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Not sure what type of boiler you want to install but all I heard was you needs lots of wood,strong arms and like shoveling snow..... I always wanted one until I talked to a few guys that owned one, must of them don't anymore or want to get ride of it, including guys with endless wood supply and power equipment.
I can not think of one person that owns one that would get rid of theirs. I know of at least 20 different people that have them and all different brands. Yes some do eat wood and some are better. My old unit I would put about 6 pcs of ash approx 12-16" dia and 16-18" long and that would last 24 hrs on the coldest nights keeping the house at a nice 72* and costing nothing but the fan and circulation pump and my time in the bush cutting.Quote:
Originally Posted by seabast
my new stove hasn't had a fire in it yet so I can't say how it will do with wood consumption. As for shovelling snow, I don't understand that one? What does that have to do with the boiler?
My coworker burns 13 cords of wood in his on a bad winter.Quote:
Originally Posted by seabast
Mind you, he doesn't bother much with making sure that his wood is seasoned. He would burn a lot less if he didn't burn it green or wet.
To access the wood and your boiler you need to plow the snow, but it will depend how much snow you get where you live. All I got from people I personally talked to, not on the internet, wasn't positive beside the fact you can burn any kinds of wood.Quote:
Originally Posted by gooseman
You have to plow snow to get to your car or truck too, I don't see it as that different as having to keep a path clear for the delivery guys to top off the propane.Quote:
Originally Posted by seabast
Grandpa had one near Kapuskasing, it had an oil backup so he could leave and it would still keep his house warm.
You can go through a lot of wood or very little, it all depends on how you run your life at home.
He had a shed made around the furnace so that he could have 2-3 face cords of wood ready to go, all he had to do was open the door (swing in) and fill up the stove, never had a problem. It worked so well my uncle put one in as well. They burned almost exclusively tamarak in these stoves.
Mine sits in the middle of a gravelled area about 30' x 40' with the one end stacked with wood ( or at least that's where the wood is supposed to be) and the tractor can get anywhere around it to scoop the snow away if it gets blown in. The snow has never been a problem yet and can't see it being a real problem as most people put these along their driveway so they can back a trailer up to them or close by.
10-15 face cord seems to be the norm around here that I hear of and even buying it all at $45-60 a face compared to propane or hydro that's considerable cheap
From people I know around here, they burn about 7-9 full cords a year. The guy burning 13 was full cords too, but I mentioned his issue with poor wood. He burns full logs as well, so he takes an efficiency hit there too.Quote:
Originally Posted by gooseman
I estimated that I should be able to get by with 5 cords on an average winter with a new efficient unit. I currently have propane, so I can use that as backup and vacation/lazy heat.
Our two houses each burn 3-4 full cords in an average winter. The wood is normally cut in fall or spring, left as logs then blocked, split and burnt the following winter. for the first ten years we were here I burnt dead trees and windfalls. Now we have to cut live trees and let it age/dry.....Around here dry face cords sell for $80-$90 in December, $100-110 in March if you can find them....
My wood gets carried from the woodsheds to the front porches via tractor bucket about once a week....never burn more than one face/house / week...... Due for a new hip in late October so need to get organized by then.