[AT] another new shop

[Bill Brueck]

Cecil, my unit is an Aqua-Therm out of Brooten, MN 612/346-2264 in case you
want to check with them.  Who knows if they're even still in business, these
things change.  I saw a model right after the one I bought that I think
would have been an improvement, it had an auger to pull the ash out of the
bottom.  I do end up throwing out a few coals when I clean mine out, the
inside of the furnace is just a round cylinder, nothing to help sort out the
ash from the coals.  I checked my files and do not find a BTU rating, but I
recall they did not recommend I buy the biggest unit for my application.

Other than whatever dies and gets cut up for fuel during the year, I burn
mostly oak slab wood.  You can see last fall's completed project at
www.apluscomputer.com/wrb/firewood_and_b.jpg.  That's about 2 years worth of
wood stacked up, more if the winters are as mild as last year.  (Hey, this
is legit for the list, there's a picture of a 1941 JD B there!)  The slab
wood really stacks nice and since it's mostly real straight I can pack the
furnace pretty full.  The longer pieces work well in this furnace; I just
make 2 cuts on the 10 foot slab and have enough margin of error that if I'm
off a little it will still fit the furnace.

Most of the units I see around here at fairs and such are set up for burning
corn now.  I've not run the numbers myself but the sales reps say at current
corn prices this is a cheap way to get heat.  Cripes, Dad used to talk about
doing that during the depression!

B²
Bill Brueck (brick)
Chatfield, Minnesota USA

Confusion is a higher state of knowledge than ignorance.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cecil E Monson" <cmonson at hvc.rr.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 4:09 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] another new shop


> > I'll take on the furnace part of your project, I've owned one for
probably
> > 15 years now so my experience is real deep but not very wide, I guess.
> >
> > I didn't like the idea of going all the way outside to throw wood in the
> > furnace so I put it in my attached garage.  That way the waste heat
(there's
> > a bunch of it, with a 185 degree tank just sitting there!) heats my
> > previously unheated garage.  Seemed like a good idea at the time, but my
> > insurance company didn't like it and cancelled my policy.  I found
another
> > company but do pay an extra $500 a year or so for the darn insurance
now.
> > Never mind that this setup is far safer than the woodburner that I
removed
> > from the house when I did this project.  After 2 calls to the fire
> > department in 10 years I had had enough of the old furnace.  Not even a
> > close call in 15 years with this one.
>
>
> Hi Bill, when I saw your post, and before I read it, I got a
> quick flash of your place in my head and the thought that I wonder where
> it was. grins.  I generally keep a lookout for things like those outside
> furnaces.
>
> Our insurance company doesn't like wood stoves either and that
> seems to be what they consider that wood furnace to be. If it is
completely
> outside, I guess they are OK here. We have a hot water heating system now
> and keep antifreeze in it all the time and set at -40 degrees. If you ever
> have a heating system go off and freeze up, you know you are all done
until
> almost every pipe is replaced. The leaks never stop. So we keep the
antifreeze
> in it because of the number of power outages in our area.
>
> I had heard the firebox will burn any kind of wood in any condition
> because of the forced air blower that feeds the firebox. Some of them are
> advertised as "fill once a day" furnaces but I have never heard that
anyone
> got that kind of hours out of them at one filling. I suppose it depends on
> what you burn for wood. Here, we have red and white oak, hickory, white
ash
> and about 3 kinds of maple. All burn well but most burns fairly quickly
and
> doesn't last that long. I can bank the fire in our wood stove in the
evening
> and it will still have a nice bed of coals in the morning with the oak,
ash
> and the hickory. Maple doesn't last. The new place is loaded with beech
and
> oak but no ash and no maple that I could find. The beech should be OK.
>
> I'm going to locate the outside furnace between the house and the
> shop with enough room that I can drive the skidsteer right up to the door
> of the furnace and load the firebox without doing any more work than I
have
> to. I have lots of room to spare so can do about anything I want. The lot
> we have is plenty wide enough and 1800 feet deep so I don't worry about a
> place to pile wood or work on it. I might even be able to work it so I can
> use a conveyor if I want to but will have to think about that for a while.
>
> What brand did you buy, Bill, if I might ask?  I also wonder what
> the BTU rating is on yours?  Are you burning that Minnesota burr oak? If
so
> I wonder what you use to cut it? Maybe a torch?  grins. I see quite a few
> outside wood furnaces advertised at times in the Mother Earth News
magazine
> and also in one of the farm newspapers from PA. Some of the fairs have
them
> out here too in August and September. I guess I had better start
collecting
> literature. Getting 95% of your heat from an outside furnace is a helluva
> lot better than spending $2 a gallon for heating oil.
>
> Cecil
>
>
> -- 
> The nicest thing about telling the truth is you never have to wonder
> what you said.
>
> Cecil E Monson
> Lucille Hand-Monson
> Mountainville, New York   Just a little east of the North Pole
>
> Allis Chalmers tractors and equipment
>
> Free advice
>
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