Stove or Boiler...?

[begreen]

I'm not sure I understand your question, but when I built this place in 2001/02 I put over 2 mile of radiant tubing in all the froors, including basement and attached garage, installed a Mahoning multi-fuel OWB, chose that because they have a seperate combustion chamber that you can use an oil or propane burner, I had propane for 'just in case'..

I meant would this have been a good heating choice for an 1800 sq ft retrofit vs 5600 sq ft. new construction? The BK install made this kind of a moot point.

 

[showrguy]

I meant would this have been a good heating choice for an 1800 sq ft retrofit vs 5600 sq ft. new construction? The BK install made this kind of a moot point.

I'm still confused ??
Both heating methods are good choices, just depends what/how it fits your situation..
The original thought with the BK install was to offset the amount of wood I was burning in the OWB, not replace it entirely..

 

[Highbeam]

I'm still confused ??
Both heating methods are good choices, just depends what/how it fits your situation..
The original thought with the BK install was to offset the amount of wood I was burning in the OWB, not replace it entirely..

Knowing what you know now, would you even consider installing a wood boiler in a 1800 sf home? I think that’s the question.

It’s too bad you can’t partially heat with the floor tubes. Just for comfort. Hopefully you use it occasionally to make sure the boiler system is ready to go. I don’t think it’s like a woodstove that can just sit there for years with no attention.

 

[showrguy]

Knowing what you know now, would you even consider installing a wood boiler in a 1800 sf home? I think that’s the question.

It’s too bad you can’t partially heat with the floor tubes. Just for comfort. Hopefully you use it occasionally to make sure the boiler system is ready to go. I don’t think it’s like a woodstove that can just sit there for years with no attention.

That's hard to answer, knowing what I know now, would depend on too many things..
I did'nt know about this alien technology back then..
I do not have the OWB anymore, sold it 2 years ago, once I was convinced this stove would heat the whole place..
I still have a 125 gal. Nurse tank and all the circulators in the basement, will likely install a propane boiler in the future to run the radiant, just to have another sourse of heat incase we decide to go away during the winter..
Is that clear as mud ??

 

[Highbeam]

That's hard to answer, knowing what I know now, would depend on too many things..
I did'nt know about this alien technology back then..
I do not have the OWB anymore, sold it 2 years ago, once I was convinced this stove would heat the whole place..
I still have a 125 gal. Nurse tank and all the circulators in the basement, will likely install a propane boiler in the future to run the radiant, just to have another sourse of heat incase we decide to go away during the winter..
Is that clear as mud ??

Makes great sense to me. I agree with an effortless conventional fuel backup heating system for the stove.

 

[Hogwildz]

Boilers and furnaces are where we are forced to go, when trying to heat a space larger than one can reasonably heat with wood stove(s). You give up everything good about a stove, namely the look, the feel, the ambience, for the sake of distribution. But with a house your size, I see no reason to even consider a boiler or a furnace.

Put otherwise, if I’m doing all that work to fell, haul, process, split, stack, move, and load firewood... I want to look at a fire in my stove, damnit!

You never hear stories of the family gathered around the boiler, on a snow day in January, they lack ambience.

The family gathers around the black glass?

 

[Charles1981]

I have 3 neighbors with OWB.

1 of their boilers was about 12 years old. Made its death spiral last year. Owner is now 55 and has said no more to wood and processing.

My other neighbor has a bad back. Purchased his house with a newer wood boiler. Goes through about 12 cords of wood from End of November to Mid March then gets tired of it and empties his propane tank. This year...he hasn't even split up the remainder of the log length wood he has.

Other neighbor burns his from August to End of April. Goes through 15-18 cords a year. But he has a way of using his tractor to process the wood right next to the OWB.

I burn with a VC encore in the basement and it heats 2000 square feet adequately enough and we only burn approximately 4 cords a winter.

I can barely keep up processing 4-5 cords a year ahead of time but I get it done. I can't imaging going through 15+ cords a year. Not in any way.

i would want a stove just because of far less wood processing.

I am even thinking of just starting to order 4-5 cords a year already processed. IT doubles the price I pay easy but I am getting some strain from processing after 7 years and my back is taking longer and longer to recover.

 

[Highbeam]

I have 3 neighbors with OWB.

1 of their boilers was about 12 years old. Made its death spiral last year. Owner is now 55 and has said no more to wood and processing.

My other neighbor has a bad back. Purchased his house with a newer wood boiler. Goes through about 12 cords of wood from End of November to Mid March then gets tired of it and empties his propane tank. This year...he hasn't even split up the remainder of the log length wood he has.

Other neighbor burns his from August to End of April. Goes through 15-18 cords a year. But he has a way of using his tractor to process the wood right next to the OWB.

I burn with a VC encore in the basement and it heats 2000 square feet adequately enough and we only burn approximately 4 cords a winter.

I can barely keep up processing 4-5 cords a year ahead of time but I get it done. I can't imaging going through 15+ cords a year. Not in any way.

i would want a stove just because of far less wood processing.

I am even thinking of just starting to order 4-5 cords a year already processed. IT doubles the price I pay easy but I am getting some strain from processing after 7 years and my back is taking longer and longer to recover.

Before anybody stops burning because processing wood is so much work please consider buying all of your wood processed compared to the price of your other heat source. Burning preprocessed wood is still likely much cheaper.

Another important point is that you don’t need to be 100% wood heat. If your wood fuel is cheaper than the alternative then every single split you burn saves you money. Once a day, just weekends, etc. still saves you money and keeps you active.

 

[Manly]

Before anybody stops burning because processing wood is so much work please consider buying all of your wood processed compared to the price of your other heat source. Burning preprocessed wood is still likely much cheaper.

Another important point is that you don’t need to be 100% wood heat. If your wood fuel is cheaper than the alternative then every single split you burn saves you money. Once a day, just weekends, etc. still saves you money and keeps you active.

We have burned wood for 35 years. It has been a continual process of learning and adjusting our methods within the same house. We started with a Mid Moe All nighter and a cord of wood which came with the house we purchased. The All Nighter was a great heater and kept the small ranch comfortable. After getting ripped off on the first cord of wood I purchased, I quickly learned to scavenge, find deals, and otherwise find mainly free wood for most winters. 20 years ago we replaced the Moe with a Jotul 3cb. Not as much raw btu as the All Nighter but would not trade this stove out for anything. A few years back we put a sizable addition on the old small ranch which included a small pellet stove in the new dining room (Ravelli Francesca). Our domestic hot water was supplied with electric since our oil burner was forced hot air with no provisions for hot water. About 8 years ago I installed a Toyotomi on demand oil fired hot water heater. Can’t imagine a less expensive way to heat domestic hot water. The upfront cost is high unless you do the install yourself, which I did. So we use about 3 cords of wood, a ton and a half of pellets, and 3/4 tank of oil per year to keep the ranch very comfortable. There is an appreciable amount of work and maintenance required to keep these alternative appliances fueled and running, but as most of you know it is a labor of love and I will continue to do so as long as I can into retirement or until the taxes drive us out of this state. Tomorrow’s election here will either be a turning point or else an exelerated death spiral for this place.

 

[Ashful]

The family gathers around the black glass?

lol... but that's the beauty of a BK, man. Turn it down for 30+ hours of straight heat and black glass, or turn it up and have the flame show of a natural fire. I let 'er rip on Friday nights and when I'm home over the weekend, and then set it for long burns when I'm away during the week. It does take a half hour to burn the crud off the glass, after a day of burning low, but that's no biggie.

 

[Highbeam]

My family, including the dog, often gather around the black box with no visible flame and bask in the heat. We have light bulbs for reading.