Watch Before You Buy an Outdoor Wood Boiler!

Next 10 to subscribe get M&M's!
Starting up my Outdoor Wood Boiler for the season and answering some questions and comments that came up from my last videos.
Find Us on Facebook: / buildlifeyt
Find Us on TikTok: / buildlifeyt
On this channel I make weekly videos documenting the build of my rustic mountain rental cabins. When not on a build trip I make videos building and preparing for the trips as well property maintenance, firewood and my outdoor wood boiler.
Equipment I use:
Stihl 500i
Kubota L4060
Kubota L2501
Case 435 Skid Steer
Super Splitter
Split Fire inverted splitter for Skid Steer
Saw Stop table saw
Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
Texas Pride Dump Trailers
Cameras:
Cannon M50
DJI Osmo Pocket 2
Go Pro Hero 9 Black
DJI Mavic air 2 Drone
Insta 360 Go2
email: [e-mail]
#outdoorwoodboiler #firewood #owb

[@G.I.JeffsWorkbench]

Thanks Steve (& Gavin) for taking the time to make these videos. This is the great thing about social media: being able to learn from others. Lots to consider. I appreciate your honest, straightforward overview of the pros & cons. Very helpful as we consider an OWB.

[@buildlife]

Thanks, It's good to hear. Honestly I have learned more from my own comments section than any where else. Lot's of knowledgeable people on here.

[@jeffd3667]

Your video is very interesting. I've had a Taylor wood boiler since 2004 (sold and installed Taylor & Legend stoves up until about 12 years ago). My friends and I bought Taylors because they have HUGE water tanks. My T750 hold 550 gals. It has a double pass flu with a secondary burn chamber, but isnt a true gasifier. Our fire boxes were about 40" deep, 30" square. Door was as big as the firebox, so if you could lift it, it went into the stove. The fan does have an air shutoff on it, so it really limits the burn in between cycles. With that much water, it was hours between fan cycles which helped a firebox full of wood last 12plus hours. (heating approximately 5000 sq ft). I agree with the green wood theory. The only 'seasoned' wood I ever burned, was left over logs from the previous year. Otherwise, every season, I bought semi loads of logs (10-12 cord) 6-12" diameter, fresh cut, and started burning. We also serviced about 30 Taylors in Eastern Wisconsin. Every year we pumped the water out of the tanks and into a holding tank we took along. Checked the Taylor corrosive chemical levels, and added if necessary. The tanks were pressure washed, cleaned, and inspected, and we also replaced the anode rods as soon as they disintegrated. Then we pumped the original water back in to save chemical. Most wood boilers are open loops, so people worried about draining and introducing air into the system with fresh water dont understand the system exactly. There are still many Taylor stoves (and about 10 other brands) in Eastern Wisconsin that are 20-30 years old, and if serviced correctly, will last another 10 plus years. Great video. Now I have to go back and watch some of your older vids.

[@buildlife]

Thanks for the info Jeff!

[@TYMWLTL]

Good video. I like that you cover a lot of wood burning variables without pushing one thing over the other. I use a gasification stainless steel unit in my basement. Twice a day in the coldest weather and you learn how much to load in with cold verses moderate outside temperatures. As far as the water goes mine has been in the system for years and years. I did treat it when first filling it way back when. It turns a nasty black from in the house copper lines it runs through, but I would never consider changing it. From time to time when a circulator springs a leak is the only time I have introduced more water into the system. Having had more than three boilers I settled on the stainless steel unit because I'm. no longer young and don't want to change out any more boilers. The best thing is the independence from the fluctuating energy costs especially here in the Northeast. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[@buildlife]

Thanks. Good to hear. Is your boiler an indoor wood boiler? I don't know much about them but it would sure be nice to add wood from inside when its -12 degrees like last week! Stay warm.

[@gregoryhumphries8956]

Your right about the enjoyment and equipment of it all. I have 2100 squ House. 6 cords Mid Nov to mid April. 19 year old Central Boiler Classic We use to spend a great deal of time splitting. Last year I bought a WolfRidge Pro. Definitely a game changer.

[@buildlife]

Right on! That's an awesome splitter!

[@brianwest9178]

Liked the video. I work on commercial boilers for a living. The idea with water treatment limiting the water lost because every time you add fresh water to the boiler side you are adding minerals and fresh oxygen. Ideally you filter and treat the water and not change unless something is WAY out of range. For glycol you do NOT loose freeze protection once heated up. You do loose efficiency running glycol as it does not transfer heat as well as water, not a substantial amount.

[@andrewframe8046]

Hi! I'm a fireman on a steam locomotive, and I really like your theories on fuel consumption. You are correct. A hotter fire will burn through more fuel faster. And when you only need to heat up the water to a certain temperature, that can be rather wasteful. Using green logs strategically to make your fire last longer is a smart trick.

[@buildlife]

Thanks for the info! I do think the creosote is a problem with too much wood. I suppose there is a balance.

[@andrewframe8046]

@@buildlife Oh, absolutely. The biproducts of burning wood should always be considered.

[@rigovargas3066]

I have never had a boiler but am considering buying one for our new build. That said I have burned tons of wood in our indoor wood stove. Green wood does last longer but it doesn't produce nearly as much heat so I guess it depends on if the heat it produces will be sufficient to meet the temps you need. Also, a lot of heat is wasted igniting green logs so there is a level of inefficiency there also. Laslty, green logs require a higher temp to actually burn so I would be concerned about the boiler fire actually going out if you only had green wood in there?

[@tyharland1906]

I just reached into my front pocket and pulled out a bunch of wood chips lol. You're absolutely right about it not being all about saving a dollar. The amount of money I've spent on my wood cutting/boiler/splitter/axes/wood truck operations would've paid the gas bill for 10yrs or better. BUT...that being said I've had a hell of alot of fun doing it. Good content, enjoy your day

[@buildlife]

Thanks you too! Well said!

[@thereasoner9454]

And instead of paying for a gym membership you never use, you got a physical workout to keep your body moving.

[@TYMWLTL]

You said that well.

[@toddsoutsideagain]

Very good points on this wood boiler vid. I myself would love to have one installed to heat the house and garage. Although I have a small house and garage, a boiler would still be satisfying to me. Great vid👊🏻

[@buildlife]

You could get rid of that huge cookie pile you got!

[@ryangroat7724]

Solid insight, thank you brother 👊🏼

[@buildlife]

Any time!

[@HomesteadJay]

I love the discussion! Long live wood boilers! Thanks for the shout out bro! I was just going to make a smiliar video since I just finished the wood stove install too so now I can compare those two LOL! LONG LIVE THE FLANNELS!

[@buildlife]

Nice, I'm struggling with the flannel switch, I need to find one with a hood!

[@HomesteadJay]

@@buildlife All mine do LOL

[@danaceven]

I think I first came to your channel on your first wood boiler video. I didn't know anything about them and one of the youtubers I watch had a fire in his and was in the process of fixing it all back up and I thought it was interesting and it led to yours. I love splitting wood myself, great exercise and just plain fun to do, and if you can heat your house out of it at the same time....SCORE!

[@buildlife]

That's awesome! Where do you burn the wood? For years we had a ton of fire pit fires in the back yard and no fireplace. Then the addiction let me to a boiler. Fire pits are a gateway drug!

[@danaceven]

@@buildlife I have a nice size bonfire meadow that we have lots of nice night bonfires. We also have a good size family room fireplace that gets a lot of attention during the cold months.

[@tc6643]

I just came across your channel and subscribed. I've heated my 3400 square foot house with my wood boiler for 15 years and love it. I actually burn about 9 months out of the year because I also heat my swimming pool with it. It is a lot of work-but like you, I enjoy the cutting, splitting, and the smells! Great advice on the indoor water fill valve. I have mine set up that way too and it is awesome. I would like to add that for that install you MUST have a backflow preventer so the domestic water is not compromised by the boiler water. As far as draining of the boiler-the only thing I do is drain each year until it runs clear (maybe 5-10 gallons) and then add a 1/2 gallon of conditioner. I personally think draining the water completely is a bad idea. Keep up the good work with the channel!

[@buildlife]

Good to have you along! The hot water from the boiler is a closed loop and heats domestic through a plate exchanger so they never have the option to "touch" We were considering a pool and, we would still do the domestic hot water that way too. I'd even plumb my hot tub into it. Does it use allot less water when you aren't running heat?

[@tc6643]

@@buildlife I'm sorry if I wasn't clear in my original post. I understand the plate heat exchanger allows for two separate water systems and they don't "touch". In your video you mentioned a water fill valve to replenish the evaporated boiler water (instead of running a hose out to the boiler). If I understand you correctly yours is set up just like mine. I have the domestic cold water (with a backflow preventer and ball valve) connected to the outdoor boiler loop, which allows an easy fill when needed. My point was the importance of the backflow preventer so the boiler water can't come in contact with the domestic cold water. I hope that all makes sense. To answer your question about water (and wood) consumption when not running heat-I actually burn about the same amount of wood to heat the pool in the summer as I do to heat my 3400 sq ft house in the winter. Again, keep up the great work with the videos!

[@buildlife]

@@tc6643 Thanks!

[@freidrichnietzsche6643]

@@tc6643 using a boiler to heat a swimming pool is an awesome idea. How did you plumb the pool loop into the boiler to get the heat?!

[@paulmerritt7540]

Draining your boiler just adds oxygen to the boiler when you refill it, that is what allows oxidation so I wouldn’t change water any more than when you have to add water from evaporation. Yes you can add oxygen scavenger to the boiler water, and it will dilute as you evaporate water from the system but less oxygen in your boiler water is a good thing.

[@Mustang-tt3zt]

Great advice I'm gonna pass it on to my friend here in NH.

[@buildlife]

Please do!

[@metaspencer]

Nice video man. We recently installed one and the kinks are getting worked out ... great to have!

[@buildlife]

Thanks, I'm about to go works some kinds out of mine this morning LOL!

[@jjgregory4844]

The portion of your system that will have the most adverse affect (and cost) will be when the side arm on your gas/electric domestic water heater, working in reverse when the boiler is not producing heat, tries to keep all the system water at the temperature setting of the water heater. A by-pass loop and some isolation valves could maybe remedy this situation relatively easy, but you’d have to remember to switch between in and out of service, depending on system water temp. (could possibly done with an aqua stat?)

[@buildlife]

Yeah I'm not sure. I think the difference between the cold water and the indoor temps is only like 40 degrees and we only do that for a short while here and there so I don't sweat it too much. I do like the idea of a temperature controlled bypass though.

[@chaosplan]

Your boiler vids are helping me make the big decision. I like your setup with a propane boiler as backup. That would solve my biggest concern, frozen pipes when away for a long weekend.

[@buildlife]

I don't think I would do one without!

[@HuckThis1971]

If you add glycol to your system, it won't freeze!

[@thereasoner9454]

Note, glycol is used as an anti-freeze in cars, operating at an average of 180 degrees, with spikes to 210 degrees, or higher. It lasts a long time. It also lowers the freeze rate when mixed with water to way below 0 degrees, and increases the boiling point above 212 degrees for plain water. It also helps to inhibit rust in a system.

[@buildlife]

Seems like it should work.

[@MasterBuilderofTruth]

You can also kill your dog with it

[@bluethunder1951]

Antifreeze for hydronic in floor heating isn’t the same chemical mixture as the anti freeze glycol that goes in a vehicle.

[@thereasoner9454]

@@MasterBuilderofTruth Yes, but what type of person would make it available to their dog?

[@thereasoner9454]

@@bluethunder1951 True, but there are other options to improve overall efficiency and transfer.

[@thomasarchambault9463]

WOW! This guy is loaded with money. You are definitely not the average guy.

[@buildlife]

It's all relative. Work 100 hours a week for 30 years and a fella can have a few nice toys!

[@mikesilver885]

Bahahaha I'm sure he's got dirty hands and clean money.

[@user-xg7uy8ec7v]

My water has been in my boiler for 19 years with no problems. I keep the PH at 8-9 and it's still problem free.

[@buildlife]

Thats encouraging!

[@mjuberian]

Year 20 is when big big problems start....

[@donaldelder7565]

Some things I have learned with our boiler. I got the smallest I could... 80 gallons. Ours is traditional like yours and I will never go to a gasification u it. I use a lot of pine or Poplar because it dumps its btu very fast and can heat a cols boiler three or four times faster than oak. I use oak or other high btu wood to build a hot coal bed or when overnights are below 15 degrees. Green wood is perfect over a good hot coal bed if the boiler will idle for long periods, but it will smoke while the coal bed dries out the green wood. I bought the small 80 gallon unit because the idle time is much less than say a 350 gallon unit. I don't load any more than 3 times with softwood on a below freeing 24 hour period, but I also don't build huge amounts of creosote. I only heat about 3500 Sq feet total, but plan to heat a lumber kiln soon. I have plenty of oak, locust or other good hardwoods available, but really like the fast heat of softwood. Water only.... I add water, but never change it, we let the pump run year round, but isolate the heat exchanger from the loop if we run the AC in summer... the firebox will sweat heavily if you don't isolate the heat exchanger. We have LP backup, but can go years without getting LP.

[@buildlife]

I love burning softwood in mine too. When you get an aspen or pine log it often surprises me because I don't expect it to be that light!

[@clarencehopkins7832]

Excellent stuff bro

[@buildlife]

Thanks for the visit!

[@irondoger]

Best video on this subject that I have seen

[@buildlife]

Wow thanks!

[@randizzleforshizzle9957]

My grandpa is 89 years old and still rocking his wood boiler. And its cheaper for him to heat his house this way over the propane furnace. If he had to run propane all winter hed go broke. But his house is maybe just over 1000sqft, but he doesnt heat the upstairs so I think he heats less than that. Ive been thinking about wood burning as well.

[@buildlife]

I love it, Activity in your golden years like that keeps you young!

[@bluethunder1951]

The Empyre 250 boiler has been heating our 3500sq ft log home since 2001. We bought the home in 2012 then I retired in 2015, since then it’s a yearly chore to cut trees, buck them up in rounds 20” long, then using my skid steer with splitter attachment split up to ten to twelve cords of firewood. Like you in the mechanical room in the basement I can add water by opening a valve and watch for the water to overflow. When we start to get the freeze thaw cycles warm in the day cold at night I leave the pump on even without running the boiler for a day or two as one days burn usually heats the house for a couple of days. As for backup we have an indoor fireplace and electric boiler that can be switched but it’s a big expense to run it, after years of running it for a couple of years at about $600 - $800 a month on power bill by running the wood boiler that costs about the same to operate but with me doing all the work that power money goes to diesel fuel and food. Like you said it’s a lifestyle, for me in my early sixties now its becoming more of a chore not a pleasure to feed the wood boiler, sucking in that puff of smoke every time the door gets opened. I purchased a propane 80000 btu forced air furnace this summer to install in the basement as I’m not getting any younger. All your points were so true 👍🏻.

[@buildlife]

All good points. For now I enjoy the process and the "exercise". I think when I don't I'll just turn it off. Looking at solar now. Similar cost and a lot less work!

[@bluethunder1951]

@@buildlife I’m in New Brunswick just on the Maine border we don’t get enough sunshine to pay for solar, my neighbour is off grid with whole house solar, he has a diesel generator that runs about twice a week in the winter to keep his batteries charged, so it really doesn’t pay for itself in the winter months. Right now propane is the cheapest fuel we can get. I’m going to use the boiler during the day and have the furnace set to come on if the temperature in the house goes below 70 at night and as a backup if the boiler craps out.

[@jeremy.billigton]

hell yeah green burns longer lmao but u gotta have a crazy hot fire great video we gotta stove but its a inside house and we gotta burn dry pieces in it

[@buildlife]

For as cold as it is this week (-12) I'm going to be burning green wood pretty soon. We leave our furnaces at 68 and supplement with the indoor stove. My wife has it at like 90 right now! Burning dry walnut.

[@mikesilver885]

Very relaxed and informative video. Thanks. I've burnt woodstoves in my house for 36 and on the fence to buy one for 20 years ! Now at 64 idk if Its too late! Like yourself I love everything about burning wood. From felling , bucking, splitting and feeding the stove. I'll leave out stacking! Do you think it's still worth it ? I want to add heating my shop which is 1000 sqft.

[@buildlife]

I think it's worth it for sure. This is my 7th year I think and by my estimation I've broke even splitter and all. I just wanted to be in charge of my heat I guess. Great exercise good for the mind and body regardless of age or the "payout" thanks for watching!

[@damianstasek8946]

You could make a baffle tank that stores 180* water to reduce the amount of times you have to go outside to refill the burner.

[@buildlife]

If it would just stay mid 30's like it is now i'd only have to fill it once a day lol

[@johnthewatermen]

That’s a crazy amount of wood. I usually burn 3 cords but I have a ductless mini split back up. I just burn wood when it’s below freezing

[@buildlife]

Yeah we heat allot of square footage. I have shortened my season a few weeks on each end. No point in running it when we're not heating the shop and garage. Don't need the practice thats for sure!

[@BlenderRookie]

We just have a small home, only 1200ish SQFT including the upstairs(former attic) and we have a small old wood stove that was purchased from Sears in the early 80s. We use it as a secondary heat source. We collect down limbs in the neighborhood or if someone cuts down a tree we offer to take it away for free. We collect scrap wood. All in all I would say each spring through fall we collect about 1-2 cords worth of wood Mostly closer to 1 cord. It seems to be enough to get about 25-35% of our heat from. Ours has no boiler or anything like that. We fire it up when it gets real cold and put a box fan blowing against it. The way we do it because it's all free wood, we consider it free energy. Plus we have the ability to have heat even if the power goes off. I don't personally think 100% wood heat would be a good fit for me. But considering the little amount of effort we put into collecting the little amount of wood we use and the fact that it saves us about $300 each winter, it's worth it. Free energy = more money in my wallet. Add to that that the amount of time spent collecting and prepping the wood is about 10 hours total, that's like a $30 an hr job in terms of savings.

[@buildlife]

Free wood is alright by me! A lot of work but I love it!

[@hillbilly2224]

Great video 👍🤙🇦🇺

[@buildlife]

Thanks!

[@fricknjeep]

hi there interesting show , i built my boiler around 25 years ago . put in glycol in mine back from the start , still working fine , back then it was 199 a gallon , my heat is maintained with refectory cement instead of lots of water , , been threw all the wood senairows you have , green wood will burn after you dry it out by turning the water to steam and sending it up the stack , and that takes BTUs . as for draining your boiler not sure whats best , when you add fresh water your adding fresh O2 and other things as well . you may have seen my boiler at my channel some time , best to all john

[@buildlife]

Thanks John, I think the best part of these videos is after a dozen and all these comments I might get it figured out before I blow my boiler up!

[@Paulman50]

I put glyco in mine as well, used same water for 15 years. Glyco is good for 5 to 7 years.

[@fricknjeep]

hi got 25 years on mine checks out fine but i worry a bit john@@Paulman50

[@3208catbird]

Question on your discussion about Glycol/anti freeze degrading @ 180 degrees. Most water cooled, internal combustion engines, have thermostats that open & close between 160 & 180 Degrees. Like the damper/fan combo in your boiler. I bet that 50% or more people never flush their car's coolant. I know better, but I'm cheap & change mine @ 100K miles. Where I live, 50/50 anti freeze-distilled water, avoids freezing. To me, coolant's biggest advantage is that it really helps avoid corrosion. Steve, You're Right; No Doubt Coolant Degrades. In a car, @ 45 MPH (Avg.) it takes 2,222 hrs to drive 100K miles. Hang with me; 2,222 hrs./ 24 hrs per day = 92.6 days. (3 months) So now, best deal I've seen on Glycol-anti freeze concentrate was, $15/gal. The Big Problem; Example - 6 months per year active heating, assume a 40 gallon boiler capacity. You Would Spend $300 Concentrate & $20 distilled water, every 3 months. Flush job twice & $650 bones out of pocket every winter; NO Thank you!

[@buildlife]

Wow!

[@christhomas9837]

I'm on year 3 running mine. I did a lot of research before buying and I bought a Portage and Main. Mine is an 8,000 sq' unit and holds 100 Canadian gallons of water. Mine turns on at 160 and off at 180 but it takes a lot longer than 1 minute to heat that back up. I agree these things will burn anything but proper dry wood will use less wood than anything else. Also the harder the wood the less it will use. With similar temperatures I can load my boiler with poplar and it will burn faster than if I load it with ash. I burn what I have but try to sort the wood depending what time of year it is. I'm in Southern Ontario heating 7200sq' plus hot water and I use approximately 10 cords/year.

[@buildlife]

Firewood Olympics - Couldn't think of a better way to stay warm!

[@overlordsshadow]

I love my portage and main too, Sask here.

[@scottwebber652]

I’ve been using a classic for 15 years for my 4500 ‘ house. I agree the more u put in the more it burns. I just put in whatever I need to get to my next fill so temp n wind monitored. I’m only using the good stuff when needed- zero otherwise I burn lesser quality wood. Yes green burns slow but more creasote n if I can lift it it goes in. I split very little. My investment has paid for itself in three years n the maintenance is tho daily it’s minimal. I load 2x/ day but always put more in at nite cause I don’t wanna wake up cold or have to go out in the middle of night. A learning curve for sure but what isn’t. N I’ve had all the heat needed with no concern if I want it 80*. Tho 75 is perfect. Regarding investments it was my best return ever n quickly n didn’t get screwed along the way. At 15 I’m looking for another 15 tho not expected. One more thing- leaving the pump run to keep from freezing - yes I’ve found my 60’ of pipe inside allows the inside heat to reflect the water temp outside without the fire in the unit. U covered a lot n not sure I commented on all but 👍

[@damianstasek8946]

A more efficient unit with proper outdoor reset temp controls/automation will help with you using less wood.

[@Sparky-vu2ej]

Just think how much wood it would take if you lived in northern Minnesota to heat the same square footage you have. You are fortunate to be able to have all that equipment for wood processing. I know a guy that has a central boiler 6048. Busts his butt off just has a pickup goes out cuts loads the pickup up by hand then home to unload and split. This is up in North eastern South Dakota we get cold. I use a Quadrafire indoor wood stove 1600 square feet and might burn two cords a year. Have fun processing wood better than sitting in the house.

[@buildlife]

I agree, I used to work for a guiding company and we would go to Northern Ontario for dog sled trips. The guy that had the dogs had a OWB at his house and he would. use sawmill cut offs. He put these massive banded straps of them next to his boiler and would just cut a slice of 100 3' pieces of the stacks and toss it in along with full rounds of whatever fell around his massive property. He used allot of wood and never fussed to split and stack and dry and do all the things a hobbyest like me does!

[@Adam-zp8ls]

interesting video for sure have been looking into getting a boiler myself right now we heat our 3500 sq foot house with a wood stove in the basement burning about 6 to 7 cord of wood to get us from October through middle of may usually live in north central Pennsylvania. A boiler would be nice because i could just set the thermostat at 74 or whatever and forget it instead of having to keep the stove either burning hot or let it burn lower to control the temps myself have a couple friends like yourself that heat with boilers and go through 12 to 15 cords a year ... this seems like the biggest drawback of one to me having to more than double the amount of wood i'm gonna have to be splitting i cut and spilt all my wood by hand currently. i am also looking at a indoor wood gasifier boiler as we currently have a oil boiler that is hooked up to hot water baseboard that we use in September and in may once the day time temps get to high to justify keeping the wood stove going without having to open 10 windows in the house. thanks for the info on the wood boiler definitely covered alot of stuff and haven't found anyone with one yet that doesn't also heat their garage a shop and driveway or something wish i could find someone with a video of just their house for how much wood that would take

[@buildlife]

Lots of options! Good luck!

[@anthonybeasley6294]

As a chemical service and sales tech here’s a few tips. Propylene glycol is very safe to use(it’s regulated the same as distilled water). You can drink it and other than maybe becoming very regular for a bit you won’t die. These use it in food and drinks. Granted that’s good grade IGPG.Glycol is a catch 22 because the more glycol you have, the LOWER your heat transfer efficiency. 35% glycol is generally pretty decent for most states. -40 BP All closed loop systems should have corrosion inhibitor. This will protect all the yellow metal and iron components in the system. All the inhibited glycol producers use their own blend of molybdate, nitrite, or phosphate. All can be mixed and have now negative side effects of mixing. Keep in mind that all of these inhibitors have caustic which will raise your pH. Best pH range for these chemistries to work is 8.5-9.5. If it gets too high you will need to add acid to bring that back down into range for it to be effective and not cause alternate damage from pH being too high. Two ways to layup a boiler, wet and dry. If you store it dry you need to completely drain it and put a fan to ensure there is zero wet spots or moisture. If you don’t you will get corrosion due to the O2 interaction. Even if the steel is damp but not wet it will corrode. If you store it wet be sure to add sulfite to it prior and to keep it at 100ppm all summer. This will remove the oxygen from the water and prevent any putting from occurring. Most my customers for their steam boilers prefer wet layups due to the simplicity. There’s a lot more to the chemistry behind protecting boilers both closed loop and steam systems but I tried to make this simple as I could. Hope it helps out. Cheers!

[@buildlife]

good info!

[@wayne-oo]

In northern Minnesota, never have drained, I run 10 cords of green wood every year , and my house is 1200 sqft and the temp inside is 75 degrees. With that said your heating a ton of area !

[@buildlife]

Yeah I think that's what it comes down to. Given that I'm quite a bit more square ft. and only about 25% more wood. Not to mention I'm 500 miles or so south of you. I'm surprised how much wood these things take. I always think I'm doing it wrong till I talk to someone else with one!

[@charlesviner1565]

LOL, some people get heated 🤣 🔥

[@buildlife]

#dadjokes

[@clarencedavis6348]

Not sure how I got here,but thank you for the educational video. I had no idea wood boilers were a thing.

[@buildlife]

Down the rabbit hole LOL! Glad you found us!

[@scottharper9645]

How often is the boiler blowing down? Do you have an automated system for that job? Go idea to test your water to determine when and how much to blow down. Using a conductivity meter mated to a valve is the best way to blow down your boiler. I sold chemicals for and tested boilers all over Hawaii to keep scale off before becoming a nurse.

[@buildlife]

Not sure what you mean by blow down. The blower goes on and off automatically.

[@kentcorbett5436]

Yeah, spuas far as putting additives or what nothere's a watermelon. I remember wateremind I run it usually from October 1st through to the end of May middle name hitting my shop is job 210 by 40. And and I just run pure water. And it took 20 years of operating for to rushed out one of my 90° block iron elbow so. I replace that last year. So I think i'm good

[@gradou92]

We have 2 80+ year old houses a 50x80ft shop and a 10 year old house on the same boiler. Takes about 40 cords a year.

[@buildlife]

That's allot of wood! I bet if I were in a colder climate and wanted 0 gas I could burn pretty near 20! What part of the country are you in?

[@kdscrapping4452]

If you like it that is what counts!!

[@buildlife]

Aint that the truth!

[@robertspencer4009]

I ran a Heatmor unit for fifteen years and never drained the system. I had the water tested annually. I ran it twelve months so I always had hot water.

[@buildlife]

Good to know. I need a break in the summer!

[@HuckThis1971]

Thank you for buying a Canadian product!

[@buildlife]

You bet!

[@Ian-iu2tl]

In Canada, very few home owners use this sytem despite having zillions of trees handy. reason being, it's so freakin' cold, nobody wants to go outside on a regular basis to stoke the boiler...especially when you are sick or when you get a little too old and decrepit like me to do so. I tossed my boiler and now use natural gas...ahhhh!!!

[@buildlife]

Can't argue with that!

[@cliffmorgan31]

Antifreeze also increases the water’s capability to carry BTUs as it circulates.

[@buildlife]

Do you run it? Do you have to add very often? Wondering if it looses its effectiveness over time

[@michaelmiller7208]

They make an additive to circulate at beginning and ending of cold weather and it holds down on freezing and rust!

[@buildlife]

Do you remember what it's called?

[@michaelmiller7208]

@buildlife It's a 3 letter word likePRC or something. Wish I could remember?

[@genegreear4183]

You said you fill the boiler 3 times a day. It seems that every day is different. I guess if you don’t have a lot of wood left when you go to put more in. Then you are good to go. If you could rig up a sensor to tell you how long the boiler ran without pumping water or turning on a fan. It might help you adjust your wood usage. With a wood burner your still getting some heat. I don’t know how exact you can get. If my house stayed warm and I had boiler wood left at the beginning of spring. I would feel like a lucky man indeed. I enjoyed your video, thank you.

[@buildlife]

Thanks, I could probably get away with 2 times a day when it's not below zero but I'm usually passing it a few times a day so it's easy to chuck some wood in it. Sometimes it needs more than others. I like your point about the wood stove retaining heat when the wood is gone for a bit. I get a similar effect from the radiant heat in the floor as well as the lines and heat exchanger. It may run out of wood but it takes quite a while for the system to go cold if that makes sense.

[@runrau9275]

Not sure where you bought your Heat Master from, however if any of you are around Southern MB and are farming you can exchange any kind of straw in that area for impacted straw pellets to burn as long as tour straw is under 20% moisture. And yes obviously by the semi load.

[@buildlife]

That sounds like a pretty good exchange!

[@runrau9275]

@@buildlife Yes I am not sure what the exchange rate is but you can also just buy it from them and they are along the US/CA border so service both.

[@buildlifeoverland]

@@runrau9275 I have always wanted to do that with my leaves but I don't think it's economical on a small scale

[@marpip01]

Right at the start i use WOOF juice to get the fire started -- it is a mix of gas and oil but enough oil so it doesent explode when lit . I have found that drying the wood well makes alot more heat and less ash and less creosote which is flamable . I switched to a gassifier furnace now and have found that it uses a little less wood than mu older furnace but is a real pia to clean the ashes out . I am running a propolene glycol mix up here in canada as i am worried about it freezing at -40 . I doo add a water stabilizer to the water every year . One thing with a gassifier is there is very little smoke and it doesent smell like creosote when burning . I use propane as a backup both in the house and garage . I am running all the water through all my indoor plumbing including the sidearm for the hot water tank . Running the furnace cold WILL take heat out of my house especially the hot water tank .

[@buildlife]

Interesting to hear from gasifier owners. I'm always curious how much wood it saves. They claim up to 60% so the pia would be worth it (maybe) but for 20% savings I don't think it's worth it. Probably not enough to replace my unit for just that reason anyways. Thanks for watching!

[@mitchstephen5491]

@@buildlifeI have been run a gasification unit for 8 seasons now and cleaning it is a breeze. It uses about half the wood I used to burn. The only problem I have is getting the wood cut soon enough that it can dry but other than that they are great. I have been using outdoor wood boilers for at least 35 years now and at 62 I have 2, one at my shop and one at home. They ore 10 km apart.

[@AlsanPine]

you will have a lot more efficiency if you put in heat storage tanks. my system is also tied to radiant floor but it is mainly heated by solar hot water collectors. the wood is a backup. i also have full solar pv which powers everything. i live up near the canadian border. i use old dead water heaters as heat battery tanks. i also heat my rain water tanks which are under ground as we have real winters. by the way rocket stoves are more efficient sources of wood heat if you can diy. you are correct that green wood lasts longer. it also burns cooler making it more polluting. here in NW i mostly burn ponderosa pine which is not the greatest wood but it is local and very available. since i use a rocket stove, it burns hot and clean as i charge all my tanks which usually last almost a week. needless to say, i do not go through more than 5 cords even in the worst winters. i also built the most of the system with used or junk so i spent $10k on the whole rainwater, solar, wood heat system. when designed for efficiency, your fuel consumption goes down and your resiliency increases exponentially. live well 🙂

[@buildlife]

Nice, sounds like you have quite the system!

[@AlsanPine]

@@buildlife its easy now but it took me 10+yrs to bring it to this point. it was worth it though as i reduced my energy dependency each year and realized savings really helped. i love that my consumption of fossil fuels is extremely low. i use 40gal diesel and 25gal gasoline per year since 2019 and 0 fossil gas since 2011 when i started heating with wood. my electric bill is $100/yr mostly for my metal, machine and wood shops. of course i am retired, sort of 🙂

[@darthgbc363]

LOL.... I like wearing my Carhart jacket to throw firewood. My pockets do get wood in them, but nothing near full.

[@buildlife]

The struggle is real!

[@renees4278]

It would be nice to know what winters are like where you are

[@buildlife]

Such a drastic change year to year but I'm in Illinois, Zone 5 so we get about 4 months below freezing.

[@MrWhtbred94]

Think i went through 3-4 cords this season already in New England. Started it up in November.

[@buildlife]

yeah this is the time of year I start thinking I'll run out! I usually just go till I do and if it's at least part of the way through March I just shut it off.

[@MrWhtbred94]

@@buildlife my first year with one so I’m figuring it all out!

[@jsmcrawler]

How do you do the propane boiler backup that kicks in automatically

[@buildlife]

it's just a valve that works like a thermostat. When the water line from the boiler drops below a certain temp it switches over to gas.

[@amandadavis9726]

Green wood does burn longer. When I was a kid, my dad and I would gather wood for the winter. For the longest, I didn’t know why we had to stack dry and green wood for the wood stove. I finally asked him why dry and green wood? He told me that the dry wood in the bottom will get the stove going, and the green will keep the house warm later because it burned slower.

[@buildlife]

I agree. Seems like (at least in my boiler) allot of the heat when burning seasoned wood goes out the chimney (don't need as much) so whatever makes longer burn times is better (for me anyways)

[@user-mh3wl5ub4t]

It's got a draft control in relation to feeding air to the fire, it acts like a thermostat. Stack it one row bottom up to top of door. Set how hot you want the water temp walk away. It'll take care of itself.

[@user-mh3wl5ub4t]

O' one more thing keep it near the door. Not half way or near the rear. Right up front exhaust is in the back.

[@buildlife]

I’ll try it!

[@jjgregory4844]

@@user-mh3wl5ub4t This is correct thinking because the heat of the fire is in contact with the rippled bottom of the water jacket for a longer period of time, before going up the chimney..

[@divinee.155]

Its a great exercise but the machine is doing all the work

[@buildlife]

Very true!

[@champony6245]

I change my water and treatment every 3 years and test periodically through the year. I do not leave my unit empty ever but idk if it matters or not just feels like it wouldn’t be a good idea. I also have a gasification unit and green wood is a no go and heating 4500sqft and go through an average of 8 full cords a year. Obviously this is an average so when people ask how much wood I go through I laugh and say if you’ve never heated with wood you don’t understand how bad that question is lol. My answer is I have no clue lol.

[@buildlife]

Do you ever moisture test your wood? I'm curious if wood needs to be below 20 for a gassifier like you would need for a fireplace or if 30 or something would be acceptable.

[@thomasbrand2094]

We have boughten two different heat exchangers. They both have gotten clogged. We put straight anti freeze in ours. Was that the right thing to do?

[@buildlife]

I don't think it can hurt but I really don't know. I'd call the manufacture.

[@mainelyelectric]

I’ve never used antifreeze for a boiler but it might call for a dilution ratio of water with the glycol too keep it from being too thick. But also glycol gets acidic over time in boilers so it might also need to be checked and adjust the ph up again so corrosion doesn’t happen.

[@tedk2166]

It’s a lifestyle, you either get it, or you don’t! Kinda like a Harley.

[@buildlife]

That's right, Jeeps too! I need to win the Lotto.

[@zachhinton9678]

If you go away and just leave your propane boiler running while you’re gone how do you keep the tank on the bouler from freezing if youre not using glycol

[@buildlife]

You just leave the pumps running so the water circulates but if it's going to be really cold I don't let the fire go out. If I can't be there someone else fills it but that's not very often.

[@billardinger5610]

What kind of local or state permits are required to install and operate an outside furnace? Thanks!

[@buildlife]

We don't have any by me but we are zoned Ag

[@billardinger5610]

Thank you!

[@erikevenson4303]

once you have a good fire going and a nice bed of hot coals can you use coal in your boiler unit? i hear coal burns hotter and for longer periods of time.

[@buildlife]

I have no experience with coal but I have heard the same. It is not readily available in our area as far as I know so it's not really an option. I hear it burns cleaner too.

[@stevenjones618]

I dont have an outside boiler but I have wood coal furnace heats almost 5400 sq ft home. Its a yukon eagle. I been burning wood for decades I usually use 24in logs 8 inch diameter holds about 4 and will last all night. I also burn coal anthracite and to be honest it will hold 120 lbs and will last days. Burns at 900 no smoke no creosote. But 40lbs will last about 8 hrs of good heat

[@mrpush2532]

Wait, this has open regular tap water without antifreeze in it? What if your boiler goes down mid winter? Pipes freeze and break?

[@buildlife]

It's only right at the boiler that you would have a problem. The pipes are burried. The water will take a while to go down bellow freezing and you are tending to it 3 or 4 times a day so you would just have to drain the tank and fix it. As long as the pumps are running it won't freeze and those are easy to get local and fix on the fly. I have another video on here where I went two weeks in single digits with it broken and just had to keep the fire going.

[@davehertle]

40 years ago in Alaska, I installed hot water baseboard heat using a gas-fired boiler in the garage. Do any of you use your outdoor Wood Boiler with baseboard heat, or do most of you use a blower and duct work in the house. I know some of you have radiant heat in the concrete floors of your shops/garages.

[@buildlife]

yeah that works really well. Same concept the water just flows through a different device.

[@grumps62]

I have baseboard heat using an outdoor wood boiler. My original set up had the same water circulating in the baseboards as in the boiler. My current set up has the boiler water going through a plate heat exchanger to heat the water in the baseboards. It has worked well both ways.

[@davehertle]

@@grumps62 What I learned about hot water baseboard heat, is that the heat is going to the coldest places in the house, outside walls, and often below windows. So quiet and comfortable

[@christophermelby8471]

Well since I installed our boiler. IHAVE NOT BOUGHT ANY LP IN 16 YEARS. BUT WE HAVE ONLY A LP COOK RANGE I HAVE INDOOR WOOD STOVE AND LP FURNACE BACK UPS. SO. YEAH. LUCKY I GUESS

[@buildlife]

I don't mind paying for a little bit and the back up but its out of control what it costs to heat all my buildings and they are all new spray foamed high efficient buildings!

[@drrobotnikmeanbeanma]

What's the names of the wood boiler that requires no or very li electricity and what about a Central Boiler ? Because it might be useful if a power outage ?

[@buildlife]

Allot of people like Central Boiler. I think that would be my choice to do again. Most of them just have a blower or two and pumps to run so they wouldn't take much power. You do need your inside system to work as well so if you have forced air you would need the furnaces powered or if you have radiator heat you would need the inside pumps working too.

[@metheewatchakittikorn4796]

In gasification, if the wood is wet, it still could burn because of red hot charcoal bed as a result of suction fan.

[@buildlife]

Does it dry it out before it snuffs out the coals?

[@metheewatchakittikorn4796]

In down-draft gasification, suction fan will suck air through the combustion zone(amber bed). Smoke, moisture, air will be sucted downward through amber bed. The air passing through amber bed make the reaction continuous. Moderate amount of moisture in the wood will be turned into hydrogen gas which is combustible. Tar or smoke, after pulled through red hot amber bed, will be turned into CO and methane, which is combustible. The way this system deal with moisture is air suction through amber bed. My english is not so good. I hope you get the point.

[@metheewatchakittikorn4796]

What I said was theory. It depends on actual implementation of each system.

[@jackhaus5238]

Wood Hungry monster

[@buildlife]

Like the furnace in a Christmas Story!

[@vannorman1116]

Is every building spray foamed

[@buildlife]

yes

[@dizzlekale9835]

600 square foot upstairs and then the basement. Is it worth it to get one? If so which one?

[@buildlife]

If you enjoy splitting wood and burning it then it's a great way to get some back. I am currently in my 800 sqr. ft. cabin and I have a very small wood stove that heats the whole thing just fine and uses a fraction of the wood. Might be a better way to go.

[@denverbasshead]

Get a free standing Woodstove.

[@uncouthboy8028]

How often do you have to fill these things?

[@buildlife]

Depends on allot of things. Every 8 hours would be the short answer. When it's cold I fill it more often. Uses less wood if you put a little in at a time every few hours. Right now it's mid 30's so I can get away with twice a day.

[@uncouthboy8028]

@@buildlife thank you sir.

[@cliffmorgan31]

Track the pH of your water at a minimum! High or low pH over time eats metal !

[@buildlife]

good to know

[@timmorris7327]

Boiler water, wood burner or traditional, should never be drained unless the chemistry indicates it should. Send in the water sample and adjust accordingly.

[@buildlife]

Seems simple enough!

[@CaptMike59]

The problem with green wood is,, The metal in the furnace is more susceptible from the creosote to decay much sooner, At least that's what I been told

[@buildlife]

Hard to say but it doesn't seem impossible.

[@mainelyelectric]

What I’ve always said about boilers is that not to drain it because adding new water frequently adds more oxygenated water that causes oxidation and rust but heating water causes the oxygen to be pushed out of the water making it stagnant water.

[@buildlife]

My well water has allot of metal in it that can't help either.

[@martinfoster5163]

Just a kind suggestion. I’m assuming your audience is international. It’d be nice if you used metric. I’ve no idea what a cord is but I know kilograms. Also Celsius vs Fahrenheit. It’d be nice to include Celsius since that’s what the entire world uses EXCEPT the USA. I’ve got about 120m/2 of buildings and we use a coal boiler and use about 5 metric tons of coal in our 8 month heating season in Mongolia. If I bought firewood I’d need 10 metric tons for an equivalent amount of BTU’s and it would cost 8x more. Anthracite coal is about $44 per metric ton here. We have a coal boiler and use anti-freeze in the whole system. I’m not sure why but it’s what my installer recommended. That’s an expensive part of system. We only have 4 radiators and short distances from furnace room in a shipping container to our yurts and bathroom. I think it needed 60 liters to fill up.

[@buildlife]

Cool, thanks for watching!

[@rdk162]

MAGA!

[@zainabali9068]

Keep in mind that I've only used it for a couple weeks, that being said, so far so good kzbin.infoUgkxAU9pOCSV9Y5JprooHvfxTpOrt4hx8uRM . Using it at 8 ft. by 8ft. deer blind that is insulated. I have to keep the door cracked for it to get enough air to burn, but that is very likely the wood I've used. Much better quality than I expected for the price. Now if I can just take it easy in the beginning it won't be 90 degrees in my blind. All in all it seems like a keeper.

[@buildlife]

Up for the challenge!

[@robm3357]

Outside wood boilers are not efficient, they spend a lot of time smoldering. Inside wood stoves are a lot more efficient. I have a wood boiler add on and it is not very efficient but like you I think like wood burning. Mine also heats my hot water and it comes out of the tap at 200+ F And it’s a lot of work but it saves me a bundle of money. At least if you cut and split your own wood. If you check your water and it’s very rusty you should change it then add the boiler additive to stop rust.

[@buildlife]

Thanks for the tips! The only things that makes me ok with the in efficiency is I burn allot of stuff I wouldn't put in my wood stove like rotten wood or stuff with bugs in it... That stuff would just go on the burn pile. At least I can heat with it.

[@tomwiggins1225]

So what are you going to do when you run out of dead trees

[@buildlife]

Go on vacation I guess LOL. Plenty of tree service guys around here trying to get rid of stuff.

[@robroy5729]

Living in north east pa, I'm opting for one that specifically burns coal. It's just as available as wood but is undoubtedly less work considering you only need it delivered and shoveled into the boiler. So far coal in my area coal is still cheaper than wood unless of course you have access to free timber. If maintenance is done on these units, which there isnt much really to do, they last a very long time. I think the best thing in terms of preventative maintenance though would be to have a roof over the unit. Great video!!

[@buildlife]

Thanks, mine is actually a coal burner. I got it right as they were having to switch to all gassifiers. For a while if you bought it for a business you didn't have EPA issues. They said if they burn coal in my model it passes EPA regs so they just called them coal burners and no one checks what you actually burn. I don't even know where you could get coal by me.

[@mainelyelectric]

Rob I totally understand what you are saying about if you have free wood or lots of land and the reason you want to use coal. I noticed that you were in PA have you heard of alternate heating systems in PA they are a boiler company and have a coal boiler that is called the coal gun. I’m going to be buying one of their wood guns sometime soon. Because I have so much land and free trees from arborists friends.

[@robroy5729]

@@mainelyelectric Thanks for the info! I checked out that boiler and its a pretty slick unit and is certainly high quality. Crazy amount of BTU output for such a small unit as well. One main reason I am set on an outdoor boiler is the mess as well as my situation. I am in a very old farm house built in 1817. Its bigger than you think, 2300 sq feet with cast iron radiators. My basement is dirt and often gets very damp and takes on water from time to time. Long story short, I want to remove my heating source from my basement and an outdoor boiler is the answer. I also have no room inside to store coal as the previous owners put two oil tanks in the coal bin. An outdoor boiler also keeps all of the mess and maintenance outside.

[@mainelyelectric]

@@robroy5729 Wow 1817 that is old must be a Beauty! I love cast-iron radiators I really wish that I had put them in my house. But back when my house was built in 1996 it’s actually a barn/living space I was only six years old. But there is a section of our barn is not renovated yet so I’m thinking about maybe putting some cast-iron radiators in there because currently we heat with oil but like I said I want a wood boiler with oil back up because we have so much land approximately 107 acres. I haven’t really done much research on alternate heating systems website about their coal burners because I’m always looking at the wood boilers. But I thought that they had an outdoor coal boiler? I know they make amazing stuff there and that’s one reason why I want to go with that company! plus their warranty is really good.

[@thomasarchambault9463]

I enjoy watching videos like this. I’m a combat disabled veteran who is 100% P&T. I know that I will never be at this level, due to the greed of corporations and lack of people who care about veterans in my situation. The truth hurts and I’m living it. Congratulations on your life, it sure looks great from my side of the road.

[@buildlife]

Thanks Thomas, I edit my own videos so it always looks good from this side of the road if you know what I mean. Everyone has struggles some bigger than others. Some dealt a worse hand than others for sure. It can change very quickly!

[@williamgibb5557]

Thank you for your serving and unfortunately your injuries are a part never to be ignored. My freedom meant your injuries. Sorry my friend.

[@jcsphotography9318]

All the videos ive read they always say dont change the water. And ive watched a bunch because im looking to get one. But to each to there own

[@buildlife]

Seems to be the more popular camp.

[@alcrooks9095]

Come on bearded one tell us about your burner 😅

[@buildlife]

Watch this video after the beard delete kit was installed! kzbin.info/www/bejne/naTZp5VpZsekq5I

[@alcrooks9095]

@@buildlife ya man cool like to watch a good build. Thanks happy holidays to you and your family 🎈

[@jakeMTSU]

well... its like a metal tank on big equipment ... you fill it with fuel at the end of the day, everyday and you will never get rust... you dont and it rust ... so I vote always filled... test and add other things they say.

[@buildlife]

Yeah I think air space is a tank killer!

[@MrNside]

The "Glycol looses antifreeze properties at 120 degrees" part doesn't make sense. The most common use-case for glycol antifreeze is in automobile use. Normal operating temperature for a car's coolant system is around 200 degrees. Most thermostats in a car won't even start to open to circulate coolant from the engine until it reaches 180 or more, and only fully opens at around 200. So I doubt a vehicle that sees regular heating and cooling cycles would use something that degraded at such low temperature, or if it did, antifreeze would have to be changed as much if not more than oil does. I see you put the little clipping of the glycol antifreeze info saying it was good for temperatures under 300, which makes more sense, but what you said and what you showed conflict each other, and it isn't clear about what you are saying.

[@buildlife]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[@freelancelife6704]

So based on your numbers in this video, you are burning around 1 1/2 Cord of wood per 1000 SQFT. per winter.

[@buildlife]

Comes out to about that depending on the winter. I don't think you could say half the square footage would take half the wood though.

[@christhomas9837]

@@buildlife If you're are heating a 3400 sq' house and 4300 sq' shop plus hot water I don't think that is correct. I agree half the size doesn't mean half the wood.

[@buildlife]

@@christhomas9837 Merry Christmas Chris, too many factors go into it. I actually have 3400 in the basement to and a 4 car garage. My basement has 9' ceilings but it is ICF concrete form walls and an insulated floor so just the heater cores in the furnaces and the pipes running to them keep the basement warm. I have a friend with a 150 year old house half the size and no out buildings and we burn about the same amount of wood!

[@AATreeService]

Don’t forget climate plays a huge part in this equation. It was -60 out here for 4 days and I burned about 1 full cord of wood in 4 days!

[@mondavou9408]

ha ha you had me at "again" but you lost me at 3 cords per month ha ha Forget that!

[@buildlife]

The cleaning is way worse than the burning LOL!

[@tedwebster1606]

Never, never, never drain the hydronic system. Once the oxygen is used up in the water the rusting stops.

[@buildlife]

Seem to be some "heated" opinions about this!

[@damianstasek8946]

The glycol isnt for when its running, its for when it stops running. Frozen lines burst. Burst lines can be a disaster. You could run a wood fired steam boiler, that can feed a steam turbine and generate power.

[@jasonhaley9061]

You are splitting your wood too small. Put some big chunks in to last longer

[@buildlife]

You should come throw them in for me!

[@gusm5128]

Draining the boiler = rust .

[@buildlife]

Can’t Stan it for long that’s for sure!

[@joefree9890]

Please don't get one if you live within 200 feet of your nearest neighbor. The stinch from these things will turn a good neighbor into an enemy real fast!!

[@buildlife]

No doubt! Would be good to see how much smoke it puts out before making that decision! I only have one neighbor and told me I could burn tires in mine so I don't think he's too worried LOL!

[@teddbrown4262]

These are not a boiler They areà kettle that holds warm water. They all rot holes in them.20 years and throw it away

[@buildlife]

Sounds like this is not your sport!

[@dioncurline3266]

To much wood required

[@buildlife]

You gotta love splitting wood! Cheaper than the gym!

[@buildlife]

Actually I could probably own a gym for what I got into this mess LOL!

[@highwolf8022]

These types of boilers are going to be banned, and rightfully so. Not efficient at all.

[@buildlife]

I think they already are. I like that they will burn anything and I don't really have any neighbors but when I bought it they were going to register it to my shop so it had a commercial address. Then he told me they changed the model to a "C500", the C is for coal because when they burn coal in them they pass emissions requirements but they will burn anything.