[han_solo]

I would like to get a water type wood heater at tax time if i can that is outside. I am wondering about the building for it. The space i want to put it is a slope and was thinking about digging it out(the side of the building will be in the ground well some of it). What i started thinking about is how would the pipes work should i have a hole(s) on the block somewhere or wait till i get the heater installed. A neighbor got a stove and built his building out of metal close to his hose and had the ductwork go from the top side of the building to his crawl space. I hope this make sense. Has anyone done anything like this? Thankyou

 

[bryant]

Water type wood heater? Do you mean a wood burning water heater?

 

[han_solo]

Yes i want a wood stove type heater. Don't care if it is a water stove or not. I guess what i am wanting is a wood furnace. Not sure what the difference is

 

[bryant]

A wood furnace works like central heat, moving the heat through duct work. A wood fired water heater uses wood to heat a coil that then heats the water, which is then piped to the faucets, radiant heating piping etc. Wood furnaces can be small or huge, made of steel or soapstone. Do a search for Wood fired furnaces or just go here, for some examples. http://woodstoves.net/furnaces.htm

 

[92utownxj]

Are you looking at an outside wood boiler? I have one and I love it. The firebox is surrounded by a water jacket. A fan kicks on to build up the fire when the water gets below a set point. The water in pumped in a loop underground through insulated pipe. Mine heats my hot water, and also has a water to air heat exchanger in the plenum of my existing furnace. The blower for that kicks on with a thermostat in the house, and the heat flows through my existing duct work.

There are also wood furnaces, but I would think too much heat would be lost trying to have it outside pushing the hot air inside.

My outside wood boiler doesn't have any additional building around it and it works great. It was pricey, but it has more than paid for itself with saved propane.

 

[han_solo]

Are you looking at an outside wood boiler? I have one and I love it. The firebox is surrounded by a water jacket. A fan kicks on to build up the fire when the water gets below a set point. The water in pumped in a loop underground through insulated pipe. Mine heats my hot water, and also has a water to air heat exchanger in the plenum of my existing furnace. The blower for that kicks on with a thermostat in the house, and the heat flows through my existing duct work.

There are also wood furnaces, but I would think too much heat would be lost trying to have it outside pushing the hot air inside.

My outside wood boiler doesn't have any additional building around it and it works great. It was pricey, but it has more than paid for itself with saved propane.

I would like the water heater but does not need to be. Do you have one of those boiler's that is in a metal building? I checked with Central Boilers it is a metal building that has one built in. Cost is around $8000.00 I can not do that. Neighbor got a used wood heater insulated and put in a metal building to house. Made a hole in the crawl space for the duct work and said he is happy with it cost about $1000.00. He put the buig up and paid someone to do the ductwork and the stove also

 

[92utownxj]

Yes, mine looks like it's a little metal shed. It holds 175 gallons of water. I just fill it with wood twice a day, the drier and more seasoned the better. I poured the concrete slab it's on, trenched for the underground lines, and did as much as I could by myself. When it was all finished and lit I had about $8,000 in everything. Good underground insulated pipe is $10+ per foot. The boiler itself was about $5000.

You might be able to find a decent used one, just make sure you know it's history and watch for leaks. If I had a basement I would have gotten an add on wood furnace. Are you set on having the wood heater outside? You could install a good, efficient wood stove in your house to at least supplement your current set up. It would be a lot less expensive and still reduce heating costs.

Do you have access to your own firewood or will you be buying? Whatever you decide, don't cut corners. Install it safely and properly the first time.

 

[Darren]

The buildings do more to protect the fuel than the heater. I've seen people build a shed around them to protect the wood or coal. I saw one setup where they used one of the metal carports with the chimney end of the heater set outside. In both cases the primary fuel was coal. One of the heaters was a tri-fuel arrangement that could burn coal, wood or natural gas if the family went on vacation.

 

[han_solo]

Yes, mine looks like it's a little metal shed. It holds 175 gallons of water. I just fill it with wood twice a day, the drier and more seasoned the better. I poured the concrete slab it's on, trenched for the underground lines, and did as much as I could by myself. When it was all finished and lit I had about $8,000 in everything. Good underground insulated pipe is $10+ per foot. The boiler itself was about $5000.

You might be able to find a decent used one, just make sure you know it's history and watch for leaks. If I had a basement I would have gotten an add on wood furnace. Are you set on having the wood heater outside? You could install a good, efficient wood stove in your house to at least supplement your current set up. It would be a lot less expensive and still reduce heating costs.

Do you have access to your own firewood or will you be buying? Whatever you decide, don't cut corners. Install it safely and properly the first time.

I live in a manufactured house with a fireplace. I wanted to get a wood stove last year and most of them says not for this,some did though. I wanted to use the fire place chimney but found out it is not recommended. One guy said go though a window with the chimney and i was like no. So the wood furnace outside is only option i have if i do this