Outside Wood Boiler

Tom_35

We installed a "Central" brand boiler that the customer furnished several years ago. The home was new construction and and underground home. It was built in sections with curved domes from a manufacturer in Minnesota. The home was a little over 3,000 square feet and had exposure on the south side only.

The boiler provided the domestic hot water, radiant floor heat, and a back-up water coil (that has not been needed).

I do know that the homeowner burned more wood than what the manufacturer of the boiler claimed, but that could also come from the type of wood, age of wood, etc. If my memory serves me correctly, he used 12-14 ricks the first full winter, and this was actually more than he had planned. Bear in mind that this installation is in Arkansas, not PA, and we don't normally see a lot of really cold temps. Our design temp is 17 degrees.

The cooling system was a 2-speed 3-ton Carrier condenser with a cooling load of 26,000 BTU. We chose the 2-speed unit so that we could have better humidity control of the home, and it has worked extremely well.

As others have said, the claims of the manufacturers need to be taken as suspect unless they are tested by independant testing agencies.

Tom A

Nick Dearing

Outside Wood Boiler

Hi everyone. Someone was asking me if I heard of an actual experience with outside wood boilers and how much wood they go through a season. This boiler would be in Western PA. Any idea about how many cords it would go through a winter?

Martin Lunde, PE

outdoor wood boilers

I would be very careful of all unsubstantiated claims or claims made purely by the manufacture regarding overall efficiency, wood consumption and emissions. Look for INDEPENDANT testing and verification of claims. Ask for letters of reference and the names of clients who have used a system for a number of years as there is a great deal of incorrect information regarding this topic.

I would also carefully review the dealer network - are the dealers trained, do they carry the necessary licenses for installation work, etc. We have seem many poorly designed and/or installed systems over the years becaue of a lack of training (and basic understanding of hydronic heating).

That said, please go to www.garn.com - and see what 23 years off continuous R & D has done for the large residential/ small commercial cord wood user.

frank_32

I have an outside wood boiler and something to look into is warranty. I chose an Empyre and am very happy with the boiler and warranty. I have unfortunately had a hard time with wood and coal use because the contractor that installed the heat inside my home really screwed it up. I know that my 2000sqft home has already used over 9 full cords of mixed hardwoods, a ton and a half of coal, and 250 gallons of propane. The reason for this overwhelming amount of fuel useage is because of the house being under baseboarded, causing the system to run continuously.

S Ebels

If

If the fuel is being burned, the btu's are going somewhere. If your house is under-radiated, leading to the assumption that the heat is not going into the house, one would have to conclude that the heat is going out the stack of your wood burner. Make any sense?