Towering Outside Furnace

Towering outside furnace ENERGY Wood Burners (65) 12-1-27 "The up and down design of this outside furnace creates an upward draft that eliminates the need for a fan and burns cleaner and hotter," says Leslie Blevins, Lawrence, Kan., manufacturer of the Leslie Firebox, a tall outside furnace designed to bum wood, straw bales, compacted paper bales, tires and just about anything else you can get into its big door. Blevens built his first furnace 8 years ago for use on his own home. "I wanted to keep the fire outside but I wanted a more efficient burner than the outside furnaces I'd seen on the market. This 8112 ft. tall, 2 by 2 ft. stove burns almost anything," says Blevens. The stove bums hot because of the up and down firebox, which is 18 by 18 in. and 5 ft. tall. Fresh air is drawn in at the bottom of the stove and increases in velocity as it moves up the tall firebox. Another key to success of the stove is the heavy steel firebox lined with firebrick. Blevens says the stove weighs more than a ton, including 1,000 lbs. for the firebox and 1,000 lbs. for the brick that lines it. "The firebrick reflects heat inward, developing super-hot temperatures that more completely burn whatever you feed into it. It'll burn old tires with almost no smoke out the top," says Blevens. Heat from the firebox rises up through three large copper coils. Water circulates through the coils, picking up heat from the fire and carrying it into the house to either the hot water heating system or to radiators installed in forced air ducts. "It kicks out over 200,000 btu's per hour, enough to easily heat a 2,000 sq. ft. house," says Blevens. His stove can also be used as a smoker during summer months. The Leslie Firebox sells for $2,150, not including the flue pipe and the 165 firebrick that line the firebox. Blevins says they can be purchased locally and easily fitted to the firebox. The stove can be ordered with either hot water coils or a forced air heat exchanger. An optional forced air draft fan, which makes it easier to burn bales of straw and other crop residue, is available. Both draft fan and dampers can be controlled thermostatically. Contact FARM SHOW Followup, Leslie Manufacturing, Inc., Rt. 1, Box 286, Lawrence, Kan. 66044 (ph 913 842-1943)

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