OWB myths .. list them

[ktm rider]

I bought the right size boiler for sure. I insulated the lines to the extreme and my old OWB would not go for anymore than 9 hours completley stack with dry red oak. It would eat wood like it was going out of style. not to mention there is nothing like standing outside at midnight in a -20 windchill to tend to a fire
Since I got my INDOOR multifuel boiler,I get very nice long burn times with about a quarter of the fuel and I can tend the fire in my boxer shorts. Not to mention it was roughly half the price of an OWB and ASME stamped.

But like you said, OWB's are not for everyone, and they sure aren't for me.
If you are looking for a few good used ones, my 2 friends are dying to unload theirs on someone else also..

 

[hockeypuck]

[
But like you said, OWB's are not for everyone, and they sure aren't for me.
If you are looking for a few good used ones, my 2 friends are dying to unload theirs on someone else also..[/QUOTE]

Your friends were trying to sell them last year..... sorry to hear about your bad experience.

 

[Camp nut]

I'm suprised at all the negative toward the ODW. I agree that they are NOT for everyone. But if you have access to free wood then I think it is worth it. I have a 3200 sf house (with 2 furances) and a 1200 sf pole barn and my hot water. I do burn 2-3 face cords a week in the cold weeks, but the money I save in gas will pay it off in probably 8 years. Now if you had to buy wood then I'm not sure if you would ever break even. I do burn green wood no problem, I mix it with some dry stuff if the weather in mild but when it is cold (20's or colder) then it gets cut and burned. My ODW is fan induced that makes a difference. If it is a free air draft then the green wood has to dry before it ignites. I also have a large box and on really cold nights if I stuff it at 8pm or 9pm it will last till 7 am and then the during the day when the sun shines a full box will last until 8 or 9. I'm going on my third year and all is good.

So sorry can't bust all the myths.

 

[rx7145]

I am sorry that you bought the wrong size wood boiler and then improperly installed it. I burn green wood, burns from 6 pm to 7 am no problem on the coldest nights, and I have plenty of free wood. OWB's are not for everyone, but seeing that oil is at 3 bucks a gallon, mine will pay for it self sometime next season if not sooner. I ran it last year for heat and hot water and burnt 7 to 8 chords from october to beginning of june. Now that I said my piece, i will opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:

Well I did buy the wrong size. I did't know what I needed and the dealer sold me what I wanted. A couple times I had to go out at night because all I had to burn at the time was pallets and it was very cold and they burn quick.

Green wood will burn but at -10 it does not burn fast enough for a very hot fire, so I was pulling more BTU's that it could make.

But I love my OWB

 

[rx7145]

Here is a before and after picture of my set up.

Note the large supply of wood

 

[ktm rider]

[
But like you said, OWB's are not for everyone, and they sure aren't for me.
If you are looking for a few good used ones, my 2 friends are dying to unload theirs on someone else also..

Your friends were trying to sell them last year..... sorry to hear about your bad experience.[/QUOTE]


Yep, No takers yet.

 

[windthrown]

Good post!!

What unit do you use?

I've got a real good friend with 2300 sq.ft. of new construction and he uses his OWB as his ONLY source of heat and to heat his water. He uses 5-6 cord per year. No matter how cold he fills it twice per day.

Central Boiler 4436. Was the smallest one they had when we bought it. Could have gone with their newer smaller unit that they have now. Mild winters here compared to Midwest and New England. Cold compared to Florida and the California coast.

 

[windthrown]

I'm thinking of an OWB for when I buy a house this coming summer. I live in Maine and will be burning a ton of pine. I don't care if I need to cut 10-15 cords a year for it, doesn't bother me. I am curious though, how far away from the house should the boiler be? Also, isn't it much more expensive to buy an OWB as opposed to one you might put in your basement?

Two models out there. OWB's that are 'outside', and wood gassifiers that are 'inside.' OWBs tend to be cheaper. Gassifiers are more efficient but some are pricey. Dunno why you cannot get an OWB gassifier. Seems odd... anyway, we have our OWB just flush with the overhang of the carport roofline on the north side of the house. That leaves 6 feet from the door to anything, and 3 feet from the rest of the unit to anything. Those are the distances that the manufacturer has on the unit. Most of the wind and rain comes from the south here, so even in the wettest weather we can go out there and throw wood in the boiler and not get wet. Also there is a shallow dip that runs behind the house and the smoke tends to follow that to the east ad away from the house most of the time.

Most pine is not that great a wood; lighter wood will burn faster and not have as much heat value. But if that's what you have, hey, it burns! I try to get better wood here, like alder, madrone and oak, but we have been felling a lot of grand firs lately. It is a crappy tree to cut with a chainsaw, full of resin and sap, and once dry is light and about like pine to burn for heat. But it burns... Doug fir is better for heat, but it puts out a lot of creosote.

 

[windthrown]

Your friends were trying to sell them last year..... sorry to hear about your bad experience.

Yep, No takers yet.

I could have sold our OWB here about 5 times this year. I refer them to the dealer, who seems happy enough to give me freebies for the referrals. Like a new cap and door cord, corrosion stuff and the like.

 

[bookerdog]

but we have been felling a lot of grand firs lately. It is a crappy tree to cut with a chainsaw, full of resin and sap, and once dry is light and about like pine to burn for heat. But it burns.

We have been taking alot of grand also. Man that stuff is nasty.

 

[bassman]

As the guy that started this thread I will say WOW .
Nice to see the interest in this topic.
I have an OWB and it is a love hate thing but it was ment to only heat my wifes greenhouse and putting the house on it was a thought i had to get a few bucks back from the gas bill.
this year $500 bucks and that was with $700 for the 8 cords of wood i bought .
remember i heat a greenhouse and it costs a fellow grower $2500 in gas to heat his greenhouse.
so i guess i saved $3000 this year in gas and it cost $700 in wood to do it..
I paid out so far about 10 grand for the boiler and all the stuff to make it work.
I have to buy a barrel of glycol soon so add another $800.
the only mistake i made was not adding the coal port to my boiler so i could burn more stuff in it... oh well next one.:greenchainsaw:
now I live in canada and where i live it gets down to minus 25c most of the time and even hits minus 40c so I get about a 12 to 16 hour burn and sometimes less when it is windy.
the first year i needed wood so i ended up with green as where do you find wood in november ?
so i was getting a 5 hour burn and that sucked .
anyway this crap most of you know so i will spare you the details but last week a guy at the stihl dealer was tellin me he bought a house and his boiler will burn green wood and heat his 2400 sq foot house with 6 cords max ....
then he went on saying how the greener the better and that 24 hours burn times are what the guy that sold him the house said it will do .


good luck with that ....

 

[RaisedByWolves]

new cap and door cord, corrosion stuff and the like.

So you say they have problems in these areas?
.

 

[hockeypuck]

There is a lot of interest and rarely does anyone have a have assed oppion about a owb. You either love em or hatem (or lovehatem) Plus with some many idiots putting things in them like trash, there are enviro-nazis running around trying to ban them. I was in the local Napa store the other day picking up supplies for the tractor and the kid behind the counter was bragging about putting trash in his. I did not say anything because there were many people standing around, but if it was just me and him I would have. If people only used their head.

 

[joecool85]

Most pine is not that great a wood; lighter wood will burn faster and not have as much heat value. But if that's what you have, hey, it burns! I try to get better wood here, like alder, madrone and oak, but we have been felling a lot of grand firs lately. It is a crappy tree to cut with a chainsaw, full of resin and sap, and once dry is light and about like pine to burn for heat. But it burns... Doug fir is better for heat, but it puts out a lot of creosote.

I've heard it's not so bad (pine) if it is properly dried, just a quick burner. My parent's 25 acres is where I do my cutting and it is pretty much like this:

45% Eastern Pine
20% Maple
20% Fir (Mixed species)
10% Other
5% Alder

The "other" is mostly birch, but also apple, oak and I'm sure other trees I don't know about.

 

[ktm rider]

I could have sold our OWB here about 5 times this year. I refer them to the dealer, who seems happy enough to give me freebies for the referrals. Like a new cap and door cord, corrosion stuff and the like.

I live in coal country and since coal burns much hotter and longer than wood,and is dirt cheap, most people want a coal stove/boiler. Yes, I know you can get an OWB that will burn coal but there are also good coal boilers out there that are way cheaper than the coal burning OWB's and go inside an outbuilding.
I bought my OWB in 2001 for $6,500. I sold it in 2005 and then bought the coal/wood boiler below for $4,450 which included the oil backup.

OWB's work for some people for sure. I am glad for them. Especially since they are telling the Mid east oil tycoons to stick it where the sun don't shine.

This is mine, and I could not be happier with it.

 

[Camp nut]

Mine can burn coal as well and if I had to buy wood I would switch an buy coal is is cheaper and burns longer and you don't have to cut and split it.(not all the wood fits thruogh the door)

 

[hockeypuck]

quote
OWB's work for some people for sure. I am glad for them. Especially since they are telling the Mid east oil tycoons to stick it where the sun don't shine.

I agree and the way I look at it, I use less oil by using an outdoor wood boiler than any pointy-headed-tree hugger driving around in a prius.

 

[ktm rider]

quote
I use less oil by using an outdoor wood boiler than any pointy-headed-tree hugger driving around in a prius.

 

[windthrown]

Not much coal out here in the far west. I would not know where to get any if I wanted to. But firewood? Man, that stuff grows on trees around these parts.

I have also read a lot of bad things about burning coal... not the cleanest source of fuel, nor is it sustainable like growing and burning wood.

 

[MS-310]

I have a question, what is the problem with buying the next size bigger boiler then what you need???? I here alot of people saying that you over sized your boiler, how do you over size your boiler?

opcorn: