Wood Furnaces

I wanted a large furnace. I wanted to have the capacity to heat my house, and possible other out buildings in the future. The furnace I wanted was priced at $8000. I built my own for $3000. I built an 800 gallon water jacket, and put a 500 gallon propane tank inside of it. The walls on the propane tank are 3/8" thick. I wanted a fire chamber with thick walls so it would not burn out, or rust out in my lifetime. Well, I hope to get 30 years out of it. Many boughten furnaces' burn chamers fail long before 20 years. At least the ones my neighbors have bought. One guy has had 3 furnaces in 15 years. The burn chambers rotted out.

Mine does use more wood than the wood furnace I had in the basement, but I never kept track of how much I used so I dont know exactly how much more it uses, but Im sure I dont use 50% more. Im thinking I used about 25% more. I cut my firewood 24". My burn chamber is 40" in diameter. If I fill that 40" with 24" logs it will last 24 hours in temps down to 20 degrees. In colder temps with high winds I sometimes use double that. In 30 degree temps with no wind I only have to fill it about every 3 days.

In temps that dont call for much heat outdoor wood furnaces are stinky because they dont burn clean. They just smolder. In the colder temps they have to burn harder so they burn...I dontknow if they burn clean, but they dont stink.

I love mine. I wish I would have built it 15 years ago. What I like about mine is the house is the same temp all the time. When I had a wood furnace in the basement the house temp varied up and down all the time. Id get up in the morning the fire would be out,and the house would be 50 degrees. Id get the fire going, and after a couple hours the house would be 80, then I had to fire it ever 3 or 4 hours, and when I fired it the temp in the house was back down to 60. I wouldnt even give gas a consideration for heat. I wanted a wood burner that was more consistant, and this does it.

I would check to see if they are allowed in your area. I dont have much use for laws or ordinaces so I would check with all your neighbors first to see if they would mind it. If no one minds it, and doesnt complain then there is no need for law enforcement to come see you.They are pretty expensive, and it would be a shame to buy one only to find out they arent allowed, and you have to take it out. In northern Michigan I havent heard of any rural area outlawing them. The village near me has outlawed them in the village limits, and Im sure that they are not allowed in any subdivisions out in the rural areas either.

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409 isn't the gauge, it's the stainless alloy that's being used. Type 409 is the "cheap stuff", Type 304 is the "good stuff". They're WAY overpriced, but they are the current "hot thing".
A corn furnace would cost less to purchase, less to run, and less to keep running.

michigan farmer i see your pics in the repair section....looks like you a great job. the furnaces are great in my opinion. ive never filled mine up i only add about a level wheel barrow at a time . mine can take up to 44 inches but i dont know of many people that could handle that lenght of wood if it had any size to it. like you say 16-24 inch wood is easy to throw in.....mink

I couldn't even imagine how to build one! Building our house was the most complicated thing I've ever built. Maybe you should go into business!

You folks must buy your wood already split? I have a pattern made the size of the boiler door, and a mark on the chainsaw as deep as the boiler (27") and I _hate_ making toothpicks, that is too much work. I'd be cutting all my wood 42 inches long in your case.

--->Paul