For starters I feel it necessary to explain my background. My father and all 4 of my uncles have heated our homes with firewood all of our lives. I have a passion for cutting and processing trees for firewood to the point in which I am also a recreational arborist! I have also been in the plumbing trade since i was a 12 year old boy in 1982 and then went on to start my own own business in 1994. I have been involved with over 6000+ new construction homes in Bloomington Il in my career. I have also built several properties as a general contractor. In 2008 I expanded my services in my business offering spray foam insulation and continue to do so. I share this, so anyone reading this will understand my level of knowledge that I have been blessed to obtain in my career. I understand hydronic heating from a plumbing standpoint, water gpm flow rates, delta T, heat loss calculations, BTU transfer, I understand insulation from a builder perspective and insulator contractor perspective, convection, conduction, and r values and K values (most do not know what K-Value is), I understand the extreme differences from seasoned firewood to non seasoned, the differences from the BTU output of species of firewood, sizes of split wood versus round and the burn times. There is a lot that goes into this wood boiler information. I want all that read this to know all these variables truly affect the performance of your boiler, the size of your property (home, shop, garage) , the insulation properties, the wind, the wood you use, seasoned or not, blah , blah, and blah. I feel it necessary to share with you as well that I have been a winter snowmobile sport enthusiast in the upper penninsula of Michigan for 24 + years now and have seen countless types of outdoor wood boilers!!!! THEY ALL WORK!!!!! When I found Ridgewood Stoves/EZ Boilers, I discovered that there was not any misleading claims and useless marketing in their business approach. I discovered an extremely simple design and maintenance friendly unit. I split the atom asking questions to Craig ( the previous owner) and Tim (the new owner) and they both have endured my phone calls and questions. It’s fair to say that they Might have even gained helpful constructive criticism from me as well. I have customized things in my operation to allow this boiler of mine to heat a 4800 sq foot walk out ranch, a detached garage with a bathroom, and a 50 x 60 x 14 tall outdoor building, I keep the garage and the shop at 50 and the shop on a timer to minimize the draw from the boiler. The boiler does the job but I do have to monitor it at times when I am heating the shop to work in the shop. This is understandably more square footage in which this boiler is designed to do. But quality hardwood, seasoned, and the ability to monitor it allows me to use it for all three buildings. I rarely heat the shop above 3000 sq ft shop above 50 and it is insulated very well. My house is loaded with windows south facing with 6- 8×6 windows and 2 slider doors and 4 other large 5 x 7 windows. That’s a lot of glass! That leads to inefficient heat loss calculations. The boiler gets the job done!!!!
I have also added a couple of features and they 2 were simple to add. I added a heat shield above the door and a motion detection light at the peak of the boiler. I added a 150 cfm blower fan due to the excessive sq feet I am heating, I extended the chimney to increase convectional drafting as I am on a Hill in flatland Illinois that improved my boilers ability to breath, I raised the boiler on a thick slab as well so I don’t have to bend over as I am 6’4″ and I have had 3 back surgeries because of my stature and work ethic! Plumbing and tree work can destroy a man’s skeleton!
PLEASE NOTE, I originally felt extremely comfortable and recognized quickly the integrity that Craig had in the business when I purchased my stove back in 2013, his devotion was 100% to the customer and his quality in these stoves. He picked Tim to be the new owner to carry out his mission and I can personally testify to the both of them for being thorough business men and men of integrity in a business world that lacks integrity today. There is no marketing pleas, no misleading information and ALWAYS someone to call when needed. They are quick to guide you in buying parts for the stove through GRAINGER versus themselves if it helps you out. They truly aren’t motivated about the all American dollar as much as they are motivated to keep the customer happy! They have answered their phones late at night, on weekends, and holidays for me and I personally am shocked at that. I have called at times I didn’t expect an answer yet the call was taken. My hat goes off to this company and I am thankful to have done business with them. I am also thankful to know that there a few of us out there in the business world that maintain humanity and integrity in their operations.
God Speed Ahead,
God Bless,
Plumber Shane!