OWB wood usage & square footage

A lot of you posted your answers in a few different threads. I am curious to see what Outdoor Wood Burners everyone is using and mainly how much wood you are using a year and how much square footage you are heating. There seems to be a big difference in what is being used. Post away!

I have a Taylor 450, the smallest they make. My house is 1700 sq. feet heated with baseboard heat, basement included but it is kept at about 64 degrees. I also have 700 sq. foot addition that is heated with radiant floor heat. I also heat my hot water all year with out any backup. I use between 10 an 12 cords per year. About 90% of my wood is oak, hickory, and elm. I live in south central Illinois. Hope this helps.

Sam

I have run a Woodmaster 4400 for two seasons now. We are heating our 1940s home which is just over 2400 sq and my shop which is basically a 2 car garage, plus our hot water which in my case in considerable. Total usage is hard to put an exact number on as wood show up and gets dumped in the yard and is used up at the same time but Id say a cord either side of 12 for total usage. We keep the house at 75, shop at 70 and as I said water heating is considerable. We don't run the OWB in the summer just to heat water.


Lots of times OWBs are compared to stoves and the stove guys crowe about our usage but when I consider all I am asking of mine I am well pleased with my usage. Basically I am using enough BTUs to heat two homes (12/2 = 6) AND heating my water. I aint gong to complain about burning 6 cord to heat my home to 75 degrees all winter and get free hot water for 8 months a year.
There should be concern on your part about wood usage because there are some installations that eat it as fast as you care to throw it in. I suspect that most to blame is poorly insulated piping from what I read about people thawing the ground between the stove and house. Secondary are poorly designed stoves and other bad installation practices.

All in all I am very happy with my OWB but be warned 10-12 cords of wood is a lot of wood unless you have good helpers or are cutting from nice straight tree truncks delivered on a truck. I cut blow downs and clean fence rows, couldn't do it without my boys.

I have heard of some people that use 18 to 20 cords. So I don't think that 10 to 12 is to much. I do have the luxury of having 50+ acres of timber to cut in. Nice straight trees, no limbs for 25 feet. Cut them down, drag them to the woodpile and cut and split at my convienence.

Sam

i have a central boiler 5648. going on my 5th year now. baseboard hot water heat and domestic water in my 1300sq ft house. i also have heat in my workshop-oversized 2 car detached garage/beer drinkin area. i only heat that when i'm out there. mine runs year round. ive never stacked my wood so i have no idea what i use. usually its a couple of big piles. this last winter i used the most wood so far, it was a long and cold winter......or maybe i was just drinkin more beer in the shop. i can tell u that i do notice the usage going up when i'm using the shop. i'll just cut some more wood cuz' the beer is worth it.

First year with OWB

Mine to be installed Sunday. I'll be heating about 3800 sq ft in 4 yr old house(built by me lots of insulation, double pane argon windows) with hydro air system- 2 air handlers. I don't heat the 1st floor from 7pm to 7am. Also will be doing hot water. I'm figuring on 15 cords but I plan to cut double that for winter 2009-10 as well that way I won't run out and will have most of my wood for 2 winters....

urhstry said:

A lot of you posted your answers in a few different threads. I am curious to see what Outdoor Wood Burners everyone is using and mainly how much wood you are using a year and how much square footage you are heating. There seems to be a big difference in what is being used. Post away!

Click to expand...

I have a Woodmaster (I think the # now is 5500). I have had it for seven years and burn usually about 20 -25 face cords. I usually burn into June. I heat my garage floor, basement floor, tiled and wood floor areas of my house. My house is almost 3400 sq ft. Have two forced air furnaces with heat exchangers in them and heat my potable water (that's why I usually burn into June also to clean up the wood pile).

hardy 420k btu per hour 8 cord approx. 2000 house 1000 shop
also hot water year round
mild winters here compared to most i suppose

Woodmaster 4400 heats 3600 sq. foced air w/hot water. 9 cord per year.

I have a CB 4436, I use about 12 cord a year heating a 1300sf house and hotwater. Also heat a 24x30 shop part time.

I burn a mix of pine, hardwood and pallets.

If you guys would, please list what you used for the underground pex. I've got a woodmaster 4400 coming the end of the month, and I used the wrapped insulated pex in 4" drain tile ~ basically the 'time saver' pex. I have good drainage, so hopefully it is gonna be good enough...

Thanks!

Chris

I used logstor sold by my c.b.dealer in Greenville Ohio.Little pricey but well worth the money. 195deg at the boiler,195deg in the basement,150'run.

I have the logstor also. It was $11.50 a foot in 2005. I had it on top of the ground the first year and snow would not melt off if it!!

Got a Central Boiler early this summer, so have yet to run it for a winter. The Dealer has the same unit with comparable house (+/- 2k sqft), and claims seven cords gets him through the winter.

I would have thought this thread would have gotten a lot more posts. Sounds like we don't have too many OWB users

time for a counterpoint...

seems average is 12 cords for you OWB owners. strange it's about the same no matter what size heated. some have posted 9 cords usage.

can't imagine having to feed 12 cords a year. stockpiling say two years of wood would make a healthy pile!

heating a 2500 sf single level house 100% with a custom fireplace insert. built in the mid 50's... extremely well insulated... double pane windows, except small side windows that crank open.... very tight house.

averaged slightly over 4 cords per season. that's a lot of wood to move! feeding 12 cords would be a part time job...

Central 5036, using it for the first time this coming winter...got it on sale befor prices went up in January..underground piping done, boiler wired, woodshed done. Using hydrocoils in shop and house. Was going to put baseboard in the house, but waiting to redo the floors first

magnumhntr said:

If you guys would, please list what you used for the underground pex. I've got a woodmaster 4400 coming the end of the month, and I used the wrapped insulated pex in 4" drain tile ~ basically the 'time saver' pex. I have good drainage, so hopefully it is gonna be good enough...

Thanks!

Chris

Click to expand...

Urecon, darned expensive but permament. Add the pex of your choice. A left over peice is below the stove inthe pic.

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046 said:

time for a counterpoint...

seems average is 12 cords for you OWB owners. strange it's about the same no matter what size heated. some have posted 9 cords usage.

can't imagine having to feed 12 cords a year. stockpiling say two years of wood would make a healthy pile!

heating a 2500 sf single level house 100% with a custom fireplace insert. built in the mid 50's... extremely well insulated... double pane windows, except small side windows that crank open.... very tight house.

averaged slightly over 4 cords per season. that's a lot of wood to move! feeding 12 cords would be a part time job...

Click to expand...

12 cord = part time job, You got that right. I warn every one who asks me about mine, you BETTER like cutting wood.

4 Cords? I wouldnt even bother with wood if thats all I needed for heat,LOL. It's a mite cooler here than in Oaklie-a-homa

046 said:

time for a counterpoint...

seems average is 12 cords for you OWB owners. strange it's about the same no matter what size heated. some have posted 9 cords usage.

can't imagine having to feed 12 cords a year. stockpiling say two years of wood would make a healthy pile!

heating a 2500 sf single level house 100% with a custom fireplace insert. built in the mid 50's... extremely well insulated... double pane windows, except small side windows that crank open.... very tight house.

averaged slightly over 4 cords per season. that's a lot of wood to move! feeding 12 cords would be a part time job...

Click to expand...

I average 9 per year with my WoodMaster 4400....3600 sq. ft., domestic water, forced air system, and infloor in the basement.

That is in extreme Northern Minnesota where the average temp in the winter is between really cold and unbearable. How cold does OK get?? I say you are comparing Apples to Oranges on this post.:rocker: