Hardy Wood Boiler
I am in the my second year with my Hardy OWB.# I don't sell these and have no allegiance to Hardy, so I will just give everyone the facts so you can use my experience to make an informed decision.#I live in Western New York and own a 1 year old 2700 square foot 2 story, well insulated home, with 2x6 walls, and many (30) Anderson dual pane windows.# The house has cathedral ceilings in the living room and and foyer, and 9 ft ceilings in the downstairs, 8 ft ceilings upstairs.# I bought the Hardy when I built the house.# I have never heated a winter season with propane, so I don't know how much it would cost to heat if I had to buy propane (currently $2 gallon).# I do know last year I burned 25 face cord.# I own 10 acres of woods, so I pulled out about 10 face cord, and purchased 15 (at $65 per face cord, seasoned and delivered)# Bringing my outlay for heat for that season at $975 + a lot of my time.# I heat the house and domestic hot water.# My propane bill is almost eliminated during the winter.# I estimate for a winter season on propane alone I would be spending around $2,200.# I keep the house between 70 and 72 degrees.#The Hardy is located 150 ft from my house, in a 12x24 un-insulated steel shed.# The PEX lines are buried 4' beneath the surface, in 4" PVC conduit.# I did not buy the insulated lines because of the expense (roughly $10/ft).# I have not measured the heat loss from the stove to the furnace yet, but expect it to be minimal.# The water is hot enough to burn your hand at the stove, and hot enough to burn your hand at the furnace.# I will submit another post with the temperature drop in the future.# Last year I loaded it 75% full 2X per day, at 6AM and 9PM.# #This year if the temps are above 32F I have been loading it once (packed completely full) per day at night usually 7PM.# The fire is usually almost out, but going enough to fire itself once filled.# On the weekends I load it 2 to three times, but only a few logs at a time.# The more often you can load it the less wood you will burn.# By load it I mean just a few pieces to keep the fire going, not a full load.#After 1 year, I am happy with the unit.# I looked at the Hardy and the CB, I went with the Hardy, because of the Stainless Steel and lower price.# I also know the rep personally and felt more comfortable buying from him.# Is there a better burner out there?# Probably, but so far I like the Hardy.# I just had the domestic water pump fail on this unit, replacement cost is $250.# I am not at all happy about that.# My rep told me there was a 1 year warranty, but I think we will be talking about that more in the next few days.# Has anyone else had a problem with Taco Cartridge pumps failing?#Smoke is not a problem where I live, as the stove is at least 400ft from our downwind neighbor.# These things do smoke a lot, but only when they are being fired.# Loading it is probably a health hazard for me, as the shed quickly fills with smoke.# I usually run in and out holding my breath and catching some fresh air outside.# Anyone with ideas on how to cheaply vent this would be greatly appreciated.# I have a few ideas I am going to try this weekend.
