Hello everyone, really enjoy this forum. Lot of good information. I was wondering if you could help me out with my current heating situation.
I'll start by explaining my home. Its a 2 storey with basement and attached garage. Each storey is about 900 sq/ft giving a total of 2700 sq/ft living space plus two car garage. The house is less than 2 years old and well insulated. I have an oil hot water boiler attached to cast iron rads (refurbished) using hepex pipe and an indirect hot water tank. I also have a Regency F2400M wood stove in basement connected to an outside masonery, SS lined chimney. I have been lucky with the wood stove in that it does actually heat the basement and main floor for most of the day, burning about 8 cord a year. Thats 24 hour burning- only had to relight it twice this year.
Recently we have decided to finish our basement, putting up new walls, flooring etc.. Heres where the problem arises. I believe my wood stove has been heating our house well simply because our basement was completely open allowing the heat to travel and actually radiating through the floor to the main level. When that wood stove is burning hot, the floor on the main level is sooo warm. Now, after putting up walls and new doors in the basement, the heat isn't going to circulate as it does now and I don't think I will be able to heat the main floor as I do now.
So I have decided to sell the wood stove and install a boiler using the existing hot water rads throughout the house to heat with wood. Those cast iron rads should heat very well with a wood boiler. My budget is very limited, so I have been looking at some conventional indoor wood boilers (non-gassifying) selling as used. The brands I have seen in my area are Kerr TW2000, Benjamins, and New Yorker 200's. Gasifying wood boilers are not an option as they can't be purchased new anywhere near me, and definately can't be purchased used.
I am concerned with creosote in my chimney and the burn times of these boilers. My chimney is about 40 ft high using a 6" stainless steel liner. I get incredible draft with the wood stove. Will this good draft help with fight creosote buildup? Is there a way a can measure my draft? I know with two of those boilers, I am about 1" (7" needed) smaller for the chimney but I don't think that will have too much affect. Also, currently with the wood stove I can go almost 8 hrs. and still have coals to start a new fire. Do you think I will be relighting a new fire every morning with these boilers? As in building a new fire with paper and kindling???
Thanks for the help
I'll start by explaining my home. Its a 2 storey with basement and attached garage. Each storey is about 900 sq/ft giving a total of 2700 sq/ft living space plus two car garage. The house is less than 2 years old and well insulated. I have an oil hot water boiler attached to cast iron rads (refurbished) using hepex pipe and an indirect hot water tank. I also have a Regency F2400M wood stove in basement connected to an outside masonery, SS lined chimney. I have been lucky with the wood stove in that it does actually heat the basement and main floor for most of the day, burning about 8 cord a year. Thats 24 hour burning- only had to relight it twice this year.
Recently we have decided to finish our basement, putting up new walls, flooring etc.. Heres where the problem arises. I believe my wood stove has been heating our house well simply because our basement was completely open allowing the heat to travel and actually radiating through the floor to the main level. When that wood stove is burning hot, the floor on the main level is sooo warm. Now, after putting up walls and new doors in the basement, the heat isn't going to circulate as it does now and I don't think I will be able to heat the main floor as I do now.
So I have decided to sell the wood stove and install a boiler using the existing hot water rads throughout the house to heat with wood. Those cast iron rads should heat very well with a wood boiler. My budget is very limited, so I have been looking at some conventional indoor wood boilers (non-gassifying) selling as used. The brands I have seen in my area are Kerr TW2000, Benjamins, and New Yorker 200's. Gasifying wood boilers are not an option as they can't be purchased new anywhere near me, and definately can't be purchased used.
I am concerned with creosote in my chimney and the burn times of these boilers. My chimney is about 40 ft high using a 6" stainless steel liner. I get incredible draft with the wood stove. Will this good draft help with fight creosote buildup? Is there a way a can measure my draft? I know with two of those boilers, I am about 1" (7" needed) smaller for the chimney but I don't think that will have too much affect. Also, currently with the wood stove I can go almost 8 hrs. and still have coals to start a new fire. Do you think I will be relighting a new fire every morning with these boilers? As in building a new fire with paper and kindling???
Thanks for the help
