Do you have any opinions on outdoor wood/caol burners... are they worth the money that is initially required . What would be a good brand name that would be worth pursuing if I decided to acquire one. Thanks

If you get free wood or coal they are not a bad deal. But your money would be better spent on a new high efficiency equipment. Now wood to mess with and more even heat.

I have spent many septembers and Octobers frantically gathering my fuel for the winter though considered free it's really not cutting bucking splitting firewood a lot of work and where I lived all I had to do was drive my truck down the beach and gather the coal deposited there sounds fun eh? Not! Perhaps the first five minutes believe me wood and coal very dirty and loads of work even if fuel source free you still have to do the gathering storing and burning all not hassle free. I have learned that it is always a very good idea to have two or more ways to heat your house in the dead of winter and never rely on just one. I purchased a stoker stove made by an Alaskan stove company and I could fit almost a cord of wood inside that furnace and it would burn for weeks on end between loads of wood always delivering heat like any other forced air furnace. I also would agree most homes be best off to rely on one of the newer, efficient, relatively inexpensive heaters on the market these days and then I would explore the wood and Coal stoves as secondary heat source