For those with OWB's, how much do you burn in a full heating season? If you use it to heat your water in the summer, please specify how much of your total is allocated to water heat only.
Thanks much!
Thanks much!
OWB Annual Consumption?
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laynes69
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One of our friends heats with a OWB. I believe it may be a Central Boiler. They heat a 2800 sqft home without basement that's poorly insulated. Last year, they burned 50 face cord, or 16 2/3 cord plus 2 tanks of LP to heat their home. I don't think they heat their water. Another friend with a Classic burned over 32 stacked truckloads of wood last year to heat his 2200 sq ft home with basement.
I burn about 15 cords per year. heating 22oo sqft semi well insulated house, (3/4 of the house is well insulated the other 1/4 has no insulation). also heating a 1200 sq ft insulated shop. I also heat my water, and dry my clothes with it. I do not burn in the summer months. Usually one continuous fire from october to april.
2500 sq ft house with 25' vaulted ceilings and walkout basement. Homemade OWB heating house only, no hot water. I figure about 9 cord on average - last 2 winters was more, the "winter of no snow" around 2011 was less.
One factor that may make OWB's seem like they use more wood: many burn less that optimum wood that some wood snobs with conventional wood stoves do not even consider burning (you "I only burn white oak" types know who you are.
) I have burned pine, willow, and even white cedar and it doesn't get any lower on the Btu charts than that. I've also burned wood that was past it's prime and well into punky. Personally, I split and stack my firewood, but many also burn unsplit and unseasoned wood. I would wager that I could cut wood consumption by 1/3 if all I burned was split and seasoned white oak. That's the stuff I save for when it's below 0. 
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I am like many OWB owners and never keep track of what I burn. In the summer I only heat hot water for 2 people in one house and I burn crap in it so impossible to keep track. I would guess maybe a wheel barrow load of good wood would last 2 weeks. I know that when I heated my house with a Hotblast that I used about 6 bush cord of wood. I use a lot more now but I'm heating 2 houses, 2 domestic hot water and my shop sometimes. I love the owb because I can control the house temperature a lot easier. I can burn almost anything in it from standing dead to construction cut offs to broken skids to cardboard.
2000 Sq Ft 100 year old two story house. Decent insulation (Could be better) excellent windows. Run my OWB from the middle of October to the 1st of April. Have a secondary hot water heat exchanger. Burn ALL seasoned hard wood. 100% wood heat the last four years, have not burned any LP at all. Keep the thermostat at 68* the whole winter all the time. For an average winter I will burn roughly 8 cord a year give or take a cord. Hats off to you guys using 15 to 20 cord a year, man that is a bunch of cutting, splitting and stacking.
I heat an 1800sq ft early 1900s pretty well insulated farm house, hot water, and clothes dryer for a family of 6 with a home made OWB. I burn year round and my annual wood consumption is 14 cords. But that is mild SE georgia winters.
Location, location, location, it will really make a difference where you are as to how much wood you would burn. I have a indoor heater in my basement. I only have a fire when its cold and I have a homemade heat exchanger mounted on the stove to heat my hot water. I burn on average about 4 cord per winter and usually have to open a door or window to keep from getting to hot. One of those hotblast wood furnaces is what I really need and I could probably cut my wood use down even more.
Landmark
Chainsaw Enthusiast
Central boiler outdoor stove heating 2600 well insulated house. Heats water and dries clothes and I burn 8-10 cords a season. I do not burn during summer months. I am somewhat a wood snob as it takes a lot to run it and I will burn some pine and poplar but with abundance of hardwoods available such as locust, oak, hickory etc...., I am not going to do same work for lesser wood.
Locust Cutter
Sawing for Sanity
This is enlightening.
Woodomaker
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zogger
Tree Freak
We're having a pre season sale on high BTU fat politicians down here. Price is FREE for the hauling! Come and get as many as ya want!
I could post a whole list of fat politicians that just voted to allow the UN to take away out guns. The bill was defeated, but it was a very partisan split.
Locust Cutter
Sawing for Sanity
I know I've been kicking the idea around for some time, but haven't decided between a boiler and an indoor furnace add-on... Consumption will play a large part as I'm heating an old farm house that I'm tightening up, but is still a LONG ways from either being tight or economical to run from a HVAC perspective...
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
By the end of next week I will have 22 +/- cords put up for this winter. I am thinking I should be good considering how much of an improvement the add on smoke baffle/water jacket made that was installed last winter. So hopefully there will be a good shot of leftover wood.
This is heating 10000 square feet.
This winter fabricating a new stove will be in the works. Im REALLY excited.
My friends that have central boilers run around 10ish cords. Not sure of their square footage.
In my experiences the BIGGEST factors are how well your house is insulated and using the good insulted pex tubing.
This is heating 10000 square feet.
This winter fabricating a new stove will be in the works. Im REALLY excited.
My friends that have central boilers run around 10ish cords. Not sure of their square footage.
In my experiences the BIGGEST factors are how well your house is insulated and using the good insulted pex tubing.
Sam.coots
ArboristSite Member
Location -mid Missouri .
1953 house 2000 sqft. Original Windows and doors.
Yes to hot water.
Hardy h2.
I fired my stove today for the winter. I figure 2 cord a month. Average. But as has been mentioned. Outside water furnaces love to burn some wood compared to indoor options.
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1953 house 2000 sqft. Original Windows and doors.
Yes to hot water.
Hardy h2.
I fired my stove today for the winter. I figure 2 cord a month. Average. But as has been mentioned. Outside water furnaces love to burn some wood compared to indoor options.
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Not anytime soon. If/when I move to my cabin I will have one for sure.
My main purpose was to see if my theory was right. It seems that no matter what, an OWB uses at least 8 cords. Then from there it's a sliding scale up dependending on square footage, location, and fuel species.
My buddy got a Central Boiler last fall. The rep said he'd burn 6-8 cords heating a 1800 sf house plus garage. In reality he burned 14 cords of which 12 was red oak. And our winter wasn't all that bad because all of the cold weather was to the south and east of us.
Friend of mine heats somewhere around a 15000sqft garage with a hardy. Pickup load of wood per day and if it is sustained days in single digits he has trouble keeping the shop above 60. He bought a log trailer for hauling his firewood wood in plus gets a couple semi loads of cut offs from a sawmill every fall. I can't imagine cutting that much wood but that is why he is talking about just installing natural gas boilers next year
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