Building a new house what wood burner is best

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AR200

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I am about to build a new house and have burnt wood most of my life would like to incorporate it into this new house. I have free wood from the farm and don't mind cutting and splitting. In my old house we had a nuaire fireplace which is like a country flame it's a ventless fireplace duct throughout the house we loved the heat it put out and the burn times. What we didnt like about it was the creasoute it produced on the top of the chimney and cap and the smell in the summer in the house. What are some new options for heating with wood?
 
I heat my house with a Hawken wood boiler and I'm Very happy with it. I have the smaller of the 2 stoves they offer, it's rated at 4500sqft, and I will be heating my barn with it this year.
 
There is so much potential in new construction for reducing heat loss, that you shouldn't need much for heat for starters.

Lots of insulation & air sealing, southern exposure for solar gain. Good windows & attention to detail on the construction techniques.

If I was building new again, I would likely put in mini-split heat pumps for the main heating & cooling, with a nice wood stove for supplementing in the coldest days. Likely a Blaze King.
 
My choice would be a Blaze King if you can get 3years ahead on would . They need dry wood to operate correctly.
 
From what I seen from the owb they make a lot of smoke an burn a insane amount of wood . My take on a owb if you like cutting wood every weekend an your neighbors don't mind smoke . At bed time I load my furnace in a t shirt an no shoes . I would never attempt to even try to buy a owb at over 3 times the cost at start up. I bought 2 new indoor wood furnace in less than 5 years an brunt wood for over 30 you can add it all up all the chain saws an trucks log slitter an repairs . I might be getting close to buy a owb
 
Notice the OP is in Arkansas where the average daily temperature in winter is likely above freezing. The wood burner that is best will depend highly on house size and construction/insulation. An OWB would likely be overkill unless we are talking about a huge house.

"Best" heating option would start with a heat loss calculation. I suspect 50k btu would probably be more than enough. OP is heating with what looks basically like a prefab fireplace now. That wouldn't cut it at my latitude.
 
My first thought when you said you were building a new house was an owb too. But it does depend on where you are located in regards to both your neighbors and your own home. As long as you are not going to disturb either one, then I would think that's the ticket. It's more expensive at first, but maybe not over time. You do need to think 20 years into the future, for both cost and convenience. Is the area likely to be built up in that time, and what will a smokey owb be thought of then? And you did mention that you don't appreciate the chimney buildup, which could be less with the owb. What about aesthetics inside the home? Do you like to look at the fire? Could you do a gas fireplace (or even electric) to get that effect inside and still do the owb?

And, as mentioned above, with your location and a modern tight house, you might not need a real big owb or stove. Either will need to be sized properly...

I don't have an owb, as my neighbors are too close, and would not understand. I have an old house that already had an 8" stack in the right place, so that was what I went with. And I do live quite a bit farther north than you too. :cold: (It was 37 this morning...)

Good luck.
 
Longest burn times = Cat stoves
biggest and baddest cat stove = Blaze King
Very cold winter nights - central stone or masonry chimney flue for thermal heat retention
Building like this might be overkill for your climate.

For more temperate climates in homes under 2500 sq ft., I would build my house around a mid sized cat stove (BK Princess) with a Stainless steel central flue. It will purr along at low temp for hours on end. Do some nice facia rock work around it for asthetic appeal.

In my neck of the woods or colder areas, I'd build the house around a centrally located full BK King.
 
outside wood boiler and never look back!!!! only reasonable choice for new house
 
I have an OWB and am pretty happy with it...But- If I was building a new home and got whatever I wanted, I would build an attached concrete room on the outside of the basement that is used to house an indoor wood furnace that connects directly to the ductwork. This would give the best of both worlds: No mess inside, and a more efficient, more immediate heat source. You could also make a door from the basement directly into the furnace room, so you don't have to walk outside in your slippers to load the stove on those cold, snowy mornings!
 
I just recently built a new house and went through the same conundrum. house is 2700 sq ft, 2x6 framing, traditional insulation (R21 in walls, R48 in ceiling.) I went with a Jotul Oslo F500 stove. it is non-cat, hooked to a 8x12 masonry flue thru a external brick chimney about 26 ft tall. I burned with it this last winter and I had decent wood. Not the best, but decent. Here is where I am at:

The stove is nice. realistic burn times for heating are about 4 hours on a medium load, I could load full at 10pm, put the air a little below half, go to bed and wake up around 7 with some coals left. enough that I could usually re-light by just blowing on it with some splits on top.

The setup: in hind sight I wish I did two things: forgone the clay liners and just ran a insulated flue pipe, and put the chimney in the center of the house. a side placed external chimney cools a lot quicker. I did not run into creosote problems and I burned a cord and a half. definitely a little buildup, but nothing close to a problem. a center setup would distribute the heat a lot better and minimize draft and cooling issues of the flue along with getting some of the heat back into the house from the flue. All in all I will probably end up lining my chimney and it will be more then enough. here are some photos to give you a idea.




you can see the chimney on the left


running:
 
I just recently built a new house and went through the same conundrum. house is 2700 sq ft, 2x6 framing, traditional insulation (R21 in walls, R48 in ceiling.) I went with a Jotul Oslo F500 stove. it is non-cat, hooked to a 8x12 masonry flue thru a external brick chimney about 26 ft tall. I burned with it this last winter and I had decent wood. Not the best, but decent. Here is where I am at:

The stove is nice. realistic burn times for heating are about 4 hours on a medium load, I could load full at 10pm, put the air a little below half, go to bed and wake up around 7 with some coals left. enough that I could usually re-light by just blowing on it with some splits on top.

The setup: in hind sight I wish I did two things: forgone the clay liners and just ran a insulated flue pipe, and put the chimney in the center of the house. a side placed external chimney cools a lot quicker. I did not run into creosote problems and I burned a cord and a half. definitely a little buildup, but nothing close to a problem. a center setup would distribute the heat a lot better and minimize draft and cooling issues of the flue along with getting some of the heat back into the house from the flue. All in all I will probably end up lining my chimney and it will be more then enough. here are some photos to give you a idea.

Is that your only heat source?

(Nice looking house!)
 
Is that your only heat source?

(Nice looking house!)


Thank you and no it is not the only source. Just supplemental. Though It carries the burden pretty well. I have propane fired forced hot air, propane fired radiant in the attached garage. The wood stove will heat the whole house no problem on 35+ degree days, below 35 but above 10 itll handle the entire left side of the house, and the propane will heat above the garage. under 10 it will do okay as long as you feed it, but above the garage still runs. I think the problem above the garage is simply airflow. it doesn't seem to want to travel over there. That, coupled with placement of the stove means it takes a little more work then it would. Of course, I just started burning so I bet as the wood gets better and I get smarter It will heat better. Just between fall and February I was able to get much better burn times along with much better stove temps.
 
I echo NSMaple1. Ground source heat pump for main heat/cooling, but if you go this route get a contractor that knows heat pumps. They typically need a smaller sized well pump to run longer when cycling, and multiple bladder tanks for increased water reserve to reduce cycling of the well pump (more mechanical room space). There are many kinds of heat pumps, air to air, ground source, etc., and different sub-groups in those. Air to air heat pumps are not efficient in colder climates. You probably do not want one. (If you have city water then no heat pump .) A supplement to that could be anything you choose, and as a supplement, you can heat with wood are not tied to it. Huge plus in a world of changing circumstance, job travel, injury, resale, kids with asthma, etc. Excessive creosote built up can be from several things, such as colder exterior chimneys, poor draft, and poorly seasoned wood, or choked down fires. Regardless, the chimney/roof line and access to it in winter, will be a consideration for cleaning/inspection. Your going to have to get up there with a chimney brush several times a year, unless you go the outdoor boiler route. Trukn2004 suggests flue stainless, which I second. There is triple wall stainless, in which is insulated between the inner and middle wall, and an air space between middle and outer wall. Another thing to consider, is an outside air supply for a wood stove for better flue draft in a tightly sealed house. Plan it in your home when building, and choosing a stove. Interior design and air flow will have a lot to do with your heating choices. If your plan is to save money by heating with wood, first check with your home owners insurance agent to see if you will be paying in some cases much higher rates, and if that is true with outdoor wood heat as well. Have fun picking and choosing from all the options.
 

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