Need indoor wood furnace recommendation

[pgertken]

Hello,

I currently own a Monarch AF524A wood furnace that has served us very well, but needs most of the cast iron replaced and it appears it is more cost effective to replace the unit than repair.

What I am hoping to get is anyones knowledge, experience, pros/cons of any of the following manufacturers/models:

Clayton 1600/1537
Daka 521 FB
Energy King 360 EK
Fire Chief 500/700
Royall 8130
Vogelzang Norseman 2500
Woodchuck 2900

Any other recommendations/experiences welcomed.

Thanks

 

[huntsman]

Indoor Wood Furnace

I'm pleased with my Woodchuck. I've only used it three seasons, but it has done it's job with no hassles. If you should buy one contact me. I made some changes that allowed me to place my cold air return in the rear, and I changed the forced draft so that the furnace is now relatively airtight. It holds a fire easily overnight. I have burned wood and coal. Good luck-I know how difficult it is getting good information on these.

 

[JeffHK454]

I currently have a 4 year old Clayton 1600 wood add-on with forced feed air and blower kits. I have only good things to say about it , has acceptable wood consumption and flat out makes heat! I sits next to a new high efficiency gas furnace that runs 15 min. a year to make sure it still works.

Jeff

 

[wdchuck]

I have a DAKA 521, this will be the fourth winter with it, and I have no complaints, it works beyond advertised. It's kept our 3000sqft, two-story, old, uninsulated, farmhouse comfortable, even at -15*F . Approximately 6cords, oak at night, and soft maple during the day, 8hr+ heat producing burn during the night, otherwise it's about 3 fill ups( morning, afternoon, and bedtime), extra when its bitter cold out, but that's our house more than the woodburner.

When I first installed it, I used single wall smokepipe, but changed it to double wall with stainless inside, to get to the chimney.

It is a plain setup from Menards, best $500 I've spent yet, and it was easy to get downstairs through our 30" door, and slide it down on a 2x12 plank.

No draft blower, or water heating setup.

Other DAKA owners that I've talked to are quite happy as well.


One thing I wish it had, from reading about other furnaces, is a secondary burn area for better efficiency, it'd be nice to use less wood, but 6cords isn't that bad.

Hope this helps.

 

[tdb]

go with the clayton

I bought a clayton 1600 20 years ago , still in service , never a problem ,

 

[Moddoo]

I have an older Johnson Energy Systems furnace.

I don't know what exactly it is similar to.

there is no blower for the firebox.

It has a nice big 1/6 hp blower on it to replace the 2 smaller blowers that came with it. It blows nearly as hard as my new gas furnace.
The bigger blower really helps to warm up the house quickly.

It keeps our 1948 2000 sq/ft rambler with original single pane windows at a cozy 75 degrees. Even in sub zero temps.

I burn mostly oak, and it will still have some nice coals after a long 12 hour day at work.

We used the gas furnace for only 4-5 days last winter while we were out of town.

Hard to say how much wood I used last year, maybe 4 cords +?

 

[wistattman]

My parents purchased a WoodChuck wood furnace back 1981. Not sure of the model number but I know it was rated at 150K BTU. That furnace has no problem heating an old 2 story farm house with very little insulation.

The only problem they have had with it was the damper blower motor - the bearings when out. Got a replacement motor from Grainger for about $60.00. The WoodChuck is very well constructed.

Gary