we had an outside wood boiler at the snowmobile shop in northern wisconsin back in the early 1990s, hot water to heat the shop through the concrete slab floor. could open the big garage door at -30f and it still be nice inside. floor was warm so laying on the floor to do something was NOT a pain. the owner also owned a ridding stable and had 10 or so kids working there in the summer giving guided trail rides. everything was grouped together on the same property. i burned the garbage every day in the taylor brand boiler (the cheapest brand you could buy back then) to heat the hot water for the house. the house and shop was both heated by the 1 wood stove. in winter the owner(duayne) was NOT above throwing a car tire in the stove. the snowmobile shop also sold personal watercraft and atv's. i was the full time mechanic as i worked on all 3 types we sold. i was even shown behind the sales counter in the television commercials. yes, it was that big of a business. i lived in a cabin that the hot water was supplied by a WOOD FIRED WATER HEATER inside the cabin. it looked like a small diameter gas water heater you find in every home, but had a very small fire box. it took just 20 minutes to heat the tank of water. was supplied by a well. around 2000 i purchased a outside boiler and plumed it into my moms ELECTRIC, CENTRAL HEAT AND AIR SYSTEM, and put a sidearm on her 2 electric hot water tanks, this was in Arkansas. an outside boiler sends the hot water to the house via an electric hot water pump. that pump runs 24/7 to circulate the hot water. thermostats control valves(electric) that open and close to control the flow of hot water to the "zones" you desire to heat. so if you throw cardboard, and other crap that most people consider "trash"in the stove during the summer, you can heat your water in the "hot water tank" (gas or electric) WITHOUT heating the house. (at the snowmobile shop i would find cans and melted glass when i shoveled out the firebox) .my moms system (classic) had an ash grate and she didnt burn cans and bottles (they do not actually burn) . when i lived OFF GRID) and before i got solar i charged my batteries with a home made gasoline engine powered dc generator. i piped the engines exhaust into the bottom of a pot that held another pot of water, and used the "waste heat" from the generator to heat 1 pot (a very large pot) of water at a time . i REFUSE to let ALUMINUM touch my food, even my pressure caners are made of STAINLESS STEEL!!
@opera571424 күн бұрын
Resistance heating is actually a good and cheap solution for off grid. I use PV resistive heating using only excess PV energy which is usually wasted. I designed my own controller which will operate in parallel with a MPPT charge controller. Uses no battery, charge controller, or battery resources. This control keeps the panels at power point, electronically matches heater element to panel for maximum power transfer. It is proportional and only diverts the excess. I even have a tank for the clothes washer, all cycles use hot water. I don't know why everyone doesn't do this. Solar is so behind in technology.
@randmcnally644210 ай бұрын
I have an outdoor wood boiler that heats my house and my water in the winter. I could use it in the summer, but would rather pay the electric bill than to keep gathering wood.
@TheReadyLife
10 ай бұрын
Good for you, @randmcnally6442! That's awesome. Totally understand not wanting to run it in the summer, unless you had to.
Пікірлер: 4
we had an outside wood boiler at the snowmobile shop in northern wisconsin back in the early 1990s, hot water to heat the shop through the concrete slab floor. could open the big garage door at -30f and it still be nice inside. floor was warm so laying on the floor to do something was NOT a pain. the owner also owned a ridding stable and had 10 or so kids working there in the summer giving guided trail rides. everything was grouped together on the same property. i burned the garbage every day in the taylor brand boiler (the cheapest brand you could buy back then) to heat the hot water for the house. the house and shop was both heated by the 1 wood stove. in winter the owner(duayne) was NOT above throwing a car tire in the stove. the snowmobile shop also sold personal watercraft and atv's. i was the full time mechanic as i worked on all 3 types we sold. i was even shown behind the sales counter in the television commercials. yes, it was that big of a business. i lived in a cabin that the hot water was supplied by a WOOD FIRED WATER HEATER inside the cabin. it looked like a small diameter gas water heater you find in every home, but had a very small fire box. it took just 20 minutes to heat the tank of water. was supplied by a well. around 2000 i purchased a outside boiler and plumed it into my moms ELECTRIC, CENTRAL HEAT AND AIR SYSTEM, and put a sidearm on her 2 electric hot water tanks, this was in Arkansas. an outside boiler sends the hot water to the house via an electric hot water pump. that pump runs 24/7 to circulate the hot water. thermostats control valves(electric) that open and close to control the flow of hot water to the "zones" you desire to heat. so if you throw cardboard, and other crap that most people consider "trash"in the stove during the summer, you can heat your water in the "hot water tank" (gas or electric) WITHOUT heating the house. (at the snowmobile shop i would find cans and melted glass when i shoveled out the firebox) .my moms system (classic) had an ash grate and she didnt burn cans and bottles (they do not actually burn) . when i lived OFF GRID) and before i got solar i charged my batteries with a home made gasoline engine powered dc generator. i piped the engines exhaust into the bottom of a pot that held another pot of water, and used the "waste heat" from the generator to heat 1 pot (a very large pot) of water at a time . i REFUSE to let ALUMINUM touch my food, even my pressure caners are made of STAINLESS STEEL!!
Resistance heating is actually a good and cheap solution for off grid. I use PV resistive heating using only excess PV energy which is usually wasted. I designed my own controller which will operate in parallel with a MPPT charge controller. Uses no battery, charge controller, or battery resources. This control keeps the panels at power point, electronically matches heater element to panel for maximum power transfer. It is proportional and only diverts the excess. I even have a tank for the clothes washer, all cycles use hot water. I don't know why everyone doesn't do this. Solar is so behind in technology.
I have an outdoor wood boiler that heats my house and my water in the winter. I could use it in the summer, but would rather pay the electric bill than to keep gathering wood.
@TheReadyLife
10 ай бұрын
Good for you, @randmcnally6442! That's awesome. Totally understand not wanting to run it in the summer, unless you had to.