owb vs indoor wood/coal boiler

Check out the classifieds I will put you on my c70 right$. It burns soft coal and hard coal and wood. I went to a 700 new years eve and love it so far. The c70 was just not enough for my heat load. I have had OWB and would never ever recomend them. I even built 3 of them and got rid of them all. The 3rd had every option you could imagine to be effiecent and still sucked wood like a vacume cleaner. The c70 was brand new august 2005 and ran year around until new years eve 2012. It is in good condition just needs The taper bricks in fire box. They break when you throw big wood in.

Phil May wrote:The c70 was brand new august 2005 and ran year around until new years eve 2012. It is in good condition just needs The taper bricks in fire box. They break when you throw big wood in.

The tapered firebrick can be purchased at AHS

All of us up here in New York where there is a large number of OWB units can tell you it's not a good idea. Like Rob said, gassification is a must, not really proven in oudoor units yet and you can easily burn up the better part of $20,000 on a professionally installed indoor gassifier unit.
For that money you could install a nice EPA woodstove in the living space for recreation or for when the power goes out, etc. and have a stoker boiler in the basement for serious everyday heating.

On a side note, I'm in the heating business and had a long time customer who purchased an OWB this summer without even asking me for an opinion.(I guess he feels he knows more than a 30 year heating guy) when I found out, I told him to take it back and get a coal stoker. (that wasn't a pleasant conversation) . I ended up doing all the piping, etc. for it. Anyway, I was there the other day on another matter, this thing is just belching smoke, liquid creosote running all over, I just don't understand people. We'll see how long before it springs a leak or the doorframe falls off or whatever common failure these things have.

Well I'm an OWB owner and have not run an indoor coal heating unit. I can tell you that I feed my boiler 1 time a day and can go 36 hours if I need to. I have begun burning a wood coal mix and at times burn just coal. You are asking about an OWB on a coal forum; go here to get a better prospective.

http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php

Wood = work, coal can be easer but it can also =$. I burn bit coal and pay $75 a ton. I burn blow down wood and tops left from logging from my property. My boiler + install cost about 10K and I did some of the work. I'm now heating my house for the labor to get the wood plus the cost of the coal. I produce enough wood for a year in about 10 full days cutting and have not cut a live tree in years. I have also burned one ton of coal so far and it looks like I need another. This is my 3rd year heating with this set up. I’m saving about 3k a year on my heat bill. My boiler also heats all the domestic hot water for the house. Next year is even money and the only problem I have had with the boiler is the circulating pump. Replaced for <$300. Shop and compare with facts and make the best decision based on your circumstances.