Outdoor wood furance

[oldmanriver]

has anyone ever install an outdoor wood furance youself . Wood you do it again .

[copperkid3]

Those are the answers and now to qualify them. We bought a slightly used Aqua-Therm wood boiler a
number of years ago and it sat outside for a few more years BEFORE we finally got around to
moving it to its' final destination and then hooking it up. Had some help initially and when it suddenly
dawned on me, that I knew more in theory about the project, then my 'expert' knew in real life......
Fired him & hired a professional to help finish the job. Initially we had 2 in-line pumps to move the water thru
the system; one was just inside the house and the other out by the boiler. The pro moved the outside
pump, inside so that one pump pushed the water thru the pex heating tubes via the manifold, while
the 2nd pump, pushed the cooler water back out the return to the boiler. Has worked remarkably
well for the last 3-4 yrs. So....that answers the reason why for the first part of your question.
The 2nd part is that this boiler is getting on in age and a couple years back we were being 'lazy' and
pulling water from the boiler faucet to use to water our goats/pigs/fowl in the winter time and it allowed
too much air back in the system and by spring, we'd sprung a leak or two in the outside skin of the boiler.
Fortunately, we had a friend manage to weld a patch over the problem area, but conceivably there
will be more potential problems in the future and I want to avoid that if at all possible; especially if it
happens in the wintertime. You then have to shut-down the system completely and drain it
BEFORE you start the welding process. Not good if the temp is around zero or below.
So I'm looking at designing my own boiler from an old 500 gallon propane tank for the outer water tank,
with a smaller 250? gallon anhydrous ammonia tank for the main fire box. Have the tanks already,
and the skilled and expert welder familiar with boiler systems, in place as well......just have to get
a bit of time and money together to put both of them together. Hopefully before this winter!!!
Will post when it's finished with photos and the complete story at that time.

[Ross]

I've installed 3 now. And sure I'd do it again. Personally I like having the main pump outside at the boiler. Never starves for water no cavitation pulling air out of the water, easier to power in a power outage. Now you might need zone pumps inside to feed things like in floor heating too.

[ronbre]

we installed ours to our sons house and our house and also his garage, would do it again but would buy a different wood furnace, the co we got ours from went out of business and we have no warranty coverage and have had to do repairs on it ourselves..glad our son is a welder

[oldmanriver]

Thanks for the replys . Anyone have a brand name they would buy again , Sorry for all the questions but this a big purchase for us .

Unless they have become a lot more efficient in the last few years be prepared to cut or buy a heck of a lot of firewood .

[Ross]

Empyre is what we went with. Get a stainless steel one for sure.

[Linsay2231]

We have a Central Boiler. They are a little more expensive but you get what you pay for. Also, installation is easy, the hardest part was digging the trench for the water lines. There are a lot of things you can do to help lower your wood consumption, such as use thermopex as the line that goes from the boiler to the house. It is more expensive but it pays off. There are 2 different kinds of burners. The original kind can burn any kind of wood, it is basically a bonfire in a box. The newer kind of boiler is EPA certified and contains catalysts and can only burn seasoned wood. If you decide you want the original kind you need to make a purchase fairly quickly because I believe they are working to outlaw them and go to all the newer boilers by 2012. We have the Classic 6048 boiler (original style, they still make them) and that works good for heating our 3000 sq foot home (not the greatest insulation as it was built in 1880). You will get more efficiency out of your wood if you season it, but the good thing about this stove is that you can burn green wood in it as well. Also, things like chimney fires are not an issue because the burner is outdoors. Hope that helps.