15 Years With Outdoor Wood Boiler: DETAILS - LIKES & DISLIKES
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- I fire up the outdoor wood boiler for the first time this year and take an opportunity to talk about it. This is all about our outdoor wood boiler stove and how it works. I also discuss what I like and what I don't like about the outdoor wood boiler.
- Auta a dopravní prostředky
![I Never Should Have Said That! [Now I Don't Know If It's Worth It]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jSUT__yORc4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Is BIGGER Better? [Firewood Size For Outdoor Wood Boiler] - Why Split Wood For A Large Boiler?](/img/n.gif)
Reminds me of what my grandfather told my brother and i every time when we sent to assist him. 'Wood will heat you 4 times: 1. Cutting 2. Splitting 3. Stacking 4. Burning ' . I said it recently to my 14 year old and instantly recognised the same eyerolling reaction. I hope his granchildren will keep the tradition going in a hundred years 😊
We have run an outdoor boiler for 25 years now. I agree with the comments about going outside when its -30,not so much fun but I've worked out in the cold for so many years, it's not a big deal. Me and my son spend about 2 hours cutting up wood on a Sunday afternoon and that last's all week in the dead of the winter in Northern Mn......People who think we're fools burning wood might be changing their minds when fossil fuel prices go through the roof...You think a lot like me... Great video....
Thanks a lot Brent. Yeah, my Dad and I do the exact same thing on Sundays. Sometimes it's my father-in-law and me or a brother or cousin. Those are rewarding Sundays. Thanks so much for watching and commenting and I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Having grown up in a house heated by wood, there is nothing that brings back fond memories than wood smoke on a chilly fall evening. There was something so comforting about standing with my dad with our backs toward the stove sharing warmth and love.
I hear ya Gordon. Love standing with your back to the stove until it's too hot to touch the back of your pants! Always felt good after coming in from the cold. I have those memories too. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Agreed totally my wood fire burns mucho hot.
My parents heat 2300 sq ft. With just a fire place. House built in early 70s. Yes they have land and don't pay for wood. We spend all summer taking out dead and junk trees. It's alot of work but it's quality time with my dad. Love it
very nice, you can reach more efficiency if you convert it into a giant mass heater and burn much less wood
Those big outdoor boilers are actually banned where I am. People would burn damp swamp wood with the dampers turned way down and cover square miles in smoke. I remember a neighbor to a guy that had one had a white house that looked like the face of a coal miner
Glad to see someone post about the unbelievable amount of toxic smoke these things belch all day long. I live in town and my neighbor has one and my house is flilled with smoke all day. Going to talk to town manager tomorrow. If I dont get a result there, my next stop is a lawyer. I actually can't breath in my own house.
That's a pretty convincing Aardvark costume!
I know. It's uncanny! :)
Excellent video on how you heat with a wood boiler. I miss having a wood stove in our home we moved to. There’s something special about cutting the firewood and heating your home with it. Thank you for sharing and making your videos educational. I always come away with learning something new and I love the way you make each video a story. It’s so interesting to watch!
Thanks for the very kind comment redmonna! There truly is something special about heating with wood. Appreciate you watching and commenting.
I grew up in WV and would often split wood as a kid. After moving to SC about 15 years ago, I have pretty much given up on firewood, and would only buy about 75 pieces a year for a few fires in our den. We bought another house this year with our growing family that has a finished basement with a wood burning fireplace. We have been working all fall cutting a few red and white oaks, hickory, and maple to thin our our yard. I have access to a splitter, but one afternoon I was messing around with a splitting maul and my two year old found it amusing. He will sit on a firewood round and laugh every time I strike a round to split it. Needless to say, we just finished splitting an entire chord the hard way! It was a good workout, and now he can’t stop taking about splitting firewood!
Hey that's pretty cool Billy! I don't get too many urges to split wood by hand butever once in a while I'll crack a few rounds and my back reminds me why I don't like it! Thanks for sharing and thanks so much for watching.
Hey Neil! I grew up heating with firewood. Some of my most fond memories of my dad were going into the woods to cut with him. I still cut and sell some firewood since I miss doing the work. There's something very satisfying to look and see a nice stack of firewood after you've worked on it all day. I only heat my small garage with it now. I've often thought about heating with a boiler. I don't think I'd install it at my current home but if we ever built a house at my camp, I would really consider it after watching this video. I'm not sure if you remember me from the meet and greet but it was great meeting you and it turned me on to your channel. Keep up the good work and hopefully we'll see you again soon.
Hey Lee thanks for stopping in and sharing. Of course I remember you from the meet and greet and seeing you with Captain Kleeman. Very true about the pleasures and memories associated with firewood. Thanks for checking out the video and it was great to get to meet you in person!
I used to run a 036 and 042 in the forest services back in the 90’s. Great saws, great times.
I love mine. Still going strong!
There's something about heating with a fire that seems, well, right. Whether it be wood, coal, or even propane. There's nothing better than having a fire when it's bitter cold outside. Especially during the Christmas season. The smell, the warmth, the glow, everything about it screams goodness. I suppose being a country boy has something to do with it, but I know a lot of people that would love to have a fireplace or woodstove and can't. I'd hate to live without it.
Couldn't agree more PA Mike! You'd probably like my video about loving or hating firewood cause you sound like the type that could relate. Thanks so much for checking out the video.
My grandparents had an 11 acre farm with two houses on it. They heated the main house with an oil furnace and a fireplace that sucked the heated air out the chimney. The little house had a fireplace and oil stove. They could have heated both houses much more efficiently with the wood that those fireplaces used. Hindsight really is 20/20.
I've had my Noco gb40 jumpstarter for years now and it has never let me down. I've started everything from my truck to my diesel tractor, snowmobiles, ATVs, etc. It has been used literally hundreds of times.
I’m very happy to have come across your channel, you seem to be a very hard working man that works for his family you deserve the heat and comfort in your life…..thanks for sharing 😎
I'm very happy to have you watching Patrick! Thanks for giving us a chance! Hope you find more to enjoy.
Very good video, well explained and I agree that even though it is tough work at times I still love the wood stove! I am 67 and still going. Thanks
I hope I can say the same at 67! Thanks for watching!
Great video! I’ve wanted a boiler for years to heat both my shop and house with. I’ve grown up heating with wood at both my Dads and Grandparents so it’s in the blood. I do heat my shop with a forced air blower stove which does nice. The stove is in a separate room with wood storage as well. Keeps the mess in one spot. You have a nice setup!
Thanks Ben. Yeah, it's the way to go for sure if you like cutting wood and have an easy source for it. There's something really nice about wood heat in a shop too. Thanks for checking out the video!
Every video I watch I understand more.... great job....
Neil… I thought about a boiler unit several times. Our house has a crawl space and wooden floor. It was originally built with a central electric heat pump for heat and air. That system is ducted through the floor.
New Aire fireplaces are actually made just a few miles from here. The house had a secondary heat system installed with ducting of the fireplace installed in the attic. That received forced air from the fireplace.
Well, they built the fireplace with a clay tile flue and flimsy (but pretty) brass doors screwed to the front. As a result, we could not control venting. Wood consumption and creosote build up were terrible. As a result we had a couple of flue fires. About 10 years ago… Those cracked the clay tile.
Before we rebuilt the fireplace I looked long and hard at outdoor units. But, we didn’t come up with anything that we thought would work. Instead, I knew the owner of New Aire… he came over and took a look. We went with his recommendation.
We tore out the old fireplace from the foundation up. In its place we put an air tight fireplace with upgraded forced air flow to the ducting above. The ducts were inspected and reinsulated. As to the fireplace itself… it has fully functional glass, cast brass and steel doors inside. Outside in the garage it has solid steel doors through which wood is fed and air venting is accomplished.
We are pleased with it. Me because, I can just park my wood cart in the spare bay next to it to feed the fire in the garage. Additionally, the radiant heat from the door keeps the garage a toasty 60f on the coldest nights.
The biggest improvement is the lack of debris and cockroaches from dragging the wood inside. In fact, we have never opened the inside doors since we lit the first fire. Which of course created the big improvement, “My wife is much happier now!”
The next time that I looked at an outdoor heater was when I decided to double the size of my woodworking shop. Although it was going to have a cement floor, I just couldn’t justify it. I went with a wood stove instead. After all, I create at least two crates of wood scrap for kindling, every year. And, the fireplace burns 20”-30” wood. There are always odds and ends that are shorter. I sort those out into a separate stack for the wood stove. So, it has worked well.
This summer was my third look at an outside wood burner. You see, we are retired now and find that we travel much more in the wintertime. As a result, the heat pump keeps the house from freezing and an electric space heater does the same in my shop.
Because our local electric utility was forced to pray at the alter of Global Warming, they have shut down most of their coal fired power stations. Their conversion to natural gas pushed our electric bill up. The second round of worship is in progress now. The are being forced to shut those new natty gas plants down to install wind mills and solar farms. (Does that Don Juan fencing with windmills vision come to mind right about now?) That has led to electric rates skyrocketing.
If you put that together with the fact that the statement of “warmth from a heat pump” doesn’t exist in nature… you’ll understand why we installed a high efficiency propane heat system in the house.
If we are going to be forced to pay for the politicians vanity any way… I’d much rather spend the money on heat we enjoy than paying homage to their ‘God of Global Warming’.
To wean ourselves as completely as possible… I also buried a separate propane line to my shop. Although I haven’t found the right heater yet… I’m looking. Soon, I’ll have one that will keep my shop from freezing overnight. And still let me have the wood heat that thus farmboy craves!
All this to say… you have a nice system… but it just couldn’t work for us! Thanks for the review… it is enjoyable and enviable.
Very interesting to hear the details of your system too Dave. I love your fireplace design of being able to fill it from the garage side and keeping the mess out there. Makes perfect sense to me. There is something about the radiant heat of a wood stove that just cannot be replicated for whatever reason. Especially if you laid your hands upon the wood that it consumes... It's hard to get away from wanting it if you're still physically able to make the firewood.
I added the propane tank for some backup source of heat just two years ago. We went about 13 years with nothing other than wood. Running the furnace on propane in the first part of the fall and last part of spring have been spoilers too. I really enjoy it until I see the needle on the gauge start to drop. Propane can spoil ya but it comes at a price. I got the little 250 gal tank thinking it would force me to not want to use too much of it.
There are officially 3 wood fired heating units on this property and we have had years where all 3 are going at once.
The main boiler as you just saw, but then when it is extremely cold we will still fire up the kitchen wood stove to help and there is also a wood stove in the little block building next to the house. Maybe it would be interesting to show them all in action one day this winter. Sounds like you can relate with your multiple stoves as well.
Thanks for checking out the video! Almost didn't make the deadline with this one!
Stay warm out there :)
@@digdrivediy I fired up the shop stove the first time today. I have to confess… I spent a fair amount of time with my backside pointed toward it!
Fire em up… a drone flyover through the smoke would be cool… and trigger the climate change Karens into a frenzy!
@@sassafrasvalley1939 I like that drone in the smoke idea!
Thank you for posting this Neil! I've been waiting to see when you were gonna come out with this, since you teased it quite a few months ago. Many questions were answered, many more fill this legal pad I jot notes on. This particular "seed" comment, will no doubt propagate additional comments/questions. Happy Halloween to the Aardvark and Penguin there dad. That was weak brother, I'm embarrassed for you.
I didn't know how technical I should get with this video. I had an entirely different script written at one point. Decided to just make it about the first week of firing the stove.
Those two girls are gonna be equally as embarrassed by their Dad as their teenage years approach!! :)
We've had a soap stone wood burning stove for about 20 years. Some years I got wood for free but lately we buy it. We go through two to three cords a season. Its the only heat source for our semi converted garage which we affectionately call the Back. I don't know if it's cheaper but it's the favorite place in the house in the winter people and pets. You can't put a price on that. ❤
While I wouldn't recommend that stove to anybody I do like how you set things up to keep snow off your wood and give you a sheltered spot to load the stove. Burning wood does give a lot of satisfaction. I think it keeps us grounded and in tune with nature a little more than just turning up a thermostat and burning gas or hydro. I also think your woodsplitter is the best I've seen yet.
Thanks! Having the roof and concrete has helped make it a little more pleasurable. I have spent a lot more time in nature as a side effect of burning wood. Thanks for watching.
Talk to the town DPW TREE DEPARTMENT as they have to put the blown down trees somewhere usually the town dump. Tell them if they would cut it to 16 inch lengths you’ll take all they dump where your wood storage is. The other option is talk to a local tree company and inform them you’ll not only take logs but will take wood chips as well. An aluminum coal scoop is great for shoveling wood chips into the firebox.
Food for thought
Love your door yard sir! Looks organized!
Great job looking great keep up the great work love your videos thank you
I use an Antigravity XP-10 jumper and love it. I've had it for years and it still works like new. I was sold when nothing else would even budge my Optima yellow top battery. Even a roll out battery charger with start mode. I keep it in my truck and use it all the time. The camper, the sxs's and even strangers stuck with dead battery's. I even run antigravity in my harley.
Just picked up a outdoor wood boiler myself, looking forward to getting it installed!
Thanks for sharing. I appreciate the lessons learned.
Thanks so much for watching Jim!
That 036 is a real antique. I still have an 031AV that is like new as I keep it for nostalgic reasons only.
Neil, I have the same type of heater in my garage and I took a cheap $17 box fan motor with a plastic fan blade. It bolted right up to the cage of the heater. Now I have 3 speeds and it’s always on 1 so it so quiet. I bought a plug in thermostat on eBay so that turns on the fan motor when it calls for heat. I remember I had to trim the fan blades with tin snips to fit in the cage. It works great for me. 4yrs now
That's a great idea. I plan to do something along those lines. Thanks!
We replaced my dad's water lines a couple years ago. It made a huge difference in wood consumption. The insulation was waterlogged and would melt the snow off the driveway.
I wish I could do it easily and I would. At the first part of the winter mine can melt the snow and a small bit of frost from the ground as well. Once winter settles in you can't tell. At least mine doesn't seem to hold water. It is running downhill all the way to the basement and I can see down inside the tube from in the basement. I was able to reach down in and poke a hole in the plastic pipe and ever since it has remained dry inside. That's the only thing that gives me comfort about that stupid pipe. Appreciate you watching TIm!
Those stoves that you're feeling so good about burn so dang much wood it's unbelievable
Yes, I'm aware of that :)
Just found you channel. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! Thanks for checking it out Erik!
Another great video Neil!
Thanks Dustin!
Very educational Thanks.
Thanks for watching it!
I grew up being "heated by wood" until my mid teens. 15 years later, when we moved into a big old 1850's farm house, I bought my first stove.
34 years later, I ended up making a change, by going to a corn burning furnace.
The best of all that was spending time with Dad and brothers, cutting , splitting and stacking our heat supply.
The last couple years I burned wood, I supplemented the wood supply with ear corn. It works great, as long as your stove is ratted for coal
Thanks Charles. I like the ear corn idea! I should try that out as our stove is rated for coal and had the shaker grates. I could get a corn picker to pull with the little JDs!
@@digdrivediy I have an old Wood Brothers just like what dad used when I was a pup. I have pulled it with the CA Allis that he bought new in 1951.
I used corn the last couple years I had the Clayton wood burner in the basement, mostly because I wasn't able to cut and store wood I needed AND, it holds a fire longer than a few pieces of wood.
Great video. Toolbox tour / shop setup would be cool. Like the organization 👍🙂
Hey that's an idea. I would like to do a shop video. I need to get my shop all cleaned up first though! Thanks for watching and the suggestion.
Congrats/Condolences on starting up your stove for another season. Lol. I fired my silver beast up last week. I’m in the best position I’ve ever been in the 6 years I’ve had the stove. Got my dad almost set for the whole year (12 cords) & i have probably 6 cords. Dad has a new “EPA” stove so his wood has to be seasoned, dry, & cut smaller so he gets priority. Mine will burn anything. Here’s a tip I tried last year. I mixed in some tree grinding/mulch. Worked pretty good. I liked it cause I could use a scoop shovel.
Thanks Lucas! I've wondered about those EPA stoves. Never looked into one much. I have burned a little mulch too. It does seem to burn quite a while and could be a good solution once in a while. I've had a few years mixed in where I had most of the year cut before I started the fire, but it hasn't been in recent years! Thanks so much for tuning in and always appreciate hearing from you.
Love the up the chimney shot! This is our first year with our crown royal 7300e.
Thanks! Trying to get something different. Best of luck with your new Boiler and thanks for watching!
Thinking about doing something like this with in-floor heating. Probably going to use an accumulator tank in the house and maybe a barn I'm converting to a workshop. A fan solution will probably go in the other buildings. One thing I noticed is that most people selling this and simpler solutions that draw heat from a regular wood stove recommend that you install an accumulator tank so you can have a reservoir of heated water there to buffer the boiler and have less heat lost to atmosphere when the water get's to hot. It also gives you a bit more time between refilling the stove as I understand it. I also plan on installing a dual coil water heater. That way you can use the excess heat from the stove to warm up the water in the boiler to a certain point and save on electricity. You could probably go full wood boiler here, but the electricity is a nice backup if the boiler ever breaks down and helps maintain an exact temperature to avoid bacterial growth. What do you or others with wood boilers think of my plans. Am i onto something or am i over complicating things?
Yeah I'm not too sure I understand how the accumulator tank works. This thing has a 300 gallon water jacket so it always has 300 gallons of available hot water when your systems call for heat. It's pretty simple really as long as you keep a fire going.
Yes it seems wood is always around us as well. I often think someday I will run out, but God grows it quicker than most of us can cut it down, so there's that. Cool video.
Thanks Don!
from the Netherlands thanks for the video Neil
You're most welcome friend from the Netherlands. Thanks for watching!
HI NEIL. THAT LITTLE STORY AT THE END OF YOUR VIDEO WAS ME. STILL AT IT. GOING IN THE SWAMP THIS WEEK AND GETTING ASH OUT. LIKED YOUR VIDEO. YOU HAVE A GREAT SET UP THERE. NICE PLACE. INCIDENTLY...I HAD A CROWN ROYAL 7400. NOW HAVE A PORTAGE AND MAIN. BEST ONE I'VE OWNED SO FAR. USE APPROX. 1/3 LESS WOOD. JUST SAYIN.
Hey there! I hope you don't mind I used your story! I loved it! I hope to be able to still be going at when I get to your age as well. I should look into that stove you mentioned. Thanks again for the great comment and I'm glad you caught this video with your story in it. Good luck out there gettin' those ash out of the swamp!
Great video and great insight Neil. I’m currently rebuilding our home and doing some welding on an outdoor boiler my father in law had here on the farm.
I heat with wood for both the reasons mentioned in the video, and I also do it because of the memories involved around it. It’s not work if you and a couple buddies or the kids are having fun doing it! Take care, I look forward to the next one.
Certainly right about that Andrew. I made a whole video about why I love cutting firewood and it is all about the family and friends for me too. Thanks so much for checking this out!
@@digdrivediy this is why I’ve ditched firewood and went with pellets. My other half couldn’t keep a fire going to save her life 😂
Those Li-ion Jumpers often will not read the drop from self discharge until you've put a load on them, they'll keep reading the Li-ion battery cells inside at the high voltage until a load has been put on them. And they will self discharge over a 6-12mo period of time. If it has a USB port on it, a good way to get it to pull a correct reading is to charge a phone or something on it and then hit the readout button. The same goes with Power Banks that have a meter (which isn't common but they do exist.) FWIW, it's not that the Li-ion Jumper is bad, it's just a quirk of how they work. I'd suggest plugging them in every 3mo for a couple hours to get a charge.
Man, watching this, I do not miss my old traditional boiler the slightest bit. First year with my gasification boiler, and I wish I had switched years ago!
I need to learn more about those. Honestly don't know the first bit. Thanks for watching!
@@digdrivediy central boiler and rocky acres farmstead have good info on the central boiler classic edge, which is what I ended up buying. Alternative heating solutions, which I believe has taken over heatmaster ss channel; as well as Yoder outdoor furnaces, have good content on the heatmaster g series. There are others such as polar and crown royal. we don’t have dealers in my area so idk much about them. Definitely do the research and learn the difference between gassers and traditional boilers though. It’s not difficult to figure out what to do different. Once you understand gassers, and if you make the switch, you’ll be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner too lol.
Sorry Neil i must of missed this one ....but i got ya covered now !lol
I've been wondering when you'd get to this video! :) That's gotta be about all of them... 👍 so cool. Thanks!
Like the peavy! And Halloween characters.
Many thanks. That peavy doesn't get used all too often but I find it helpful on the concrete. Those Halloween kids got TWO nights of candy stealing this year!
just got 20 pulp cords delivered today, usually burn 12-14 cords a winter , will have my neighbor w/ his firewood processor run thru the piles in a day. stacking is a chore but who needs a gym membership. Sometimes it stinks going outside but what other reason would you have for going outside at night in the winter, sometimes I hear the coyotes howling or the owl hooting. The boiler is like having a hungry needy pet. It makes for a great excuse to get home too, gotta load the boiler. ha
Ha! I'm right there with ya Jay!
Have you looked at the HeatMaster Gasification boiler, it uses 50% less wood consumption, and produces less smoke and ash. The Gasification boilers are over 90% efficient and produce less co2, and the Gasification require dry wood.
A friend has one of the old boilers like you have, and upgraded to a Gasification boiler and totally loves it, because he has to collect less wood to burn and gets more heat output from the wood he burns.
He was not looking to replace his wood boiler, but when it got a leak in the middle of the winter, was forced to replace it, so the local dealer sold him a HeatMaster and he said it cost less to buy than the 13 year old boiler he replaced.
Check them out. It might save you much work collecting wood.
I've heated about 4500 square feet since 1988 with a Hardy and radiant floor heat wouldn't trade it for anything.
Another nice one Neil! I have to agree I wish I would have gone with the better underground piping as well!. Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween Mike! I"ve been trying to figure out a way to insulate that pipe in the ground. Let me know if you come up with something!
I love porta wraps 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽
Happy Halloween to you and your family man.
I just installed a new flue on our chimney earlier today before the rain hit. I have to finish building our cap, and hopefully have a fire rollin by next weekend.
Yep. We just got home from trick or treating and supper... for the second night in a row!!!
I need to do a cap and sealer on the house chimney in the coming week or two as well. Gotta rent a lift I'm afraid. Thanks Rob!
Hi Neil , your doing more work then you have . You don't have to split your firewood . leave it in long length 3 to 4 feet . What ever will fit in your wood furnace. and if it will fit threw the door it's good .This is how I run my wood furnace it will last over 24 hours before i have to refill it .Save a lot of extra work and time. But hey if you like splitting wood more power to ya.
Oh don't I know it Murray. In the 15 years we've done it all different ways. Problem is though, even if it is small enough to fit through the door it doesn't mean it's small enough for me to pick it up and get it in there. We cut and split to this size mostly for handling purposes. You saw my Dad throwing the pieces in the trailer and if I ever want my wife to be able to fill the stove when I'm gone, she's gotta have some smalls. I've put pieces in the stove I had to lift up with the forks and roll them in just cause they were too gnarly to split but I don't let the everyday stuff be that way. So, that's the biggest reason for me is all to work it down a little smaller. Really appreciate you watching and commenting sir!
That was a great video. Iv'e been heating with wood since 1979. When the motor goes bad on that heater in the garage, go to Menards and get a box fan and bolt it up to the heater. Isolate it with rubber washers between fan and heater. You can adjust your fan speed and fans are around $15-$20 when on sale. Hardly any motor noise. Thank you for a great video. Hope those kids got alot of candy on Halloween.
That's a great idea Scott! I may just do that despite the motor still working. That's so easy I never thought of it. Thanks!
And oh, they got tons of candy!!
It's kind of funny, we didn't heat with wood, but my best friend and I had a firewood business when we were in high school. I always loved cutting, splitting, and selling the wood, I guess because of the money. I don't think it would've been that much fun if I was doing it for heating purposes at my own house. I guess perspective is everything? Good video again sir.
You're absolutely right about that! Perspective is KING! Great comment and thanks as always BD!
LOVE THIS CHANNEL
THX
Interesting how you changed the farm house into what it is today. Nice.
The wood furnace is huge; seems like you would only have to check it twice a day. Don't forget...LOL... or you will have three females letting you know real quick how cold it is in the house.
Always take/make time for your daughters. They grow up so quick.
Great advice for sure. I try to make extra time any chance I get for sure. They are all quick to let me know if it's getting too cold in there; Mom especially!
I'd like to make a video about the house remodel someday. I have lots of old footage and pics.
Thanks ilmo!
Hello Neil get ready for fall and winter. Pick up leafs and blowe the snow. I bought one this year fally all ready for winter.
Awesome! Yeah, I'm trying to get things ready. I hope we get a little snow this winter! Thanks Ryan!
Budget dictates the project but you have what you need for sure, maybe just not the upgrade you wanted. Super nice set up ! Thanks for the video. Just subscribed
Thanks Jeff! You said it for sure. The budget dictates a lot of what gets done, especially when you're young. Thanks for saying that and thanks so much for subbing and watching!
A little thought about the noise in the shop. Get a few more radiators and adjustable fans and turn them down. You will get more use out of the heat going in. A think you return Quite alot of heat to the stove.
Aardvark 😂… you have a really nice setup for your heat, I’m surprised the boiler can heat all of that square footage 👍🏻. Another great video Neil 👍🏻, have a great week 🙂🙋🏼♂️👍🏻
Appreciate it!
I've been trying to craft my Dad joke skills. Mostly I'm just embarrassing!
Very good showing what's involved in owning a Wood Boiler. Have been thinking about one when we move further North when we retire to Northern New England (Maine). I just finished posting a video on cleaning a wood stove and what's involved leaving the video as a opened ended question, pay someone to clean it plus the chimney or should I, the owner clean it. I burn 6-8 cords a season. I do all my own dropping of trees (if needed otherwise it's mostly storm damage downed trees), do my own chain sawing, splitting, hauling, stacking, etc all to save money. We have heating oil for the house with a 325 Gal tank. Filling that cost $$$, all my wood is free. I live in a area that is heavily wooded and mostly hardwood, Oak & Maple. I burn pretty much 90% oak. Now the question is how long before you broke even on cost and savings. Meaning, from the investment of the Wood Boiler to the money saved in buying fossil fuels? My savings was after 4 years for my break even part. That's just the wood stove, not including a commercial log splitter, bunch of STihls saws, trailer, Pick up truck, etc, Just the stove. Great video otherwise!! Love your editing. I'm still figuring out the editing side.
I should sit down and figure that stuff out but I determined I can't go back and change it now so no need to stress myself out I guess. I enjoy cutting wood and being able to heat my garage and shop without feeling like I'm spending a bunch of money to do it I guess. Thanks for the kind words on the videos and editing. I'm still learning too! I'll check out your videos some time.
Well made video - I watched because I am retiring & moving to Northern New Hampshire and am looking for wood heat options. After watching a wood boiler is not for me only because if something happened to me then my wife would not be capable of maintaining it herself. Instead I am going to go with a forced hot water propane system with 2 wood stoves that she could handle if I kick the bucket.
Thanks a lot. Yes, it's a lot of work. We have a propane furnace for backup too. And a wood stove in the house. Thanks for checking out the video!
319: u can cut troff for pex lines in the flow of the bar then shallow patch.
I’m too old for the stove but I gotta tell ya got a nice lookin place
Nice!!! I literally said Ardvark as a joke guess, but I did go polar bear for the second,
Love it love it..
Thanks Kevin
My grandparents heated with wood stoves. 1 in the kitchen and 1 in the family room. My bedroom was upstairs and it would be cold up there but a few quilts on the bed was great....
Oh yeah, that's the best! A slight chill upstairs met with flaming hot family room in the morning to get warmed up by. Thanks for watching Mike!
@@digdrivediy I love it that way. I sleep much better when it's a bit cooler. The cool bedroom and nice and toasty common areas are the way to go.
Good one Neil
Thank you Greg.
Your property is very beautiful
Thanks!
I spent my entire childhood cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood. My Dad installed a Hardy outside wood burner when I was just a teenager. So we’re talking 25+ years ago. That stove is still in use today. I’d say it was a good investment. Funny thing is I now live on 12 mostly wooded acres and don’t burn wood. Access to Natural Gas will spoil a man too.
Oh boy. If we had nattie gas there would be some serious chin scratching around here. I could be persuaded to give it up as the years tick on. I'll bet you're still thankful for those wood burning years nonetheless. Thanks for watching Gabriel!
Very interesting. I heat 36x48 building with a gas boiler and in floor tubing. I leave it at 55 F. Yes I am spoiled.
Love the floor heat. I'm right there with ya BG! :)
Love the video! Have you thought about building portable racks for the wood? You would have to stack it, but then you could move the whole stack with a loader. I don’t have an OWB yet, but I may get one soon.
I have been thinking about a portable solution. Hope to come up with something this year even. Thanks for watching Mike.
Nice setup. I have a similar boiler, I heat my 3500 sq ft home, double garage,domestic hot water, and 2000 sq ft shop. here in southern Minnesota. Mine sits behind my shop out in the open though. We’re on our 7th year this year. I get my wood all stacked up next to it and cover it with a tarp.
Sounds very similar Greg! How much wood do you go through in a winter?
@@digdrivediy I am embarrassed to say I’m not sure as far as cords go. I have access to a lot of wood my son and I bought an old Chevy diesel 2 ton truck with an 18’ contractor dump body I haul probably 5-6 loads all split every fall ? + my brother can get all the pallets I want so I cut them up and burn them. I am retired so I am around to load it whenever through out the day.
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@@greglammers9905 Don't feel bad I never know really how much I burn either. When the stove needs wood I just go get some. I don't keep track 😋
Happy belated Halloween Koch Family! We contemplated a wood boiler and ended up with a blaze king ultra wood stove. This is our first year heating with it and love the warmth you get from wood heat. Can’t believe the sheds not already full this year Neil! Hope y’all’s candy hauls were bountiful!
The candy haul was incredible this year! The girls got to go out both Saturday and Sunday nights so, we'll keep the dentist in business! I really like the wood heat too. Just something about working up your own fuel source that is rewarding. Thanks so much for watching!
This was a great video Neil. I remember reading an article in “Farm Show” where an older gentleman made an outdoor boiler log loader. I’d love to get an outdoor boiler. You have a great setup.
Thanks! A log loading stove would be awesome! I used to live looking through Farm Show!
Please forgive the nosy questions. @13:14 I’m guessing 1-1/2 cord(?) . For a typical 6 months heating season, how many trailers of wood do you go thru? How many sg ft total are you heating?
Of course no obligation to answer, the video is obvious:
neat plumbing. Nicely done projects. For the luxury seems well worth it. And the added benefit of instilling a sound work ethic. Priceless!
Our kids learned the same thing. As adults they can tear down and rebuild anything.
Thanks for the video.
Hi Henri -
No worry on the questions. I'm not sure how many trailer loads. Best guess is we do about 15 cords a year maybe.
We heat about 7500 square feet or so.
I have days where I hate firewood and days that I love it. You might like another video I made with nearly that exact title. Thanks so much for watching!
czcams.com/video/QJtXMDBZSFo/video.html
@@digdrivediy
Hey Neil.
Perfect for the answers.
Thanks
I grew up with wood heat we had a really nice fireplace insert that heated our 2000sq feet home. My dad got an outdoor stove because he wanted to keep everything outside. But after about 12 years it started to rot out and leak water. It used about twice as much wood compared to the fireplace insert and then all that water pipe the pump and everything else that was needed to run and then when the power went out you were screwed. Where the fireplace insert would just keep going. I'm not saying these are bad but it's not for me. I heat my house with wood still but I just have a stove in the living room .no power needed it just makes heat and I can cook on it. Been using the same stove for 25 years and all I've done is clean it.
Right on! We have both as well. And propane :)
Nice tee work after seeing that machine got me thinking if you could get round pieces like that in your boiler with some of your split wood you all ready have it would burn for days I wish I could afford a boiler I just got a 768 SQ feet house with a homemade steel wood stove witch does ok and on snow days I get rounds about 12-14 inches across ready the day before the snow and I can have a hot fire 24/7 love the videos and your home place keep up the ideas and maybe ill see s video soon with you burning all the bad notted rounds in your boiler lol take care
Thanks Kevin. You may just see a video with those odd balls going in!
hi there fire wood don't know wether its killing me or keeping me alive . been doing it sense around 1971 built my first splitter in 72 . take care john
Hey John. Thanks for sharing. I feel the same way! Thanks for watching!
On my 7th season with my Nature’s Comfort 325G
Arborists aren't cheap. It can be a couple thousand or more to cut down a mature tree next to structures. I'm glad you can use the wood, though, for keeping your house warm. It can help offset the financial pain of cutting down a tree in the yard.
Good explanation of how the whole boiler system works. Pretty cool setup, how many hours will the fire last after filling with wood?
Thanks Tony! It will last 12+ hours when the temps are just mild and normal. In the extreme cold I may only get 6-8 hours before needing to feed the beast again!
I burn 2+ year seasoned wood. I burn much less wood, which=less work. Yes, the upfront was processing 3 years of wood in one year. But now every year is processing 1 years worth.
I have so much wood available but I really hate the splitting part. I saw a video of a Canadian on youtube that had an outdoor wood boiler with a remote control top door. He literally opens it from the cab and sets full 5 or 6 foot logs right in from the tractor seat. I keep thinking what a great way to use tree stumps. Endless supply of those in the world.
OH man, that would be pretty slick. I saw something similar in Germany where they loaded wood chips from a hopper above. That would add a whole new level of convenience! I'm glad I don't mind splitting. Thanks for the great comment and appreciate you watching!
Interesting video. Why that boiler is outside? Here in Finland they are almost always inside the house or in other (farm) building, sometimes in a separate building, but extremely rarely outside.
Often here is also a buffer tank near the boiler so there is no need to keep fire always burning.
You can dump the fan in the shop and add floor heating. You just put a float coat of concrete on the existing slab with the lines running through it.
Yikes! Then I'd have to clean the shop completely out!!! No way :)
I'd love to hear a story on the 318 loader tractor someday
lots of work but worth every penny...saved...
Thanks John. I tend to think so too. I get more from cutting firewood than just heat.
Nice job Neil! My home is not set up for an outdoor wood burner. If I could find a way to use one and utilize conventional furnace that would be ideal. We go through 1 500g LP fill up per year. Extremely energy efficient (N WI). Anyway, great job 😊
Wow, that is really efficient Troy! I should have been more clear in my video but we have a conventional propane furnace as well. The heat exchanger is just in line of the air handler right above the propane burners. You can likely retrofit any forced air system. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
@@digdrivediy I built the home in 2011. Utilized TF system insulated concrete forms for foundation, and Structural Insulated Panels. The ceiling is insulated to R60. Foundation R25, walls R19 however there’s no thermal break, so the walls are essentially super insulated. The mistake I made was using double hung windows to aid in the decor. Oh well, still love my home 😊
I enjoyed heating with wood growing up, it takes energy and effort which provides a strange sense of accomplishment. However the math just doesn't work in it's favor. You had a whole team of guys working over 11 hours, plus rentals and transportation on top of getting the trees down in the first place. Wood boiler efficiency is also dismal compared to a good wood stove.
It would be great if wood burning and other homesteader style activates made financial sense, but they just don't. You should only do them if you enjoy them and you have the time, money and energy.
your outdoor boiler i think is much nicer then mine, love the ash tray.it looks like you have lots of buildup inside the boiler does your stack also build up bad .last year i added a 4 ft section of pipe and it changed the way it worked i thinks had very bad build up.
The stack doesn't build up bad at all. I have never cleaned it and it looks like it did here in the video. The creosote on the inside builds up especially if I'm using less than well dried wood. That's also build up from last spring when the stove tends to smolder a lot and it will do that. When I get it good and hot this winter it will burn off some of that stuff on the inside. I added a piece of pipe to mine and I had the same experience in that it really changed how it worked for the better. Thanks Ron!
I put my outdoor stove in 2018. I cut my ass off so I don't have to go out in -20. With the right equipment u can get a lot of wood in less time
I grew up in a 2700 ft. ranch house my father built 70 years ago it was built on two concrete slabs the first was just a slab the second was filled wit copper pipes that went to a header in our utility room next to a coal fired boiler with the pumps to push the water through the floor yes it was nice to step on a heated floor in the morning that heated the house. You didn't mention what you did if the power went out as you would have no vent control for the flame and no pumps to circulate the water . In the dead of winter you could end up with a frozen broken pipe mess in the concrete and other places if the power went out for a long period of time also when we went to Florida for a couple weeks during the winter we had to have someone come by every day twice a day to put coal in the furnace for the house to keep heating and not freeze up. We also burned wood and had woods on our property. We also had a fireplace to burn in power outages. When I was a kid my nightly chores were to go out to the coal bin and get a bucket of coal and dump it in the furnace. Then i would get another coal scuttle full and set it next to the furnace
My parents and in-laws and brother all live close by. When we are gone they are willing to keep the stove going for me. In the event of a power outage (which has happened before) we have a backup generator to take over.
@@digdrivediy Thanks for answering as a person who grew up with a system like this I was just curious I am 71 years old that was a long time ago
To me there's something "Manly" cutting fire wood for your house. I have great memories of my dad and I getting wood ready for winter.
I know exactly what you mean! Sometimes I feel a bit too manly and my lower back aches for days as a result too! But, I have tons of great memories with Dad and others for sure. Thanks for watching!
If you have outbuilding or greenhouses you can't beat a wood boiler if you have a wood supply. In winter months I can spend 2-3k month on natural gas. I hate stacking wood as well, so I don't I lose stack it with a skid steer lol.
Oh yeah! For sure the outbuildings make this much more worth it for me too. I try to do as much as I can with the tractor and backhoe! Thanks for watching!
We just have a small fireplace here. My mom does get a fire going up to 73 in a short amount of time. Thankfully, we've cut a number of trees down this year and have a lot of wood for the season. However, a lot of it is pine even though we split it in the summer. Just wondering, do you clean it out with one of those chimney sweeping kits and a chimney sweeping log?
Hey Robert great to hear from you. No, I don't have to clean the chimney on the outdoor boiler as it seems to stay pretty clean on it's own. Fortunately never had an issue. Thanks so much for watching!
Neil I burn a lot of wood! I’m so far behind on cutting /splitting and we just had a big storm that knocked out power for 3 days . The amount of tree that got blown down is Keeping all the arborist around here and myself overwhelmed with wood .So I guess I better get My butt in gear. I just have a traditional wood stove but I’m pretty impressed with your set up And super jealous that you have a shop that’s heated. I’m still working outside on the dirt for now😂. Great video 👍
Thanks Steve! Sorry to hear about the storm knocking your power but it's probably good for at least the arborists and other folks busy. Never been a shortage of wood around here for me either so I guess it's good. I'm spoiled to have the heated shop for sure. Your Pete would look good sitting in nice cozy shop! Bring it to mine!!! I'll keep it warm in there :) Thanks for watching buddy!
@@digdrivediy Yeah the Pete got parked next to the house during the storm and my wife lost her parking spot . Was here idea though! Guess she didn’t want to see a grown man cry😂
One big advantage of an outdoor wood burner is thermostat control in the house, barn, workshop. Primarily because you use the existing heating system in the house without running the oil, propane burner yet the thermostat keeps the house to the comfort level the wife wants. There is a couple 3/4 of a mile from my house and when I saw the homeowner working in his shop ( garage ) I stopped to talk to him and congratulated him on heating with an outdoor furnace for over 20 years and push come to shove if he ever needed someone to feed the furnace I’d be more than willing. Too my surprise he asked if I was available for the next month as his wife wanted to visit her family in Florida so I said sure, I’m retired. He had well over 50 cords of firewood stacked up around the furnace so it wasn’t a problem just a good work out plus explaining to an overzealous cop that I wasn’t stealing firewood I was feeding the furnace in his backyard. The cop apologized after I showed him how I fired the furnace and called the homeowner in Florida. First time I ever saw a cops face go red with embarrassment. I only had to feed it once a day.
Food for thought
@@jamesshanks2614 That's awesome! I get my Dad and Father-in-law to split the feeding duties when we leave in the winter. No cops around here fortunately 😎
Wouldn't mind finding a log splitter for the front of my garden tractors some time or making one
You would get a lot more BTU's out of seasoned wood, it takes a lot of heat to boil the water out of a log. I also have a gassifier that demands dry seasoned wood Thanks for sharing.
Same here, my wood stove has a gassifier and the wood has to be seasoned.
This is true. I don't burn too much green unless I have to. I'm into seasoned wood now. thanks for watching!