Wood boiler for house heating project

Im working on another project with my kids this summer. I want to build an outdoor wood fired boiler to heat our house this next winter. The idea is to save as much as possible on heating the house with propane by using wood heated water from this furnace.

The water tank is 250 gallons and will rest ontop of the firebox.

The heated water will be pumped underground to the house. It will pass thru a water tube radiator in the gas furnace airduct. The heat transfer will warm the air that is forced thruout the house.

Brick ruins in Clinton County. Updated 12-1-09

I took a drive after work one day last week and stopped by a couple ruins I had wanted to see up close.

This was an old two story farmhouse. Its hard to see from the road. Few know its even there. Thats a good thing because no kids have put graffiti on it.

I would love to find who the owner is and work out a deal for the old brick.

This is your typical one room schoolhouse. Built back in the 1880s.

The bricks are not to bad for being made on site in a clamp kiln.

The front door was replaced with a large barn door at one point by a local farmer. But often the loads on the brick wall cant take the wide span. Over the years the wall has crumbled some.

Here are a few updated photos of the farmhouse ruins I thought you may enjoy. Dated 12-1-09

Progress update for 6-11-09

Over the past few weeks we have put our homemade brick aluminum furnace to some good use casting stuff.

We reached temps higher than before. The aluminum melted very well.

This is a sword William cast from the scraps we had.

Hers an axe head he made also. Its rough but he likes it.

Some arrows he cast and later made into spear points.