They live in missouri. The furnace is just a few feet from there house and sits on the northside of the house. There house is a slab house so the duct work comes out of the stove and up the side of the house into the attic area. Thats where duct work and everything is.
Outdoor forced air experience?
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Thanks for the info Duramaxman05, it helps the decision process greatly.
The $1500 figure is for a typical (if there is such a thing) mostly wet winter, but not heating my 1200 sq ft uninsulated basement.
Some say just get a wood stove for the basement but if I'm going to get into burning wood......
So the figure is like 4 to 1 in favor of water in heat transfer or a little worse.
Is there no equalization had in placing a forced air unit 10 feet of less from the home compared to 50 feet of more distance for a for an outdoor boiler?
Of course the boiler is able to hold and not only transfer the heat with the water but my suitable spot for a boiler would be at least 50 feet.
The $1500 figure is for a typical (if there is such a thing) mostly wet winter, but not heating my 1200 sq ft uninsulated basement.
Some say just get a wood stove for the basement but if I'm going to get into burning wood......
So the figure is like 4 to 1 in favor of water in heat transfer or a little worse.
Is there no equalization had in placing a forced air unit 10 feet of less from the home compared to 50 feet of more distance for a for an outdoor boiler?
Of course the boiler is able to hold and not only transfer the heat with the water but my suitable spot for a boiler would be at least 50 feet.
maple1
Minister of Fire
What is your wood supply situation, and wood burning experience in general? How much dry wooid can you supply in a year? How much do you have on hand now? How much are you expecting to burn?
I'm now cutting many cords a year for my folks off the farm, that's why I'm finally getting into the game myself.
I have a large supply of standing dead and well cured locust which most prefer here even over oak.
I have a large supply of standing dead and well cured locust which most prefer here even over oak.
Thanks for the information from those with first hand experience, I will try to report back if and when I get there.
I at realize now that the most efficient and simple system is to just buy more propane and that wood burning efficiency increases along with cost and complexity.
My insurance verified no primary solid heat unit within the home but no increase in rates with an external unit and likely because of the arson history in the state I would have almost double rates to go with another provider.
I at realize now that the most efficient and simple system is to just buy more propane and that wood burning efficiency increases along with cost and complexity.
My insurance verified no primary solid heat unit within the home but no increase in rates with an external unit and likely because of the arson history in the state I would have almost double rates to go with another provider.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
+1 what he said ^^^. I heat the same size home as you from the basement with a Yukon wood/oil furnace. ~1200ft first floor to 71-72*, ~800ft second 68* ish, ~1200 basement that stays 68* or so just from radiant heat. Couple points here...
1. A proper chimney with plenty of height goes a long way to keeping smoke out of the house!
2.Truly seasoned DRY wood. I'd bet those other wood burners homes that you have to stay away from have marginal dry wood.
3.Batch burning...in other words, load 'er up and don't open the door again until the wood is down to coals.
4. Use a good HEPA style furnace filter.
5. My house was originally heated with a coal furnace and has a "furnace room" with a coal storage room off that. If you are concerned with allergies, build a room around the furnace that can be closed off when you are loading or cleaning ashes out. One step further would be to put a vent fan (vented to the outdoors) in there to clear it out before opening the door back up afterwards. The just leave the door open to get heat to the basement. Works well for me.
6. A modern clean burn furnace like the Tundra mentioned above, with dry wood will probably heat your place on 4-5 cords per winter. You can buy those for $1500-$1600 on sale too.
If you are leaning toward a boiler, again... batch burning. You would need to put a large insulated water storage tank in your basement to store the hot water because you load the boiler and run 'er wide open until it burns out. Probably once per day or so. Boilers mainly smoke when they idle, if you have dry wood anyways (see a theme here) Even non gassification boilers can burn pretty clean if they are batch burnt. Start up cost are gonna be a lot higher with any boiler system.
In the end though, your chances of being disappointed with an outdoor forced air furnace are pretty high in my opinion.
I'd shop that insurance company some more...it is usually not hard to find someone that will let you have a wood burner in the house for "secondary" heat for an extra $50 per year or so.
EDIT: After rereading your reply, you are correct, ins co's won't let you have "primary" wood heat, but most will consider wood secondary since you have a propane furnace, then your are good to go. They don't need to know that the propane furnace never runs
. The main thing they are concerned about is that you have an automated heat system that will keep the pipes from freezing etc. if everybody is gone for extended periods
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maple1
Minister of Fire
My insurance verified no primary solid heat unit within the home
But what if the propane remained as primary and the wood unit was secondary? Which would more accurately reflect/define the typical indoor add-on situation.
But what if the propane remained as primary and the wood unit was secondary? Which would more accurately reflect/define the typical indoor add-on situation.
You guys are reading my mind on this. I talked to Liberty Mutual yesterday and the rep was not aware of any type on outdoor wood system!!
So with that lack of awareness on their part in mind I'm not so confident in moving forward.
I'm sure I could burn with the furnace in the basement but if I did not tie into the duct work like a big wood stove but this is not ideal for sure.
So with that lack of awareness on their part in mind I'm not so confident in moving forward.
I'm sure I could burn with the furnace in the basement but if I did not tie into the duct work like a big wood stove but this is not ideal for sure.
I was looking into the Yukon online too, how would you compare it to the Tundra? What kind of burn time with wood and smoke blow back?
I got some good news on homeowners front, it looks like indoor units are back in the picture but I will need a pro install for the unit and venting. Now I need to find one willing and able to do it right and hope that the work doesn't bust the budget.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Burn time depends on which Yukon model you are looking at. My Husky will do at least 8 hours no problem, more when it is not so cold. My old Big Jack struggled to do 5-6 hours when it was cold. Smoke blow back is not problem as long as you have a proper chimney and it is clean.
I have no personal experience with the Tundra but guys really seem to like 'em. Lotta bang for the buck there. I am installing one for my sister as soon as the weather breaks a lil bit.
wow u need to go to http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/ the site for poor people tiring to do the rite thing ...with out all the math.......just saying
wardk
Feeling the Heat
A neighbour had a similar system worked okay, then one night the heat exchanger burned through and the circulator fan sucked all the wood smoke into the house,one hell of a mess.
Glad to hear the improvement you gained from just the one inch insulation, that's what I was looking it over at Lowes yesterday. I am looking to also add another layer of R30 in the attic before the end of heating season to see the difference it makes. I feal dumb not having done it sooner but s it just me or has the price on fiberglass really come down over the past 5 years or so?
I don't know about the price, but it's cheap when compared to what it saves in todays energy costs - You used to be able to see ice crystals on the concrete, even with a stove down there, on the far end. When you get installing it, you also see gaps between the sill & top of the wall that are open to outside air. Back when the original part of my house was built, 1962, fuel oil was what, tens cents a gal.? Just let her run -
The big jack is the one I was looking at from this company. My heating need is not likely much different in WV than OH but only 5-6 hour burn time?
BoilerMan
Minister of Fire
Especially for anything forced air................. Water is simply cleaner for heat transfer, all the way around.
TS
Thanks all,
I'm going to sharpen my pencil and start from scratch. The exta layer of R30 in the attic was a great help and I regret not doing it years ago. I also switched to wood friendly home owners company for a lower rate believe it or not!
Up next for consideration is the indoor boilers but the large volume indoor water storage is an issue and it would be better outside and use less needed and valuable ft'.
An indoor unit still requires a pro install and add a chimney to that;so maybe double the cost...
I'm going to sharpen my pencil and start from scratch. The exta layer of R30 in the attic was a great help and I regret not doing it years ago. I also switched to wood friendly home owners company for a lower rate believe it or not!
Up next for consideration is the indoor boilers but the large volume indoor water storage is an issue and it would be better outside and use less needed and valuable ft'.
An indoor unit still requires a pro install and add a chimney to that;so maybe double the cost...
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