I was going to look into a fireplace insert but since I want to heat my garage one of those outside wood fired boilers might be the way to go,they are kind of pricey but I can heat both the house and garage cheap and not have to smell kerosene while working in the garage so it might be worth the money.  So is there anyone using one and I need the details on how they are.

Never heard of an outside one.........giess you would have to put antifreeze in it?

You can use antifreeze or plain water and the water is constantly curculating and the fire would have to be off for a long time in extreme cold before it will freeze,the one I am looking at has a place for two pumps so another building can be heated and I am going to try to get the money so I can get one next spring. You just add another heat exchanger to a existing furnace with a blower and add another thermostat and when the fire goes out you still have heat,one thing I like is the boiler is large so most wood wont have to be split to be burnt and can be 40 inches long. It also comes with a water heater that the water goes through before going in the water heater and the existing water heater just hold the water warm,youy can just turn off the existing water heater and then fire it up when it gets warm enough to shut the boiler off and it also can be used to keep a hot tub warm too.

Our mechanic at work has one and likes it. He heats his home with it, and is currently installing a car rad (or a couple) with fans behind them in his shop.

If you have a good supply of wood, and time to keep an eye on them, they are a great source of heat. The one complaint I have heard is that they can provide too much heat if you don't size them to your needs properly....but I have a hard time seeing how that could be an issue, I think some valves would cure that in a hurry.

This guy gets old wooden cable reels and breaks them down for burning.

I heat my home with radiant heat,, but its not wood fired.. its gas,, just installed a new boiler last fall,, works like a champ. and my gas bill went WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY,,, down,, the old one was installed in 1965,


I would think a wood fired boiler would be labor intensive,, having to keep a eye on the fire , etc,, apparently fire wood is plentiful there,
We have plenty of fire wood,, but the damn enviromentlist in this state, fight every thing that has anything to do with using anything natural,, or makes smoke,,,I don't think they even realize that Toilet paper comes from trees,,

-- Edited by Bad Rat on Tuesday 3rd of November 2009 01:57:13 AM