Do you live in a colder climate and are tired of paying high electric, natural gas, propane, or fuel oil bills? I would strongly recommend looking into purchasing an outdoor wood boiler. Today I will go through things to consider if you are thinking about changing to an outdoor wood boiler as your primary heat source.
1st– Where you live is a big part of whether or not a boiler is an option for you. I live in town on a big lot and there is not close neighbors nearby so I am not worried about smoking out my neighbors. Also finding out if there is any city ordinances against wood boilers would be important if you live in town. Call your insurance agent to find out if there is a distance you need to place the wood stove away from your home. Many are 50 ft from the nearest building. My insurance company does not have any restrictions being we are in town with a fire department very close, though it is safest to have a relatively clear area to place it.
2nd– There is a lot of hard wood in our area so going into the woods to get fire wood myself or having it delivered is not hard nor an outrageous cost. If you need it delivered, I would try to find a local logger that delivers firewood and find out the cost for delivered firewood. If you are going to have it delivered, they would need to be able to get their log truck to a place where they could unload the logs on your property. They would deliver full length logs so you would have to be able to use a chain saw to cut the logs into firewood length. This means if you live in town, you must think about the noise a chain saw makes. If you access to cutting your own wood, this would be the best plan as it is the cheapest and then the noise is in the woods. Having a wood shed to put the firewood under is a huge benefit as it keeps it dry and is easier to access when it is not covered in snow and in neat piles.
3rd– Size of the boiler you are going to purchase. I heat my house and garage with my boiler and bought one that I could heat a future shop with. The bigger the boiler, the bigger the cost. But if you buy an undersized boiler, it will be burning constantly which means you will go through a lot more wood than you need to. Think about if you are ever going to add on to your home or add a garage/shop that you would want to heat with the boiler because this would possibly change the size of the boiler you need.
4th– Choosing the brand of boiler is quite a big undertaking. There is a lot of information out there regarding which brand is the best. There is new regulations regarding how the boilers need to be made. The newer the stove, the dryer the wood you need in order for your stove to operate the most efficiently. I have a Central Boiler Classic and have loved it. I can burn any type of wood I have. It burns green, hard, pine, split, unsplit and whatever type of wood you want to burn. One of my best friends has a Heatmor and loves it. The Heatmor has an ash auger that helps clean the ashes out. I use a shovel to clean the ashes. The reason I went with a Central Boiler is because my dad owned one for 22 years prior to me buying mine. I figured if his lasted for 22 years that it had to be a quality product. I can’t say that any other brand is not as good because I have not owned anything else. I am on year 6 with mine and have no issues besides general maintenance.
These are a few things to consider before buying an outdoor boiler. Next week I will go through the benefits of going with a wood boiler as your primary heat source.
Till next time, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!
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