Thought I wanted a CB boiler

[alha]

Yep, that would have been a bummer, and I hope that it does inform someone else in my situation. I'll just have to suck it up, grit my teeth and pay the bill every month, and keep reminding myself to enjoy the not feeding it every day when it's -20 outside.

 

[maple1]

As mentioned above - you could still do wood up then sell it for more than your NG bill. If you are wanting to make use of 'free' wood.

 

[alha]

True, but that means I'd have to haul it in, do all the work, then haul it out. Maybe if I had a lot or something, that would work, but in suburbia, it'd be kind of a pain, and the neighbors wouldn't think too kindly of that kind of business being run from my back yard, it's only a 3/4 acre lot. Plus my storage area would be towards the bottom of a hill the backyard in the wooded area, and I can't see that working out too well for me. Good idea, but maybe if I really want to get into the wood biz, I can find someone with some space for storage and drying that we might be able to work out an arrangement with. If I was 25 again, I wouldn't give it a 2nd thought, but since I'm about double that, well... We'll see.

 

[maple1]

That doesn't sound like a good situation for an OWB either then.

 

[velvetfoot]

Perhaps a pellet boiler, lol.

 

[alha]

Welll.. I think that I'd be cut a lot more slack if I was doing it to heat my place, than if I was running a business from my back yard. But yeah, bottom line is unless I can do it some place else, doing it for money just won't fly. Sad but true. Just for fun I looked at pellet boilers, they wouldn't have the advantage (main reason, actually) of utilizing the 'free' fuel, but would be a lot cleaner. One thing I quickly realized is that there is no bulk supplier in MN that I could find. I know you can get them in bags, but the costs are higher that way, which then makes even less sense for me. Oh well, time to start researching NG boilers which could handle both places so I only have to buy/plumb/wire one unit. Thanks again everyone for the great input!

 

[leon]

www.woodpellet.org



How far are you from Pierz, Minn???


wood pellet co-op, Pierz, Minnesota is one supplier


Have you examined a coal stoker boiler that could be left in you workshop
providing the local plumbing and electrical codes for the installation are met?


At the rate your going you will want to examine coal heat with a stoker boiler and perhaps
a buffer tank for water storage using a smaller stoker??

 

[alha]

I spoke to them, their website is down, but I found their contact info using the wayback machine, it was from a year or 2 ago. They didn't renew their domain name, and they now only sell pellets for BBQ cooking, they're out of the stove/boiler pellets supply for the time being. I asked her if there were any others here in MN, she that the closest one was probably in WI. I hadn't considered using coal, but sadly it kind of defeats the purpose of the whole endeavor, that is, me using 'free' wood to heat everything in the winter. I don't have the time or pressures required to make coal, so I'm kinda stuck.. ;-)

 

[leon]

burning wood is not a free of cost endeavor.
After 33 years of it I am washing my hands of
burning wood entirely and switching to a
coal stoker boiler.

You need to talk to someone at the wood pellet manufactures association
and talk to them about where you can buy pellets they will know who is
making wood pellets.

There are many magazines like the northern logger and timberline magazine
that can provide you with a world of information.

Another option is burning wood chips so keep that in mind if you wish but as i said
even burning your own wood is a costly endeavor.

You can call blaschack and kimmels coal to sse who sells their rice coal in your area.