add on furnace

[Dono]

Anybody use an add on furnace. Im looking to heat my pole barn with a wood stove and think the add on furnace would put out more btu's than a traditional wood stove. I found a used one on craigs list called an OLSEN. I can't seem to find any info on them. TSC sells them but not sure if some brands are better than others. My heatmore is too far away to make it worth while spending all that money on underground pipe. Plus on a cold winter day sitting around the stove with a few buddies drinking beer is kinda fun.

 

[blades]

The add-ons that run in the $1k class are wood hogs. They are not a fill and forget entity either. That said, mine will heat my 2k ft uninsulated basement to 80+ degs on the coldest winter day. Very easy to over fire and end up with a runaway. This a uss hotblast unit that typically goes on sale about now for around $900. There are several other names for what looks to be the same unit.

 

[CWME]

I have an Englander from Home Depot. It is definately a wood hog but it puts out a ton of heat. I normally use it to heat my 2400 sqft non insulated shop without issue even on the coldest days.
It is rated to 3000 sqft and in an insulated house or barn it would be awesome.

As for over fire issue I don't have that problem with my specific model. You can close it up tight and starve the fire pretty well. Especially with a damper in the flue.

The only issue I have seen is that I can cut the fire off too much trying to extend burn times and it makes a TON of creosote. I have to be careful with that.
The longest I can normally run a load of wood safely is 8 hours. Cut that in half if you want max output. It is not good for 10-12 hour burn times, or at least safe 10-12 burn times. It will do it but you will have to clean your chimney fairly often.

 

[twincam]

empire distributing is selling an EPA rated add on. quite impressive. I believe its called an energy king but dont quote me on that.

 

[twincam]

Google search empire distributing add on wood furnace. Its the model 385 which will get you the Obama 15% tax credit. There is a video on the site.

 

[laynes69]

The Energy King 385 EK is not EPA certified as of yet, but incorporates preheated secondary air as well as having a fully insulated firebox to promote better combustion. There also is the Caddy, which is EPA certified and is a clean burning add-on woodfurnace. Another woodfurnace thats very efficient, probably the most efficient with combustion and thats the Blaze King Apex, which incorporates a catalytic Combustor for its design. These are completely different than a standard woodfurnace, but they also cost much more. That Olsen is a run of the mill basic furnace. It will consume alot of wood as well as produce alot of creosote. Getting something that has a newer more efficient design will not only save alot of wood, but you will have a much cleaner chimney. If you have the money, I would go for a better furnace.

 

[rex]

i got this one for sale heated my barn just fine....

if interested email me thru CL or PM here....

not sure if its priced right or not just wanna get rid of it.....

http://lansing.craigslist.org/grd/1971377287.html

 

[pintopaul]

add on wood furnace

i have a add on wood furnace from tractor supply its a us stove model 1557m with 2 blowers which produce 1500 cfms. i have made it for outdoors i made a little building just big enough for the stove and pipe going in the ground about 15ft from my house ducked into my oil furnace piping . heats my house really well i use to go thru 3 1/2 tanks of oil before the addon wood furnace now i go thru about a 1/2 tank of oil because i get lazy at the end of winter and turn the oil furnace back on. it keeps my house around 75 till the temps outside drop to below 0 then its stays around 65 . its saved me alot in oil..

 

[woodfarmer]

take some pictures of your set up, that would be interesting to see

 

[100 Watt]

I have an Englander from Home Depot. It is definately a wood hog but it puts out a ton of heat. I normally use it to heat my 2400 sqft non insulated shop without issue even on the coldest days.
It is rated to 3000 sqft and in an insulated house or barn it would be awesome.

As for over fire issue I don't have that problem with my specific model. You can close it up tight and starve the fire pretty well. Especially with a damper in the flue.

The only issue I have seen is that I can cut the fire off too much trying to extend burn times and it makes a TON of creosote. I have to be careful with that.
The longest I can normally run a load of wood safely is 8 hours. Cut that in half if you want max output. It is not good for 10-12 hour burn times, or at least safe 10-12 burn times. It will do it but you will have to clean your chimney fairly often.

I just installed the same Englander. After only a few burnings, I've notice very little change when I "lock it down" I'm wondering if my flue needs a damper in it to slow draw and lengthen burn times. Could there be a "leak" somewhere? The door seals seem ok. I'm burning seasoned ash and can only get 4-5 hours. Thanks for any help.

 

[pintopaul]

add on wood furnace

i will take some pictures of the stove as soon as it stops raining here , this will be my 4th winter using this. with a full load it last around 8 hours . i turn everything right down and i only burn dry wood.

 

[Mike Van]

The old stoves made from one or two 55 gal. drums have heated thousands of shops & pole barns for years. Cheap too -