Last Updated on October 10, 2024 by Alice Benny
An outdoor wood furnace is an investment that many people are turning to these days in order to save money on heating their home. It can save you thousands of dollars each year, not only on fuel, but even with your homestead insurance.
This is what started me on my quest to find the perfect unit for my home. But a word to the wise, it’s important to do your research because not every wood outdoor furnace is manufactured to the same quality, standards, or efficiencies.
Cut Your Energy Bills with an Outdoor Wood Furnace
After a year of researching, I chose Crown Royal Stoves RS7300E Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnace, and I have to say, I couldn’t have made a better choice.
This outdoor furnace is definitely built to last. It’s simple enough to operate that my neighbor’s kid could operate it if I was away for the weekend.
The best part is how extremely efficient it is in the amount of wood it consumes.
Wood Furnace Stove Review
The Crown Royal Stoves RS7300E is a sleek looking, modern furnace. It has flush mounted doors with an integrated silicone rope gasket and a roller bear latch system, giving it one of the tightest seals I’ve ever seen.
Not only is this unit going to provide my home with heat for the next decade, but it will look good doing it at the same time.
The control panel is conveniently located to the left of the loading door and features a basic aquastat with simple setting.
My favorite feature on the control panel is the Load Switch which turns the blower fan on for about 90 seconds, forcing all the smoke through the chimney when I go to load more wood.
No need to worry about getting a cloud of smoke in the face anymore.
A water level indicator is located at the top of the furnace, which I can easily see from looking out my back door.
It even includes a Stainless Steel chimney that allows for additional lengths to be attached, or a chimney cap, to stop the rain from getting inside.
The firebox and water jacket are both constructed from 409 Titanium Enhanced Stainless Steel making it highly durable.
Something included in this wood furnace, that I haven’t seen in others, is something they call “Air Panels”.
These individual panels are hung from a single hook and are meant to help destitute the air flow around the fire and take the brunt force of the heat without damaging the water jacket or poured refectory. Plus if anything happens to them, they can be easily replaced.
Gasification Outdoor Wood Furnaces
When they say they have the “most advanced Gasification process” of any outdoor wood furnaces, they weren’t exaggerating.
Their poured refectory is literally a ‘gasification manifold’ injected hot air directed into the combustion zone, igniting even more gases, creating a hotter flame in the second combustion chamber.
Included in the Crown Royal Stoves RS7300E are Heat Exchanger Cleaners which have a dual purpose.
Not only do the wood furnace heat exchanger self-clean the Heat Exchanger Tubes with a simple pull of the cleaner handler at the front, but they force the hot air to slow down by spinning through the Heat Exchanger Tubes, increasing the amount of heat transfer.
I’ve had my Crown Royal Stoves RS7300E Pristine Series Outdoor Wood Furnace installed for nearly two months now, and I can already tell this coming winter is going to be one of cheapest I’ve had in years.
Outdoor Wood Furnace
Keep in mind, there are many outdoor wood furnace uses. You don’t just have to consider one for your home. Think of any areas on your property that would benefit from a wood burning stove — which is essentially what outdoor wood furnaces are.
Some of these areas can include a garage or shop, a guest house, greenhouse heater, pool or spa, a barn or shed, especially for livestock in the winter months.
How Does an Outdoor Wood Furnace Work?
An outdoor wood furnace, also known as an outdoor wood boiler, is a heating system that uses a stove or furnace to heat water, which is then circulated through the home’s radiators or under-floor tubing.
An outdoor wood furnace works by burning wood to heat water. You can cut your own wood or you can purchase wood. There are also delivery services.
How Big is Outdoor Wood Boiler?
If you hear of an outdoor wood boiler, this is the same as an outdoor wood stove. They average about five feet in width and 10 feet in length.
Much Money Per Year Is Your Outdoor Wood Boiler Saving You?
There are several variables to consider when figuring out how much money using an outdoor wood boiler will save you.
One factor is the cost of using other heating sources. Your savings will be relative to the cost of whatever use you would be using: electricity, natural gas, oil, or propane. If they are expensive where you live, using a wood boiler could be less expensive.
Other things to consider are:
- Wood boiler efficiency: Modern wood boilers are more efficient than older models. An efficient boiler will use less wood to produce the same amount of heat.
- Size of your home: Large homes use more resources to heat up. This can affect the cost efficiency when using a wood boiler.
- How well your home is insulated: Poorly-insulated homes require more heating. This can affect the cost efficiency of a wood boiler.
- Cost of wood: Is it free or can you get it at a low cost?
- Access to wood: Do you have to use resources (your time and money) to drive and get the wood?
- Climate: In colder areas, a wood boiler might be used more intensively, leading to greater savings (but also potentially higher wood consumption).
- Maintenance: Regular maintenance is necessary for efficient operation, and there could be occasional repair costs.
Wood Heat for Your Home: Does It Pay Off
When embarking on homesteading as a beginner, it’s important to learn everything you can. If you decide an outdoor furnace is how you want to heat your home, just make sure you do your homework.
This is one thing you don’t want to cheap out on. The great news is there are options that are efficient and will cut down on costs.
There are a number of different types of outdoor wood furnaces on the market, so it is important to do your research before purchasing one.
In conclusion, using wood heat for your rural home is a great way to save money and heat your home. It also lets you live the quiet country life.
Wood heat can be a great option for rural homes to help save money on the heating bill. The safety of using wood heat has also been shown to be an asset. There are many ways to use wood heat to suit your specific needs, so it is important that you do your research before making any purchase.
Learn about improving air quality in rural home
I have had the unfortunate experience of owning not one but two Central boiler gasification boilers. I love the theory behind it but CB doesn’t build a quality product. When they do fail,yes when not if, they won’t stand behind their warranty.
I would recommend a gasification boiler to adjust not anything built buy Central boiler