Any "homemade" outdoor wood boilers?

[Red97]

I hope this is the right location. Just curious if anyone has made their own outdoor wood furnace, forced air or boiler. If so please post a pic and some specs, or anything you would change.

first project of this scale Im only 23 so go easy.

Here is mine built Nov 2013, installed Dec 2013 6 weeks start to heat.



about 4 hr after filling with wood running with blower on



specs 308 ish gallon 37 id x 40" long fire box 2 pumps 1 house 1 barn, ran all winter no real issues.

Hope you enjoy

 

[H-Ranch]

Now let's see the inner workings.

There were several interesting threads on homemade OWB's - a few have been posted/reposted since the site crashed last year but many good photos were lost. A quick search of "homemade OWB" and similar should still keep you busy reading for at least a night or two. Mine is in the link below.

 

[Red97]

Now let's see the inner workings.

There were several interesting threads on homemade OWB's - a few have been posted/reposted since the site crashed last year but many good photos were lost. A quick search of "homemade OWB" and similar should still keep you busy reading for at least a night or two. Mine is in the link below.

Thank you, here are some build pics.

Waterjacket, 4x4x1/4" welded inside and out all but the top plate.



fire box, 37" id x 40" long firebox 6" id stack


dropped the stack down into the fire box 18" to act like a baffle.


front cap ad door frames welded on firebox.



front of waterjacket welded on


looking though the top supply water draws from the middle and return drop across the top on opposite sides via long pipe, to thoroughly mix water.



fabbed all the doors and hinges, everything is slotted and adjustable every direction, door plates are 3/8" with a baffle to deflect heat into the fire box works well you can lay your hand on the door while running



shot of the pumps


insulation 2" foam all the way around plus r19 fiber top, sides, bottom.

 

[H-Ranch]

Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Nice little documentary you got there. And nice work on the build.

 

[lapeer20m]

wow! after seeing your photos, I'm almost too embarrassed to post my homemade OWB.

Last year was the coldest longest snowiest winter of my lifetime. We rarely see temps below zero, and last year we saw 20 degrees below zero more than once. My boiler always made more heat than my house called for.

One improvement i made this year was purchasing new grundfos alpha pumps. They are about $150 each but will save me about $13/month per pump in electricity. These new pumps will run 24/7 and cost about 90 cents per month each. Compare that to $14/month for my current circulator.

 

[benp]

WOW!!!! That is AWESOME!!!!

Excellent fabrication!!!!!

Aaaaaaaaaand I agree with Lapeer. No way I'm showing photos of Bertha after you dropped those.

 

[hupte]

very nice fab work. here's a video of mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=g7x0LiS3nWg

if i could do anything different i wouldn't have put the smoke bypass chamber so high in the water jacket. with so little water covering up the hot metal, and the contracting and expanding of the water, i loose alot more water thru evaporation than others. but it is more efficient than others. i've considered building another water chamber above the water jacket to hold a lil extra water and let the in side the upper water chamber rise and fall with the contracting and expanding of the water as it cools and heats up again. but i just haven't gotten around to it.

 

[Stihl310]

Great job. Don't let your age make you feel inferior. I was 23 when I built mine as well. Going on it's 7th year this year.

 

[GF#2]

Heres some pics of mine. Its 13 years old now and i was about 16 when my dad and i build it (i did most of the fabrication as i was working in a machine shop at the time) i have almost completed a major over haul. all the piping and controls are new and nothing has been insulated yet or the shed put back in place. It heats the house, hot water, and new to this latest project the cloths dryer. I hope to complete and test the cloths dryer tomorrow afternoon.

 

[mainewoods]

Nice set up - you sure got me beat!

 

[GF#2]

Nice van!!!!!

Maybe you could modify the boiler to double as a gasification unit to fuel it!