OWB vs. Add-on Wood Furnace

[PLAYINWOOD]

If you don't have a chimney, don't go to the trouble of building your own masonry chimney. Just install a HT2100 rated Stainless steel chimney. Avoid Air cooled or triple wall. They are cheaper but harder to maintain a draft.

Also, even in a well insulated house 2,500 Sq Ft to heat is large enough. What is the BTU output of your current furnace and what is the CFM on the blower? If the current BTU and CFM is adequate you need to match a wood furnace similarly. Your BTU output rating on a wood furnace should be on 'Average' since a BTU rating on "High" only lasts one hour or so.

If your ductwork is in place and you have a buddy working HVAC, he might be able to look at your ductwork, do some calculations and come up with a CFM requirement to maintain a specific static pressure. Too little or too much will greatly affect the performance of a wood furnace.

If you've not made your decision yet we are coming up with an EPA rated furnace late this summer in the Englander/Hotblast price range.

These hotblast you speak of, are these available at a farm machinery supply store?
two 8 inch outlets,built in fan on the floor at the back, two fans I believe, with a box on the roof of the firebox that you have to place your sticks under?

 

[Fyrebug]

These hotblast you speak of, are these available at a farm machinery supply store?
two 8 inch outlets,built in fan on the floor at the back, two fans I believe, with a box on the roof of the firebox that you have to place your sticks under?

Hotblast furnaces are made by US Stove Company (in China). They are either Red or Green based on the model.

Ours will be fully EPA compliant (EPA & CSA) with great efficiencies. And yes they will be available at Farm Machinery Hardware store.

We make the Caddy line of furnaces but they are more High-End and pricier.

 

[Uncle John]

I ran the cheaper undergroung pipe because the guys at the owb said it would be fine...not so. I have snow melt every year and it really bugs me. I'm replacing the lines this year with better ones. It's gonna be costly but it is worth it to me.

I have the same problem.
This is my 7th winter.

At least we get to mow grass in January!

Should have had them run the lines up and down under the driveway.

 

[jrider]

In my 2nd year with an OWB and love it! Wife can set the thermostat however high she wants and I just start shedding layers. So simple to operate - and I have a gasser. And I don't mind loading mine one bit. If you have a job, you leave your house and come home at some point - just load it at those two moments. What's the big deal if you are outside for 3 more minutes?

 

[avason]

I have the same problem.
This is my 7th winter.

At least we get to mow grass in January!

Should have had them run the lines up and down under the driveway.

I have a high water table so I really hate it. Keeps me up at night thinking about all the wasted BTU,s. LOL

 

[Uncle John]

I have a high water table so I really hate it. Keeps me up at night thinking about all the wasted BTU,s. LOL

Bought mine before I discovered AS.
Didn't do enough research.

 

[PLAYINWOOD]

Hotblast furnaces are made by US Stove Company (in China). They are either Red or Green based on the model.

Ours will be fully EPA compliant (EPA & CSA) with great efficiencies. And yes they will be available at Farm Machinery Hardware store.

We make the Caddy line of furnaces but they are more High-End and pricier.

WHEW...I've already welded broken feet on the electric motors so far and as for effiency and ease of putting in wood I have a few choice words.
I have a friend with a 40x40 glass greenhouse with one of these on one end and a big Napolean airtight on the other end.

where are you located fyrebug

 

[Encore]

We switched from a wood stove to an OWB this year and I could not be more happy. Loading it outside once a day really isn't a big deal at all. Just something you get used to. But it's a very small price to pay for the advantage of not having to process wood nearly as much, keeping an even heat throughout the house, unlimited hot water and not having to come home after being gone for a long time and start a fire.

Don't get me wrong, I love our wood stove (I realize you're looking at a furnace but I only have experience with the stove) but it was a huge pain in the neck when I'd come home and the house was 65 degrees. I'd spend a few hours getting it back up to temp.

Plus if the OWB were to completely malfunction and get out of hand, it's outside away from the house. The same cannot be said for an add on.

 

[Fyrebug]

where are you located fyrebug

Kitchener Ontario but not and I repeat not a Leaf fan!

 

[PLAYINWOOD]

I;m true blue, even born in 67..

Mennonite connected?

 

[boilerwood]

I've owned both, although in different houses, and I like the OWB best. Yes your wood consumption will be higher and the initial cost is considerable, but for me not having to worry about fire is worth it. When I decided to get mine I started cutting wood a year before, got a couple years supply built up, and now just make sure I cut as much as I burn each year. To me it's as easy to walk outside as it is to climb basement steps 2 or 3 times a day, especially now that I'm not a kid anymore.
No matter which one you get, it will still beat the heck out of buying gas!

 

[PLAYINWOOD]

why is everybody so nervous of a fire?

if you burn seasoned wood, sweep your chimney annually, maybe twice if you have an out door chimney,wood fire will never get hot enough to burn through steel.

Get a carbon monoxide alarm and forget about it, you have a flame in a oil furnace and a gas furnace too you know. Id be more afraid of a gas leak.


Besides my house is insured for 400K and 100 K contents

 

[zogger]

I vote, both!

We are all spending your money, so here is my negative two cents worth. Reading here a lot...owbs take maintenance and so on, always reading about critical stuff breaking on those things here, and require electricity to operate, and if burning and the power goes out, then what ya gonna do, especially if you arent home? And by all accounts, seems guys here burn twice as much wood to just have that hot water??? That doesnt seem reasonable to me..but what does seem reasonable is the ability to heat several buildings with one outside burner, now THAT is spiffy. That makes having to burn more wood more reasonable to me.

Most of the time it would be OK, but sometimes it would be nice to have a simple inside the house no electricity required wood heater.

Of course I have neither, just an old simple stove in the living room plugged into the chimney. Works OK. Thats all I have ever had when burning wood, that or a couple of fireplaces, which I dont like very much.

If I had a basement, I would want a wood heater or furnace down there, no debate about that. Power could be out six months and I could still stay warm and cook on it. #1 priority, long term no fooling around heat and cooking and heating water security, no nuthin else required, just wood.

And if I had more money, affter that, an outside boiler with the hot water deal, sounds cool, too, but only after a simple basic inside heater is installed, even if that is only backup then after the owb is installed.

I did have a pretty cookstove once, man, with the water tank, real nice, they used to be had for scrap iron prices....which wasnt much back then either. Id like another one, actually have a place to plug it in, our chimney is divided into two sections.

I am a backups for backups guy.

 

[AIM]

I keep reading that an OWB needs electricity.
The OP is asking about an "add-on" also. They need just as much electricity as an OWB. Yes you still get a bit of heat out of one without the blowers but not enough to heat a house. At least that's how my son in laws add-on works in his house.

If the money is available I'd go OWB without a blink.

Ability to heat multiple structures.
Smoke and mess outside.
Usually much larger firebox. (fewer loadings)
Ability to cut bigger and split WAY less.
Yes OWB's can burn green but it's a waste. They do WAYYY better with at least partially seasoned wood.

My insurance guy told me that if my OWB was more than 25 feet from an insurable structure. (might have been 50' I can't remember) there was ZERO increase in premiums.

 

[walkerdogman85]

I have both a Nashua wood stove and a hardy h-4 owb. Our house is total electric so last year I burned in the basement we had a mild winter here in ohio and my electric bills were 300 dollars plus having to put wood in it every couple hours and waking up to a cold house big pain but we still have it plan on finishing the basement around it And mabye use once in a while. I bought the hardy last march and our bills have been no higher than 127 and my lowest was 89 so quite a difference. We love the owb but they aren't for everyone I will probably burn 8-9 cord but I enjoy they while process. My install a year ago was 9600 but how much in five or so years will all other fuels cost?

 

[mizzou]

I don't have either, but if I was going to do a major change to my wood burning setup I would get a garn, or something very similar. I would really like to just sell my house and build a new one with everything the way it should be for a proper wood burning setup.

 

[Fyrebug]

I;m true blue, even born in 67..

Sorry to hear that. I used to be the only French Canadian living in Quebec cheering for the leafs. They kicked me out of the Province for that! :msp_scared:

I gave them up in the Ballard's year. Now, Kinda following the Sabres... not that they are setting the world on fire.

Was hoping the Blackberry guy would have brought another team to Toronto a few years ago.

 

[colson04]

Yeah, both the OWB and an Add-on will require electricity to operate. Both require maintenance and cleaning, and both won't heat the house if electricity goes out. Which is why I have a generator. I'm slowly leaning towards the OWB as the ability to keep the house at any temp the wife wants, heat the hot water, heat my attached garage, and possibly heat a 'future' barn is very appealing to me. The barn is maybe/maybe not deal right now, but heat in my attached garage would be pretty much awesome and darn simple to do with an OWB.

My insurance will go up $100/year, regardless of which system I install or where on the property it's located. That still is cheap compared to the cost of propane added up over a year. Priced out switching insurance carriers, not worth it, didn't save a dime doing it.

 

[OhioGregg]

I guess my vote would go to the indoor wood furnace. Since that is what I use and have experience with. Use an older Glenwood Stoves wood furnace, next to a propane furnace. Havn't used the propane since 2008. Forced air system, with AC also. The house has an unfinished basement, "cellar" or engine room as I call it. Built in the 40's. It has a wood/coal room right next to the room with the furnace, so its easy to get wood to the furnace.

I back the tractor & trailer up to the back of the house to toss wood in through the removable windows in the wood/coal room. I usually go down and add some wood to the furnace every 4 hours or so. Doing so, the furnace fan rarely comes on. Just the slow radiant heat rises through the duct work, to maintain a very steady temp in the house. The furnace is centrally located, along with the warm air ducts. The cold air return ducts are to the outside of the house's floor plan, coming back to the furnace.

I put wood in the furnace last night at 11:30, before going to bed. Didn't get up till 7:30 this morning. Am usually up before that. Fan was running and circulating room temp air that was down to 68*. Normally the house temp is 72*-73*. There was still some hot coals to spread around to add wood to, and soon get the fire back up and going. Was windy last night also, 7* and -15* wind chill.

Outdoor furnaces intrigue me, but I think if this old reliable beast ever needs replacing, it will be with another indoor furnace. If I can find one that runs and works similar to this one. In the dead of winter, I don't get a whole lot of exccersize as it is, so going up and down the steps isn't a bad thing. I guess it comes down to your existing setup of your house and cost, to decide between the two. For me, another indoor furnace would be the choice. The best part of either one, is seeing the propane trucks drive by, and not pull in.


Gregg,

 

[stihly dan]

1st off, keep in mind furnaces have been around a long time. Keep that in mind when people talk about them, they may be talking about a 30 yr old inefficient unit. I would compare the 2, of the last 10 yrs only. Also there is a BIG difference in a cheap furnace, than a quality furnace. My furnace heats my water, only load it twice a day or less, can keep my house at any temp. Also can heat the house with NO electricity. Power was out for 3 days with average temps in the low teens, house stayed around 70 deg.
I like not having to go out in the rain or snow to feed it. No snowblowing a walkway to the boiler, no walking thru the mud, no making repairs at night in the freezing cold going as fast as I can so it doesn't freeze up on me. Plus there is no way the wife will go out in the freezing cold snow to load it, the oil unit would be turned on 1st:msp_angry:.