Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Our pond home

Brettski, I am so sorry that I missed your call to me. Never be afraid to PM me if I don't get back to you quickly. I am still trudging my way through this Master's Program and occasionally miss some stuff here.

The new design: I loved the picture you posted of the finished barn with the motorcycle in front of it, but do not like your drawing at all. I don't know why, I just don't. I like the fact that you are considering different options, though. I still worry that you are not allowing a door high enough for a standard utility tractor to pull into and out of the 'barn'. This is mostly because of my safety background that causes me to cringe when people fold down the rollover protection on their tractors because they don't go through 8' doors. Anyway, onto hydronic woodstoves.

We have a Harmon Trident woodstove. It has a 32 gallon water tank that surrounds the firebox. The wood fire in the firebox heats the water, which is then circulated throughout our home with four circulator pumps that have a very low draw. I can get you the specs on the juice they draw if you like, but it is minimal. There is an damper on the boiler that opens when the water cools to 140 degrees (about) and closes when it hits 210 degrees.

We burn ten cords a year, maybe more this year due to the cold winter. We have an oil boiler, but right now it is cheaper to burn firewood than pay the Man. Our boiler circulates water around a domestic hot water coil, too, so it heats up our hot water. I have big plans to build a heat exchanger for the hot tub to heat it, too, but that will have to wait a while. Anyway, I digress...

The downside for me and my boiler is that in the early fall and late spring the boiler spends most of its time smoldering which creates creosote. The downside to you would be that you would have to drain it after every use to prevent freezing. That probably kills it right there. If, however, you would put an anti-freeze type material in the piping you may be in business. I have no experience there. Let me check around, though.

The upside would be minimal electricity usage and you could place it on the first floor with very even heat provided throughout the rest of the building.

Last thought - one of the reasons I love this site is that Eddie can give his opinion and not rub you the wrong way. Too many people out there today get poopy-pants over a lot less. Eddie, love your perspective on things. We built a deck and spent tons of time on it, then we poured a concrete patio and spent tons of time on it, then we built a new front porch and spent tons of time on it. We haven't hung out on the deck (where the great view is) forever and don't even put furniture out there anymore. The dogs still dig the view, though. Maybe if we do the pond we will start hanging on the deck again. Who knows.

Edit: It appears that you can use anti-freeze as long as you check the pH annually to reduce the risk of corrosion. The forum on Hearth.com recommends 1/2 water 1/2 glycol. I would get a professional's opinion, of course, but it sounds like a possibility. Again, we love how even the heat feels throughout the house. Our use is 10 cords for roughly 2400 square feet of open floor plan in Central PA.