PERRY – When Brian White and his wife decided to purchase a wood stove, they had no idea they’d one day be the people selling them.
White now owns Backyard Boilers, a wood stove business out of Perry that sells stoves from Central Boiler. He emphasized that comfort, safety and savings are the best parts of owning an EPA-certified wood stove, and he believes these stoves are perfect for anyone in the Riverbend area who needs a little extra warmth.
“We thought if we sold two or three stoves a year and had a few bucks extra to do something with, it’d be nice. And it kind of got out of hand,” he laughed. “It’s just a little small hometown business, but it’s backed by basically the leading manufacturer in the United States.”
White originally bought a stove to heat the floors in his house. His son, who is disabled, often crawled. He wanted to make sure he had a warm floor instead of cold tiles to lie on.
White and his wife fell in love with the stove’s heat. When White heard that the original Backyard Boilers owner was selling the business, he bought it in 2004 and now has over 21 years of experience as a dealer.
The goal was simply to sell a few stoves every year, but the more White learned, the more he believed in the product. He explained that the stoves, which are contained in a shed-like structure outside of the house, burn wood to heat the homes. This is safer than keeping a stove in your house and also avoids the fire risks of a typical propane system.
“It just blows heat that’s generated from wood rather than gas. It’s regenerating, kind of a carbon-neutral way,” he explained. “Central Boiler has always had a good product. If your neighbor’s burning a central boiler stove, like if you live in town, if they’re burning it properly, you literally don’t know they’re doing it. They burn so clean.”
Most people in this area have access to free or inexpensive wood to burn. Not only is this convenient, but it’s also less costly than a propane system. An old farmhouse might cost $800–1,000 to heat every month. With a wood stove, all you’re paying for is the time it takes to collect wood.
The savings add up. White acknowledges a wood stove might take a few years to pay off, but once you do, you’re saving thousands of dollars every year.
“Their old houses cost so much to heat when they can cut and heat wood for free, basically,” he said. “If it takes three or four years to pay back, it is what it is, but you’re paying for your system versus paying it to the gas company. Maybe from year five to year 25 or 30, that money is in your pocket, and you can repurpose it for something else like paying down a mortgage or whatever. After I pay for this stove, the initial cost, that could be $40, $50, $60,000 or more over the life of the stove that’s just extra.”
These savings encourage people to heat their homes more generously. White said that people might tell themselves they’re comfortable with their thermostat set at 68 degrees, but 75 degrees feels “really nice” in the dead of winter. Because people are saving money and simply burning wood to heat their homes, it’s common for them to keep temperatures higher or even heat rooms they would normally avoid, like a garage.
White added that Backyard Boilers is “reasonably priced,” and there are often rebates and incentives through Central Boiler that they can connect consumers to. If you install your stove before the end of the year, you can receive up to $2,000 in federal tax credits.
Additionally, White and his team know everything there is to know about these stoves and can help people at every step of the installation and maintenance process. He is passionate about the product and eager to see more people discover its value.
“It’s not $100 an hour to get stuff done like a commercial HVAC place. Any question they’ve got is something I’ve dealt with and know the answer to,” he added. “Of course, everybody’s going to tell you theirs is the best, but the numbers of Central Boiler speak for themselves. They’re by far the industry leader in production and advancement of their product. It’s just a darn good system.”
If you’re looking for more comfort, safety and savings in the new year, White encourages you to give him a call at 217-473-7568 or visit the official Backyard Boilers website at BackyardBoilers.net. You can also click here to learn more.
