Indoor Wood Boiler... outside

[ewang]

My family is searching for a new outdoor wood boiler, after 10 years of faithful service ended with a water jacket leak. The initial cost back then was around $6200 for furnace and installation.

Now, we are looking at prices somewhere between $5-$8k just for a new furnace.

Assuming the new furnace lasts as long as the old one, you can assume $600-$800/yr for the privilege to burn wood outside.

Today, I had the crazy idea of placing an indoor wood boiler, outside. I plan to build an insulated shed around it, piping into the existing pipes. I know I would have to add additional controls, but I can get those pretty cheap. I would also make an outdoor air intake for the shed. I would look for an indoor model that is insulated, with a capacity matching our existing boiler of 150,000 btu/hr.

My thoughts
Pros:
-Less annual cost assuming indoor boiler last longer, due to firebrick design.
-Possibly more efficient, leading to less wood consumption.
Cons:
-PITA to load wood. Now you would have to go through two doors to fire up.
-Shorter wood pieces
-Broken fire brick.

Please share your comments, ideas and concerns. I can't be the first to think of this!

Thanks in advance.
Ewang

 

[rodnok1]

So you want to use an inside wood boiler inside a small shed.... so what's the question??
Sounds like a good plan to me, they probably make those units outdoor units self contained so you don't have to have a building. I'd go for it myself.

 

[jklingel]

have you scoped out hearth.com? that is just what those folks do; boilers of all sorts, used wherever.

 

[burleymike]

Sounds like a good plan to me, what kind of burn times do you get with one of those?

 

[ewang]

Sounds like a good plan to me, what kind of burn times do you get with one of those?

Thats what I was wondering also. The fireboxes on most outdoor boilers is twice the size as most indoor boilers. I imagine this has to do with both efficiency and the design.

Outdoor boilers most often burn at lower temps than indoor boilers.

Any other comments on this?

 

[jklingel]

Any other comments on this?

If you have not read on hearth.com yet, it would be, IMO, a mistake to proceed w/out having done so. Your idea is relatively common there. Since you mentioned spending several grand, I assume you are talking about a gassification boiler. If there is or will be any issues w/ exhaust smoke, a gassification boiler should be considered. You should be getting 15-20 yrs out of a good gassification boiler. Unless room is an issue, I would re-consider moving the boiler outside, for several reasons. Lastly, setting up water storage (unless you get a Garn) is a great idea for efficiency of burning. BTW: You can get gassification boilers that burn 24-36" wood. Either way, good luck.

 

[ewang]

Thanks for the link. Much appreciated.

I will check back with links or info to what the members on that forum say.