Outdoor wood stoves

[Steve]

django

It was a small rust spot in the back corner, water started to seap through. I did not keep it the ashes cleaned out as much as I should of.

I've had 0 problems with the stainless steel model

 

[jokers]

Hi Dennis, there are alot of different capacity outdoor boilers available. If you are to build one, I would probably model it after one of a known capacity. What you describe as a heat load could easily be handled by one of these boilers. Just use seperate zones off the boiler for the different areas. It might work even better for you since you wouldn`t be likely to have any zones that weren`t in regular use, from what I gather. Many people have to add non-toxic antifreeze to the zones which aren`t always hot. This is very expensive, and it can reduce your heating capacity by up to 60% depending on what freeze protection is required.
Geothermal sounds interesting, but I think you need to go with a contractor who is the best in the field or you won`t be happy. You also have to keep in mind that the geothermal makeup capacity is limited, so if your house is leaky, or you are constantly reheating an area that was let to cool down over night, you will need some sort of auxiliary heat source. I believe that heat pumps only work within a certain differential temperature range also. I would seek out the advice of a University in your area. Russ

 

[Dennis]

Hmmm...well...without question my house is leaky Russ, but I was under the assumption that geothermal basicaly just maintained a constant level at all times for very little cost..my father tells me...56? degrees I think...then the heating/cooling system takes over....I am thinking I need to check into this alot more...lol..he is putting it in his new house he is building now...but on the same token, it is, without question more energy efficient than mine...

 

[jokers]

Hi Dennis, I`m no expert on geothermal, it may be that I am wrong. Wait, did I really say that? Anyway, geothermal was a hot topic around Central New York back in the early to mid 80`s and my only true experience with it came from a house I was helping a friend build. He used what I believe is called the "ground loop method", you dig trenches below the frost line and place the pipes in them. The well method, if that is the proper term, is alledged to be alot more efficient, but the installation costs are alot higher. You essentially have a well driller come in and drill several deep holes, depending on what your heating and cooling load will be. I know that my friends system was so sensitive to the temperature differential, that he was paying $500 a month for electric for the aux heaters, just so he could live in the house until he got the basement insulated and he sealed up around all the windows and doors with canned foam. I believe there is a program still in effect in Canada called the R2000 program. It is a joint venture between the government and a couple of universities I believe, and it`s all about energy conservation and efficiency in your harsh environment. If you can`t find anything on this program, let me know. I did have the contact info here somewhere. Russ

 

[Dennis]

Russ, yes that is the same system I am referring to..the ground loop....I am going to look into the plan you mentioned...thanks for the info...will let ya know

 

[django]

Hey everybody. Long time no post.
I have been quite busy so I havent perused the site in some time. Anyhow, I am almost done building my outdoor stove and will send pictures soon. It weighs in at 1800lbs without water and has taken me a LOT of time to build. But should be worth it.
Anybody out there know where I can purchase a water to air heat exchanger (radiator) for inside my forced air furnace?

 

[Newfie]

Why would you want to put the exchanger in the furnace?

It would probably make more sense to connect your outdoor boiler to the stand alone exchanger and make new connections from the exchanger to the outgoing and return ductwork.

I would also think it might be safer if the exisitng forced hot air system is a direct flame type.

Your local plumbing/HVAC supplier should be able to set you up with what you need.

Of course I might be completely wrong.

 

[django]

Hi Mike,
The furnace plenum, just below the a-coil (if you have one) seems to be the location of choice of all the manufacturers of these stoves, if you have forced air heat as I do. This avoids any further fabrication as in a stand alone, also it allows the furnace to heat the water and keep it from freezing in the event of the wood fired unit malfunctioning. I have a Lennox Pulse furnace by the way and it is a piece of crap. Avoid Lennox Pulse furnaces like the plague. I have checked with some local HVAC guys for an exchanger and thier prices are quite high. In case you haven't noticed, I am Cheap. That is why I built my own stove, I just don't want to try to build my own exchanger, I am going to build my own shell and tube exchanger for domestic hot water though.
Thanks for your reply,
Steve

 

[Newfie]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the explanation. I have forced hot air myself but a slightly different set-up. The Peerless boiler essentially cooks water (as your outdoor furnace will) and sends the heated water to the exchanger (where the plenum is located). The advantage is that I can use the same exchanger and duct work for my central air. I can see your point of view though, because they are costly units. Cheap is good as long as it safe!

 

[django]

Yeah, safe is good. Jokers (Russ) told me about his experiment with pressurized system, Not for me, thank you.
Just what picture of you that is not your portrait, am I supposed to be looking at?

 

[Newfie]

It's just one of those sayings, sort of along the lines of don't judge a book by it's cover, kinda thing.

 

[django]

O.K., Kind of like "There once was a man from Nantucket......."

 

[Gopher]

Have any of you checked out the "Garn" wood units? They look really good, and I know a local sawyer who is installing a Garn to do his kiln dried wood.

I had a Heatmor (sold the house) for four years, and a good friend has a Central Boiler. I did rate the Heatmor over the Central Boiler. Yes they are spendy ( I went with 1" copper in my basement versus the kytec tubing, and I spent around $6000 total). I lived in Northwest Wisconsin t the time, and I kept track of the propane savings, and I broke even after just over four years. Of course, I cut trees and never paid dime one for any wood. Sometimes the neighbor would drop off wood he didn't want to handle as well (a tree service).

When we build our next place (in about a year if our economy doesn't totally go in the proverbial toilet), I will need to ask some questions to the people who are now looking at the option of building there own. Otherwise, the Garn unit is the one I am leaning toward. It will heat my home, shop, driveway, hot water and perhaps a small kiln for wood drying.

Good conversation.

gopher

 

[django]

Hello, Nope, never heard of Garn. That dosen't mean much though. These things are popping up all over the place, everybody and thier brother are making them. Before I made mine I looked at heatmore , central boiler, woodmaster,pacific western, heatsource 1, hardy, mahoning, taylor,northland,johnson aquatherm, etc..... and I didn't begin to cover them all. The fact is there is very little meaningful difference in any of them. It comes down to square vs. round and what materials the stove is made out of. Everybody has their gimmicks,
(heatlock baffle", "turbo draft" etc..). I modeled mine very loosely after Pacific Western, because I firmly believe in the superiority of a round design for longevity (using mild steel), and a lot less welding , if you have access to a roller as I do. and I liked their burner design, "The Cold Killler!" I have about 60 digital photos of my stove in various stages of completion and I will post some soon. I dont't want to come across as any kind of expert, but I did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions before making mine, so if you have questions I may be able to help. Plus I work with some pretty good engineers, electrical and mechanical (a rarity, those good engineers) who helped me.
See Ya,
Steve

 

[jokers]

Hi Steve, glad to see you did it! I`d like to see some of your pics when you get a chance to post them. I might be in the market to build another myself and I`m always open to new ideas. I know from our previous conversations that you made yourself quite knowledgable in this area and I`d like to freeload a bit, if I may, and check out what you came up with. Russ

 

[django]

What is the best way to post pics? All of mine were taken with a Mavica.

 

[jokers]

Hi Steve, does that mean they are still on a floppy? You will have to upload them to a photo editing program and then resize them. Depending on the program you use, you may want to make copies first so that you have the original level of detail when you want a larger pic. I use Photoshop and resize mine to 480x320 pixels and they always fit here. Once you have them sized and saved somewhere you just scroll down this page to where it says attach file, and select the location and file name, and submit your message. It`s about that simple, just make sure you select a valid file type(from the list at Attach File) when you are sizing your photos. Russ

 

[django]

If it works, this is the stove at roughly 75% complete

 

[django]

Here is the finished product

 

[django]

control panel