Anyone know anything about Outdoor Furnaces???

Question

I am buying a house and there are so many advertised.. Also is their a dealer for the stoves in New Hampshire? thanks

Answer 1

I understand your confusion. While this "technology" is not new, it is in vogue at this time due to the high cost of home heating oil, natural gas, and electricity. There are many manufacturing companies that have jumped on the "outdoor furnace" bandwagon and the choices are confusing. I know something about them, but I don't pretend to be an expert.

My sister, who lives in southeastern Indiana, had a wood burning unit installed in her detached garage a year ago. She has had one full winter to make use of it. The insulated heat supply pipe was buried and run some 80' to her house. The heated air is moved with an electric blower and serves as an auxilliary heat source to her electric forced air furnace. She claims that her heating costs have been reduced by about a third and that her house is noticably warmer. I also know that they have to stockpile a large amount of firewood for the winter season. They have also lost the ability to park a vehicle in one bay of a two car garage due to the size of the unit. She also says that it is necessary to get up in the middle of the night and add wood to the fire.

The stove, insulated pipe, blower, and heat exchanger cost them almost $2,000.00 and they did the installation themselves. They did a professional quality installation, but saved a ton of money by being able to do the work themselves.

I suspect that they did not buy a top of the line unit because it is not terribly efficient and uses a lot of wood. The unit was also not made to be left outdoors. If it had been my house, I probably would have invested in a more efficient unit. I do not know the brand or manufacturer of the unit they bought, but I do know that they found the manufacturer on the internet and had the unit shipped to them.

If I were in your shoes, I would call the local heating contractors in your area. Several of them are bound to have experience selling and installing these units. I am sure you will get a lot of conflicting advice and prices are likely to be all over the map. In order to sort them out, I would first deal with a well established heating contractor who has been in business in your area for a long time and has a reputation to protect. Before I made a buying decision, I would also ask for a list of customers who have had the recommended unit installed by the contractor and had used it for at least one heating season. Make sure you follow up and talk to (or better yet, go see in person) the referrals. They will usually be very candid about their experience with the contractor and will probably be willing to provide you with all kinds of practical information about the equipment they purchased.

I wish I could provide a recommendation for a particular unit or contractor, but I do not live in the New Hampshire area. I could look up heating contractors in New Hampshire, but I don't know your general location within the state. Even if I looked them up for you, I wouldn't feel right about giving a recommendation to an unknown entity. You sound like you know how to do your homework, and I hope my limited experience helps.

Good luck with your heating project.

Answer 2

Yes they are a good deal if you have your own supply of wood. I asume your talking about a wood one. Expensive up front but worth it. They will even heat your hot water for you.