owb vs indoor wood/coal boiler

hey guys,newbie here.currently have new yorker oil fired boiler.have access to free wood at work,gettin paid to cut and remove its a good deal i think.was thinkin of hawkens
owb but costs start adding up on install or indoor wood/coal boiler.looking at harman sf160 or 260,new yorker wc130,or ahs woc40.my brain is fried from looking at all options.leaning toward ahs cause can remove current boiler and not have to build chimney which was quoted 3500,can burn wood while my body can still cut and split only 42,can use coal when get older and just turn up t-stat for oil when near death lol.any input would be greatly appreciated. thanx. also does anyone know approx pricing on the ahs woc40 multi-fuel boiler.

Hi deerslayer and welcome.where are you from and how was the deer slaying this year.I have a AHS WOC55 a next size larger than woc-40.I've never burned wood in it,but i'm sure it will burn wood fine.I burn nut size UAE(anthracite coal) and should step up to stove size.The oil burner sounds like a jet airplane taking off,but never use it.They are built solid and I don't have any problems with the boiler.I like having the boiler in the basement witch keeps it 70 degrees and floors are always warm.If you can get free wood while getting payed thats great,just keep the chimney clean from cresote and need to set the alarm to fed the fire during the night.I get 12 hr burns with coal and fire never goes out and never leave the house to feed the fire(coal bin in basement).
The other boiler are good also,maybe someone else will chime in on them.

my father in law has an owb, and i have an indoor wood/coal boiler. i have access to wood on my father in laws land, but still choose to burn coal. the reason is burn times. i go 12 hrs between tendings, as does he. but his install costed near 15k. also his firebox is HUGE. if i were to burn wood in my boiler i would only get about 7-8 hour burns. and i can not tend to the fire that frequently. as far as the hawkins stoves,i know at atleast one point they were having quality control issues,had new boilers leaking and then giving the customers a hard time over warranty issues.

Sell the "free wood", buy coal boiler and never look back. Your back and wallet will thank you.

coalkirk wrote:Sell the "free wood", buy coal boiler and never look back. Your back and wallet will thank you.

X2.

The indoor boilers you mentioned have relatively small fireboxes for burning wood. It is very difficult to achieve an overnight burn in cold weather. Some people oversize the boiler to try and get around this, but then you just end up with a boiler that idles and "smudges" all the time = lots of creosote and chimney fires if you don't clean the chimney often enough.

Outdoor wood boilers are about 40% efficient most of the time, and as you have discovered...are quite pricey to install. If you don't manage the water chemistry very carefully they tend to rot out after 5-7 years. I know a few people that switched from outdoor wood boilers to stoker boiler and are very happy they made the switch. No more smoke, no more 2 am reloads.

Here is my suggestion: Install a stoker boiler in your basement. You will have a warm basement, and a very efficient heating plant. Unhook the oil boiler from the chimney, or put it on a powervent if you want. Use your existing chimney for the stoker boiler. If you do the install yourself you can pull this off for less than $5,000.

If you are determined to burn wood, consider an EPA-certified wood stove for the living area. They burn very clean and are much more efficient than older stoves. If you must have wood-fired central heat...a gassification boiler is the only way to do it without lots of smoke and creosote...but those start at 8k or so.

wow thanx guys for quick responses to my post.To dennis i am not that far from you bout hr and half or so,i'm in bangor pa right on jersey border.Deerslayin pretty good 3 does and nice 7 pt with 22 and half inch spread all with bow all shot in jersey no luck withmuzzle loader yet.Dennis wood you mind if i ask how much your ahs woc 55 was and the install,thanx.Tell you can go crazy with all the info,companies,and different products out there.Thanx again everybody for your input.

deerslayer,your welcome to look at my boiler if your intrested,PM me for my address.My intentions were to burn "free wood",but had no seasoned wood and learned how easy it's to burn coal and will not burn wood again.With that said, is wish I bought a stoker boiler now before learning about this fourm.
I bought the boiler 12/20/10 for $6700.00,they had a end of year sale and payed with cash.All togather it was $10,000.00 for boiler,labor(nephew/plumber),piping,coal bin and first year of coal.That might sound high,but this is my third year and it's 3/4 paid for,saving 60% from fuel oil.
Nice buck,this week i'm planning on a couple doe,hopefully,"If it's brown it's down"
It gets confusing and overwhelming,but make the right choice,it's will last a lifetime and then some.

The OWBs are real gluttons for fuel and they and their installs are not cheap. The other problem I have with them is going outside to tend something that's supposed to be keeping me warm.

I went from this much wood in a year.... And yes I burned all that wood in one year.



To two of these trailers of coal..

deerslayer wrote:Tell you can go crazy with all the info,companies,and different products out there.

Well since it hasn't been mentioned EFM amkes a indoor wood/coal boiler. Stokerman the guy who represents EFM on the forum here has one and used wood in it mostly.

The efm WCB-24 hand fired wood/coal boiler

It's a beast:

Richard S. wrote:

deerslayer wrote:Tell you can go crazy with all the info,companies,and different products out there.

Well since it hasn't been mentioned EFM amkes a indoor wood/coal boiler. Stokerman the guy who represents EFM on the forum here has one and used wood in it mostly.

The efm WCB-24 hand fired wood/coal boiler

It's a beast:

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That would be my first choice for a hand fed boiler.

Check your local and state codes. Many laws have been passed to restrict OWB's. Newer installations generally require a phase II type boiler which is more efficient and way more expensive.

$3500 for a good chimney may be a good deal.

Some friends of mine just replaced a large OWB with a Keystoker due to smoke complaints, and the excessive amount of labor required to handle their "free wood". They were burning about 35 full cords per year.

Deerslayer,

Im with Rob and Coaledsweat . I went from a indoor hand Fired wood/coal ( logwood) to an Efm 520 . I used to have time to mess with wood and liked it. I was 30 .As I got older I started to add coal to the mix and actually burnt them together. My wood was free and coal was cheap. Now at 55 w/ 7 year old twins I dont have the time or energy to cut my wood a year ahead of time stack it ect...
I looked around on craigslist and found a used Efm and with the colective knowledge on this forum ,installed it my self and Im not a plummer . I not easily impressed but OMG those units are so well designed and simple I would almost call them elegant.

To summarize

outdoor units---> IMHO ridiculous
indoor hand fired wood/coal w/ shaker grates ----> Good option
stoker unit -----> youll never regret the time or money, even if you have to borrow it!

Best of luck

Waldo

waldo lemieux wrote:To summarize

outdoor units---> IMHO ridiculous
indoor hand fired wood/coal w/ shaker grates ----> Good option
stoker unit -----> youll never regret the time or money, even if you have to borrow it!

totally agree

waldo lemieux wrote:stoker unit -----> youll never regret the time or money, even if you have to borrow it!

completely agree.Sell the firewood to help pay the boiler off.With selling the firewood and savings by using the coal the pay back will be quicker.Power vent the oil burner and circulate water between both boilers.All the time saved will keep you "deer slaying" more