Sufficient Self Forum

Here in Nebraska you can buy an outdoor furnace that burns the large round bales of hay.  I do not know of anyone with an outside wood furnace.  I have a wood furnace inside though.

I have a "little house heater" and love it. It heats our small house very well. They are very simple and don't take near as much wood as our friends "hardy" outside wood furnice. Ours doesn't heat the water like the hardy.

The lil' house heaters are made in missouri.

the funny farm6 wrote:

elwood wrote:

Here in Nebraska you can buy an outdoor furnace that burns the large round bales of hay.  I do not know of anyone with an outside wood furnace.  I have a wood furnace inside though.

Wow how long does it take to burn a bale?

I am not sure.  As they cost a bit themselves I would hope a while

Flytyer24 wrote:

I would say the outdoor furnaces are not that wonderful....  they heat medicore.  The do not burn that good (eat a lot of wood).   And if you have neighbors because of the short stakc and ability to burn green creates plenty of low creasoty(?) smoke.  As far as for the inside, yes they sell wood furnaces.  They look just like an oil furnace from the outside except the door on the front.

Two things: 

First, we heat our house with wood in winter... fairly lengthy winter.  We have a 30-year-old wood furnace in our basement, which has a plenum on top that connects it to ducting. The ducting conducts hot air to the basement, first floor, and second floor.  We also replaced an old-fashined fireplace in our living room with a 'fireplace insert' high-efficiency wood heater.  When we used to have the basement furnace (a unit that had been considered highly efficient, for it's day), we heated through winter with five cords of medium density firewood (larch, Douglas fir, and a bit of birch).  Now, relying mainly on the fireplace insert, we heat through winter with about four cords of wood.

Second, I've never owned an outdoor wood furnace, but my neighbor's have been using one for about eight years.  With a single unit, they heated their house, woodworking shop, and their son's musical-instrument repair shop through winter and into spring, plus a commercial greenhouse (in spring only).  The furnace heated water (sub-boiling) and sent it through pipes to radiators in the buildings.  It required, I think, something like eight cords of medium density firewood (winter/early-spring).  They sold the greenhouse business last year, so they downsized to a similar outdoor furnace that heats all the buildings I mentioned, minus the greenhouse.  I believe they now burn about six cords.  They've been happy with this type of system.

Flytyer24 wrote:

Deb,

Having enough experience with wood then I want.. I would say the outdoor furnaces are not that wonderful....  they heat medicore.  The do not burn that good (eat a lot of wood).   And if you have neighbors because of the short stakc and ability to burn green creates plenty of low creasoty(?) smoke.  As far as for the inside, yes they sell wood furnaces.  They look just like an oil furnace from the outside except the door on the front. My father heats his shop with one and used to heat our house.  They regulate alright and run through you forces hot air ducts.  I suggest only burning seasoned wood in them and sweep your chimneys yearly or more depending on the available wood.

Good luck,

I love wood heat. We always had enough woodland to cut our own so all we had to pay was a little gas for the saw and blood sweat and tears.

I'm not looking for an outside furnace.  We already have a wood stove.  But, if I could find something that I could put inside that takes less wood and produces less ash, I'd love it!  I get tired of cutting and splitting wood.