# Outdoor Wood Boilers



## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

After reading POOLMANinCT's pellet stove thread, I thought I'd start one on Outdoor Wood Boilers. I planning on getting one to hook into the system of our new house. I have 18 acres of hardwood, so it seems like a good choice to me.

Anybody here with any experience with them.


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

Yeah. I grew up with a wood stove in the central room of the house. Split wood since I was about 8-9.


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## Bjd (Dec 19, 2003)

Up around here "The powers that be" have put all kinds of rules before you even try to install one. 
I guess its the smoke from the boilers that bother some people.

BJD


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

Was a concern. No problems here, and the smoke is also dependant on what material is burnt. Using only seasoned wood goes a long way towards alleviating the problems. And we see plenty of 'regular' chimneys spewing lots of smoke.


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

make sure the boiler is one that doesn't spew off a huge amount of smoke. some do and some don't. they're starting to get a little pissed here in maine about those things being a nuisance. I think it's getting a little bad rap though.

The one I've seen installed, he had to dig a trench for his main line into the house 8' deep, insulate and blah blah. seemed an awful lot of work for heat. plus he has to go outside to stoke the fire. that'd get old for me, that would blow, day after day, all winter.

these guys seem to have a really nice wood boiler. 

blue forge

I was going to say Black Bear Boilers, but they never made it. They had a grant, was on local TV, just never got off the ground.


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## HeatPro (Dec 11, 2007)

That Blue Forge looks pretty with the water tubes covered with blue paint that will disappear in a flash. But, from experience with fire tube boilers, you'd better GUARANTEE water flow or tube burnout will make it time for a new boiler. I see no dampening mechanism to douse the fire upon low flow. Too scary for me.


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## Bjd (Dec 19, 2003)

I was talking to a buddy of mine about these wood boilers as he installs them. He was telling me about some of the rules about the chinemys. 

Any of these boilers installed up here Must have a min height of 40 feet.
They can be either masnory lined and or triple lined stainless steel flue materail. At that height they have to be supported by guide wires, and or some other form of materail deemed by the local insepector as apporved.

Another little stickler for me was this, on a height of 40 feet there is enough room for a 12" connection between the boiler and flue, however for every lateral lenght beyong 12" there will be a hight adjustment of 1 foot in hight for evey laterel inch.

That kinda throws the towel in for me.

BJD


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

Lots of wood boilers in my area. A friend of mine is on his second one. The first one was a "normal" one, but he got tired of cutting wood. His newest one has a door big enough for shipping pallets. He can get shipping pallets free many places, so all he has to do is chuck in a few. No cutting wood.


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## tinner666 (Nov 3, 2004)

MD. You have any opinions on them or observations about the smoke? Be nice to hear something 'from a neighbor' of one of these.


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

Check out this link...I don't know if it applies, but a member of our sawmilling community is testing one now.


Update, I don't think anyone would like to do business we these clowns, link removed.


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## LNG24 (Oct 30, 2005)

All Wood Boliers DO NOT have to go outside. May Do, not all. 

Here is a link to Inside Wood and Multi Fuel Burners.

http://www.alternateheatingsystems.com/boilers.htm

Most of these are filled just once or twice a day. Same as outside ones. However, these can nin many cases go in place of your current boiler.


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

tinner666 said:


> MD. You have any opinions on them or observations about the smoke? Be nice to hear something 'from a neighbor' of one of these.


People have been burning wood for heat for thousands of years. Folks who have a problem with that just need to get over it. It's really only an issue on the very few days of the year where the air just "hangs", if you know what I mean. Foggy days, mostly. Like someone rightly pointed out, the smoke is really only smoky and stinky when someone throws in a junk wood species that's really not meant for fuel wood or when they throw in some wood not properly seasoned.


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## HeatPro (Dec 11, 2007)

People have indeed. Much of India and China are deforested from it, so they burn dung. There's a difference between the middle of PA and in the more populated suburbs. Twenty years ago, we were used to wood smoke in the houses that didn't have stoves, now most stoves have disappeared. When there is a new crop of young homeowners they'll reappear for awhile. We're used to hearing the fire engines on the first days of colder winter weather. There's a reason that most of the places Washington slept in are gone as well as the houses from before 1900. Most wives never really get over the first embers on the floor.


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## LNG24 (Oct 30, 2005)

HeatPro said:


> There's a reason that most of the places Washington slept in are gone as well as the houses from before 1900. Most wives never really get over the first embers on the floor.


Around here, it seems he slept in just about every ones House, and they are all still standing. In fact we have many a home that date back to pre war construction. Quite a few taverns as well!


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## HeatPro (Dec 11, 2007)

Yeh, considering how long he stayed there on his way from Boston to Brooklyn, he must have spent a year in town to have slept in 365 houses. Heard it was a sleepy town back then


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## ELM (Jan 10, 2005)

He were'nt just sleepin.


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## caswensk (Jan 1, 2008)

My dad's been running one for about 10 years now and loves it. Heats his shop, the house, and the pole barn on slabs from his mill. Loves the thing. Actually keeps it running all year round for "free" hot water. In the summer he stokes it once or twice a week max... in the winter he can go a day or two, but generally stokes her one good time each morning...


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## HeatPro (Dec 11, 2007)

May the force be with him 
and the slabs never end.


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## TimNJ (Sep 7, 2005)

LNG24 said:


> All Wood Boliers DO NOT have to go outside. May Do, not all.
> 
> Here is a link to Inside Wood and Multi Fuel Burners.
> 
> ...


I have a Tarm wood boiler in my basement. It is a "gasification" system similar to the one in the link you posted. Except when I first light the fire there is no smoke and creosote build up in the chimney is very minimal.


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## LNG24 (Oct 30, 2005)

Here is a link to the Search Results over at ArboristSite for Outdoor Wood Burners aka OWB


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