Why I May Never Use This Again

It has been a long season here in Michigan, I might be done with this thing for good.
Please check us out at www.sslfamilyfarm.com
Find recommended products on Amazon - www.amazon.com...
and follow us on....
/ sslfamilyfarm
/ sslfamilyfarm
/ sslfamilyfarm
/ sslfamilyfarm
Daily Beetle by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Source: incompetech.com...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Country Cue 1 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Artist: audionautix.com/
Any links here may be Affiliate links

[@BuckeyeBDH]

I'd work on getting the furnace and all the ducts fixed before worrying about a indoor wood stove. I think of my wood stove as a supplement to my furnace. Also, instead of digging up and replacing the water lines, I'd move that thing closer to the house and use a shorter run of insulated pipes.

[@joshmcdonald9508]

this is exactly what I was thinking.

[@Owl4909]

Good answer. I've used em for 20 years. Location of thermostat is important and the duct work has to be tight .same with radiator. I'll bet u pump was running water way to often making it much harder to keep hot

[@yevhenrekhtin6591]

I'd like also to suggest to change your boiler to another one... This one is really too bad one

[@forcesightknight]

Or put a hoop house over the lines that are there.

[@frugalprepper]

Great video. Just a thought. When I had a wood stove at my last house, I called some tree service companies and asked if they had extra wood. They were happy to find a place to unload wood. They just came and threw it over my back fence when they needed to get rid of it. It was green and had to sit for a year or two before I burned it, but it was free.

[@spencerwilton5831]

I can't believe this thing was installed with uninsulated lines! You're paying to heat dirt. A rough calculation based on a ten litre per minute flow rate and a ten decree centigrade temperature drop in each direction indicates you are loosing as much as 16kw of heat into the soil! That's more than the heat loss of an entire averagely sized and insulated family home. Roughly 4kg to 5kg of wood per hour is being burned just to keep your grass warm. Whoever installed that thing should be thrown in during the next burn.

[@johncollado1151]

We originally had a wood furnace side by side with our regular furnace in the basement. Back in 97 we installed a Central Boiler CL40 outdoor wood furnace and have been heating with that since. It was a major plus for us to get the mess of the indoor wood furnace out of the house. If you have anyone in your home that has asthma, they will appreciate it. My problem this Winter is that my firebox in the CL40 finally sprung a leak after 23 years. First thought was to fix it but then my wife and I both have decided because we are at that age in retirement that we've had enough with all the work that goes into a wood boiler that we've decided to call it quits and go to a propane furnace for next year. Keep that in mind, you will be getting old someday.

[@HHeirloomIA]

Burn the softer wood in fall and spring, save the high BTU burning for dec, jan & feb

[@eddierichardson5073]

That's common sense ..

[@eddierichardson5073]

Your talking about a hot house to start plants.

[@joshmcdonald9508]

@@eddierichardson5073 it is when you have been doing this for years. I'm still a newbie

[@pulserrrg.9521]

Hey. I just finished researching a new heat system for our home which has duct work. We looked at everything from wood to gas even the new oil system. What we decided on was a new hybrid system that is SUPPER easy and cheap to run. It contains a -25 heat pump and a new propane backup burner. The propane is only for the extremely cold days. We are in NB Canada so we get some cold weather. I might have an idea for your hot water as well but I don't know how it's set up now. Anyway it's just another idea for you to look into. Good luck and great videos.

[@TheDisorderly1]

I vote you fix the leaks in the attic and insulate the duct work.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

IT would be more than fixing the leaks, it would require moving the furnace to the new addition and redoing the ducting completely. It was all done wrong and not insulated all through the attic.

[@ericgash946]

What about using the outdoor wood burner and its un-insulated lines to heat the greenhouse from the ground up?

[@dargno]

Options: 1) Feed the outside unit once per day. Fix the outside setup by moving it closer to the house and using much less underground piping with insulation and fixing the ventilation in the attic (do it now rather than this summer. Trust me.) Fixing the ventilation will fix your blower problem (220V) Guess what else is 220? That water heater... 2) Use that indoor heater. (I have one so I have experience with them) Split, Split, Split, and more Splitting. Feed it a log every hour to keep it at optimum operating temperature. Wake up during the night to feed it again so it doesnt let the temp drop in the house. Yes, Indoor wood is all kinds of warm but there is still a fire in your house. Yes, Its a mess with the extra pieces of wood that drop on the way to the holding area. Constant sweeping needed. My mantra... Cliches are cliches for a reason. Grass aint always greener on the other side. I'd switch to an outdoor unit in a heart beat if I could afford it. I know several people that have them and there's not even a hint of smoke smell in their house and their electric is a tiny fraction of what mine is (back to all those 220v lines being used). (yes mine is drafted properly but its inevitable when opening a door to plop more wood in, you get the smell a little bit). It sounds like you have your mind made up, but I'd seriously take an honest look at the pro's and con's. You're going to have some elbow grease either way.

[@OFFGRIDwithDOUGSTACY]

We used about 6 cords in the wood cook stove 😉👍in northern Missouri

[@chevy6299]

I grew up where he lives now but now live in WV with weather about the same as yours. I can tell you that your 6 cords would about double.

[@richfiederlein1773]

move it closer to the house. mine is 30 ft. from my back door. i use 7 cords and live upstate New York

[@lifeisfantastic2061]

What brand of stove did you buy? If you don't mind me asking around how much do they cost? We live in northwest pa so our winters aren't quite as long as yours but they should be pretty comparable. Thanks!

[@derekkirsch6850]

I have a polar wood boiler G3 gasification. I live in Canada in the province of Saskatchewan. We have our winter start in October and goes till May. We use 10 true cords of wood which heats my 7000 sq foot home slab on grade with in floor heat and two proper hydronic furnaces. Love our wood boiler we do have a propane boiler for when we go away. Our average winter temps are from -20 Celsius to -40 Celsius.

[@amjorgy1]

I run a wood master outdoor stove to heat my home, it's 3500sq ft. I burn on average about 12 full cord of wood and I live in northern Wisconsin. Last winter was a colder then average and I probably burned about 15 cord.

[@douglasthompson2740]

Just a thought: I used to burn wet western hemlock and in doing so for a 1200 sq ft house fairly well insulated I would burn 12 to 13 cord per year. When I got my wood shed up and amassed enough inventory to cure the wood for a year I burned half that amount. I used a circulating pump to run a coil in the stove down to a storage tank in the basement which kept it warm also. So half your problem is in burning green wood. Moving the source close to the use only makes sense and then insulating. It is just fighting physics to have a source inefficient or not a hundred and fifty feet away. Your wood pile out in the open is going to be a long long time curing as well. Even a couple of sheets of tin roofing over it would have helped. Take care. Doug

[@ogbobbye]

I think the indoor wood system is a good idea. I thought last year you were using a great deal of wood and having to spend a large amount of time and effort to heat the house. however I would not abandon that system as money and time become available you can work at doing the upgrades to that outdoor system and in a few years time have that as a efficient heat source. I am guessing your plan for that place are long term so keep in mind you have time don't think in the short term. Sit down with the family and create a plan of where you want to be in five years 10 year even 20 years and into your retirement years. If you continue planning season to season year to year you will end up with a large list of things I wish I had done differently and never experience the satisfaction of hitting goals.

[@ronaldbequeath147]

ogbobbye a lot of good ideas in the comments, a plan is a necessity and also pulling areas together, the far trekkes to the wood shed in sub weather is not good as you get older, the wood stove should be in the basement which would heat the basement, rising heats the floors, and also the house, adding an access door for loading wood from outside. Boiler on woodstove to provide water for home uses. Access vents in floors, heat raises. Checking and redoing insulation as needed, repair propane system as backup. Present boiler system for greenhouse water and heat. But plan for future and write it down. Plans can be changed. I had an old house, gutted it and totally insulated, new electric lines, new water pipes and at the time was only burning 4 cords through the winter, for a 1200 square ft house, when we went on free gas that all was replaced, now the gas is gone and have to redo the wood again. Now it's a job. Work on insulating that attic, blow in or something, need the upper blanket to protect from the northern winters from PA, oura are cold here, probably not as cold as yours. Need to also get a "what if unsuspecting plan", change happens. Good luck with your ideas and may God bless you.

[@beniferd]

In addition to insulating your lines to the house, also consider adding foam board and some sheet metal around the base of your boiler. We did that to our NCB-250 and noticed a considerable difference in heat loss compared to an exposed area under the boiler.

[@Screamingpinesfarm]

There is something wrong with the install of the boiler. only need fifty feet from house here in MN and there are mods to the fire box to burn wood better.Insurance for a indoor wood burner mite make fixing the boiler cheaper plus heat the green house.

[@phxtonash]

Hey buddy, I just want to say I love your channel and watch all your videos. I learned a lot and it helps me from making mistakes, thank you! I have a Channel of my own, it's sort of like yours mostly me messing around in my backyard doing cool stuff, from melting aluminum, bunch of gardening, and chickens, even gold prospecting. But anyway you're probably really busy taking care of your wonderful family, you got that no matter what. Thanks again have a good one

[@phxtonash]

I found you from the chicken video years ago and you help me raise my chickens that are, old now, and I've got new chickens

[@johnray3276]

Pellet stoves

[@DerekGoldie]

I just watched your video, ive been off grid for over 30 yrs and tried alot of heating idea's, the worst one was that outdoor wood furnace , we have a small place in Canada and used 30 cords of wood a season and in a bad winter more, then we went to an outdoor pellet stove , another money grab, to exspensive to run with off grid systems, last year we got a Blaze King indoor hi efficiancy wood stove installed, we are so happy with this ,with upto a 30 hr burn time we are using less than 8 cord from mid Sept to almost may , insurance went up slightly but compaired the cost of cutting wood and my time it is the way to go, forget about that stove and move on, have a good one

[@phxtonash]

Derek Goldie you replied underneath my comment. I believe you were trying to speak to SSL Family Dad. The best way would be to start your own comment. Unless you're talking about my video on my channel. But I heat with a heat pump works great.

[@MrSnapy1]

A good rocket mass heater is the opposite end of this spectrum. I made one out of two 55 gallon drums with plaster of Paris ,perlite and sand insulation. Wrapped half inch copper pipe around the contained stack. It heats up another 55 gal gravity feed barrel that you have to mix cold water because it almost boils! I feel mine up once at night and a few times during the day. The clay bench (ground clay and Portland cement) holds the heat and keeps it warm long after the fire goes out. While I might not have the square feet this guy has a couple could easily heat a large house plus hot water for 1/20th the wood... I respect all aspects of efficiency living and do respect this type of heat its just too much work and wood. The pain with rocket mass heaters is you have to make smaller log sizes but they do last a while because only the ends are burning while maximizing the heat efficiency.

[@beyondmountainshomestead2468]

We purchased a Quadrafire Explorer III to heat our 2000 sq ft home ... we go through about 5 cords a year ... down side is that it is located on the first floor so we also use electric heat in our basement. Nice thing about the Explorer III is a cast iron cook surface should we lose power in a storm.

[@RayHChemEng]

I highly recommend a wood burning furnace (Clayton model now made by USStove so hopefully still good). Make sure it has a forced draft blower that turns on by a normal wall mount thermostat. I have a water coil for mine but never hooked it up. Mine is in the basement next to an outside stair which isn't great for carrying wood. Dad used his in three different houses and his last house he put in a shed next door to the house. Of course he had to run duct work to/from which wasn't very pretty. Still the best way to heat a home IMO. I believe Tractorsupply carries these but now come with 2 blowers instead of a single large blower (I think). Message me if you want more info.

[@paladin252]

About time! Wood stove is much better. We burn about 3.5 full cord (we don’t measure in face cord here in mass). We are heating about 2000 sq ft perfectly, and having the wood stove near the water heater helps keep down the cost of heating that as well.

[@dcrosco1458]

It was the cold winter in a Long time and it is just beginning the sun spots are not the same as it was a couple of years ago. WE are do for cold weather for awhile.

[@TTGBUNKER]

How about spending some on insulating and air sealing the attic and boring the walls to blow in some insulation. I'm betting that's the most bang for buck and will cut your usage at least in half. Then you can save for a new lineset that is insulated and use that outdoor boiler until its dead, Jim.

[@jearid]

i was thinking the boiler was the dream i heat a small house with a wood stove and the mess worry about chimney fire processing wood bucking splitting kindling relighting a fire every morning moving the wood multiple times to get it inside but each person has there own situation so do what you think is best.

[@jbirdnut]

Indoor wood systems are great way to heat a house. I use a harman tl 2.6 I love that stove. It runs a secondary burn and i get 8+ hrs of heat. It was also really cold here in New England I burned 4 cords total.

[@wadebarnes6720]

Get the one it's called a trailer house safe wood heater it can be 2 foot or less from the floor and the walls and it puts out amazing Heat bare hand touch the back in the bottom hot but not burning have it in my house

[@coultonnitely2509]

Not trying to be critical because you have to work with what you have. But, using a primitive technology (ie: open fire) to support a structure designed for modern technology; and as you say, poorly done at that; will always be inefficient. You appear to have a good piece of land and plenty of resources, to succeed with your vision; basically a 1900 lifestyle, you should mimic the pattern, plans and designs of those who lived and thrived in that era. Works for me, but then again, I live in Texas where it don't snow and you would have to go to some considerable effort to freeze to death, but it gets plenty hot. A stone house, outdoor kitchen and shade trees do the trick. Winter is met with 2 fireplaces and a small electric heater in the bathroom. Fact is though there are few natural resources at my disposal to exploit and I will never be wealthy or beyond tolerably comfortable; for me and mine that's enough. Good luck and God Bless.

[@volvo09]

I love burning wood, I feel I'll always do it. I have an oil furnace also, but winter stinks and feeding the wood stove is a good thing to help keep away the winter blues. The furnace is great when you are sick or feeling down, but I looooove the homey feeling of an indoor wood stove so much.

[@fredgruetzmacher9220]

I burn 25 to 30 face cord as well in Wisconsin. I have insulated lines. And only 40 ft run to the house. Big thing I found is havijng a good deal on your door gasket...if the gasket leaks air in, it will burn your wood out prematurely and you will use more...I keep a wire brush by the stove to keep thbe door gasket clean of soot... seems to help...But outside boilers will keep you busy cutting wood...no doubt...

[@jeffjahns1974]

The wood supply issue is a serious one. It sounds like you want to use alot of wood for various things. I feel that if $$ is a premium- the best thing to spend it on is insulated pipe. I can't believe anyone would install it that way. Wow. Like others have said move burner close to house. I don't think your boiler is inefficient at all. It's the lines. And also fix the duct work that is blowing hot air into the attic or funneling cold air into the house. That could be a free fix depending on the problem and will pay HUGE dividends. My brother uses insulated pipe and looses less than 1 degree over 150 feet to the house. Dad looses none at 60 feet.

[@dansw0rkshop]

Indoor wood burners are great, I've been using one for 26+ years. But you have to haul wood into the house, which is a lot of work too. An indoor stove will require more splitting and shorter lengths. Leaving the wood large and having it outside is labor saving. You might only use 15 cords in the house with an indoor burner, but then it might be twice the amount of work.

[@ChristopherTerVree]

Look into a top loader harman wood stove. I had one and it was nice to load the wood in the top instead of the front door. We still had the front door with glass. It cost us more but it was worth it in the long run, my wife could even load in the top. Also, I started to use 5 gallon buckets to hall the wood into the house.

[@joesixpack7551]

If you are going to replace your indoor furnace since it sounds like a disaster, just go with baseboard hot water, get a better outdoor unit with insulated buried lines to the house, greenhouse etc.

[@dongkumong]

I'm guessing if the guy couldn't be bothered to insulate those pipes he couldn't be bothered to go to the dump either. How much garbage have you found around the place? I'd be willing to bet you've found old camper shells, rolls of carpet, dog food bags, mattress springs, probably a swing set, some pipes....what else did i miss? Bet if you called him out on it he's say "well, that what old farmers did...." like that makes him look like less of a lazy idiot..."the dump charges me 7 bucks to drop off those hunks of concrete!!!! So I just hauled 'em to the edge of the field and let weeds grow around 'em!!!!"

[@kurtissheehy6039]

How did you like going to an indoor wood stove? What did you like and dislike? Would you go back to an outdoor boiler if the whole install was more efficient and better done?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I love the indoor stove! However if I had a newer boiler and it was installed correctly it would be a hard choice since I did like that it heated my hit water also

[@dougbastian3324]

First off, get your facts straight. A cord of wood = 4' X 4' X 8' TIGHTLY packed. Lay down 2 pallets, go 4' high and you have a cord of wood, approximately. Secondly, insulation goes a long way! You have a 100' run on your hot water lines? There goes all of your heat, as someone else said, you're heating dirt. Dig up the lines and bury them below the frost line and insulate, insulate, insulate. Thirdly, plug up all of the air leaks in your forced air system if that's what you're using with the boiler and lastly but not least, if you must burn soft wood then mix it with hard wood for efficiency. Keep this in mind too, a wood stove needs constant attention daily but a wood boiler, set it and let it go for several days on end depending on the season. Hopefully this helps all the homesteaders out there.

[@PainterD54]

I went thru a little over three pickup loads (that's how I buy it) of wood in any given season to heat my home. I can't imagine burning that amount of wood to heat anything. I see so many of those outdoor boiler stoves (central Minnesota) and the piles of wood next to them are humungous! And the smoke rolling out of them is showing me how inefficient they are. Really don't seem to be worth the huge price they get for them.

[@EastRiverHomestead]

Get it fixed. Long term return and your body will appreciate in the years to come. :)

[@johnward5890]

As fare as the under ground lines i would dig them up and support them up with Wire off the dirt and maybe dig down a bit further then Spray foam in the hole with the Large tanks of insulation expansion foam they sell at home depot. then put some plywood or boards over them to stop frost from going down in the ground.

[@MrDave8539]

I burn propane and I thought it got expensive, but dang 15 chords is ridiculous. A wood stove in your basement would be a huge change for the better. I built a greenhouse attached to the south side of my house. It heats the house on sunny days in the spring and fall.

[@jerryshomestead3967]

Go for the indoor stove it works fine for us and don't look too good but put a couple fans on each side of it you heat a big room buddy real quick as you cooking your houses nice and warm now that the kids are all grown up but I think you would make the right idea whatever you come up with go with your heart love you videos

[@maineiachomestead7550]

Never heard of a "face cord" before. A cord of wood is usually 4x4x8 or any combo giving you 128 cf. As a young teen my brother and I processed about 8 cord of mixed hardwood for the family home and I later used about 5 cord. A lot of work for sure any way you measure.

[@rickmanley7732]

Exactly. He could cut his fuel consumption in half if he used the common measurements lol

[@Liam....]

You would be better with a system like what we have in the UK. Get a wood burner in you living room with a back boiler on it get rid of blown air system and put radiators in your rooms

[@cassityart7001]

A lot for you and your family to consider. Loading the outdoor furnace with slab lengths should last 24 hrs if you can find that resource. That you have identified heat tubes not deep enough for your area and not insulated is certainly a big project to correct. But the house should be buttoned up no matter what system you choose. You may find standing dead hardwood in the fall that people in your area are happy for you to take. This is a good time to scope out those options. I read that only 7% of our country heat with wood or pellets. 2-3 generations ago we all heated with wood. Best wishes.

[@bkbrown5881]

I think you would see big improvements just upgrading your insulation (PEX lines) and ductwork runs. My neighbor has one of those things with a proper force air system and he has to open the windows in the winter sometimes cause he can’t turn it down far enough. If you use a indoor wood furnace with an inefficient system, I don’t see how it’s really going to help. And you’re gonna have to buy more propane.

[@510Redneck]

For the time, effort, and money it takes to get even 15 face cords of wood... he could skip that step and dig the lines back up and insulate them. The uninsulated lines is what is killing the entire setup for sure, no question about it....100% agree... He will LOVE his boiler after he gets just that single thing fixed.

[@ihus9950]

Stay with the outdoor wood burning boiler, move it closer to your house run Insulated lines, and repair ducts on house furnace! Your system is not setup correctly the way it's operating now!

[@buzzwinklemoose9853]

Been heating with wood for about thirty years now. Also, used to install woodburners for a living. I know most of the major brands and their idiosyncrasies. Moved to a 2000 sq. ft. ranch house fifteen years ago. After seeing the gas bill (Gas forced hot air, older, poorly insulated house), we shot the moon and went for what was, at the time, the top-of-the-line soapstone stove (The Fireview) from Woodstock Soapstone Co. (Woodstove.com). They're NOT cheap. The whole installation, floor and wall protection, stove, chimney, permits etc., ran us just about 5k$. Obviously did our own installation. It paid us back in two winters, everything since has been gravy. In a bad winter in South Jersey we'll burn three cords a year. When we installed, there was no extra charge on our Homeowner's policy but we DID have to notify them and show the signed-off inspection and building permits. The stove is the perfect size for our house, no need to overfire on cold nights. No problems doing an overnight burn. Load up twenty minutes before bedtime, turn down the air & go to bed. Get up eight, ten or twelve hours later, open up the air, by the time yer back in the house with an armload of firewood, the stove is full of glowing coals. Throw the wood in, whoosh, instant fire. Even if you let the fire die out completely, the soapstone continues to radiate heat for hours. So far, our record for one continuous burn that we can restart without kindling is 22 hours. I have NO connection whatsoever with Woodstock, I make no money from endorsing them. But I really believe that they're the best, cleanest, safest, most efficient woodstoves on the market today. I can't recommend them highly enough. Although they now have even more efficient models, all their stoves are made in N.H., they happily give factory tours and, believe it or not, actually answer their phones with a human being as opposed to those Goddamned IVRs that everyone hates. They also cross-train their people so that when you call, the person who answers can usually answer any questions immediately. When I called to order our stove, I asked the woman about whether they carried chimney kits. Turns out that they do. And of higher quality than I can obtain locally. I (Rather stupidly) asked her to connect me with someone who could determine my chimney kit needs. She said she'd do it herself, gave me her name, told me what measurements to take and to call her back. She'd installed her own stove and was more expert than I was with chimney parts. Sold us exactly what we needed and not six inches of extra pipe. Cautions and suggestions: The stoves are HEAVY. Ours was 485 lb. It is NOT a one-man lift. My stove and many of the older models have catalytic converters that greatly aid in producing extra heat and keeping crap out of the air. But this means NO SOFTWOOD. EVER. The best idea that came out of our project was my wife's insistence that the finished height of the hearth be two feet higher than our living room floor. I thought she was crazy (Not for the first time) but it turned out to be a superb idea. No need to kneel on the floor to load or de-ash or clean the stove, no small consideration now that I'm 66 and have a bad back and worse knees. I politely suggest that you check them out. Great company, superior products, awesome people. Good luck. One last thing. These stoves last forever. They don't rust or fall apart. Your grandchildren are gonna fight over who gets the stove.

[@chevy6299]

Have you compared the cost from fixing the old up to installing a wood stove inside?

[@louismesser2037]

Hi, I am a retired engineer. Besides the problems you already cited, I think you are loosing a lot of heat by burning wet wood. Water has a high specific heat. One British Thermal Unit (BTU) is the amount of energy one pound of water has to absorb to raise the temperature by one degree F. But it gets much worse than that. To evaporate that water at atmospheric pressure (212F at sea level) Takes 1,100 BTU per pound. All of that heat will go out though the stack and be lost. That is why people make woodsheds, or at least a tarp over the wood stack. Going to indoor wood stoves would not eliminate that problem. Build a water tight woodshed, no matter which way you go. You did not describe the insulation of the house. If the previous owner did not realize the importance of insulating the water lines and ducts, he probably did not understand the importance of insulating the walls and ceilings, and using double panes on the windows, and taping up air leaks. Another thing: Where ever you have a heat exchanger, it is important to have the two fluids (I'm speaking generally calling air a fluid also) flowing in opposite directions to each other. You should be able to get economical and reliable use using an outdoor boiler. Most owners are very satisfied with the results. It removes fire risk to the house, and carbon monoxide poisoning risk as well. The boiler will be more efficient than an ordinary wood stove because the combustion efficiency is greater. I hope this helps you.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

The difference with an outdoor boiler is that it sits idle 90% of the time. So green wood actually gives a longer burn because it is evaporating the moisture while it is in idle mode anyway, it actually helps to slow the burn as it dries out. I agree with your math and physics but the way these work it practically doesn’t fit that theory

[@cindytepper8878]

Get an EFM stoker and fit it to your existing boiler. A 700 model will burn Bituminous coal, anthracite coal, wood pellets, or even dried corn. Automatic, all you have to do is empty the ashes

[@mohawktrailsguide]

It depends on how much you value your time. I had the cord wood boiler, switched to the pellet/corn/cord boiler, it was the best investment. Pellets and corn are sooooo much cheaper and lighter, for me it was about the time difference. 4 pallets of pellets and 8 bags of corn lasts me all winter, still under a $1000 bucks.

[@philcoppa]

why is the boiler so far from the house? I'd move it as close as is safe, and of course have insulated pipe sending the heat in.

[@wesleyhurd3574]

If your house is drafty and poorly insulated, you will burn an excessive amount of fuel. That is true whether your fuel source is wood, oil, coal, LP gas, natural gas or any other fuel. Your quickest return on investment would most likely to insulate and seal the drafts. Fix those detached air ducts at least until you save up for a properly designed central heating system. Only after you have accomplished those goals, does it make sense to invest in wood burning equipment.

[@tommyjones751]

If u burn good seasoned wood! thats cured good if it's hard or soft will burn way longer and more efficient prolly half the wood u used and it will put out more heat and like the other comments said move it closer to the house and insulate the pipes cuz thats enough stove to prolly heat 2 houses and get ur duct work repaired is cheap diy things u can do and great video!

[@OutsidewithScheib]

I think you are only burning 6 cords of wood. A loosely stack of wood takes up more space then neatly stacked stack of wood a face cord is 4’x8’x16”

[@acanadianineurope814]

You can get indoor wood stoves that will heat hot water for you. I imagine the plumbing retrofit will be fun for that. Otherwise, a woodstove in your den would be a good idea. Call the insurance company first though. It still might be a better idea to move the outdoor much closer to the house, insulate the shorter lines, and fix the ductwork.

[@chuckthetech]

WADR - a face cord is 16" ×4' H x 8' wide so your 30 cords is prolly closer to 9 or 10 cords...IMHO you are wasting your time if heat lined are uninsulated!!!

[@Joshua79C]

What you posted for measurement is a *full* cord, he said *face cord* which varies.

[@shawnpatrick5452]

How is that a full cord? A cord is 4ft wide by 4ft tall by 8ft long. If your wood is 16inchs long you have 3 face cords (a rick] per cord. All that word he had wasn't anywhere close to 15 cords maybe 7

[@timothymacon9059]

You didn't have no 15 cords of wood stacked like you had it, I can promise you that!

[@SSLFamilyDad]

that was just where we started. That was gone in less than 2 months then I had to get truck and trailer load of wood each week for the rest of the winter to keep up. Trust me, we burned at least 30 face cords of wood if not more

[@tpike46w]

@@SSLFamilyDad a face cord is 1/3 of a full cord, so u actually burned 10 full cord which isnt too bad.

[@craigshaw8929]

You need to really fix some things because if you think you went thru 15 cords of wood in two months you have major issues. Growing up we heated with only wood and now in my own home my only source of heat is wood. We may go thru three or four if that. I live in ohio on a hill with nothing around, it gets really cold. So I suggest you fix your problems before throwing in the towel.

[@PatrickWagz]

Woodstove all the way We are on our original woodstove from 1979, have a winter very similar to your's in MI, and use approx. 3 cords of wood per year.

[@gerardhaubert8210]

Have you checked your chimney for chryosote?

[@Frapsity]

I would say fix the duct work first because regardless of if you get an indoor wood stove your furnace may still be required for the really cold nights. Also use the wood burner as a supplement to your propane furnace. You can then insulate the line next year.

[@bjkjoseph]

I had 2 wood stoves going 24/7 and it was killing me...just spray foaming the attic right under the roof and sealing the attic made a huge difference....for my a/c too.

[@joelcrocker1094]

How much can A would chuck wood if A woodchucker could ? 30 quarts of wood & then some

[@dusseau13]

Face cord not cords. A Cord is 4x4x8, 3 face to a cord

[@urmommawasfun]

Sounds like you need to invest in some insulation, and a shovel!

[@elbowroom7993]

If you continue to be sloppy and incompetent about every little thing you do (attic, ducts, etc), then of course nothing will ever work correctly regardless of the type of stove you use.

[@ReinhardtTechnology]

Sounds like an awesome opportunity. In your position I would look at a rocket mass heater. God bless.

[@ronaldbechler1162]

Also I might add that you really need to fix the attic duct work first, weather you use propane to heat the house or your outdoor wood burner. That is like throwing money out the window. Tighten up the heat loss in the house first. Everything else will fall into place. Your propane furnace might heat better than you think, once you close off all the heat loss from your duct work. Hope this helps.

[@solidwoods6999]

Move the water heater as close to the house as you wish and the insurance agent allows. Insulate the now shorter pipes to the house. Put radiation devices in the house. Skip the forced air radiator because they require hotter water temp. If you have plenty of radiation in the house you can run the water temp 140-150 and as you know the lower temp is allot more efficient for wood use. It's hard for you to see that because 140-150 water temp in the winter would blow cold air from your hvac. But 140 radiators are hard to touch . You can use most anything for radiators. I use a wood fired water heater to heat my lumber dry kiln/2000sf shop/2000sf house and I use about15cd per yr. Next project is to install 4 sticks of 3/4"dia copper 5' long as a radiator inside the chimney of the water heater to pickup exhaust heat and send it back to the heater/system. Good luck jim

[@robhines9267]

buckeye bryan has the right idea. I get concerned about the insurance cost of a woodburner. Check with your insurance agent before you do it. Also sealing joints and isulating duct in un conditioned spaces goes a long way. Expect at least a 10 to 20 % reduction in cost if not more. Thank you for the Bible verses at the end of your videos. And keep fighting the good fight Brther

[@MowenMcGuire]

I had an uncle who heated his home with a wood fired kitchen stove, he used 4 cord per winter season, there is no way i would ever install something that i would have to attend to and burned 16 or more cord of wood. i would consider a complete reinstall of the Furnace, first.

[@gregrohs6688]

Wood burning stove gives more heat and burns less. You can also build a rocket stove mass heater or build a solar furnace.

[@Meadowmuffinfarms]

One cord is 8 feet long 4 feet high and 4 feet wide. a single is 8 x 4 x 16 Get your self some thermopex from central boiler 12.00 per foot I used a old red tagged forced air furnace and converted it to a hot water furnace with a heat exchanger. and run cheap duct pipe to the vents.. Forget the indoor wood stove and fix what you got.. Indoor stove needs dry well seasoned wood. Fix what you got..

[@bradw.5991]

Here is my opinion: Move the Wood Boiler next to the house and eliminate the 100-150 foot water lines, where as now you can have insulated lines installed for way less money, or even do it yourself. Next, your furnace is way outdated, but doesn't really matter if your just using the blower motor to circulate air. I would highly recommend a ECM Blower motor replacement, It will cost you around $400-$500 installed, or you can install it yourself for about $250 (ECM motors are energy efficient motors made to run long amounts of time). Also, get rid of that 1" air filter and cut the duct work open to fit in a 4"-5" filter. You will get much more airflow and more air filtration. Next thing which is optional, you have a boiler with only 1 heating radiator at the furnace. Install some baseboard radiators in the basement or around the house in places you don't need a thermostat or care if it gets to hot (put them in an unfinished basement and the heat will radiate up thru the house floors to keep it warm and keep the furnace blower from running excessively on thermostat). Doing all of this will more than likely cut your wood supply in half. Info about me: I am an HVAC Service tech, worked on many of these boilers, and never seen anybody use that amount of wood except when they heat the house, barn, and other fixtures from 1 boiler. About your indoor wood stove: don't forget that when the exhaust air is vented thru the chimney, your stove requires outside air to replace lost indoor air, and now you have to have a combustion air intake, and the air coming into your house will be cold and will need to be heated also. This why most wood fireplaces and stoves are not energy efficient, unless they have their own combustion air intakes.

[@grahamburbage8443]

I'm speachless! Invest in a good indoor woodburner with large back boiler and call it a day. Don't heat all of your house. If your wife gets fed up with you for never being around, come to the UK and I'll marry you, you can do my wood, I hate it.

[@jackadinolfi3426]

Just saw your video by accident and am miffed by the amount of wood that you burned. I had a Central Boiler wood burner and heated a 3000 foot log home on just over 7 full cords of wood. That even included domestic hot water all year long. I found that if it would go into the stove it would burn. My wife kept the house at 76 degrees all winter in Vermont and the stove had no trouble heating our home. We did have base board hot water heat and a sidewinder on a hot water tank. Our pipes were insulated under the ground but less that a foot down. Never had a melt line over the pipes. One time in February I loaded a couple of large pieces into the stove with my tractor bucket and we went away for four days and the stove was still burning and the water temp was still 170 which was our set point. We did have a propane backup on the outdoor stove and it could come on if necessary but all the time we had the stove it only come on when we turned it on. The stove regularlly loaded once in the morning and once in the evening no matter how cold it was. I also very seldom split the wood. Most of the wood on our property was beech, maple and birch and they all burned well. Hope this helps someone who is on the fence about a water stove. They do work.. I also had 3 hot water heat zones and the log home was three stories.

[@TheSoupdragon1968]

I think you need to look at a Rayburn cooker or AGA from the UK. I'm sure there are agents over there. Guaranteed it will heat your hot water, radiators very well. There are a few videos on KZbin of people using them. They last quite literally for ever!

[@hartlife7795]

I have an indoor wood stove and couldn't wait till I got my outdoor one going. No more mess in house and its lot of mess. Smoke dust bugs wood stacked up. And with my outdoor one it does my house garage hot water and looking this year to tie my pool into it. Invest in good insulated lines to house and that'll make world of difference. Just my thoughts! Good luck

[@ZulkSOD]

Cut your firewood a year or two ahead. Keep it covered. It will up your efficiency by 4x and you will get a lot more out of the same amount

[@ryanbrand3946]

Exactly, some wood 3 years even. You use all your btu's burning off the moisture in unseasoned wood. Even a good inside stove wont give you good heat with wet wood. Outside units are always less efficient then an inside unit

[@awildjared1396]

You know, if you don't like the efficiency you could just leave the pipes underground and get a better quality model to place where the old one was.

[@David-fv7zg]

I dont think there is anything wrong with what you are trying to do. At some point, you have to realize all the ineffective, are keeping you from doing what needs to be done to keep you family in a better place. I think you hit the nail on the head, focus in the revenue generating items, and do what you need to do to keep the house efficient and create more time for what makes you money, which will ultimately keep you in that house. An outdoor stove does you no good if you can’t create the income to stay in the house. Having said this, have you considered a soapstone wood burner? I do not hav done, but I have seen them in work. They are amazing, they burn much less wood, and stay hot forever, decreasing the amount of wood you need. They are expensive, but you buy it once, move on to bigger and better things and dont have to worry about it for 20 years. If you dont have enough hardwoods on your property, have you considered a pellet stove? Not as glamorous as the wood burning stove, but like I said, get efficient in the home and spend your time one higher priority items. Sorry, not trying to tell you what to do or run your house, just some thoughts I had. Two tenants I try to live by that has helped me in dilemmas like this. 1. Work smarter not harder, and 2. Be proactive, not reactive. Loving this channel more and more each time you post something. Whatever you choose, good luck !!

[@dw7486]

Rocket mass heater. Efficiency.

[@rvingonthego]

If you feel like dealing with the mess go with the stove. If not then modify and repair the what you have. Maybe move the furnace closer and insulate from there

[@AnthonyStabler]

I have a corn burner you can have for one of your spaces. I used it in my garage for a couple of years. It worked OK. We vacation around Manistee every year. Get ahold of me on Facebook if you’re interested.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I had never really considered a corn burner, we need to talk! Will be in touch

[@corykulinski4267]

It doesn't matter what the heat source is insulation and sealing the air leak will always save time and money.

[@HeavensGatesCherryFarm]

Wood shove add on in basement burn 15 face cord, this is at my mothers house in Hale Michigan. Burn Ash and Oak, house is about 78 all winter.

[@hubgold487]

it doesn't sound like you made an accurate measure of wood used. 4ftx4ftx8ft is one cord its hard for a viewer to estimate. but eight to ten full cords seems more likely looking at your pictures. using unspilt uncured snow covered wood causes the loss of lots of heat value also.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I used the measurement for a face cord and that video clip was just what I started with. That does not include me going out and collecting truck and trailer loads of wood each week almost all winter.

[@barndweller4573]

We purchased a efficient furnace a few years ago and it was a GREAT investment. We had to remove our wood stove because it raised the insurance cost as much as we were saving. Why work your butt off and not move forward. IF you do continue to use the stand alone wood burner move it closer and this time install it correctly (I know you did not install it the first time). No matter how good your install the farther away it is the less efficient it will be. Could you incorporate it into your greenhouse and then the heat it gives off that is normally lost form the outside of the burner would heat the green house?

[@randygrider]

You either have a very inefficient house, very inefficient furnace, or both. I come no where near burning that much wood in a winter, and mine is a homemade model

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I have both:)

[@yevhenrekhtin6591]

@@SSLFamilyDad Please read this one. I learned many years about how to reach highest efficiency of wood burning heating. I made and installed some of those previously... I even have my own project of wood boiler. I know the way you can help yourself here. 6:52 Your unit emits amazing amount of heat just hit the air around it. So, use it. You can don't burn additionally wood for green house. Put this unit inside green house. Also have some room right beside the boiler to stock some wood there. It will give you possibility to partially preheat and predry you wood you will burn. Also loading will become more comfortable for you, because you will not do it beyond the sky when it's raining or snowing... To make the heating of your green house more efficient you can install one heat exchanger that will be heated by your boiler. Learn how to use heat properly! It's very simple but it will work for you. And Good luck)

[@rogerpullin8997]

well what did you do? do you want to sell the outside burner?

[@broganmoffet7173]

I heat my house 2100 st ft ranch style with an earth stove. Large model. I never use my backup electric. We don't leave the house unattended for more than 24 hrs during the heating season we burn 5to7 cords a year. Mixed soft and hardwood. We live in northern colo. No severe cold but will go below 0 10 or more days a year. A well built house with wood heat works but takes constant attention and regular chimmney cleaning. I know this and have used wood heat for 40 years. Worn out two stoves and saved thousands of heating dollars most wood comes from tree company's in area

[@lovinwindy2380]

Transferring heat from wood to water through cold ground then to the air through leaky ducts seems horribly inefficient. You’re probably losing more than 60% of the heat you could get out of that wood to inefficiency. Pellet stove are among the most efficient options. You have to buy the pellets, but still can be much less expensive. If you are planning to cut wood anyway and can’t see yourself doing the pellet stove, then yes get an indoor stove. The cost is almost certainly less than what it would take to update your current system to an acceptable efficiency. I realize this lost is completely useless as it’s been way too long, but that didn’t stop me from giving my 2 cents.

[@fergusb2440]

Wow! Poorly set up. That sure is the problem. I put in an outdoor wood boiler 4 years ago. I used Central PEX insulated pipe underground for a run of about 60' to the house and another line 50' to the garage. I put the lines only 4 feet deep which isn't below frost line here but I added sand on top of the lines and them added foam insulation a foot or so above the lines before backfilling. My line to the house crosses my driveway which gets plowed! My basement isn't insulated and I retrofitted the heat exchanger to the existing fuel oil furnace so the blower force's the boiler heated water through the ducts, similar to your set up. I also heat my domestic water with the boiler in the winter. I live on northern Ontario Canada, so winters are cold and long. I burn what I can, purchased white birch, black ash and anything off my 145 acres I can including balsam poplar, spruce, aspen, Manitoba maple etc. I only burn about 10 cords a year in a house about 1000' square on the ground floor with a half floor above plus the garage. Put the money and/or time into fixing the lines and ducts.! An indoor stove is nice but your wood supply will have to be much better - dryer and likely smaller pieces to prevent creosote buildup in the chimney and to get it warm enough to heat the house!

[@toshayonguard4253]

I agree with Bryan i did that very same thing i moved my outdoor fireplace to 70 ft from my house vs 200 ft and pulled my improperly insulated lines out of the ground rapped them in thermal insulation then feed them into a piece of solid non perforated drain tile then i went threw my whole house and sealed up all the leaks in my duct work which i might add help with my central air system and i paid a company to come in with the little robot duct cleaner and vac out my ducts and last year my wood consumption dropped from 30 cords to 15 cords and 5 of those cords where used in my big shop with a standard indoor wood burner with a blower fan my shop is 40ft x 80ft with 16 ft ceilings and i also added two 105 in industrial ceiling fans in my shop and keep my shop at 65 deg all winter which it has never been so warm so to conclude this post i have increased my efficiency by at least 50% and reduced my wood consumption by 50% and i would think if you set up you maple syrup production in the back if your green house you will have heat in there and beable to cook your syrup in doors.....🤔👍🏻😁 good luck on improving your heating efficiency and i say stick with wood burner and watch your local FB and let it go app’s there are tons of people selling split firewood i bought mine last year and only spent $100 pr cord made a deal with a seller for delivered for all hard wood here in Ohio. And $1500 worth of propane would have be gone in 2 months.

[@SkunkTreeCarvings]

one cord of fire wood neatly stacked 4ftx4ftx8ft= 128sqft

[@Joshua79C]

square foot? that is two dimensions, you mean cubic foot which is all three dimensions.

[@EastMesaUrbanHomestead]

Why. OT move the unit closer to the house and insulate the pipes. The duct work in the house can be fixed with some sheet metal and ducteing tape (not sure what it’s called) and then you can insular the ducting. You will still have hot water and the heat. And you could of course still get a stove it would burn less and only run that unit when needed. Just a suggestion not sure if that helps

[@johnjefferson8259]

I use an indoor wood boiler in Maine. Seems to burn less, does my hot water and my wife doesn’t mind keeping it loaded.

[@Sword5000]

You got a big problem !!! I heated my 1600 sq ft house and 6 car garage with 8 cords and never kicked on my furnace.

[@Joshua79C]

his problem and many of you fail to listen when hearing him mention what he said is a face cord and then mentions the dimension of what is half a cord. he is mixing up his understanding of the difference in cords.

[@momofone28]

Get in touch with your local tree service might use your property dump wood

[@Random-rt5ec]

I installed a pellet stove and keep my 2000 sq/ft home 75 degrees warm all winter for the cost of 3 tons of pellets at about $250/ton. The pellet stove requires a daily cleaning & filling. Being a bit of a SHTF prepper I admit in addition to the pellet stove I would love to have your outdoor boiler rig. If the doo doo ever does hit the fan my pellet stove would be useless without the pellets while with your rig you could scavenge wood and keep warm & have hot showers.

[@sstimac]

30 face cords is 10 cords. That's about right I'd think for a Michigan Winter.