I'm building a new house next year and am currently looking for a good used forced air wood furnace. Which ones have great reputation. There is a Dakfire 2500 for sale locally but the price seems way out of line. Anyone using Dakfire? What else? Thanks
Looking for used forced air wood furnance....good ones to look for?
- Thread starter MOE
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chopperfreak2k1
Addicted to ArboristSite
i'm running an OLD sunbeam that uses gravity to heat the house. my power can go out and we stay warm.
laynes69
Addicted to ArboristSite
Theres nothing wrong with buyin a used woodfurnace, but if building a new home I would get a modern woodfurnace that's more efficient. To me it would be like putting a 60's gas furnace in a new home. Depending on the size of the home I would look into a Caddy made by PSG or even a Kuuma. Especially with a new home, you will get excellent burns and use less wood over a standard wood furnace. We have a Caddy and it's a well built furnace. Buying used can also run into problems like hidden cracks, warpage, etc. that may be hidden by the air jacket.
CrappieKeith
Addicted to ArboristSite
Make sure that whatever it is you buy there are still parts available unless you can fab up stuff on your own.
Jules083
ArboristSite Operative
I have an energy king, it's holding up good so far. Only been 3 years though.
I've heard nothing but good about brunco
Stay away from hotblast, they're Tractor supply cheapos and seem to be everywhere because of the price. The metal is too thin and they will warp. A friend got 2 winters out of his then had to sell it cheap and buy a new one. He bought another Hot Blast.:bang:
I've heard nothing but good about brunco
Stay away from hotblast, they're Tractor supply cheapos and seem to be everywhere because of the price. The metal is too thin and they will warp. A friend got 2 winters out of his then had to sell it cheap and buy a new one. He bought another Hot Blast.:bang:
laynes69
Addicted to ArboristSite
Had a hotblast 1500 in this home for 25 years before we went with a more efficient furnace. They are built from 7 gauge steel like others. The problem is they are very inefficient. They heat well, but eat wood and lack any sort of secondary combustion or heat exchanger. Ours probably seen 200+ cords ran through it. I replaced the grates a couple times and redid the baffle.
Since your building new, make sure your home HVAC is designed properly for a wood furnace. So later on you dont have to try and fit a wood furnace into the homes heating/cooling system. An efficient design is as important as the unit itself.
zogger
Tree Freak
Building a house new, look into superinsulation or passivhaus before the first 2x4 is cut. Designing and building it from scratch *correctly* and not just reproducing the same tired old energy hog designs will allow you to downsize what you think you might need for a furnace (and air conditioning of planned for that) and only use a small fraction (1/5th maybe, can get even better than that) of the wood or nuke juice you are estimating you might need.
Proper insulation, and the house using active air in and out with a heat exchanger in the mix, blows any furnace efficiency out of the water when it comes to dollars spent versus heating comfort level and long term energy costs. Not even close. No comparison. Can't emphasize that enough.
I know you most likely won't believe me, because arborist site is energy hog heaven (must have the biggest saw, biggest truck, hot rod them to burn more fuel, biggest furnace, burn the most wood, etc, c'mon guys you know that is true so don't rank me on noticing that), but I was in the biz before on energy conservation retrofitting and construction, and the improvements are just so dramatic for your heating and cooling needs....you will NEVER see any energy company (oil, natgas, electricity, coal, propane, wood, corn cobs, pellets, you name it) really emphasize using LESS of their product past a certain token level. It just doesn't happen, they will want to sell you more device to burn fuel, and more fuel, than what you really need, IF your house/building is built correctly. And building brand new is the best time to do that. A buck spent smartly now will save you like a fifty bucks or something like that down the road, some big number like that, probably more. It'll beat almost any "stock market" "investments" on a year to year guaranteed level. Not all, but most of 'em....
Good luck in your endeavors! I only posted this because you said you were going to build brand new. Existing structures can be retrofitted, but it makes it a lot harder.
Superinsulation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Proper insulation, and the house using active air in and out with a heat exchanger in the mix, blows any furnace efficiency out of the water when it comes to dollars spent versus heating comfort level and long term energy costs. Not even close. No comparison. Can't emphasize that enough.
I know you most likely won't believe me, because arborist site is energy hog heaven (must have the biggest saw, biggest truck, hot rod them to burn more fuel, biggest furnace, burn the most wood, etc, c'mon guys you know that is true so don't rank me on noticing that), but I was in the biz before on energy conservation retrofitting and construction, and the improvements are just so dramatic for your heating and cooling needs....you will NEVER see any energy company (oil, natgas, electricity, coal, propane, wood, corn cobs, pellets, you name it) really emphasize using LESS of their product past a certain token level. It just doesn't happen, they will want to sell you more device to burn fuel, and more fuel, than what you really need, IF your house/building is built correctly. And building brand new is the best time to do that. A buck spent smartly now will save you like a fifty bucks or something like that down the road, some big number like that, probably more. It'll beat almost any "stock market" "investments" on a year to year guaranteed level. Not all, but most of 'em....
Good luck in your endeavors! I only posted this because you said you were going to build brand new. Existing structures can be retrofitted, but it makes it a lot harder.
Superinsulation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I'm hoping to get a quality older one for a fraction of a cheap new one. My Dad has a Hot Blast or something like it that is pretty new and it's a box with a blower nothing more. I have an older Northern Leader wood furnace in my shop. I picked it up used for $150 and it's three times the furnace my Dad has. I'd buy another in a heart beat if I could find one. We're likely going to run over budget on the house so I'm trying to save a few bucks along the way. The furnace will be in the attached garage with Duct work going. in If the day comes to replace it, it will be an easy swap,(no stares, doorways).
You can install a used unit in a new construction...and pass an inspection for insurance coverage?
I can almost guarantee no insurance company will allow a wood furnace in a garage. If they do you will pay up the wazoo in premiums. They like inside wood burning appliances inside the home where they are easily attended to. Not in the garage left unattended. The first question every insurance company asked me when I built my home. Is the furnace in the house or garage? As long as the unit was inside and installed by a licensed heating guy they could care less and I pay no additional premiums for having a furnace.
Shouldn't be a problem with a UL approved furnace and NFPA one hour fire seperation,(5/8 taped sheet rock) and a cold air return that doesn't draw CO from the garage into the house. My insurance company let me put my own wood stove and class A chimny in my current place. They did inspect it. No rate increase.
I've got a Woodchuck that was installed new in 1985. The firebox has been redone once with new firebrick and grates, both blowers have been replaced once and I just replaced the inoperative pyrometer for the firebox this past fall with one purchased off of eBay for 30 bucks. It sounds like I've done a lot to it but this puppy has been keeping us warm for over 25 years. We burn 8-9 cords per year to heat 2K sq. ft. That furnace is probably one of the best investments I've made in my lifetime. To the OP, if you could score one, I'd highly recommend it.
I have a Clayton I bought used (2years old) in the garage. Had it installed with my lp furnace and central a/c. Get a good contractor. I did a total remodel, most contractors had no idea how to do the furnace. Insurance never questioned it.
Your getting some very good info here! Check with your insurance before you install. Buy the best furnace you can afford. See if they match your needs too. You might want to check out a gassifier unit too. Although it sounds like that or an Outdoor woodburner are more expensive/more technical than you want to choose (and I can relate with that) they have their perks too. I chose an inexpensive HotBlast 1557m and really like it to heat 1000 sq ft in my basement(warm floors rock!) and 1800 sq. ft on the main floor of my 60+ yr old ranch house which is averagely insulated(slowly improving it every year). Spend as much as you can on insulation first! wood heat second. even if it means getting a woodburner 5 yrs down the road. Thats where you can spend your money best.
I love my HotBlast for a nice 74 degree house that I'd never keep that warm with propane or fuel oil. But if I had it to do over I'd buy something that was more efficient/longer burning(It needs fed to make heat on average of every 4 hrs. Yes it will keep coals up to ten but not to keep my square footage requirement warm). They are ways to achieve that with either a bigger firebox for more fuel, a more efficient unit with better technology(and expense too), and better insulation. If your building a new structure the cheapest route is superior insulating first.
Good luck and get something that burns wood so you can run a saw! Great exercise and great fun too!
I love my HotBlast for a nice 74 degree house that I'd never keep that warm with propane or fuel oil. But if I had it to do over I'd buy something that was more efficient/longer burning(It needs fed to make heat on average of every 4 hrs. Yes it will keep coals up to ten but not to keep my square footage requirement warm). They are ways to achieve that with either a bigger firebox for more fuel, a more efficient unit with better technology(and expense too), and better insulation. If your building a new structure the cheapest route is superior insulating first.
Good luck and get something that burns wood so you can run a saw! Great exercise and great fun too!
Insulating a new build is relatively cheap compared to a couple extra cords a year. If you insulate well you will never think of that aspect of the build. If you skimp on insulation to save a couple hundred bucks, you'll think about that every winter burning wood and every summer paying the electric bill for AC
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
I agree with the good insulation. I would go with the soft spray foam insulation. Fantastic stuff.
When I remodeled I foamed the entire house. It is a combination of open cell foam and closed cell. I wish I had spent the extra money and used all closed cell (hard). Hard had 6.8 or so R per inch. Open cell is half that per inch. We are having a warm winter and I can easily get it 80 in here :biggrin:
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