# Homemade Outdoor Wood Boiler Build



## CornerStone

I have the skills and knowledge to build an outdoor wood boiler and really want to so I can heat my home offgrid. Im curious if anyone else has done it that would be willing to share any advice so I dont waste time and money doing something wrong or not as efficiently as I could be.


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## James m

My cousin has something that burns wood or pellets in a shed looking thing outside and it pumps the heat to the house via a pipe. But its store bought. Very expensive. Now if you can figure a way to make electric with it youd be set. Like a mini turbine?


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## Alpha Mike Foxtrot

I've seen a whole mess of those things in WV. There are a ton of adaptations you can make to them for various ways of heating. But I have also heard some horror stories about them as well. This is one of those things you might want to keep 50 or so feet from the house, which means a nice little walk in the slop and snow to feed it. We heated with wood when I was a child. You couldn't really leave the house for long. But that's all I know about the outdoor ones. Tons of people use 'em. Welding up my own, would scare the daylights out of me.


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## CornerStone

I would keep the furnace in the house so if we leave for a few days the house doesnt freeze. Welding one up doesnt really scare me. I have done some serious work under lots of load and pressure and feel confident in getting it done right.


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## LDSreliance

CornerStone said:


> I would keep the furnace in the house so if we leave for a few days the house doesnt freeze. Welding one up doesnt really scare me. I have done some serious work under lots of load and pressure and feel confident in getting it done right.


I think it is great you want to tackle something like this yourself. However, think of all the angles to this. What happens if a small leak develops and it floods your house while you are gone at work all day? What happens if the pressure builds and it explodes (see Mythbusters)? Your homeowner's insurance won't cover that. You would be ruined financially. Are you really that sure of your welds?


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## thepeartree

James m said:


> My cousin has something that burns wood or pellets in a shed looking thing outside and it pumps the heat to the house via a pipe. But its store bought. Very expensive. Now if you can figure a way to make electric with it youd be set. Like a mini turbine?


Not all that expensive. I can go across town where they sell 2 different types and a total of 5 different models. Average price is about the same as a regular furnace- $2200. There are lots of people around here using them. The important parts are matching the btu output to the size and insulation level of your house and also making sure you have a ready supply of fuel locally.


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## Jeep

Maybe look in to rocket stoves ?


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## quinnbrian

Not hard to build. Lots of them in Canada. There are two different types, pressurized and non pressurized . The pressurize models run at about 9 pounds on the boiler, they are more efficient them the atmosphere model. The pressurize model have a blow off valve just in case something goes wrong, with a vent tube about an 1 1/2 to 2 inch I.D. placed in a safe place , so know will get hurt.
The atmosphere model are just like having a pot of water boiling on the stove, non pressurize , closed top, but with a vent tube , they never reach boiling point and if they do will vent water, steam out the vent tube. Most of these model will need water add to the boiler, know and then. Not as efficient as the pressurized model, but a lot more safer.
If you have an older home, not will insulated , they will eat a lot of wood. With a wood stove in my home I would burn 4-5 cords of wood in the winter months, with the same home on the boiler more like 8 cords! The difference .......the wood stove heats up one room and radiates to the others, the boiler runs through the duck work in the house trying to heat the whole house. 
Hope that helps
Cheers
Brian


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## BagLady

My Hubby is going to build one...someday...(he's been talking about it for 5 yrs).
We have a 250gl propane tank that will be used for this. (cut in half) His idea is to use copper coil to heat our water, replacing the hot water heater. 
He will install ducting for the heat in the house, and it will have a thermostat and blower. 
All this will be inside of a block building at the side of the house, by the wood shed.


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