outdoor furnace

[Rod Caster]

Has anyone here owned one? How did/do you like it?

 

My biggest concern/consideration is the chance that the water freezes in the winter...that would be fairly obvious oversight. Any thoughts on this?

 

http://www.centralboiler.com/applications.php

Edited June 7, 2013 by Rod Caster

[Fisherman]

No oversight at all. I would tend to believe there's probably a healthy dose of antifreeze/anti corrosive/anti rust or whatever you want to call it in the pipes, just like automotive heating. I've seen a few from distance, I haven't seen anyone swinging a sledge hammer in madness cause the pipes froze. Way back in the '70's, they ran above ground steam heating in insulated pipes on a Radar Base I worked at. Never a problem even at -30.

[Rod Caster]

I would just hope that if I so choose not to use it in the winter (i.e. Vacation) that the jacket would not freeze. I'm fairly confident that the buried pipes would be deep enough to avoid freezing. I'll have to see what the composition of the liquid, is.

[fishnsled]

My dad had an outdoor furnace/AC unit installed in his old place. Not the unit that you have the link for, not sure which make or model. In the time they used it before selling the house (5 years I believe) there were no issues with it at all. The plus side for them was the lack of space (no basement) in the house and this was a good and efficient way to heat and cool their home. Down side being a bit of a eye sore for some outside the house.

[SmokestackLightnin]

A couple in the family. No issues with freeze up of pipes or water jacket if unit inoperative in the winter as the liquid is antifreeze based. They both run to the duct system in the house and also heat a shop as well. The shops have the pipes woven in the floor pad and then concrete poured so that the slab is kept warm all winter long.

[NAW]

My neighbour has one. Heating and cooling. Used a sand point well to get cold water in the summer.

 

Lots of work cutting and bucking wood. Constantly having to stoke the fire. Smoke smell all winter long. And some maintainace issue as he bought used...

 

That being said. He LOVE it, and will never go back to electric...

 

He has a 100 acre bush lot for a wood source. And no neighbours close by to bother with the smoke.

 

You can add a solar powered pump to make the water flow faster, and increase the efficiency even more... So I've been told...

 

I am still on the fence about it. And in no rush to make my desision. If gas is an option (either a tank, or hard Plummed from the road) I would think that is a much better option.

[Rod Caster]

I'm potentially in the same situation as your neighbor... 100acres, wood lot, no neighbors, but this unit was installed brand new by the current owner. The house also has a wood/electric forced air unit so if I ended up hating the outdoor furnace I could easily still rely on wood and just store it indoors.

 

I've heard some nightmare stories with these units, and on the other hand some people love it regardless of the issues.

[Sinker]

Ya, the lines are filled with glycol, so they won't freeze. From what I hear, they're pretty good unit. I haven't heard any horror stories, care to share what you've heard?

 

If your going to be burning wood regardless, its the way to go IMO.

 

S.

[Rod Caster]

This one is actually filled with water... Not sure how it wouldn't freeze in -30 conditions if it's not it use.

 

The horror stories I hear are: smoke/smell, freezing, inefficiency, malfunctions. But, most of these issues are probably related to the actual installation. As long as the installation was done correctly, I shouldn't have to worry about these (except the water jacket issue).

 

Agreed Shane, if I'm burning wood regardless, this is a better option that will be less work.

[Terry]

well I would not buy one that did not have glycol

 

the only other ways to stop it from freezing would be never ever go away from home for a weekend or extreme water pressure and neither of them work for me....

[Rod Caster]

I'll be calling the installer/dealer on Monday to see if I'm missing something... Water just seems like a bad idea

[danc]

There's no reason for it to be not filled with glycol. I've been working with such systems quite a bit lately, but on a much larger scale. The unit's that I've been working on are the size of a box car. But the principle is the same.

[Fisherman]

I'll be calling the installer/dealer on Monday to see if I'm missing something... Water just seems like a bad idea

I'm thinking they used the term "water" instead of glycol or a glycol mix to prevent freezing and corrosion. Then again, there's always some stupid Darwin awardee's that can't follow simple instructions when conducting repairs. You know, add water to your car rad in great quantities and it will freeze in the winter. Neglect batteries on the off season and wonder why filtered try again please don't work next spring. Leave the sun roof open and wonder why the cars full of water. and it goes on and on, there's almost an award for everyone if you try hard enough.

[Rod Caster]

On some sites, it states that glycol can be used but would require monthly top-ups, and that you would get a 10-15 percent loss in efficiency. Call already put in to dealer... Awaiting response.