Sanilac Co. Michigan | nutman61 - 12/7/2013 18:41
Do they even make one like that ?? I thought they were all hot water and then go into a heat exchanger for forced air.
Ya, they make them but they have to be set pretty close to the house since they duct through the wall into the house. Have seen them advertised in a couple mags...not a real big market compared to outdoor boilers, tons of different brands there. From what I can see, they all work on a variation of the same theme, each claiming to have a better/more efficient firebox design, auto damper system, ect. I've got a Central Boiler and it's OK, they like to advertise as the premium stove, not real sure about that. Here's the problem with some boilers:
1) Even though they may have a cast iron door, the firebox itself is only 3/16" steel
2) You can get corrosion of the firebox causing a water leak
3) You must use wood as a fuel source...no coal since it burns hotter and will burn through 3/16" steel though some stoves are set up for multi-fuel like corn pellet, and LP.
4) The big trick, and really expensive part of the set up is the line from your stove to the house. You need to have super insulated pex line and it's not cheap. The farther you are from the house, the worse it gets.... and even with the best line you lose enough heat that the ground over the line remains frost free through the winter.
5) Oh, by the way, you have a warranty on the stove (25 yr), but should that firebox fail YOU need to bring it to the manufacturer otherwise it's not their problem.
So, when you buy your stove (which for me at least was a good move) get one with an extremely well insulated boiler jacket, that has a fire box at least 3/8" thick set as close to the house as possible. If it can burn substitute fuels all the better since you don't want to be in your seventy's and struggling to cut wood through the winter. Oh, and look over the details of the warranty with care.
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Outdoor wood furnace?
