How do I add a wood furnace to my existing oil furnace

[JA600L]

Thanks for the discussion guys. After putting some thought into this, I'm leaning towards a heat pump install. I've got a quote for a Bosch inverter 17 seer.

After removing the oil furnace, I'll put my Woodstock Ideal Steel on the throne and give it the chimney. I realize that I will need to insulate and line the chimney.

The boarded up window beside the furnace will be perfect for some kind of chute to throw wood down from outside.

I've come to this conclusion for several reasons.

1. If something happens to me, my wife won't do the wood thing. So I'm looking out for worst case scenarios.

2. I really hate oil. I want it gone. The heat pump also gets me better air conditioning.

3. I own the Ideal Steel so my only cost there will be upgrading the chimney. There is an old wood stove insert in the living room on the main level if I need extra heat.

4. I understand the challenge of heating with a woodstove from the basement. My goal will be to slowly insulate the walls down there to get better heat upstairs. I can't do everything right away moving to a new house.

5. I believe the woodstove and heat pump will get along together. The woodstove will be in the same room as the air handler and should help keep the unit and duct work warm.

6. The woodstove will provide warm floors on the first level. All the mess will be in the basement. Happy wife.

7. Down the road I will probably do some kind of wood furnace. An outdoor boiler would make sense as there is a finished barn and I'm adding an attached garage. Being able to heat all the buildings from one source would be great.

Feel free to share your opinions on this. I REALLY do understand the Challenge of a woodstove in the basement so no need to hash that out. Thanks

 

[stoveliker]

Not regarding the challenge, but regarding the solution. Ensure you have separate routes for the warm air to get out of the basement and the cold air to get in the basement.

I heat from the (insulated) basement. I've a few posts here how.

 

[brenndatomu]

Thanks for the discussion guys. After putting some thought into this, I'm leaning towards a heat pump install. I've got a quote for a Bosch inverter 17 seer.

After removing the oil furnace, I'll put my Woodstock Ideal Steel on the throne and give it the chimney. I realize that I will need to insulate and line the chimney.

The boarded up window beside the furnace will be perfect for some kind of chute to throw wood down from outside.

I've come to this conclusion for several reasons.

1. If something happens to me, my wife won't do the wood thing. So I'm looking out for worst case scenarios.

2. I really hate oil. I want it gone. The heat pump also gets me better air conditioning.

3. I own the Ideal Steel so my only cost there will be upgrading the chimney. There is an old wood stove insert in the living room on the main level if I need extra heat.

4. I understand the challenge of heating with a woodstove from the basement. My goal will be to slowly insulate the walls down there to get better heat upstairs. I can't do everything right away moving to a new house.

5. I believe the woodstove and heat pump will get along together. The woodstove will be in the same room as the air handler and should help keep the unit and duct work warm.

6. The woodstove will provide warm floors on the first level. All the mess will be in the basement. Happy wife.

7. Down the road I will probably do some kind of wood furnace. An outdoor boiler would make sense as there is a finished barn and I'm adding an attached garage. Being able to heat all the buildings from one source would be great.

Feel free to share your opinions on this. I REALLY do understand the Challenge of a woodstove in the basement so no need to hash that out. Thanks

Probably a good plan.
Some years back I looked at a big ole farmhouse with a stone foundation and a fully finished basement...we discussed how they accomplished this with the stone walls...turns out that they had put up walls a foot or so in from the foundation walls and then only heated/cooled the interior of it, they framed out around windows so there was still some natural light into the basement...there was an access door so you could still get to existing wiring and misc. "systems", not the easiest space to work in, but not the worst either...they also ran a small fan and a dehumidifier in that outer space in the summer too...sounds like it actually worked out pretty well.
We could never quite get together on the price though...it just wasn't meant to be.

 

[burtman4]

I was in a similar situation in 2017. Had an old wood stove in the basement that just wouldn't keep the house warm, an oil furnace, and an older AC unit. I installed a 18 seer Trane heat pump and put a Kuuma VF100 in and never looked back. From the savings on electric in the summer with the higher efficiency AC and no high priced oil in the winter, I got a full return on my investment in 6 years. It's also nice that the wife can choose either the heat pump or wood furnace when I am away.