looking for expert advice

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

SIERRADMAX

Feeling the Heat
Jan 13, 2011
300
RI
I hope I found the right discussion group.

I purchased my first house in the spring. With the prices of homes, I was able to buy something that I feel will be a "long stay". The house is in Southern New England, 3300 S.F., 2 story with a finished full basement. (3300 includes finished basement). It's primary HVAC system is Central Air and is fed by two zones. One for the first floor and the 2nd for the 2nd floor. First floor AHU is in the basement and the 2nd floor is located in the attic.

It has 8 acres of maple & oak so wood isn't scarce. Not to mention, family has 15+ acres. However, In the event I don't feel like hauling wood, I would also consider a multi-fuel furnace for coal purposes.

In terms of heating, an oil boiler is used to heat an indirect water heater and is also used to supply hot water to the H.W. coils within each AHU. I've browsed many manufacturers websites including Yukon Eagle, Econoburn, and Alternative Heating. My initial budget is around $5000-$6000 for a unit but I'm willing to go higher with the right piece of equipment.

Is there a wood/coal boiler that I can use as an add-on to the existing oil fired boiler? Econoburn offers a wood boiler but their prices are around the $9000 mark.

Would an add-on furnace like a Yukon-Eagle tied to the ductwork in the basement be sufficient and radiate heat up to the 2nd floor?

Thanks, Justin
 
I can't help you with specific units but I can speak to using coal in a wood or combo unit.

Appliances built for wood or built for coal are very different. Coal burns very differently than wood. Wood burns mostly with air washing over the top and coal almost only burns with air from below passing through the bed of coal.

This being the case the boilers or furnaces built for each are very different in how they control the air.

As with anything in life, in my opinion, when you make a unit that will do a couple of different things it is not built to do either well, there is too much compromise there.

In my opinion you should pick one fuel and get the best unit you can afford for that fuel.

Years ago I owned a boarding house for college girls, huge old house insulated minimally and the hot water demand was HUGE. I purchased a coal boiler that was built in France only for coal. I don't think wood would have burned in it but it burned coal just great.
 
If you want something in the basement, look at the royallfurnace.com They make an indoor boiler that is asme certified will do coal or wood or both and can be tied right in to existing boiler. The ones I have installed have a taper fire box which works good for certain types of coal. They aren't or at least weren't over priced, just a nice simple unit.
 
I have one of the royall indoor furnaces. (6150) It works well for wood and is a very simple heavy built quality unit. I have never tried coal.
New they are aound $4000. I bought a good used one for $1200
 
First thought - everyone is an expert on the internet so never believe anything until you've done enough research. There are folks on this website that have a whole lot of experience. And most of them are very willing to help.

I've heard good things about Yukon Eagle for wood furnaces. I was considering one myself before I read more and more on the gasifiers. A quick and dirty estimate for INSTALLED cost is to take the cost of a boiler and double it. I doubt this works as well for a "furnace" but for a boiler setup it seems pretty accurate.

If you have a pretty good feeling about going with wood heat I'd recommend you start stacking and splitting wood now. The more you read the more you'll learn that cutting and stacking a year or two ahead is the only way to burn effectively. So get started and enjoy!

Last thing - welcome to the board. This place is great.
 
Hmmm.

You have an HVAC system that presents a few design issues there that's for sure.

First off, If you are talking forced air, or a boiler system for that matter, I would be pretty shy about the combination units that are multi-fuel. As in gas or oil + solid fuel. I have yet to see one that works well with both fuels and usually they turn out to be a compromise for both, leading to poor efficiency and/or maintenance nightmares.

If you are talking an add on wood furnace connected to your basement/main living area, I think you are barking up the right tree. You could also install a boiler that could serve to heat your domestic hot water needs and offer a little more versatility in possibly getting some heat to the second floor area. You have many more options with a water based system than are presented with a forced air ducted system.
Short of tearing out walls and framing there is seldom an avenue for getting adequately sized duct from a basement to a second floor in a finished house.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments. I've been getting alot of responses about combination units. Alot of people are saying wood stoves are built for wood an coal for coal. They can function as combination units but their efficiency is compromised.

I'm leaning more towards a wood heated water boiler which can heat everything in my house pending I keep an eye on the unit. My state requires certification and my insurance company requires the town building department/fire department to sign off on the unit. I read somewhere that the foreign Wood boilers aren't US certified??? If this is the case, does anyone know which units are. Also, can anyone give me a ballpark figure for isntallation? I can see this going well beyond the original budget I anticipated. But, hopefully my return on investment will pay itself off in a couple years with the fuel oil I'll be saaving.

Thanks
 
Fortunately I don't have the NE certification requirements. I like my Paxo but it is Polish. It does have EU certifications, maybe US by now. Look around but your certification requirements may limit your choices. Econoburn is US made, not sure if it is certified. The "Simplest pressurized..." sticky has a GREAT system layout w and w/o storage (or storage later for that matter). You should be able to tie in with your existing oil burner. You could always consider biodiesel or waste veg oil fo your backup. Mark at AHONA is great for answering questions like yours, I feel I can trust him. Since you alrady use hot water heat (to a Water/Air HX) it should be easy to add a wood boiler.
 
Both the EKO and the Biomass gasification boilers are both UL approved and have a number of them installed in your area. Just google it up or check the forum. I personally think Mark is unscrupulous, but that's a matter of experienced opinion.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
Drolet Heat Commander UL Label
Replies
6
Views
783
The Boiler Room - Wood Boilers and Furnaces
begreen
begreen
N
Conversion from oil
Replies
8
Views
846
The Boiler Room - Wood Boilers and Furnaces
brenndatomu
brenndatomu
L
Looking for help with USSC 1330
Replies
2
Views
405
The Boiler Room - Wood Boilers and Furnaces
brenndatomu
brenndatomu
C
Looking to choose between HeatCommander and Heatpro.
Replies
7
Views
2K
The Boiler Room - Wood Boilers and Furnaces
LogCabinFever
L
P
Kuuma Vapor Fire 100 - Setup Help
Replies
36
Views
3K
The Boiler Room - Wood Boilers and Furnaces
Wiwarm
W
Top Bottom
Back