What to consider in a wood furnace?

[jdew1920]

New member - first post. Hope some of you could shed some light on this for me. Looks like there a few of you using a wood furnace so hopefully you help me out.

Here’s what I’m dealing with. 1800SF ranch in SE michgan, our main furnace is a 70K BTU nat gas furnace with variable speed blower. Gas bills are not too outrageous but wouldn’t mind reducing them greatly, plus nat gas has been steadily increasing in cost. My wifes dad recently passed away and he heated with wood (wood/oil combo) for about 30 years and was still stacking his own up untill last year - kind feel like I have no excuse not to, plus I could use the excercise.

I have probably a couple years worth of free wood on my lot - dead and dying elm, ash, some box elder (probably not great to burn). After that I think I could still get access to mostly free wood if I want to put in a little labor to get it.

Based on the lower cost of natural gas I don’t think I can justify a real expensive furnace and was thinking something in the $1500 ball park could be justifiable for me, preferably $1000. Now that I am looking at them I am not sure what I should really be looking for. I know that will not get me a top of the line furnace but there seems to be some decent ones in that ball park.

These are my questions:
Is a draft blower recommended, or is a manual good enough? Seems like it’d be nice to have some thermostat control with the blower.
How much of a difference do you see with secondardy air combustion?
Secondary heat exchanger?
Size of firebox? Is bigger necessarily better?
Do any of the above make a big impact on effeciency?
Worth getting one with its own blower or just use the current furnace blower? Can they be hooked up to utilize variable speed capability of current furnace fan? If getting one with a blower is a multi-speed blower much prefered?

Anything else I may be over looking let me know. In the $1500 range it seems like the Yukon Eagle Big Jack is nice furnace but fan is extra and puts it close to $2000. Englander does not seem bad but if I recall they do not come with a draft blower and no secondary air. The Caddy’s (US Stove 1950) look nice but in the $2K range. US Stove has some affordable ones but again I don't think they have secondary air (then again does how much does this help? I was just at TSC and noticed they had a US Stove Clayton 1600M for $1250.

Any help is appreciated

 

[ericjeeper]

New member - first post. Hope some of you could shed some light on this for me. Looks like there a few of you using a wood furnace so hopefully you help me out.

Here’s what I’m dealing with. 1800SF ranch in SE michgan, our main furnace is a 70K BTU nat gas furnace with variable speed blower. Gas bills are not too outrageous but wouldn’t mind reducing them greatly, plus nat gas has been steadily increasing in cost. My wifes dad recently passed away and he heated with wood (wood/oil combo) for about 30 years and was still stacking his own up untill last year - kind feel like I have no excuse not to, plus I could use the excercise.

I have probably a couple years worth of free wood on my lot - dead and dying elm, ash, some box elder (probably not great to burn). After that I think I could still get access to mostly free wood if I want to put in a little labor to get it.

Based on the lower cost of natural gas I don’t think I can justify a real expensive furnace and was thinking something in the $1500 ball park could be justifiable for me, preferably $1000. Now that I am looking at them I am not sure what I should really be looking for. I know that will not get me a top of the line furnace but there seems to be some decent ones in that ball park.

These are my questions:
Is a draft blower recommended, or is a manual good enough? Seems like it’d be nice to have some thermostat control with the blower.
To get into a thermostaically controlled unit.. You will have to up your anty.
How much of a difference do you see with secondardy air combustion? again
Secondary heat exchanger? again
Size of firebox? Is bigger necessarily better? Yes bigger is always better.. Longer burns if little else
Do any of the above make a big impact on effeciency? Yes all do to an extent
Worth getting one with its own blower or just use the current furnace blower?
Most will come with a blower
Can they be hooked up to utilize variable speed capability of current furnace fan? If getting one with a blower is a multi-speed blower much prefered?

Anything else I may be over looking let me know. In the $1500 range it seems like the Yukon Eagle Big Jack is nice furnace but fan is extra and puts it close to $2000. Englander does not seem bad but if I recall they do not come with a draft blower and no secondary air. The Caddy’s (US Stove 1950) look nice but in the $2K range. US Stove has some affordable ones but again I don't think they have secondary air (then again does how much does this help? I was just at TSC and noticed they had a US Stove Clayton 1600M for $1250.

Any help is appreciated

I helped Shipper 50 install a New Englander.. The stove is well built. Has a nice ash pan drawer. Love the glass in the door.To me the best bang for the 1,000-1200 dollar range furnace

 

[hanko]

where in SE michigan are you. im in Howell, Ive been screwing around with wood furnaces for a while. I have a charamaster. If your not to far ILL be happy to help you


H

 

[leon]

whole house heat

New member - first post. Hope some of you could shed some light on this for me. Looks like there a few of you using a wood furnace so hopefully you help me out.

Here’s what I’m dealing with. 1800SF ranch in SE michgan, our main furnace is a 70K BTU nat gas furnace with variable speed blower. Gas bills are not too outrageous but wouldn’t mind reducing them greatly, plus nat gas has been steadily increasing in cost. My wifes dad recently passed away and he heated with wood (wood/oil combo) for about 30 years and was still stacking his own up untill last year - kind feel like I have no excuse not to, plus I could use the excercise.

I have probably a couple years worth of free wood on my lot - dead and dying elm, ash, some box elder (probably not great to burn). After that I think I could still get access to mostly free wood if I want to put in a little labor to get it.

Based on the lower cost of natural gas I don’t think I can justify a real expensive furnace and was thinking something in the $1500 ball park could be justifiable for me, preferably $1000. Now that I am looking at them I am not sure what I should really be looking for. I know that will not get me a top of the line furnace but there seems to be some decent ones in that ball park.

These are my questions:
Is a draft blower recommended, or is a manual good enough? Seems like it’d be nice to have some thermostat control with the blower.
How much of a difference do you see with secondardy air combustion?
Secondary heat exchanger?
Size of firebox? Is bigger necessarily better?
Do any of the above make a big impact on effeciency?
Worth getting one with its own blower or just use the current furnace blower? Can they be hooked up to utilize variable speed capability of current furnace fan? If getting one with a blower is a multi-speed blower much prefered?

Anything else I may be over looking let me know. In the $1500 range it seems like the Yukon Eagle Big Jack is nice furnace but fan is extra and puts it close to $2000. Englander does not seem bad but if I recall they do not come with a draft blower and no secondary air. The Caddy’s (US Stove 1950) look nice but in the $2K range. US Stove has some affordable ones but again I don't think they have secondary air (then again does how much does this help? I was just at TSC and noticed they had a US Stove Clayton 1600M for $1250.

Any help is appreciated

A "lil albert" with a heat exchanger "stab in unit" in the blower duct would fit in nicely. it would also heat your hot water and you can keep all the mess outside and simply install it in a shed to stay out of the weather when loading and keep the wood dry.

The biggest asset is the firebox is fully lined with firebrick so no worries about damage to the boiler wall from cavitation corrosion and the boiler is non pressurised making it very safe-just fill it when needed with H2O from a freeze proof hydrant near the boiler-meaning a small frost proof hydrant used to water animals etc.

 

[jdew1920]

where in SE michigan are you. im in Howell, Ive been screwing around with wood furnaces for a while. I have a charamaster. If your not to far ILL be happy to help you


H

I was actually in Howell yesterday.

I'm in Novi. My biggest challenge right now is just deciding what furnace to buy. Not a whole lot near me to look at.

 

[flewism]

I'm in Monroe County and If you want to talk about the US stove furnace line including installation. I'd recommend Wood and Coal in Toledo OH

 

[jdew1920]

I'm in Monroe County and If you want to talk about the US stove furnace line including installation. I'd recommend Wood and Coal in Toledo OH

I'm actually traveling down into Ohio for work tomorrow. Might be able to hit it on the way back on Tuesday.

Thanks

Can you go too big with a wood furnace? I have an 1800SF house. Would something like the US Stove 1600 be too big? I don't necessarily want the house at 80 degrees. Can you get a good burn with a smaller load of wood in a larger furnace?

 

[woodchop]

I have that US 1600. This is my first year with it. About the same size house with exposed finished basement. I have it hooked up in the ductwork and the blower on the furnace is big enough to distribute the heat evenly through the house. Keeps the house between 72 - 80 easy. It's currently -8 outside and 76 inside. So far I used about 3 cords of oak and elm.

 

[havenodog]

I have an Englander 28-3500 forced air wood-coal furnace. My house is a 1600sq.ft. rancher. I bought the stove about 4 years ago and have never had to use my oil burner since. The furnace has a 850 cfm blower on it and I just ran some ducts to 3 different areas of my house in the basement and use the old laundry chute, one register(6by14) and the space under the basement door as returns.
My furnace was very old and inefficient so is not used any more. On the coldest of days around here (south central PA.) 10 to 20 degrees at night my house stays between 68 and 70 at night.
It was easy to install and has been no maintenance except blowing off the fan unit about once a month.
The firebox will burn all night and I only have to load more on the hot coals in the morning. This has been a great unit for me and has fit my need perfectly. If you have a small to medium size rancher with an unfinished or finished basement this might be a good unit for you to consider. Incidentally this unit also heats my unfinished basement to a comfortable 68 to 70 degrees.
Hope this helps and is not to late in coming
Greg

 

[jdew1920]

Havendog - thanks for the input. Haven't bought anything yet.

I think there's a few decent units in the price range. What I'm trying to figure out now is how beneficial is secondary combustion air and a secondary heat exchanger? Seems like you have to spend around $1600 to get something with secondary air. How much of an increase in efficiency is this? How much do you gain with a secondary heat exchanger? I think the Yukon Eagle Big Jack is the lowest cost furnace I have seen with secondary air - but no secondary heat exhanger. There are some with secondary heat exchanger but no secondary air. To get the benefits of all of the above you move up to the $2K price range - such as the PSG Caddy (UsStove 1950) which can be had for around $2k but I can't justify that much.

I've never shopped for a wood stove or furnace before. Could I expect some decent deals in the summer? Seems like locally they are already gearing up for spring and heating stuff is going on clearance but not too many furnaces out there. Maybe stuff starts popping up on ebay later on?

 

[Marc]

I can tell you right off that if you're wondering about a "gasifier" furnace, either the Garn style refractory lined or European style forced downdraft, you're going to be way out of your budget. Think more along the lines of $6-$8k installed. Plus, hot water storage if you want them to be convenient and efficient for DHW.

From what I understand though, people going from an OWB to one of these newer furnaces will burn about 40% less wood. Sounds like you should stay in the realm of wood stoves in if you don't want to crack $2k, imho.

 

[jdew1920]

Right - I'm looking at a forced air furnace, not a boiler.

 

[havenodog]

I wouldn't go any lower than an 850cfm blower. If you don't have any existing ducts they are so easy to run in a rancher. You can either use the galvanized metal type or the insulated flex duct (which is what I used) Both work well and with a sufficient blower will get air to the farthest reaches of your basement. Mine are run next to the I beam and don't hinder head room at all.
Good success on your hunting. There are alot of good products out there you just have to find what fits your needs in your budget
Greg

 

[hanko]

Right - I'm looking at a forced air furnace, not a boiler.

remember you get what you pay for, a $1000 furnace I doubt will last 20 years like the yukon, charmaster, ect. Ive seen the dakka, clayton, and they are not bad stoves for the money, but I would spend the extra buck and get somwthing that will last for the long run. top of the line wood furnaces will run you in the $3m range. Also most of them have minimum 1500CFM blowers, the charmaster has a 2500CFM blower. for the long ranch you"ll need it. consider a furnace with a HW coil.

H

 

[havenodog]

Good post Hanko my farthest run is about 30ft and the blower I have pushes the air just fine that distance. If you have to go farther a bigger blower is a must. You get what you pay for in almost anything you buy and you just have to find what fits your needs
Greg

 

[hanko]

Good post Hanko my farthest run is about 30ft and the blower I have pushes the air just fine that distance. If you have to go farther a bigger blower is a must. You get what you pay for in almost anything you buy and you just have to find what fits your needs
Greg

I have to push air approx 70 at the longest point. I doubt anything but the 2500 cfm blower on my charmaster would give me much pressure at that point. there is an optimum pressure, or static presure that needs to be maintained for best results, too much and you create a wind chill factor, to little and no heat. Ive been screwing around with wood furnaces for ten years. Ive tried every posible combination and trick known to man and Ive come to the conclusion F___ the wood furnace, im gonna do what i should have done back then. Get an EPA rated radiant free standing stove, Lopi, Jotul ect. less pollution, less wood, more heat. Im tired of the smokey wood gobbling noisy, electric using P.O.S I have.

 

[havenodog]

Hanko, I'm sitting here chuckling reading your post. Sorry that you've had such a bad time with your furnace. My brother gas a 2500sq. ft. two story and has an plain old wood stove down in his basement and it believe it or not heats his whole house and the house is about 100 yrs. old. I think a wood furnace is something you either love or hate. I love mine because it's in the basement, I never hear it running, and when I used to heat with a regular stove my basement would get so bloody hot nobody wanted to spend any time down there ie, my kids.
Glad to see you looking into getting something that will make your life happier. Good Success
Greg

 

[hanko]

Hanko, I'm sitting here chuckling reading your post. Sorry that you've had such a bad time with your furnace. My brother gas a 2500sq. ft. two story and has an plain old wood stove down in his basement and it believe it or not heats his whole house and the house is about 100 yrs. old. I think a wood furnace is something you either love or hate. I love mine because it's in the basement, I never hear it running, and when I used to heat with a regular stove my basement would get so bloody hot nobody wanted to spend any time down there ie, my kids.
Glad to see you looking into getting something that will make your life happier. Good Success
Greg

well let me explain something else I didnt mention earlier. I dont have a basemant. my furnace is located in my garage. You enjoy the gravity effect which I dont. I believe that if I had a basement. my furnace wood probably work a whole lot better. the duct work is in the crawl space, so im pumping heat downhill. Not the best way. I can keep my house (1600 sq ft ranch 80 if I wanna keep the thing cranking. In other words if i had a basment under me i think i could heat my house for half the wood I use now. I have good cold air returns floor level. plenty of sq inches of suply duct. I like the furnace, I like the mess in the garage. I dont like burning 6 cords of dry oak (so far). I have a 1400 sq ft two story well insulated shop and office. One small vermont castings radiant stove not 2 cords yet

 

[havenodog]

Yea six cords is alot of wood for the size of your house with no basement. I've been through about 2 1/2 to 3 cords so far. My ducts run from the furnace to a joist space far enough from the furnace to where the air is not so warm and the air travels down the space to a register cut into the floor. I have always had plenty of air volume, but had to cut a return into my daughters room because hers was always cold.
I think the key to mine is the bottom draft door that can open or be dampened down for coal use. A draft from the bottom sure seems to get the wood hot in a hurry and the fire can be throttled down in about 5 or 6 minutes with plenty of hot coals to keep it burning. Does yours have a bottom door on it?
My brothers stove is smaller than mine and he seems to go through more wood than I do.
Greg

 

[hanko]

No bottom door. Charmasters idea is to bring air in on top of the fire. they say it makes a better bed of coals and is a more efficient way to burn, who knows. You know, this winter has been hard and maybe this is just the nature of the beast. I still think that the most efficient stove is an EPA rated radiant stove centrally located in your main living area. I know the OWB's are not very efficient and either are any of the wood furnaces, maybe 40%. I do know that if I had this monster in a basemant center so the heat would allways rise, like the old graviy jobs, It would work better. Floors would be much warmaer too. Both my son and brother have larger homes and harder to heat homes. both have VC dutch west freestanding radiant stoves, and use half the wood i do. Check with me next year at this time, hopefully I can tell you i only went thru 3 cords instaed of 8.

H