# Hardwood Stockpile



## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Got a little oak firewood today. Got some ruts to fix now, but all set for heat. Outdoor furnace is about 25 yards away.


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## pokeyjeeper (Sep 5, 2013)

Looks like you should stay warm all winter with that pile


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## hassell (Feb 9, 2010)

Drop a load of that in my yard.


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

A few winters, Pokey. I'm still hauling wood in from elsewhere, but no hurry now.

And, Rick, I could arrange for a shipment but you probably wouldn't like the freight charge.

Gonna get the old Ford tractor and disk up the damage from the tires and seed the area today. At least it's a good time to get some seed started.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Wow Glen That's a pile of wood ! 
How many cords do you go through in an average winter ?


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

That's 20 full cords and should last 3 years depending on how much I add and how the winter temperatures go. I also spend a lot of time in my garage and that wood heater goes through the firewood, too. So, the answer is "It all depends." But, it's a good feeling to know the heat bill is paid up front now. Interesting to think that I will cut and then carry each log to the outdoor furnace over time.

Just glad I don't have to do it today, although I am making a trip with my trailer this morning to haul some more firewood from MT's new house, where he took down some huge trees and wants the wood gone.


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## kiyote (Jun 15, 2014)

waaaaay to much work. I love natural gas

my heat bill is only 23 dollars a month


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

I love natural gas, too, but not available here. Most folks use propane, another natural gas, but I have home heating oil as back-up and for fall and spring use.

The outdoor furnace makes for some very hot water when in use, as well, and that saves on 220v electricity to heat water.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

I'm curious about the outdoor furnace Glen. Why do you use home heating oil in the spring and fall. My only experience with home heating oil was the old system (if you want to call it a system) my parents had when I was growing up (an in floor unit with no fan that just radiated heat up through a grate) I assume that your outdoor system has a return air, (hooked into your existing duct work ?) Along with a blower. Is the duct between the house and the outdoor furnace underground or above ground. And who manufactures those units ? Thanks for the info


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

Wow! It's much simpler than all that. The oil burning system is like any other forced air system, except it uses oil to make a fire within the heat exchanger. Spent fuel goes out the chimney and warm air comes from the heat exchanger - much like an exhaust manifold on a vehicle, but the fan motor makes use of the radiant heat and blows it through the ducts. The only ducts are with the house. It is a stand-alone system and is fairly modern - about 15 years old or so.

The outdoor furnace uses the duct work within the home but instead of using a fire inside it uses hot water. The outdoor furnace is a closed-loop boiler with a pump spinning 24 hours per day. Small pump but it pushes a one-inch line from the outdoor furnace underground to a* separate heat exchanger* cut into the oil system plenum; it's like a car radiator. When one of two thermostats calls for heat, the water is *already hot* and the same blower that pushes air for the oil system now blows air across the hot heat exchanger/radiator. It's also hooked up to my electric water heater and by capilary action, a jacketed-pipe makes the water hot without any electricity. It all returns to the outdoor furnace as part of the loop.

The fire outside is controlled by some basic electronics but the idea is that the intake opens when the water temperature drops below 175 degrees. Then air is allowed into the smoldering box and off it goes until the temperature reaches 185 degrees. Then the intake is closed. That's how the water stays hot. So for electric, I still have the small pump and the furnace motor. But, the savings of not using 220v to heat water is substantial.

It's more complex to explain it than it is in reality. And, it is work every day unless a person wants a break or is out of wood or is on vacation. Or, it is fall or springtime and the oil system is used maybe in the mornings. Better than burning a fire when heat is not needed all day, because the fire must be fed. I like using the outdoor system when things get cold - usually October through April.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Thank you ! I understand it Fairly well from your description. If I'm not mistaken someone here had a system that cycled air across a heat exchanger in the outdoor furnace. Or perhaps they didn't explain their system with such clarity.

Is this a store bought system ?


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## glenway (Mar 27, 2011)

If you are referring to the outdoor furnace being "store bought", yes, although Central Boiler systems are really not in stores, but are sold independently.

The "capilary action" I tried to explain relative to the hot water is actually wrong. There is a copper pipe within a larger copper pipe that provides the heat for the hot water but I'd say it's through radiating heat to the supply line of the hot water heater. It works on the water heater's supply water and basically pre-heats the water by surrounding it with the hot water from the outside furnace. As hot water is called for by opening a faucet, for example, water is drawn through the heated jacket and that makes it hot. Remember, the water from the outdoor furnace is being pumped continuously and makes it all happen on demand.

I don't think there are any outdoor furnaces that bring in hot air from the outside.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

By store bought I wondered if you made this system or purchased it.


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