Outdoor WOOD BOILER, Is it worth it? (How it works)

[@MrRedPelt]

It's our first year on the outside boiler. Last night it was windy and 4 degrees F. Woke up to to a 75F living room. My wife is loving the heat.

[@WitsEndFarm]

That is great! The hard part is once you have one it seems that the thermostat tends to go up..... It would be real hard to go back to paying for the heat other then labor and a little electric.. Glad to hear it is working out.. stay warm!!! Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@Darfvayder]

Livin off the land, very cool! Nice setup

[@WitsEndFarm]

Thank you

[@Nobody-ys9mq]

Awesome setup, super cool to have enough land and trees to meet your familys needs.

[@WitsEndFarm]

Thanks, it is we are very blessed!

[@Turf1able]

Great video! We have had a Woodmaster for MANY years now. Same set up from woodshed to thermostats. We wondered how it would work and save us the cost of propane and how long it would take to pay for itself. It paid for itself in about 2 years maybe!! Of course we have property and unlimited dead trees and such. Also we have always had chainsaws and log splitter etc. It has saved us THOUSANDS. I did the math once and figure we use 8 - 10 cord a year and even if we had to buy the wood ( we don't) I feel it would save money over propane. People have always asked how it works and I go thru the same explanation as you, including telling them it's very much like the radiator in you car as far as when the indoor furnace blower comes on. You do a wonderful job explaining all !! :)

[@WitsEndFarm]

Hey, thanks so much for the great comment! These outside wood boilers seem complicated but are very simple. I agree with you on saving thousands of dollars and would have a real hard time paying that propane bill besides, it is very nice to be able to turn my thermostat up as high as I like and not worry about any bill going up ( just my labor) thanks so much for watching and your kind comment. Have a great day!

[@Turf1able]

@@WitsEndFarm You're welcome! Have a Merry Christmas! :)

[@Turf1able]

@@WitsEndFarm Also people interested should know....We got rid of our large propane tank because it was only used for our cooking stove in kitchen. Our propane company said if we don't get a refill for a year ( for us it was YEARS!!) they charge a "rental fee" on the tank of $250.00 per season. SO....we told them to pick it up and we purchased our own smaller tank to avoid that. Just an fyi to consider. :)

[@WitsEndFarm]

Yes, that is the way to go. When I built my house I purchased my 330gallon tank to avoid rental fees as well as I was able to shop around for my propane. If you rent the tank then you can only purchase propane from that company.... But you are so correct they try to get you one way or the other. Have a great day!

[@haroldj56]

Have you ever thought of putting a plate exchanger in your main loop to heat your domestic hot water? I have a 50 plate exchanger and it works great, best $200 I ever spent. Endless hot water.

[@WitsEndFarm]

I have thought about it, I have an instant hot water heater that I use and doesn't use hardly any propane. I assume you don't use a lot of wood in the summer.

[@Turf1able]

We did and it was wonderful. I disconnected it only because I found we used quite a bit of wood for that benefit. But....endless hot water for sure.

[@bhermon265]

Hey good tips👍

[@WitsEndFarm]

Hey, thanks

[@tclodfelter8789]

I have saved thousands of dollars in propane running my outdoor from running my outdoor wood boiler during the winter the last couple of years. I use the propane for the AC during the summer. They've "topped off" my propane tank twice last year and I still have a credit of over $900. It takes a LOT of preparation and work to have ENOUGH wood to burn all winter. I also heat a 12' x 40' greenhouse in the winter (I have 3 pumps) so I can grow vegetables during the winter...and get an early start on the garden. So that SUCKS a LOT of wood! The older I get... the tougher that's getting... but still well worth it!

[@WitsEndFarm]

I agree, I heat 2 houses with mine but the 2nd is only on few times a month or so. I thought about heating my greenhouse as well we just built one last spring the only issue I have is that it is so far away from the stove. I am new to greenhouses and only ever had a garden ( the greenhouse is my wifes thing and she is learning). You sound like you have a great setup.... Thanks for watching my video and for the comment!! Daryl

[@Jason1Pa]

This is probably one of the better videos explaining these things. All though I really wouldn't want to heat my house with one I'm possibly thinking about using one to heat a garage (pole building) on occasion if I got a project going on and I don't want to freeze. Can these be hooked up to the old radiators you use to see in homes? What about running the tubes threw the floor and heating that way?

[@WitsEndFarm]

Jason, thanks for watching! The answer to your questions are both yes... You can absolutely run the the boiler through the old standup radiators (if that is what you are describing) even throw a box fan behind it to circulate the heat... My neighbor runs his through his hot water baseboard units in his house, his only issue is he does not have a electronic switch bypass so the hot water runs through the baseboard 24-7 so if it gets to warm he opens windows. As far as the radiant floor heat that would work, in fact just before getting my stove I build a non attached garage and if I had the boiler sooner I would have done just that, since I run it 24-7 through the winter to heat my house and the cabin. Thanks again and I due have another video on the woodstove on our KZbin channel kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZTUYaiid7mLp8k I have attached the link if interested I hope I answered your questions and if you have any more feel free to let me know. Daryl

[@Jason1Pa]

@@WitsEndFarm Thanks Daryl I will check it for sure!

[@tclodfelter8789]

I don;t know why...and I can't explain it... but I get an even heat throughout my whole house with the outdoor wood boiler! It doesn't make any sense as it uses the same duct work as the propane furnace... but I don't have any cold/cool spots in any of my rooms like I did with the propane furnace during the winter. And the HOT WATER ... is HOT...INSTANTLY! But it is a LOT OF WORK getting the wood cut, hauled, split and stacked, along with everything else that needs to be done...animals, garden, yard, etc...

[@tclodfelter8789]

I will be building a 40' x 60' cement block barn with radiant heat. My third pump on my wood boiler (Central Classic 6048) will be dedicated to the radiant heat for the floor. I have a friend (he's actually the Central Boiler dealer) that built a 60' x 100' shop and he heats his shop with radiant heat. They work in t shirts inside.

[@Jason1Pa]

@@tclodfelter8789 Wow! Yeah I've heard they work great. It's amazing how cold a floor can get and radiate cold. Once you heat up all that mass it's amazing the difference. I have a 42×56 I want to do it in.

[@happycamper2976]

you should make a viedo of you firing up the boliler and fill it with wood

[@WitsEndFarm]

Maybe I will do that, typically I don't let it burn out.

[@TalmidofMemra]

The cost of Propane is going up, buying quarts of wood would be cheaper in the long run.

[@WitsEndFarm]

Definately, even better if you can cut your own!

[@MrBottlecapBill]

Not really. The cost of the fuel to cut and process the wood will also go up for the same reasons as the propane is going up. If you're already having to process the wood for other reasons, then it's a savings. If you aren't it may not actually be cheaper to burn wood. The energy density of propane/gas is a lot greater. You really have to just try it and crunch the numbers. Don't forget to add the cost of your labour when processing the wood as well. It takes a lot and you may be better off picking up an extra shift at work to pay for heat than toiling for days on wood. You could also concentrate on gathering scrap pallets and lumber from construction sights, or any burnable combustibles possible to supplement. Trying not to live in a huge home is also a plus.......wasted space costs money and time.

[@bustersmith5569]

I don't think so,;;,;

[@bustersmith5569]

Railroad ties work great,,,,,,,,

[@WitsEndFarm]

I bet they do with all the chemicals in them.

[@MattPaiton]

How much does one of these run? Thanks for the detailed video!

[@WitsEndFarm]

Hello, I have not priced one of these in years but from what I have seen they range anywhere from $3500 to 7k depending on the size and type. Larger the unit the more water it hold and bigger the fire box more square ft it will heat. Also some units are steel and others are stainless steel. (no rust) so it really depends on the unit. Thanks for watching!!

[@woodhoundbug4697]

Yeah watching your video really like it I have a century boiler and love it you were saying something about the The weight of the log look upon the Internet and look up a halls log Loader It's something I built one like the video the company is at a business but I'm able to pick up logs logs 2' thick thick and 4' long and put him in mind absolute love it it doesn't wear me out at all just look it up pretty cool thing you're looking to

[@WitsEndFarm]

I will check it out, but I have seen them before. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@drewelling4441]

Thanks for the video. I have a wood boiler that came with the house i plan on using soon. It looks similar to yours but probably much much older. I cant find a model number but its a wood master. It has a valve on the back that was open. I was adding water and it started coming out that valve thats low down lower then where the line goes in. Im assuming that should be closed and its for draining the boiler and if it got too full it would leak out the top by the chimney. Is that the case? Thanks in advance

[@WitsEndFarm]

Yes, that is exactly right. Just fill it until the top pipe overflows. Thanks for watching and good luck with your stove.

[@happycamper2976]

can you burn cut up rail road ties in the out door wood boiler

[@WitsEndFarm]

Railroad ties, will burn in there but due to the chemicals, I would not recommend. I also don't know what the chemical reaction would have on the steel.

[@iambrax9090]

We are currently without electric. We have a generator that is getting electric to our boiler and our refrigerator and freezer works. We cannot get our fan on our furnace to work to get the heat throughout the house. Do you know what we need to do?

[@WitsEndFarm]

I am not sure of your setup but your furnace fan is likely on a separate circuit.

[@iambrax9090]

@@WitsEndFarm, thank you. We are going to try turning the generator off and then back on then slowly turning on the central heat/air unit and the bigger appliances and see if that works.

[@WitsEndFarm]

@@iambrax9090 good luck and stay safe and warm

[@mygrassisbrowner]

great video! I've been considering an outdoor wood boiler to heat my home and a new shop I am planning. When you say 7-10 cords of wood a season, do you mean "full" cords (4x4x8) or face cords? Thanks and keep up the great videos!

[@WitsEndFarm]

Hello Steve, I mean full cords, not always stacked perfectly. I also burn 75% pine as that it what usually blows over and falls around here. If you were to burn hardwood it would last longer and cut down on the number of cords. Sorry for the delay in my response. Thanks for watching!

[@rachaelt3294]

Without electricity how would I use this?

[@WitsEndFarm]

You would not be able to use this without some sort of power source. The pump, and blower would require power to run. Neither require a lot of amps, but would need power. thanks for the question and checking out the video!

[@rachaelt3294]

@@WitsEndFarm we have one and I'm learning all about it. I was hoping to find a way for it to work if the power was out for a short time and in case of a long time.

[@WitsEndFarm]

@@rachaelt3294 you would need a small generator... and would plug it into that. Depending on your setup, hot water baseboard or a heat exchanger in your furnace duct.. You would have to have power or generator to run your blower motor for your furnace. Hot water baseboard setup would not require any power except for your outdoor wood boiler. If you are not setup for a generator to plug into your unit it would be a minimal cost to have a plug installed for your generator to plug into it (if you are not able to do it yourself). I wired my OWB for a generator because if your power goes out and the pumps are not circulating the water inside will freeze and will likely cause damage to pumps, lines or the boiler itself if antifreeze is not used. (which I do not use)Hope this helps feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.

[@happycamper2976]

do you fill it to the maxs with logs

[@WitsEndFarm]

I don't, but you can. I like to check it throughout the day.

[@Random-rt5ec]

Excellent video - 8 miles south of Boston, MA: 99% of my 3200 sq/ft home’s heat comes from a centrally located wood pellet stove. I burn 300 40LB bags/year @ $5.50/bag & $1,650/year to keep my home 75 degrees F warm for my Filipino wife. In 2 years, we are retiring to Northern New Hampshire & a wood boiler like yours looks like an impressive option. I believe President Joe Biden will cause the SHTF & when it does a wood boiler like yours would allow me to scavenge the forest for wood to keep warm. This will be critical when propane. wood pellets and heating fuel oil become unavailable.

[@WitsEndFarm]

Hello, I also have a pellet stove in my basement for backup and light it sometimes just to be able to see the fire.. It is always nice to have various options for heat. I have heat pump with backup propane furnace and the pellet stove in basement but only use my boiler for heat. I like having options for heat source electric, propane, pellets, wood, as you say prices are rising and as long as I am able to cut up a tree I don't have to worry about the cost of the other. Getting a little scary out there with everything going on. Thanks for watching and commenting and hope you and your wife stay warm.

[@tomdesantis551]

I bet a tire would heat it up fast

[@WitsEndFarm]

I'm sure it would.... LOL smoke a little too!!! Thanks for watching.

[@leonidtomnov8933]

I don't understand this outside boilers. Why? I have closed circle central heating, it's at least 10x more efficient than your outside boiler.

[@WitsEndFarm]

I understand... I do not have hot water baseboard which is a circle central heating, if I did I could just run it through that, and if I wanted to get more involved I could just add a pressure tank and close the system and it would be a closed circle heating. I do have a heat pump with a propane furnace backup but I prefer not to use it as the cost of propane is pretty high in my area and other than my labor the boiler cost nothing to use except a small amount of electric.. Thanks for watching... and I appreciate your comment. Happy New Year!

[@ScriptureFirst]

That intro was painfully loud after that low volume preview. Redo w voiceover out of the wind.

[@WitsEndFarm]

I appreciate your comment... I was new at the video thing. Sorry for the wind ... Thanks for watching.