with your setup.

I have wondered since last winter if you might have been ahead to add additional layers as a thermal barrier and suppliment the light lost with artificial lighting.

Having a business and being solely responsible for its success is a PITA, I know. You are tied to it night and day 365 days a year. A one week vacation during an unforeseen emergency can be devastating to it's survival

But I still would hate to think what the heating bill for the greenhouse would be just using gas alone. I hope you are able to find an affordable solution to keep your dream.
 
I think the writing is on the wall here.

Just how well is that greenhouse insulated?

That's the reason right there for the wood consumption.


If you were just to heat your home you'd see a big difference.


As someone else suggested, putting the OWB inside a greenhouse or build a green house around it might help.

Its not that the OWB is junk, its because you are heating a building with absolutly no insulation and wondering why you go through 24 cords.
 
burn time issue

Man you gota have some problem there my BTU needs are about the same as you and I fill the stove once in 24 hrs....

Mark
 
BTU calculations are bull.

It is all about insulation and outside temp.

example. last night it was 0c with no wind and my last fill was at 12am , this morning my firebox was still half full and that was keeping the greenhouse at +20c all night.

2 weeks ago it was -27c with a 40k wind and my 12am fill was done at 4am and that was setting the greenhouse to 12c ..

the thing with a gas bill is that you pay a bill every month and if 1 month you use 5 times the gas they bill you over a year so its not that bad.

Putting my boiler IN my greenhouse ????? what would that help??

any suggestion other than gas just seems to cost soo much more.

I was looking at a waste oil burner and they are 6 grand for a 150 000 btu model and then I will be hauling cheap to free waste oil home to put into tanks and then housing a boiler and the tanks in a small building that I have to spend more money on......

people on here say my boiler is sized too small so are they saying if I had the biggest wood boiler there is that I would go thriough less wood??? or that I would go longer befor the next fill??

anyway you look at it more money is needed to buy one and that means longer to pay it off!!

the pipe dream of 5 years and it will pay for itself is bull as well.

unless you live in a smaller well insulated house and cut your own wood a boiler will never pay for itself and if you think your time is not worth anything think again.

even in a small well insulated house I would rather pay a small gas or propane bill and to save cash put in a good woodstove and cut my own 3 to 5 cords of wood.
 
Greenhouse

Are you using forced hot air or radiant tubes under the table tops? That would make a huge difference. How well is your home insulated? Double pane windows? Better wood---even here in Mass. I can't get too much out of Birch...any Birch I have I toss in on 40-50F days...it just doesn't give the heat that Oak and Hickory do. I have a friend nearby who does his house and an uninsulated horse barn about the same size as your GH. He uses 24 cords of wood but uses Oak and gets 24 hr burn times (CB 6048). There are many variables and options. Is it possible to shut down a zone in your house for 8 hours at night with a programmable T-stat? I do this and save a LOT of wood. I Hope you find a solution. :cheers:
 
I now have to find a way to heat the floor and other rooms that I have plumbed water to.

my gas bill was about $2400 a year now they are about $1600 but I paid $2600 for 20 cords of birch delivered and cut into 3 foot pieces.

we heat a small 20 x 40 greenhouse for 3 months and the boiler was to only heat that but was also plumbed to the house to help pay for itself.

I have the house loop shut off and it is just heating the greenhouse ....

I just want a gas bill and a good nights sleep!!

I would gladly fill a woodstove with 2 18 inch logs 3 times a night compared to a wood boiler with 8 to 10 3 foot logs..

How many years ago was the propane bill? Fuel costs have risen dramatically this last couple years. Unless the greenhouse is a commercial venture it may need to be not heated. It is the btu hog. Also the 20 cords seems pricey. Maybe a couple trailer loads dropped in your yard, then you cut to size.
 
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