Fan Forced outdoor wood furnace worth it?

[Bubster]

I am about ready to give up wood heat , but I have considered going with an outdoor stove or boiler. I was hoping someone with a fan forced model could chime in and tell me some pros and cons. My current heat is a Hot Blast indoor furnace ( the green one) , but I can't rely on it to hold fire for much over 10 hours. The boiler models seem like a pain. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Bubster]

A little more research showed that I should have said "waterless outside stove". Sorry for any confusion.

 

[sean donato]

I have a hot blast 1557m been heating my house with it for 10 years now. No back up heat. 10-12 hour burn times are perfectly normal for the size of fire box. Definatly not one of the most efficient models out there. We looked several years ago for a forced air furnace to replace it with and didn't find much. We'll at least nothing that was in current production. Epa really killed a lot of them off. Future plan is an outside boiler and install a heat exchanger in the house. Basically a coil (think radiator) with a circulation fan. Seemed to be the best route, but kinda expensive imo.

 

[JRM]

I've got a Hopsco air stove. Built in a guys shop in western Ohio. I got an earlier model so not sure what if any improvements have been made. Some cons. Small fire box for an outdoor unit. No draft control and it was set up to burn HOT. Poorly insulated door. I've modified the stove to make improvements in every area except of course the fire box size. Can't really complain for the cost, I wanna say I paid $2800 (many years ago). It comfortably heats a 1900 Sq ft home to 72-74° in all but the coldest weather. Even subzero it will still stay 68-70. In warmer weather it is difficult to control the heat as there is no heat dump. I plummed it into the cold air return and have my furnace fan set to circulate 30 minutes of each hr. You definitely want to plumb something like this into existing duct work to take advantage of the furnace filter.
For me this stove is a good balance. The house is so much warmer than my heat pump. Economical compared to a wood boiler that would have run 5+x cost. If this were to take a crap I'd probably look into another model like a Hyprotherm air stove. They look to be well made.

 

[robo nixon]

I have thought considering switching to an outside stove or boiler even though I am about ready to stop using wood for heating. Someone who has a fan-forced model might be able to weigh in with some advantages and disadvantages. Hot Blast indoor furnace (the green one) serves as my current source of heat, but I can't count on it to maintain heat for more than 10 hours. The boiler models appear to be difficult. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[JRM]

Dam AI is getting better. You almost got me to reply.

 

[muddy42]

I have this but I'm not sure they are available in the US:
https://ecoangus.co.uk/ecoangus_images/Super130/index.html
It is a large fan induced log boiler. It heats a jacket of water and the heat is then stored in super insulated balancing tanks. If not used these will retain heat for weeks. Then the heat is drawn off either for heating the house or into a hot water tank. It has an electronic system that control the fans and boiler temperature so would need to be under cover.

It requires a good clean out every year but other than it has only required minor repairs. Its such an efficient burn it produces virtually clear smoke and small quantities of fine ash. The key (as always) is to only burn dry seasoned wood.

 

[sean donato]

Just an FYI, there are 4 different models of hotblast furnaces that can be bought in thr color green.... assuming you have the 1557m or 1600 a 10 hour (I have a 1557m) burn time is perfectly acceptable.
When we were looking at replacements a few years ago, newmac, Yukon, and Green wood hydronic furnaces were all looked at. The first two were indoor models, but direct drop in high efficiency replacements for the hot blast. The greenwood furnace was a tube boiler set up, my father in law has one and it's been fantastic, however I'm fairly sure they are out of business now.

 

[dave_dj1]

Go with a water stove. It can be farther from the house for safety reasons. Longer burn times, the air stove has no ability to store heat. I have both, I have an air stove outside of my garage, I like it for the fact I can let it go out and light it when needed and not worry about it freezing up. I have a Heatmor for my house, depending on the weather I can get 24 hr plus burn times, I prefer to put wood in it twice a day, this allows me tokeep a better eye on it.