Heating Your Home With An Outdoor Furnace
If you have ever considered heating your home with a wood-burning boiler but didn't want to go through the hassle of installing a system in your home, an outdoor furnace may be the solution. These units heat the domestic hot water in your home and provide heat through radiators in different parts of your home.
Installing an Outdoor Furnace
Installing an outdoor furnace for your home is not as difficult as it might sound. The furnace, boiler, and firebox are all contained in a free-standing unit the sits outside your home. The furnace requires you to runs some water lines underground and into the home to circulate the water through, and you will need to put a hole in the foundation for the lines to pass through. If you do not have a large hammer drill to drill through the foundation, you can rent one from the local tool rental company that should do the trick.
Run the Water Lines Inside
Once the waterlines are inside the house, you will need to attach the lines to the water system and install the heat exchanger that the system uses. The heat exchanger can be in the basement near the water tank and you can use the tank to store hot water that was heated in the outdoor furnace, using it for heating the home and for domestic hot water.
Install the Radiators
Radiators will need to be installed in the rooms that you want to heat, with the furnace and the lines run from the system to the radiator. Each radiator will have hot water and a cold water line that will make a loop to the manifold in the basement or cellar of the home. If you are not comfortable running these lines, you can have a plumber come and help you get the radiators in place and plumbed into the system.
Fire The Furnace
The last thing to do once the system is in the home is to load the furnace with wood and light it. Once the furnace is running, allow it to heat up and check the radiators in the home to ensure that they are getting warm. Wood is the most common fuel for these furnaces but some companies manufacture outdoor furnaces that burn wood, coal, corn, biomass (essentially compost), and wood pellets. You can choose whatever fuel you want for your furnace, but make sure whatever fuel you choose is readily available in your area. Wood is a good choice for almost any location but if you live in an area that has an abundance of coal and it is inexpensive, that might be a better option for you.
Contact a company like Hardy Heaters Indiana to learn more about your options for an outdoor furnace heater.