Jules083
ArboristSite Operative
I am currently building a new house, and my furnaces are backwards from what they should be. What I mean by this is I have a forced air wood furnace, and an oil fired boiler. I am running ductwork through the basement for the forced air, and the boiler is going to warm the basement floor for use as a backup heat. The House is setup as a very open design, and the heat from the basement will rise up and heat the whole house.
What I would like to do is heat the basement floor with the forced air wood burner, if possible. I don't wish, or expect, the forced air furnace to completely heat the house just through the floor. What I am thinking is that if I were to run some water lines through the furnace in such a way that the water also went through the oil boiler, it will help to warm the floor a bit.
My idea is that at the top of the firebox to run some 2" heavy wall pipe going back and forth, with maybe a 1" gap between the pipes. Coming out of the back of the furnace would be an inlet and outlet, and that would be plumbed inline with the oil boiler. What this 'should' do is heat the water to a point that the floor is kept somewhere between 'less cold' and 'warm'. The forced air aspect should still work as before, but possibly the blower would kick on a bit less because of the cool water running through the top.
To make the bends tight enough to keep the pipes close I would have to build basically a tight 180 degree turn, which wouldn't be a problem. The water would zig zag across from one end to the other, then exit on the hot side. The circulator pump would be always on in order to keep the water from boiling in the wood furnace. If the house cooled down below the temp setting on the oil boiler it would kick on and pick up where the wood boiler left off.
Worthwhile project or waste of time? I'm an X-ray certified welder, and am very used to working in very tight places. Welding everything in is not an issue at all. I would probably end up TIG welding every root then 7018 from there, it takes longer but I'm used to it and I'm confident in the welds when done.
Is there a better way? I'm a boilermaker by trade, but I work on power plant boilers that are typically 200' tall and 60' across. This boiler is a bit smaller than that and the budget has way less 0's. :msp_biggrin:
What I would like to do is heat the basement floor with the forced air wood burner, if possible. I don't wish, or expect, the forced air furnace to completely heat the house just through the floor. What I am thinking is that if I were to run some water lines through the furnace in such a way that the water also went through the oil boiler, it will help to warm the floor a bit.
My idea is that at the top of the firebox to run some 2" heavy wall pipe going back and forth, with maybe a 1" gap between the pipes. Coming out of the back of the furnace would be an inlet and outlet, and that would be plumbed inline with the oil boiler. What this 'should' do is heat the water to a point that the floor is kept somewhere between 'less cold' and 'warm'. The forced air aspect should still work as before, but possibly the blower would kick on a bit less because of the cool water running through the top.
To make the bends tight enough to keep the pipes close I would have to build basically a tight 180 degree turn, which wouldn't be a problem. The water would zig zag across from one end to the other, then exit on the hot side. The circulator pump would be always on in order to keep the water from boiling in the wood furnace. If the house cooled down below the temp setting on the oil boiler it would kick on and pick up where the wood boiler left off.
Worthwhile project or waste of time? I'm an X-ray certified welder, and am very used to working in very tight places. Welding everything in is not an issue at all. I would probably end up TIG welding every root then 7018 from there, it takes longer but I'm used to it and I'm confident in the welds when done.
Is there a better way? I'm a boilermaker by trade, but I work on power plant boilers that are typically 200' tall and 60' across. This boiler is a bit smaller than that and the budget has way less 0's. :msp_biggrin: