Anyone built or used one? A quick search on the forum did not show anything of the kind, so apologies if there is anything please point me in the right direction.
Anyways, as here in the country there is always a lot of wood based waste that needs burning anyway, I was wondering why not let the resulting heat go to a good use.
I have seen a few off the shelf household wood fired water heaters but they seem to be too small for an agricultural/pond purpose. I was thinking more the size of a 55gal drum.
My first concern is that using copper pipe as a water coil could result in copper levels in the water that could harm the koi.
The second issue is should the drum be vertical or horizontal?
In the first photo you can see a copper coil inside a vertical drum, in the second a horizontal drum with a serpentine made with regular iron threaded pipes and 90° elbows.
I think for my needs I would prefer a vertical drum (so I can put in long olive prunings and fruit tree branches without having to cut them) with a copper free serpentine or coil.
My welding skills are rudimentary but willing to give it a try.
Suggestions extremely welcome