20 Homemade Outdoor Wood Boiler SECRETS Revealed

Unbelievable tour of my Homemade Outdoor Wood Boiler and telling you all the SECRETS! Make sure to check out our other videos and like, subscribe, and ring the bell. www.youtube.co...

[@timmckinnon3325]

Just visited my mother's new place in Maine. They have a new e central boiler to heat their entire home and all their hot water with wood. I live in lower NH. I cannot believe how efficient this system was. You are a goddamn genius to invent one of these systems.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I really lucked out. One of the best things I've built. Saved/made me a bunch of $. Thanks for your great comments!

[@raybin6873]

Just some upgrade / improvement ideas: Automatic throttle control of fresh air intake (done electronically) to minimize waste burn of wood fuel - increase efficiency. Placement of a corrosion control "anode" in heated water piping. This device attracts corrosive materials in the water and consumes the anode neutralizing any further corrosion on the rest of your system. The anode is consumable and will eventually need replacing (usually last several years if system properly maintained). It is a cheap way of staving off corrosion. I've managed a manufacturing plant that had processes using 1,000's gallons of water. Use of antifreeze (glycol) decreases heat transfer efficiency by slight margin BTW. We did away with use of expensive glycol once we had corrosion under control (big savings). We also included use of small amounts of anti-corrosive additives (minor cost) in the water. (The anode isn't a "catch all" device.) The anode is easy to access affording simple exchanging / maintenance. Learning how to measure corrosive content in your water is easy and simple too. You have a real nice system there - just wanted to share some knowledge I learned over the years.👍

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thank you! Iv'e been lucky with corrosion. Much less than I figured I would have. Might throw an anode in anyway. Good idea. I also never used anitfreeze. I didn't want to deal with draining it or buying it. So far so good.

[@raytry69]

The corrosive element in the water is the absorbed oxygene. That is only small amount. That will be much less after heating up the water for couple of times. Then the water become non-corrosive. So the anode has not much benefit. It has much more benefits in boilers which uses fresh water constantly.

[@timmckinnon3325]

Omg your storytelling is awesome.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I'm glad you like it

[@jamesdelaney7018]

nice video! I spent 8K on an earth outdoors boiler Mountain Man 505 all I can say IT IS AWESOME!!! its a simple design and that's a good thing. The 1 inch pex running through my 4000 square foot house heats the house to 71 degrees with out running the fan on the HVAC unit. I only stoke the fire 2 times a day. 430pm before I leave for work and then 8 to 830 when I get home from work. temp is still 160 to 170 degrees after almost 17 hours. so happy with my purchase but I did consider building my own, its a lot of work and I already spent 2 years building our home. I will give you credit for sure, its awesome to use your skills to build stuff and make it work. great job and stay warm

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

They sure are great. Was a lot to take on after building my house so I see your point. Still can't believe how well it works!

[@AnthonyStabler]

12 hr days & 5hr commute? How long do you think you can keep that up? I tried it w/2 hr commute, it's a family killer.

[@michaelhalter9452]

Getting ready to build a boiler.. Great job and thanks for the tips.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

That's really great to hear.. Awesome project and super rewarding for many years to come! Hopefully you get a nice new welder and Plasma cutter out of building it. Let me know how you make out with it. Glad my video helped you.

[@michaelhalter9452]

its my fathers and I's project this winter.. He just bought a big new hobart for the job!.. Guess the money we save giving to the big dogs gets us some new toys instead lol!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

@@michaelhalter9452 That is a perfect project for you both to build great memories so do it right. If you see yourself building anything out of metal in the future then try to buy a plasma cutter to share with your dad so you can use his welder. Great investments!

[@johnsteed265]

Brian, very nice video! I wish I could build my own boiler from scratch! I have been using outdoor wood burners for the past 18 years. You learn a lot over time after using them and I am still learning more. It is a LOT of work, as you pointed out. I have had 4 OWBs in the past 18 years: The first 3 were from Sequoyah Paradise, who are now out of business. The first two OWBs were defective and replaced by the company. The third one was super, but the welds gave out and it began to leak. For the past 3 years I switched over to Wood Master (who were bought out recently by Central Boiler). I have modified all of my OWBs. I heat 3200 sq/ft home and hot water for 5 people. My OWB has a fan that goes on based on an aquastat setting. When the temperature is below 30F outside I set the aquastat to shut off the fan when the water temp is at 200F. This delivers water to my heat exchanger at 103F (which is about 100 ft away). There is a lot of engineering that goes into these OWBs. They are not for everyone. I burn at least 6 cords of firewood each year, but I only load once each day (or twice when it is very cold). You need a source for a LOT of free wood. If you have to buy firewood, it is not worth it, in my opinion. Thanks again!

[@ronemtae3468]

I had a pressurized steam engine that I used to play with and used to hook it up to different things and just a toy. I don’t think you realize the amount of pressure that can be built up in a pressurized close system to the point that if it ever exploded, you could be so badly hurt. It’s it’s I don’t even wanna say it.

[@jamesjohnson6239]

Thanks for sharing ,I love this kind of stuff .you saved on propane but also you saved the original $10k on purchase of factory boiler

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Almost forgot about that. Also was able to justify buying a new welder for this project. Fifteen years later and I've been able to weld everything. Glad you liked the video.

[@AnthonyStabler]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld Were you a competent welder before you started?

[@roninespiritu]

You just gave me the motivation I needed. amazing work.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Awesome! Thank you! Hope your build is ready for this winter!

[@ab-qn7kv]

This guy could sell anything!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I try to. Always selling something.

[@carlp5348]

I'm from Massachusetts and I'll tell you one thing you know your stuff God bless you and your family man I hope these people learn something

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

It's a popular video. Lots of useful info in it.

[@hotrodplumber]

Made the same smoke machine you have. Found the water jacket was sucking all the heat out and was not getting complete combustion. 2.0 is going to have a fire box lined with refractory to get the box temp above 1100F so the smoke burns and then send the exhaust through a used cast iron boiler exchanger. No creosote, No smoke and an extra kick of energy.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Funny the things we learn as we go along. Luckily my fire box is rather large so I can get the wood up to a good temperature for combustion with minimal smoke. If you run the smoke through a cooled pipe It will sweat, make creosote and cool the flow of the draft slowing the combustion. I could be wrong but its a neat idea.

[@revolutionaryhives5133]

You are right, efficient combustion temperatures cannot be reached inside a water tank. I made one with the firebox separate from the water tank. The fire box is completely lined with refractory except for the grate. The flue gas goes into a heat exchanger in the water tank. The flue gas temperature needs to be kept below 1200f so the water doesn't boil. The flue gas out condenses water just like a high efficiency gas heater. An induced draft fan has to be used because there is not enough heat left over to create a draft. This would be a good design for a steam generator which is my next plan.

[@bernhardmichaelfux308]

There is NOTHING as satisfying like to have done 1 ft³ on some day, when you look at the fruits of your work, and you know: you were sweating a lot, but you breathed in a lot of fresh air and trained your muscles. You don`t get fat due to this, and you know that this job will make you warm a second time: in the Winter!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I couldn't agree more. Gets me outside all year. Some of my favorite cutting is in the snow mid winter. And It justifies having some cool toys to use while doing it. I get to use a backhoe and rarely have to do much heavy lifting. Really fun.

[@46B3x2you]

I really enjoyed this video. Straight to the point and informative. Loved every minute of it. I have a couple of questions. Do you have a drawing of the basic design concept ? This is the first time I've seen your channel. I like the idea very much. I like the practicality of it with regard to the insulations, losing the insulation around the door, and allowing it to be a shelter for the cat. I'd like to see if I could make a standby source of hot water for something like a cabin if I had the basic design. Very Nice Job. I'm going to check out the rest of your channel right now.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Glad you liked it. Seams like everyone is trying to sell you boilers and miss the key points when talking about them. I'm so torn on putting metal on the front because it is just going to get black smoke damage anyway. I have no drawings that I went by just winged it. Basically a box in a box. Hope you liked the rest of the channel.

[@kevinburgess6112]

truely a work of art and something to be proud of not to mention saving thousands and thousands on propane, saving 💰💰👍 more for big boy toys like u said

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

It blows my mind how well this works and the opportunities that have come from having it. Looks like it's going to keep working for years. Thanks for watching.

[@ronosga5072]

I built my own with round tanks with a 6" water sleeve around the fire box and a flat bottom. The water under the fire box reduced the efficiency so I put fire brick on the bottom big improvement. I also added condensers to recover water lost to steam. 150° is low it worked better for me to hold 180° but mine had 660 gallons which was way too much water it worked great when it was up to temp but miserable to get heat back up if it burned down. I ran two u shaped pipes to the top of the inside of the fire box to let the flames heat the water before leaving the boiler which helped. A solenoid draft door with a sealed door but no draft blower was the way to go for me. I used a big truck radiator for a heat exchanger, but you have to modify it to serpentine flow with diverters for it to work other wise the flow goes directly from the inlet to the outlet and the blower will push cold air. I put it in my crawl space and tied it into the air ducts which worked good but I found base boards are so much better no more dust from forced air and nice even quiet heat, plus they are easy and cheap definitely look at baseboards you won't regret it. Mine has been basically an ten year experiment adjusting everything to get the most heat with the least amount of wood but 40 cord is average for northern Michigan. Also do not run the flue through the water jacket unless you only want to burn good wood otherwise you can get any junk wood usually for free. One other thing them pumps are not a positive displacement pump so if the electricity goes out and you hook up a generator just because the pump is running does not mean the water is flowing the pump can cavitate, so verify you have flow by feeling your tubing. I had 250' of pex freeze because of this and unthawing it was an adventure. I also built a cement block building 8'x8' and poured the cores with insulation pellets the building could be 100° inside and you could feel no heat on the outside just leave the eves open for fresh air. Lots of welding swearing and work but rewarding and I learned a lot doing it.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I was wondering if i would really gain much heat from having a water jacket on the bottom. Heat rises and ashes insulate. I really like the idea of the u shaped pipes. Do they ever clog up with soot? Love the truck radiator. My pumps turn on and off all the time. Have to love getting free wood. Hard to believe anyone would give it away when you burn 40 cords a year. Wow.

[@arnoldromppai5395]

it dont mater how big your fire box is, but you water tank should never be bigger then 180 gallons max, any more then that your throwing heat away, and take a ton of wood to get it up to temp, i can leave mine sit all summer and just add stuff to balance out the PH/// IT IS ICE COLD, LIGHT UP THE FIRE BOX AND I AM UP TO 180 DEG IN 40 MIN.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

A big firebox is nice. I can fit 5 foot long pieces in it. The big door is even more important to fit big, un-split rounds in it. Once the water is up to temp it acts as a giant heat sink with radiant floor heating and a big concrete floor to store the heat.

[@arnoldromppai5395]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld he factory ons have a 24x24 door in then and 60" deep and the door is to dam small, you cant get big stuff into them to fill that big fire box unless you stand there and load peace by peace by hand for half hour

[@arnoldromppai5395]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld you never build a water jaket under the fire box, that is a totaly dead spot were water never moves and all the mud, rust and crap sits and the water never gets hot under there and roots out in 2 years, LKS MADE THERES LIKE THAT AND WENT BROKE ON WARANTIES 4 YEARS AFTER OPENING, THE BOTTOMS BROKE OPEN LIKE RUSTY COFFEE CANS

[@chrisplummer367]

I'm building a round hay bale boiler. My door is going to be 4' x 4'. How did you insulate the door? My door is going to be huge and frickin heavy so I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about the door build. If I double the door and add fire brick then it's going to be super heavy and just the hinges are going to be a lot to figure out. What's your thoughts? Yes, it's going to burn round hay bales. It's got 3 huge water storage tanks on an open system.

[@markakin3742]

I pipe boilers for a living, love these home made jobs. cheers!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thanks! I'm still impressed by it every day. Keeping us warm.

[@gavinkeller183]

What pumps did you use and how do you regulate the temperature

[@thetrickbone]

Killer job! Hats off to ya man! You should be very proud of your self that your able to fabricate something like this.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thanks! Was super proud when it worked. My mind is blown that it still works and as well as it does. Probably helped keep me in shape all these years too.

[@mikewoods897]

Pretty sweet! 👍

[@rickeywellman1031]

So your domestic water is tied into the circulating radiant floor water or is it separate? Looks very interesting good job man!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

There is a coil of copper inside the boiler for the domestic water to flow through and heat up.

[@ClayHurst]

Hey Mr Brian. Did you weld the water pipe in the bottom that picks up coal heat or what did you use to seal the threads of the black pipe?

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Luckily I got them tight enough I didn't have to weld them. Several years later and still good. Just go one more turn to make sure it's tight enough.

[@jmanthatsall441]

What's your air handler set up like?

[@vickistone2359]

Thanks for your knowledge

[@johnsilvernale6472]

Anti freeze corrosive ??? Imagine what your motor looks like🤔🤔🤔

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I don't use any antifreeze. I didn't want to have to get rid of several hundred gallons. Just water and it's never frozen up.

[@NIGHTLAMP12345678]

Anti freeze we use in cars is corrosive if not mixed to at least a 50/50 mix. If I didn't use anti freeze I would at least use an inhibitor in the water because of the dissimilar metals, our system can have steel, copper, stainless steel, iron brass and aluminum which as you know react with each other, I would say the steel boiler will be the first Vitim and it will be a pin hole as this will be a defect in the steel that will corrode at an accelerated rate due to galvanic corrosion. My point it is important to use the right protection when using water.

[@StubbsMillingCo.]

You should drain and blow out your coolant system in your vehicle at least once a year or get a pro to do it. Keeps down the corrosion. Nothing we can do that’s not corrosive in some way🤷🏼‍♂️

[@alfroberts3580]

Just FYI, you can buy a fan and solenoid air valve from a commercial boiler supplier fairly cheaply. If the power goes out, you could run it with your generator with the circulation pumps, or use a stick to prop the air valve open, and you will still get as much air in as your current system. The second thing I did with mine, I found 2 steel furnace oil tanks, cleaned them out, then set them up in my basement. I then plumbed them into my hot water system from my boiler. The result is I have 2 large steel tanks at 150 degrees radiating off heat into my basement, and secondly, if my power goes out, I have 400 gallons of hot water in my house which takes a long time to cool off. You probably get the same effect from your infloor heating, but my system went into an existing house and infloor heat was going to be difficult.

[@mrbojangles9841]

Who cares? Vote Trump 2024

[@6969smurfy]

I made my door 18”x18”. Wish I would have went bigger. But 5’ long to the inside was key for #Me.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I wish i went even bigger than 24x24. Still nice to burn big stuff.

[@mikey6071]

I'd put a sectional grate on the bottom to keep the wood off that pipe and to give airflow under the wood. Gonna check out your other vids and subscribe.

After heating for years with a woodburner AND fireplace I find that the fireplace, a new, efficient one, is very convenient, glass doors make watching the fire enjoyable and the heat is nice. The woodburner has no window so nothing to watch, just keep loading the thing, it eats LOTS of firewood. Managing the wood is the HUGE dangerous part of the job though. As you know, that requires a strong back, safety focus and plenty of storage room, hopefully covered. I get exhausted just talking about all the work. Keeps this retired professor young.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I do wish I could watch more of the fire. Still like having all the mess outside. And it keeps me in shape.

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld Oh yes, I also have a mess that requires constant attention, especially after splitting. And yes, it adds a workout every trip out there plus a great workout cutting, hauling and stacking. The thing is: I don't have to do any burning but, like you, I absolutely love doing it.

[@rozchristopherson648]

Truly amazing !!! 😃👍

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Glad you liked it.

[@rozchristopherson648]

Mr. Brian's Amazing World Definitely 👍

[@terrywalker3246]

Great video. I learned a lot.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Glad to hear it! Thank you!

[@frankkluszka2653]

Highest respects man. You’ll have to visit me on Quadra Island by 2021 after I get set up off grid retired. Learn from each other. 1 difference is that I’m a stainless believer- no metal rot. I’m a dirt rider too. Thanks for video.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I was going to use stainless however I didn't have the skills to weld it and I figured steel would be easy to patch when it rusted out. So far i'm yet to patch anything so I don't think stainless would have been worth the extra expense. However I don't use antifreeze and that stuff is corrosive.

[@arnoldromppai5395]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld since when is antifreeze corrosive? you must be sniffing to much glue my friend, for one you dont use automotive antifreeze in an out door wood/coal fired hot water heater, you cant call them a boiler as they are not pressurized and do not meet boiler codes, if you ran you car with just water in it even in warm climits, it would rot out in know time, antifreeze protects from coroting rotting out, if you used automotive antifreeze in an outdoor water heater it would jel up all the in sides and stop any heat transfer, as antifreeze is made to cool, in a out door water heater you use glycol, and mix 50 gallons to 125 gallons of water, it protects the unit from rusting out, and if you want to drain it, just let it go on the ground, it is 100% biodegradable and safe, you can even drink it, it keeps it from freezing as well from rusting out, and i can tell you as a welder who has done repairs on stainless steel units, from a cracked weld, and have cut open steel units, there is no patching a steel unit, once it starts to leak the whole thing it rotten, nothing to weld to, cut the top off and put a light in the fire box, and hammer on the in side of the unit, after a few hammers you will think you are looking up in the sky at all the millions of stars, 2nd them pipes you have in the bottom of the fire box do nothing other then more places for it to leak un less you have a pump, pumping the water around, it will not move on its own, the banging you hear is warmer water hitting cool water and burping back both ways, if i went away and let the fire go out with out any glycal, and depended on my hot water heater to keep the house ffrom freezing up and the unit from freezing up, i would come home in 40 below to find my home and unit frozen solid, i always burn round green wood, load it 2 times a day, never split or dry a peace

[@vonmajor]

I was tempted to go stainless but I have heard of a few people having radial stress cracking that is very difficult to repair. Welding stainless is difficult to say the least not to mention chromium vapors on the inside of a firebox. Wish you well on your stainless unit

[@arnoldromppai5395]

@@vonmajor stainless steel is one of the easy-est to weld, yes you use the wrong kind of stainless steel and over heat it will crack, just like mild steel will fld an crack undre ex-stream heat, you have to know your types of metals and witch ones will take a lot of heat, the best outdoor hot water heater on the market is made out a stainless steel and has a life time warranty, but your going to pay for that kind of high heat stainless

[@peterbrunetto8062]

I would used double wall black pipe, and do the same way as you did ,and maybe larger diameter

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Going to add more pipes over the summer.

[@jtp336]

Would like to know more about your add-on gasifier idea. Would like to add a gasifier to a non-gasifier style wood boiler, to extract all possible usable energy from it. Any vids or links that you could recommend to learn more on that topic?

[@justinaldoff1580]

Just wondering I’m in the middle of building mine but I was just wondering what kind of pumps and how much hp the pumps are and size of hosing you used on you

[@brianmartyn219]

How did you seal the pipes inside the boiler? I would think the threaded pipe would leak and sealant would burn off?

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I cranked the hell out of tightening up the pipes no sealant just metal on metal. Then only had to weld the piece to the boiler. No leaks so far many years in.

[@Tera_Hai]

that booming is water flashing to steam. it can be extremely destructive. massive pressure spikes on the boiler and plumbing

[@stantilton3339]

Working with a 35 year old wood furnace in my basement. Thermopride is the brand. It's getting to the point I may want to look at a replacement. What do ya think about hooking something up for hot air. This place is 150 year old farmhouse in Maine. Could you do it safely? thanks for the tips and info on your build.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I would hook one up to a heat exchanger and then you could use a forced hot air system. Should be relatively easy.

[@stantilton3339]

Thanks for getting back. I'll give it a go.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Glad I could help.

[@hotrodplumber]

Install a fan coil in the plenum of your furnace. You will need to have the water at 140F or higher to make it work good. If you install a rad valve on it with a remote sensor you can install in the return air duct and it will maintain the air temperature you set it at.

[@labshot]

I used to love to clean out my wood burning stove...

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

You and me both! Couldn't believe it when I would fill the whole backhoe bucket with a years worth of ashes.

[@DaSarcasticNorthernman]

Maples are kind of impressive for how hardy they can be. Honestly, I wouldnt let it get much taller before taking it out though, otherwise it's going to ruin the cement pad with its roots.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

It has been a very neat tree to see grow. Might let it go and take my chances with the roots. The pad is 8 inches thick. Probably be time to change something if it does move the pad anyway.

[@raybin6873]

A second comment. The waste oil burning idea - I built a heater using waste oil...it heated fantastic getting real hot! We thought we had a killer idea..but when we stepped outside there was tons of black ash stuff floating everywhere! Looked like a Pittsburgh steel mill. What really killed this idea was the chimney pipe became totally clogged up with fine fluffy ash stuff. It didn't take long to clog it either! You might want to keep that in mind if you try it. Cleaning the chimney was such a big problem we eventually trashed the heater. ☹

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Good to know. Usually I just toss a small cup with some right on the coals and it burns great and clean. Maybe one day I'll make a better system.

[@raybin6873]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld thought a bit more on waste oil burning....have copper tubing inside of stove to dribble feed the oil on fire...(maybe coiled up to preheat)....tubing run outside to container of oil...have a valve to adjust flow rate...tweak it to find "sweet spot" of oil burn rate without problems...just an idea

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

@@raybin6873 I think this would work perfectly!

[@robertdimarcantonio3580]

Run the fan on a rheostat. That way you can turn it up or down. More air will burn cleaner..

[@ShikaKiss]

THANK YOU SO MUCH LOVE YOUR CHANNEL WOW AWESOME HUGS,

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Glad I could help you out. Thank you!

[@ShikaKiss]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld ALWAYS IM READY FOR MY FIEND I WATCHING NOW YOUR VIDEO, LVE IT

[@hk93shooter]

rock wool insulation is high temperature resistant, it would work well with this.

[@gunfighterdesignfabricatio3824]

Why not add a float valve on the water fill?

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

@gunfighterdesignfabricatio3824 simple add on that would really help!

[@luciustate4386]

With five daughters and a wife doing these videos is probably the only time you ever get to talk lol

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Not quite 5 but I keep them popping.

[@marcopolo5553]

What about a float lever like the back of a toilet, when water drops a little float drops which opens valve allowing water in, water level goes up float shuts water valve off?

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

That would be super simple to add to this system and if I ever open the top I'll put something like that in it. Great idea!

[@marcopolo5553]

I hope you never need to open the top to do that mod. Be nice if you got so bored one summer day that you did it lol.

[@daniellyon7904]

What about using rockwool around the outside and raping it with like 16 or 18 g sheet metal so you don't have to worry about the insulation breaking down over time?

[@mattjohnson1554]

What keeps the water jacket from rusting?

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

If it is always wet or always dry it won't rust very much. The water also cooks off all the oxygen that is in it and has even less rusting ability.

[@dw6213]

You should think about lining it with firebrick.

[@nandodando9695]

Lots of this is so fucking clever. I have looked at many advanced projects and am a welding inspector. I have been dying to build something like this but in a future home. So much of this is useful and the final points of other research I've seen all together it's basically notes.

[@nandodando9695]

Your pressurised bomb is nicely understated. One would pucker slightly once the danger becomes apparent but the amount of pop makes a man quietly optimal.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

The thought of leaving it unattended was terrifying. Great peace of mind now not having to worry.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

It is a great project with awesome rewards. Miles of welding!

[@brascrayons9675]

Hey new sub

[@8ank3r]

I have an idea for your gassifier. A small closed box welded into the boiler with access to the side by your generator. Bonus, when you pull the char out of the firebox on the gassifier you can use it for fuel in your boiler.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

You got it! I have a spot off the chimney box that I can use to provide the heat to try this.

[@davekauffman8727]

You've never had just water in your car, have you, antifreeze is what keeps the water going though an engine from corroding the cast iron or steel. Very nice stove though! I'd burn a really hot fire once a week, that takes out creosote, burning waste oil like you mentioned should be exactly what you need, I'll do the same when I get my stove built.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I'm still not sold on antifreeze. 15 years without it and still killing it. Once the oxygen is cooked out of the water very little corrosion can take place. Antifreeze in a car keeps it from freezing and also raises the boiling point of water. A good burn does keep the creosote in check. Good luck with your build,

[@kentbuerk9479]

Antifreeze is very corrosive, especially the newer pink and red antifreeze. Steel and iron will corrode a lot faster with antifreeze then it will with just water. Cars have antifreeze so the cooling system does not freeze. A lot of boilers have antifreeze so they won't freeze when not in use. But antifreeze does cause electrolysis which causes corrosion. Humorous studies have been done over the years that have proofed that water is better when used alone , if possible

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

@@kentbuerk9479 I couldn't have said it any better.

[@dreece2000]

I was gonna say buy yall beat me to it antifreeze must be corrosive because something is eating away the aluminum on these newer car engines

[@ryanlewis8093]

@@kentbuerk9479 I believe that antifreeze gets really corrosive when you add copper into the mix. I can't recall if it was a combination of steel/copper which causes the problem, or if antifreeze is just corrosive to copper, but either way, I believe that copper is to be avoided with antifreeze.

[@ksmithkatcarving]

20/20 June and our boiler got several cracks in it around the door so we had a welder come out for $175 which is more than reasonable fairly cheap did a great job of it would cost us $1,000 just to weld that one piece, you filled the boiler back up with water after 6 to 7 years of using it each year, to see if there was any more holes and found out there was a whole third the top or we couldn't even get to it to weld it you would have had to taken the whole furnace apart itself just to weld one piece, not worth it if we need to heat our house we're going to go back to our old Log Cabin which we've never had a problem with it will heat are home but it won't heat our pool we're going to look for other solutions to heat our pool, you would think for $5,000 a furnace would last longer than 6 to 7 years wish I had them spent the money or invested in it me it's all a bunch of BS fabricated for someone else to make money off of B boiling machine that cannot stand the Heat wished I would have researched it more before I purchased do anyone thinking about purchasing a wood boiler buyer beware are welder said he well it's a lot of them that crack

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I think they are made from thinner steel. This one I built out of 1/4 inch thick steel. Still no holes and only has mild surface rust. Good luck figuring out your solution.

[@walterkersting1362]

I’d have a very long chimney pipe on it just to get the smoke up and away. I have a smoker and I put a16’ chimney on it against all advice and I’ve been happy with it. This thing you have is really a lifestyle; it’s not for everyone; it’s a lot of work and considerable worry. But your pride is justified.

[@titaniakelly8558]

nice video

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thank you glad you liked it.

[@jajastory8628]

Nice one ser🙌🙋‍♀👏🤝

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thanks !

[@34979Charlie]

I wonder how many bodies have been disposed of, in things like these over the years.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I imagine quite a few.

[@RickBork]

The way you talk like your proud of it lends to being a spoof. Your pony tail says "you" believe it.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Hard not to be proud of doing so much difficult technical work that has paid off in spades.

[@justinlynch6507]

Your stove is not the best design and as far as the fan I you loose power the fan don't mean anything the water is not moving it will boiler over

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I'm sure there are better designs out there. I made this boiler 15 years ago. It has a fire in it for 8 months straight and haven't had to do anything to fix it. That alone is pretty impressive. If I lose power which has only happened 2 times in 15 years and only for an hour, I can hook my 2 circulator pumps up to a small generator and still use the boiler. Boiling over has never happened and is the least of my worries. Freezing up is my only concern, which has also never happened. Not paying for heat is the best design.

[@erikblough5123]

Rick Bork yes

[@siberiansiberian3278]

why is the boiler on the street, we have in Sibir frosts -40 degrees, boilers are not as huge as you have and they are in the room

[@jamiemeyer2483]

@ 5:22 .. Hot Water Heater ? I think may you mean.., water heater ? Why heat Already Hot water ?

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

It's 50 50 who says what. The box even said HOT water heater. That's what I've always called it. And I'm heating hot water to be even hotter. So it applies. LOL

[@AnthonyStabler]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld George Carlin would approve.

[@shakeelmohideen7172]

😂 the pipes on the floor 😂.. what if in winter the pipe break's and uve got all the burning wood and ash covering it 😂and.u got a snow storm 😂.. hey man.. change the pipe from the floor.. maybe to the ceiling of the burner...build a fireplace inside the house and run plumbing type piping to work as chimney..to go into each room and then to outside...like an industrial air-conditioner connection.. 😂

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Yes the pipe is on the floor. You wouldn't believe the pile of red hot coals that pile up on it. And the pipe breaking would be no different than any other leak the boiler might have. Fireplaces in homes are the most inefficient ways to heat a house.. All your heat goes up the chimney!

[@christopherdowning7776]

I do auto repair, so I have more antifreeze and waste oil than I know what to do with… this is the perfect solution. I think the only improvement I would make is a mechanical expanding metal (aluminum) damper control that would mechanically maintain water temp.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

An aquastat would control the damper very well. It's been on the lost of improvements to make. I set it up on wifi controls this past year and that has made life easier. Good luck with yours.

[@sabrinapoole592]

20:01 Awesome video. Glad that you are uploading regularly. Will definitely come back for the next. Thumbs Up 👍

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thanks glad you like it. Much more to come.

[@michaelmerryman6022]

Without that fire rope around the door u end up burning way more wood. I built mine and thought it was a good idea not putting the fire rope around my door and found out how much extra wood I was going through.put the rope back on and made all the difference in the world. Without that rope around the door the draft coming through it and burning the wood up much quicker

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Adding the rope is going to be one of the improvements that I make this year to boost efficiency. I'm in the middle of making that video now.

[@michaelmerryman6022]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld sweet

[@Biggus_Dickus_876]

Really dig your show amigo.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thank you! More to come!

[@wolfmantroy6601]

No anti-freeze? That could be a disaster here in Alaska.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Up there I would use antifreeze. However to does hit -20 here just not for long periods. A week at 0 degrees is common too.

[@BVLVI]

Why not get rid of the electric pumps altogether. Just make an insulated water tower the heat will be its own pump.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Interesting concept. I wonder how high It would have to be. I have radiant floor heating on both levels of my house so water needs to rise over 12 feet and it's a lot of pipes to flow through.

[@SuperHurdman]

Brian are you Canadian!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

No sorry. Curious as to why you ask?

[@borisav2000]

Americans smart .

[@grahamburbage7686]

I never understand the advantage of a boiler so far away from the house.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I would say mine is 50 feet from my front door. Perfect distance all the smoke has the correct draft to blow away from the house.

[@forrestbehr8778]

Great info. But dude....have you discovered decaf? ...and/or cannabis? @_@

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Decaf slows you down.. How do you think I come up with this stuff? Personally I don't like slow videos. I want as much information as I can get as quick as I can get it.

[@Ch4grin]

The outlet to the chimney from the firebox should be in the bottom or near the bottom of the firebox. When you leave it at the top you're exhausting the hottest gasses inside the firebox. It'll still draft fine; you can look at any "rocket mass heaters" here on youtube to see that. "Contra flow masonry heaters" use a similar principle to improve the efficiency of their burn. Too look at a good design for a wood boiler look at the design of Tarm wood boilers. They look completely backwards compared to your boiler, but if you can build your own with that backwards principle you'll have a kick ass heater and you'll have less fire damage to the expensive 1/4" steel plates inside your firebox. Regarding that 1 PSI pressure buckling the top, that's calculated at one pound "per square inch". For a 48"x48" area, about 2300 square inches, that's 2300 pounds of lifting force and it's gonna buckle anything. That doesn't mean it would ever explode per se; 1 PSI is only slightly more than an average human can blow. Lastly, antifreeze is readily biodegradable so digging a hole and pouring it in would be acceptable, or any sewage treatment plant (where your poop goes) would accept it as well. It will also burn more easily than motor oil if you can boil off enough of the water.

[@paulbaker3144]

Ch4grin Good suggestions. I’m considering a DIY downdraft gasifier wood “boiler”. And rocket stoves are interesting. There’s a lot of things one can do to make it more efficient. Place the entire outdoor boiler in a greenhouse and grow a garden for example. Or a greenhouse with a workshop attached. The waste heat will “knock the chill off” in the greenhouse and workshop. Also raising tilapia fish in warm water tanks. If one is going to all the trouble of building and running a wood boiler then it makes sense to use the hot water for lots of functions. I wonder if a triangle shaped combustion chamber might be more efficient than a square chamber?. With the flue exit underneath the boiler but a bypass installed for starting and getting the draft going.

[@walterkersting1362]

The door can accommodate furniture…

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Sometimes it does!

[@chadmcdougall2536]

Explains nothing about his pipes I just did it

[@franciswhite419]

looks like it would be good for burning tires

[@anything.with.motors]

I hate to be that guy! But i also love to be that guy. You only need a 30-50% mixture of anti freeze so you only need 60-100gals of antifreeze to ensure the boiler is safe an doesnt crack. But i get it. Its expensive and what can you do with it.. Like if it cracks your dumping 200 gallons of antifreeze water on your land witch is a environmental crime in most areas (im not a hippy yuppy and i don't care... but antifreeze smells sweet and animals love it and will drink it an die... so watch your dogs or cats if you do use antifreeze) But. On the same note. Anti freeze actually has anti rust inhibitors in it. So its better to run antifreeze to be honest. It keeps it from rusting from the inside out. Water causes rust. If your down in florida or texas its still recommended to put antifreeze in your engines for example because it keeps the engine coolant passages from clogging up with rust (because its not corrosive. Its actually inhibits corrosion) So anti freeze will not hurt your boiler but will help it! It also increases the temperature at witch water boils at aswel. So less water will evaporate if its an open top boiler like most outdoor boilers are!!

[@anything.with.motors]

Hope this helps you in anyway brother. Or anyone reading this! I love these units and I want one my self. I'm from Canada 🇨🇦 and its cold as your mother in law here budd 😂

[@anything.with.motors]

Another note. Why pay money for garbage removal when you can burn it like you said. All things including food and plastic Give off gases when burned hydrocarbons an methane. Why pay for a abunch of trucks to deliver hydrocarbons like propane 1000s of miles or garbage trucks weighting dozens of tons to drive their 200+hps diesel motors around When every pound of Burnable material is roughly 7200btu per lb. (Propane is alittle more yes @21,000 per lb) But you can't mine oil an refine propane. Well you can log trees!

[@anything.with.motors]

Wood btus per lb example as well. 1lb=7800btus dry(0% moisture) The avarage firewood is 15% moisture So 1.15lb= 7800btus( or 7200btus per lb roughly with low moisture.) As an example. 10 lbs of dry is 78,000btu 11.5lbs of fire wood should be 80,000 btus (15% moisture) Wet wood is 2500btus per lb and 85% moisture So 18.5lbs= 46,000 btus. This is a comparison to show why The equivalent weight of wood with its water weight. And how its much better dryed. But bone dry wood is slightly less. Albeit great for kindling and starting it up!

[@DynamicSeq]

Why not build a longer cylindrical stove say 5'-6' long 4'-5' diameter and then cut the logs longer..you would save so much work, by not cutting all those little pieces...

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

My next boiler will be able to burn 5to 6 foot logs in a longer and narrower chamber. The whole idea less work. Great idea

[@castirondude]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld Wood burns far more efficiently when really hot than lukewarm. The problem with really large boilers is that a really large really hot fire consumes a lot of wood and generates more heat than you would know what to do with, so you end up having a smouldering fire that is inefficient and produces a lot of smoke..

[@rexhavoc2982]

I think burning waste oil is a good choice, you can get all you want for free. check out you tube oil burners for ideas, I melt metal with oil.

[@jimtwodogs3084]

It wouldn't have blown up, it would just pop.

[@billykolnsberg344]

Now the bigger pieces burn for days??? 😂

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Big pieces hold a coal for longer. Sometimes you can build a fire around a chunk 3 times before it completely burns. Works well in the dead or winter.

[@flowerstone]

Water heater. Not hot water heater. 😏😊

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

It even says hot water heater on the boxes hahaha. Tomato tamatoe

[@timb3174]

Wrap your pipes with pool noodles first

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

That's the best comment and idea yet!

[@timb3174]

Glad I could help

[@williammasters3545]

SUGGESTION --SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM WITH ADDING WATER --INSTALL A TOILET FLOW MASTER TO AUTO FEED YOUR BOILER ...

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I'll probably add something like that on the next boiler. Would work great.

[@jtp336]

I would love to hear more about your gasifier idea. I've seen lots of folks make videos of stand-alone gasifiers, but pretty much noone has adapted one to a wood boiler. I'd like to connect up a gasifier to my wood boiler, but not quite sure how to go about it (just connect to the chimney exhaust and add the necessary filter/condenser, or is there more to it than that?)

[@Dollapfin]

Love the idea, but it’s super inefficient in terms of combustion. I’m building one out of my own design. It’ll be similar to a large batch box rocket stove. Thanks for all the info. It’ll really help.

[@terrygonyon4490]

I stumbled on this video searching for wood burning water boiler/heaters and reading some of the comments I'd like to add. I wish I could upload a couple pictures here to show as I also built my own wood fired water heater. I do love you list of tips and I gotta say i really agree with your water Inlet/Outlet setups. I've found the same as you have. I have my outlet on the bottom and the return inlet on the top. One thing I would like to point out for those reading is you do NOT need a lot of water voulume to heat with. 50 gallons is sufficient to easily heat a 5,000 square foot home. As you may not have mentioned but others have you do NOT want nor need fire brick... In a conventional wood stove yes but not in a water heater. The brick acts as an insulator and will take longer to heat up and pass the heat to the water. I heated a 1840s 4800sq ft home with ours and had no trouble keeping it 78-80 degrees in the winter with 160 degree water temps. My boiler is 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep. There is 4 inches of water space on the sides and bottom and 8 inches on the top. Now, I also made mine 2 levels. I welded heavy fence post half way across and used an upper and lower door. Bigger logs on top and smaller on the bottom but I would also burn some green wood on top if needed. The fire below dries it. The reason for only 50 gallon is very quick start up and recovery time. I ran 4 zones off the boiler. The house had 2 big furnaces and I ran water coils to both plenums and to the cold air returns just before the fans. First I used Truck Air Conditioning evaporators as they are high pressure and aluminum. This worked great. At 160 degree water temp i could maintain 140 degree air temps coming out the vents with both furnaces running. I used an electric water heater thermostat to trigger the furnace fans that was also tied to a thermostat to trigger for heat. I also ran an Open system. I welded a 12 inch x 12 inch box offset off the top of the boiler with 2 holes drilled. One for inside the boiler and one outside. I installed a Low Profile toilet valve and plumbed a water line to it. The toilet valve was set to a prefill line in the box and would keep the boiler full. Top that with about 1 inch of oil and that stops steam evaporation. This boiler with 50 gallons of water size is way too big for a 1500 square foot house so I plan on making a much smaller version to hold 25-30 gallon of water. My boiler was 1/4'r plate steel inside and outside layers so it is incredibly heavy.

[@terrygonyon4490]

I should also add that my wood room was only 8 feet x 8 feet by 6 feet tall and that room filled got me through winter easily. I'd go through about a heaping wheelbarrow full of wood a week sometimes less. Zero and below used a little more wood. I estimated about 3 cord a year. Way less than the outdoor boilers they sell that use 13-25 cord a year.

[@robertbromley908]

How did you tranistion from steel to copper for domestic water?❤

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I bought 6" pieces of 3/4 black pipe and ran them through the side and welded them in. Then I could bolt up the copper to them.

[@philhosier9185]

Buy a recirculating pump from hot water heater to boiller, just like a solar unit, it continues to heat the water at a higher ra te. Save the propane !

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

That's a great idea and I'll have to look into implementing a way to add one.

[@HomesteadJay]

Hey Brian! This is crazy that you built this! Thanks for coming over to my channel I figured Id come over and spread some love too! Its amazing how creative people can be! Good skills to have!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thank you. Never actually thought the boiler would work as well as it has over the years. Saves me a fortune!

[@HomesteadJay]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld Yes people complain about the work but it keeps you strong, keep you creative as far as developing efficient methods, and overall makes you independent of the oil man! I know you share the same mindset!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

@@HomesteadJay Sure does. I have a sawmill so the scrap wood heats my house. Every year I make it a point to make one minor improvement to boost the efficiency of the boiler. Every little bit helps as far as less wood to burn and less work to get the wood. Keep your videos about your boiler coming.

[@HomesteadJay]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld Ill be releasing one soon! Stay tuned! Make sure you hit that bell button (I did for your channel) to keep tabs! I try every year as well to do/make/improve some method of my home to be more efficient/independent.

[@douglaswatters7303]

How long does it take for a 220 pound man to burn up in there (clothes removed of course)?

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Why remove the clothes?

[@douglaswatters7303]

@@MrBriansAmazingWorld Well I see you save scrap metal out of the ashes, I wouldn't want the belt buckle and buttons off the Levis 501's just laying around.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

@@douglaswatters7303 today's metals would probably just end up as a melted blob of mystery metal not resembling much of a belt buckle or button anymore.

[@azorestv5283]

nice homemade boiler bro... keep it up

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thanks man ! Really saves a bunch of money!

[@chrisgeorge5190]

Any chance of a diagram please. Chris from the UK having just visited Kona Hawaii. Love your basic approach.

[@williammccann6972]

great video I love your presentation and spending some time with you from here in Oregon

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Thanks Glad you liked it. Pretty neat that you found me here. Hope all is good out there.

[@mikemacgregor5650]

You and I think a lot alike I hate paying utilities! My plumbing, mechanical background and enjoy the fitness aspect of wood heat makes it all work for me. 👍 cheers!

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Really does keep you in shape and saves a ton of money!

[@oby-1607]

Smoke out an intersection. lol. My neighbor has a wood boiler and every time he fires it up its like a mini volcano. You can literally see the smoke for miles.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

Yea there is a local tree service that always smokes out a nearby intersection and I could swear they are the reason for the local ordinance requiring 4 acres to have one. Usuall from burning punky wet wood or garbage.

[@eprofessio]

What if the chimney was square and you had a convey that dumped it into the chimney as needed.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

In sure it would work. Might lose most of the heat going straight up out the chimney though.

[@zacweston2890]

How do u control the temperature of the home? Id like to see your setup

[@Morkvonork]

Hello, I work at a waste disposal site. We sell used oils and grease from grease traps and so on to refinerys. It is not burnt.

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I see many auto shops that have waste oil burners around here. That's why I burn it as well only very hot clean fires get oil so it burns off instantly and very cleanly.

[@MrAdamNTProtester]

you should place a regulator/thermostat on your exit hot water pipe & use that to auto the dampener... choose a good range when water dips below 150 degrees dampener opens when it hits 200 degrees dampener closes... simple & self regulating

[@MrBriansAmazingWorld]

I've been kicking around the idea for an aquastat for a while now. Maybe one day.

[@arnoldromppai5395]

YOU CAN BUY THE RIGHT ELETRTRONIC UNIT ON LINE FOR $120 CND, i have 5 in stock