Greenhouse: Free Heating - Well maybe?, 0 by vintage_flowers

vintage_flowers wrote:
Try an outdoor wood-burning boiler unit (OWB). Central boiler OWB's have been around for about 20 years and they have a good reputation with OWB units - check out their website. We installed an OWB in November and hope to use it for a greenhouse someday as well. Ours will be able to heat well over 4000-5000sq. ft. and will heat both our home and the greenhouse with hot water created by the OWB unit that travels via thermopex pipe underground. The Central Boiler E-classic 2300 high efficiency OWB unit we have is a "duel fuel unit" and when/if the wood burns down while you're gone, or out of town, the propane burners ignite to keep things heated until you get back to add more wood. A pretty incredible and a great way to save $$$! After it pays for itself in a couple years you then have - FREE HEAT!

And yes, they do keep things warm in sub-zero temps! The main thing you need is to have several cords (9-11 cords depending upon need) of "seasoned" 10-12 month-old split/cut wood ready to burn BEFORE you get your OWB unit. Or, make sure you have access to several dead fallen trees that will make good available ready-to-burn fuel for the winter at hand. Green wood (from freshly cut trees) does not burn as well and tends to smoke a lot.