Outdoor Wood Burner. Is it WORTH IT? (4 Years later)

We've been using our Outdoor Wood Burner for 4 years now and in today's video we decide if it was worth the investment or not. If you are considering an outdoor woodburner, watch this video! We discuss the pros and cons of our Central Boiler and outdoor wood burners in general.

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HomesteadHow is a family of six who left the city to live and grow on 20 acres. We are rookies sharing our journey with you. To all the preppers, homesteaders, or survivalists who wants to live a more simple live, come learn with us!

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Disclaimer:

Content here is for educational purposes from my personal journey with the Carnivore Diet. It's not medical advice. I’m not a medical professional. Consult with a healthcare provider for diet or health changes. Information is based on my views and for discussion and learning.

[vermontaviator]

I’ve had my central boiler (250, 000 BTU) for 26 years and I do not split any of my wood, I cut it all 36” long up to 6”-12” diameter and I only load it every other day, when it’s below zero I might load once a day if we’re using allot of domestic hot water (showers/laundry). I mix hard/soft wood. I also mix in green wood to reduce how much seasoned wood I use. I keep our two story 5 bedroom house about 75 deg for my wife and 4 daughters. Shop stays at 65, more comfortable for working. In 26 years I have not spent a dollar on heat or hot water other than the original cost of buying the furnace. I also sell fire wood and install out door boilers. My best advice is to not buy a new one. All of the new ones are garbage, Intentionally. The new ones recirculate the exhaust gases which has no benefit because there is nothing flammable left to burn, if there was it would have already ignited in the fire box. The recirculated gases plug up the system and cause lots of problems. I have installed several pre emission stoves and 100% of those customers are happy and their investment paid off. I have also installed several newer models with emissions and 100% of those customers without exception are disappointed. These newer units with recirculated gases (Gasification) are a waist of money and only have problems. They are substantially less efficient. I had a customer who bought a brand hew gasifier outdoor boiler for $22, 000 because the dealer told them it would be substantially more efficient and that she could cut her current usage from 10 cord down to 5-6 cord per year but the exact opposite was true, now she uses over 15 cord and has had nothing but problems which is not covered under warranty because they told her she had to burn kiln dried wood no bigger than 4” in diameter. Completely defeats the purpose of having an outside boiler in my opinion. There are many pre-owned (used) pre emission boilers on the market if you spend a little time looking. However, I will say this, if you have to buy wood then you might as well just buy gas and not deal with it. These boilers make the most sense for homeowners who have land or at least excess to wood. If you have to purchase wood then it may not make sense. Also, if you’re not a man/women capable of hard work in exchange for financial freedom then you probably wont be happy. This is just my two cents from someone who has had a central boiler for well over 20 years and have installed several. Also, I should mention this, if you talk to a dealer they will most likely lie to you and tell you that you can not install a pre owed, pre-emission stove. That is not True, I have installed many in VT/NH/ME and have had zero issues.

[richfarfugnuven]

As a kid I split 5-10 cords a year for my parents house, and then would go lift weights after swinging that maul in the afternoon. Best shape I was ever in. As soon as I left at 18, my parents put in a propane furnace. Go figure.

[scooptractornorthorchard]

I agree. I’m on my 13th winter with my Central boiler. And have no regrets. As a firefighter I will add the benefit of keeping the fire out of your house as one more pro. Thanks

[Outdoorswithmikey]

You got my thumbs up just for the Argo move and the camera grab and go

[gregwoycik]

Great video! I installed a Central Boiler stove 18 years ago when my twin girls were just a tad younger than yours. They are off to college and I handle the all the wood prep myself now. But something for you to look forward to....IF and WHEN you allow your girls to be courted by young gentleman, those guys will haul and stack ALOT of wood to try and impress the girls/or their dad!! The fall wood season is a great test of the young bucks interest/commitment. It always embarrassed my girls, but that was my rule. If you want to date my daughter you had to spend a weekend or three on the wood pile with me! Kinda wish I had more daughters now that they are out of the CHEERS!

[swampcrawlerls]

Living with that many women I would probably want to spend large amounts of time cutting and gathering wood too.
Just kidding, enjoy your big happy family. Cheers.

[samhigdon]

We too have a Central Boiler unit. The 5036. This is it’s 10th year. We have loved the unit. We still tell everyone that it was our “best investment”. Our heating demand is not as diverse as the one in this video so our wood consumption is much less. I’m now 75 and still look forward to my wood gathering and heating season. Bottom line. We love it still.

[koltonkinlicheene]

"You gotta cut the wood, you gotta STACK the wood"

This guy: points at unstacked pile of firewood 😂

[idontevenknow]

I'm a remote worker and having something like this would force me to go outside and get away from the screen as therapy. Love this setup!

[tb]

We bought a place in the NC mountains last summer that has a very unique set up for hot water and heating the house - an indoor water stove. The unit is quite large - about 5’ tall x 7’ long x 4’ deep. Three large solar panels on the roof with a circulating pump serve as the primary source to heat the water. If we have a period of cloudy days where the solar panels can’t keep the water adequately heated, the stove has a built-in home heating oil furnace to heat the water. In the unlikely event both the solar panels and furnace go belly up, no worries - the stove also has a firebox for burning wood. It was made by Blue Ridge Water Stoves and installed when the house was built in 1991. Has kept the house toasty warm throughout the winter with plenty of hot water for showers. Love it!

[augiemattheiss]

Fun to see.... I heated with a wood stove years ago when I was young... I still miss it, I remember opening the windows in the bitter cold because it was too hot in the family room! ;-) This was in Maryland where neighbors had heatpumps, we called them cold pumps!... of course, I'd do it on purpose when people were over just to show off.... nothing comes close to the comfort of sitting near a really hot heavy steel black box... if you are slightly tired, you know, from handling all that wood.... you'll be out like a light in a few minutes! ;-) thanks for

[jackmehoff]

I can tell by the way he hooked the Argo up to the trailer, that this guy likes to work but has fun on the job.

[calrichey]

I built my house, 8" thick walls, staggered 2x4 construction, 6" bats of insulation on both sides. All windows on the south side so passive solar. I just burnt wood in northwester Wisconsin. I used only 3 to 3 1/2 cords of wood per winter. Maybe that's your problem, your house is obsolete. Now you can take a 2x4 construction house and add new walls in the inside, adding another 4" of insulation. My brother used to sell Central boilers, he suggested using green wood. I used a 50 gal. water heater core to preheat my water before going into the hot water heater. It sat near my woodstove.

[curtdkrueger]

I have a central boiler 5036, 14th year in Southern Minnesota. It is a lot of work! Regarding this video if this helps; Move the wagons/trailers closer to the wood. I have an ATV and I go within 2 or 3 feet of the wood where possible. Saves walking/trips/time (after 10 years, the walking gets old.. lol). Also I let the chain saw do the work of the splitter (I sharpen my own chain every time I do a major cutting, I'm guessing you do too). I cut the pieces smaller with the chain saw instead of splitting (also saves your back if the trunk/branches are larger). In the case of tree trunks of 2.5 feet or larger, I slice them with the chain saw to 6-8 inch and use a maul/axe (one side maul, one side axe) to split them. Usually can split into multiple pieces with one blow. Regarding the sheds, I don't have any. I tarp the wood up (use the wood pieces at key locations to keep them from blowing away) and it works very well keeping it dry and the snow off. I do 50/50 with LP and wood, and the combination is pretty good. I heat the house basically from Oct - March on ~$800 of LP (at ~2.00 a gallon). Thanks for the video.. Lots to learn at the beginning so you don't kill yourself one way or the other (chain saw accident and/or felling trees)!

[livewire]

Its definitely a great feeling to reap the rewards of you're hard work while relaxing in you're warm home, garage, or whatever you are heating!! God bless.. wood burner myself over 40 yrs

[gnusndn]

Good for you Dad. Your girls are learning a lot of good things about life. It looks like a lot of work but it is worth it as long as you're young and you can do it. God bless you

[wfemp_]

Good information!

Having an outdoor burner would be a bit too much for me, but I do love my wood stove in the den. Cutting, splitting and moving/stacking (multiple times before it gets into the stove) is enough for me. It does keep me somewhat active outside during the cold months when I'd otherwise be watching TV or whatever.

[Themrmiller]

The Self Sufficiency aspect is invaluable. That alone is worth all of the effort. The biggest "con" from my perspective is the additional tools, tool maintenance, and fuel that it would cost to process it all. Good video, it was easy to understand what you were saying and you went over the costs very well. thanks.

[old-man-winter]

My boiler has been running for about 15 years, zero problems.
Keep all your wood big as possible to use less. Keep it dry!!!
Most I've used per year has been 5 cord. It was a sub 0 year. I start burning by October and stop 1st part of March.
I've never regretted the purchase!

[GabrielSBarbaraS]

Your Argo is my compact tractor with a lift bucket, I found out over the years that anytime you don't have to lift up the wood, much work is saved. Also, we used an indoor wood boiler in the basement and ran hydronic piping in the home to distribute heat. Also heated water with a unit called a super store, ( tank within a tank) . Also had a backup propane boiler for those many days where the outside air temp was above 40 degrees F. spent 20+ years doing this, to us the work equated to health for the mind and body. Thanks for posting HomeSteadHow ....