# Johnson outdoor wood boiler



## Leonard (Dec 3, 2009)

Was hoping I could get some insight on a Johnson outdoor wood boiler.  I have been driving past this unit on my way to work for several months it is for sale on someones lawn (used).  My future plans were to put a wood boiler in my cellar but if this unit is decent and priced right it may be worthwhile for me to look into.  Is this a brand name unit and are there any pro's and con's about them?


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## Gary_602z (Dec 4, 2009)

I have seen a few around our area although I have not looked at them close. Being it is a OWB you will/can go thru a lot of wood. Do you have a good place to
 cut? I have a Pacific Western and have not had to buy propane for 4 years, but man I have cut a lot of wood!
  You might want to talk to the guy and feel him out as why he is selling it.

Gary


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## Leonard (Dec 4, 2009)

Curious as to what OWB means?  Old wood boiler, LOL.  I do not have a place to cut wood I will be buying tree length or 4' foot logs and processing them for my needs.  I have not really put much thought into the outdoor boilers as I can picture myself in the pouring rain snow etc feeding it :-(  My thoughts were a nice indoor boiler with the wood in the cellar a few steps away.


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## Gary_602z (Dec 4, 2009)

OWB= Outdoor Wood Burner  6-10 cord per year depending on your heating demand. Your bigger cost will be your pex tubing, fittings, heat exchanger and setup.

Gary


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## flyingcow (Dec 4, 2009)

some others will chime in. But i thought a rough formula was if you burn oil, 1 cord of wood=100gals of oil(this figure was givin to me by a Classic dealer OWB). The gassifer units are 1 cord of wood = 150 gals of oil. I think others have been doing 1 cord of wood=175 gals of oil. Figure at least $100 a cord tree length, if you're lucky. Probably more towards $125. I paid $95 cord tree length, rockmaple. Got lucky, wish I had ordered another truck load. Might want to figure close to $200 split/delivered. Even if you do it yourself.  Dunno if this helps.


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## Gooserider (Dec 5, 2009)

OWB stands for Outdoor Wood Boiler...  Aside from possibly being cheap (but often this will be made up for in increased install costs for your lines and so on) they don't have much in the way of "Pros" - they are about the most inefficient way to burn wood there is - people who have gone from OWB's to gasifiers report using 25-50% less wood for the same heat loads - if you are having to purchase your wood I'll let you do the math...  Don't forget to figure in what it takes you to do any processing as well...

Another BIG issue with OWB's is that they tend to be major league polluters - they make a lot of smoke, which they release close to the ground, getting neighbors and everyone else around upset - this has led to many communities issuing restrictions on their installation, when and where they can be burned, and even outright bans in some cases...  You said you didn't have much space for wood, which implies you have neighbors nearby, which tends to mean problem in waiting...  (Also check on your state and local codes, as I recall ME has been one of the states implementing restrictions, you may find that it is not even LEGAL to install that OWB...)  Admittedly some of this is also brought on by the OWB owners burning green wood, and / or other trash ranging from garbage to old tires to deer carcases, but it is still hard for even the best behaved user to burn clean in an OWB....  OTOH a properly run gasifier puts out no visible smoke other than at startup and reloads...

Lastly, check for leaks and corrosion in the firebox...  An OWB is basically a box of water with a fire in the middle of it - this keeps the fire at condensing temps most of the time, which in addition to making for smoke and inefficient burns, also leads to corrosive deposits in the firebox, especially near the return inlet, which cause early and frequent failures...

Bottom line, I wouldn't really recommend an OWB...

Gooserider


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