34 years ago I had a two story house in Michigan with a wood burning central heat unit in the basement. It worked really well. Ate up tremendous amounts of wood. I'm sure they are much more efficient today. They say using wood heat warms you twice. That's not a lie!
I would be concerned with its location and whether it will be easy to get the seasons wood to it. If it's a pain to get to you will hate having the darn thing.
We also had an oil furnace in that same house that I absolutely hated. The petroleum smell about the heat was nasty. I swear I could smell it, it wasn't just in my head because I didn't like the idea of it. And the air was oily. Nasty.
I would go back to a central wood unit in a heartbeat if it was a more efficient one.

 

In the 1985 I lived in an old farm house that had one of these. Sat outside, heat was hot water baseboard also heated hot water for kitchen and bath. It worked great, no noise, no dust blowing around like forced air. Also had two solar panels that heated water in the summer. Loaded wood twice a day early in the morning before I left for work and again that evening after I got home. Installed when I bought the house so I have no idea what it cost but it qualified for a tax credit when installed.

http://taylormfg.com/

http://taylormfg.com/waterstove-brochure.html

 

Have had one for 30 years. Will move to new property with us. The
best area is as center in home as possible in the basement. The old
wise tale applies here buy cheap and buy it three times. Ours has a
forced air induction thermastate control and runs in conjunction with
propane furnace. Our fire box is 18 x 18 x 22 and only full three times
a day unless below 10. Our son has one on 1st floor and it uses three
times the wood. We also added a in duct humidifier wood can really
dry a house out. Strict safety is a must. Back flashes, chimney flue
clean, insects, ect. First thing is to insure your insurance company
will allow they do surcharge for wood and coal and inspect. This may
sound idiotic but insure there are no Zoning laws against burning wood.

 

Thanks for the replies! This one will be outside the house in a building easy to access. With a "lean to" to stack the wood under We had central electric heat and I about froze! It never seemed warm to me. At our old house we has a wood stove and I kept it going all day long on really cold days and it was perfect but very messy. Bark and dust everywhere..so we thought this would be good .. Insurance is fine with it no restriction on burning wood. Tons of people here have only wood!

 

Did you plan on using baseboard or radiant floor heating?

The radiant floor heating is absolutely wonderful! With the floor being warm - and your feet on the floor - you feel warmer. (I don't have this, but my sister does.)

The only "problem" with it is if you get a warm spell - the water going through the pipes stays warm - plus your warmed up floor continues to give off heat - it can get warm in your house so you may have to open a few windows.

 

I would just worry about not being able to deal with wood as I got older and maybe less mobile.

 

Nette, that was a real concern for me also. But my husband says -- we will have to deal with that when it comes. No we don't have raditant heat but if we remodel the garage into a living room and extra bedroom that is a real: possibility. Living in central NC. Our temps are much different than they are up north or even in our mountain areas. We may have a month of( what we call ) brutally cold weather but it is usually really cold for a few days and then will warm up to above freezing. Mud is a much worse problem than ice or snow !

 

Have a friend with a dual fuel central heater. Its wood and something.... not electric. They love it as they can go away in the winter and know the house will be heated. When home then they use wood.

 

This is the one i'm wanting .http://www.centralboiler.com/e-classic.html
You can still get the rebate from the government.No i don't have it yet but i just got into my house a year ago last month. I have had my master boilers license since 1999 .Really like the gas light option . It's no fun trying to light a fire in the cold with the wind blowing up your leg and down your neck. :flame: You can do forced air,radiant floors or radiators with it so it gives you many options.