Hybrids and multiple options????

[mikk45133]

Good day to all. I been enjoying exploring this site but haven't found anything on my question. See I am a firm believer in multiple sources of almost everything.... grid and generator, well and county water, LP and wood heat... etc. At the minute we are in the mode of remodel - restoration on a 108 year old home.

I am also wanting to incorporate some passive masonry banks and moving a unit UNDER the main chimney and make better use of that space that currently does nothing but hold up the chimney column for 2 1/2 stories. and as such I am considering a hybrid masonry heater/wood-pellet burner (maybe fireplace insert setup). I am very handy with almost anything mechanical and can learn anything I need to know as well. So I can build almost anything.

So under that does anyone know if an someone makes a pellet burner insert for a conventional wood stove so that the unit can do either. Seems a pellet set up could be incorporated fairly easily (obviously NOT simultaneous) Anyone one heard of any?

 

[bags]

See I am a firm believer in multiple sources of almost everything.... grid and generator, well and county water, LP and wood heat... etc.

I am the same way and always have options. just a smart thing to do in my opinion. Where are you located in OH? I'm 32 miles or so SW of Cincy in NKY.

I do not know of anyone that makes a dual burning wood and pellet stove, insert or the like. You can burn pellets in a wood stove or fireplace with a pellet basket but I think that would use a bunch of pellets and not be very cost effective.

It is a good thought but I do not think there is any dual fuel cord wood / pellet burners made. You could set thing up for a wood burning unit and then add a pellet stove. I have wood burning options here and also pellet stoves. Asking for both in one unit is a good idea but a tall order. I'm sure it could be done somehow but no one to my knowledge has yet.

What type of place are you building? Where are you in reference to location? I like the way you think and agree with being covered as much as possible. By the way, Welcome! There is tons of good info here and also you might want to check out the other forums here like wood stoves and boilers etc;

 

[rich2500]

http://www.rika.at/en/induo/m=2
Not an insert though

 

[bags]

Just looked up the Rika Combi. I converted the Meters to SQ FT and it converts to almost 2,800 SQ FT. Never have seen or new of these. Pretty cool but they also look very complex and very expensive. I tried to even find a dealer in the US and was unable to do so.

Rich, Do you know anyplace in the US that sells of distributes them? They are probably silly money. Don't know. Kind of cool but I'd be hesitant simply because finding any parts might be impossible. Now if there was a local dealer within an hour or two maybe that had one on display and experience with them maybe...... But that would also depend on how much.

Do you know anything about these? Not even much on the web I have seen.

 

[rich2500]

no I don't know anything about them just stumbled upon it maybe a year or so ago online,It is very interesting but yeah I bet it got a pretty hefty price tag.The only dealer I could come up with for Rika is Lucky Distributing in Oregon I don't know if they could get a combi stove though

 

[bags]

As cool as they are and neat as they look I wouldn't buy one. Probably because of price for starters and then lack of parts and / or support for them here in the states. You'd be way on your own with all of that. There's probably only a few Rika stoves of any model around. A small handful anyway. The pellet part scares me much more than a Rika wood stove unless those are also new catalytic style The parts availability and lack there of anyway.

 

[mikk45133]

None made. Well, if they can design one... so can I. Will have to get my design hat on and open up a new cad drawing.... any one know where parts might be had to build a pellet system? I'll need temp sensors, speed control and auger. Rest is flat plate I'll weld up. It will install in someones conventional wood burner.

Don't laugh, I was told I couldn't trailer sailor a 9600 lb 30ft SeaFarer Deep fin keel with a 10 ft beam... I said "sure I can" and designed and built the tri-axle trailer its on. Full GCVW is 22,000 lb and uses a retarder system on my 1 ton.. Carrying the keel in a trough (80% of the weight) 7" from the ground in the middle of a full axle triple group... yea think about that a minute.... the axles were already under this trailer for a different boat so is what I had). Yea I am proud of it. Not much I cant design and build. I am also designing a folding hydraulic mast system for the same boat. "Push button" launch. Marina's do not like me. I am supposed to hire their crane at $400 a hr and another 400 for their boat lift in this class of boat and another $2000 each winter to store it. I am a poor man... can't play at their table. I also want to go to what ever body of water I am willing to buy the fuel and permits to get to and not be limited to what ever is handy. But I do have a 1920 14" 5' lathe and a 1935 horizontal/vertical mill in the shop. I'll get to play with them a little for that project. The boat lives here at home as do all my toys.

Small 1250 sq. ft. story and 1/2 108 tear old home. Original unlined brick chimney in dead center for 80 years. Its now double SS lined past 15 years.

I am undecided.... should I build a real masonry fireplace under it and do a wood/pellet insert, or just build a floor to ceiling masonry surround directly under this chimney and move the wood/pellet stove inside it? Plan to use a lot of masonry mass to act as a heat sink. This will relocate the wood/pellet stove directly in between the four downstairs rooms (directly under the chimney) instead of out in the room.

Thanks
Dave

 

[chken]

None made. Well, if they can design one... so can I. Will have to get my design hat on and open up a new cad drawing.... any one know where parts might be had to build a pellet system? I'll need temp sensors, speed control and auger. Rest is flat plate I'll weld up. It will install in someones conventional wood burner.

Don't laugh, I was told I couldn't trailer sailor a 9600 lb 30ft SeaFarer Deep fin keel with a 10 ft beam... I said "sure I can" and designed and built the tri-axle trailer its on. Full GCVW is 22,000 lb and uses a retarder system on my 1 ton.. Carrying the keel in a trough (80% of the weight) 7" from the ground in the middle of a full axle triple group... yea think about that a minute.... the axles were already under this trailer for a different boat so is what I had). Yea I am proud of it. Not much I cant design and build. I am also designing a folding hydraulic mast system for the same boat. "Push button" launch. Marina's do not like me. I am supposed to hire their crane at $400 a hr and another 400 for their boat lift in this class of boat and another $2000 each winter to store it. I am a poor man... can't play at their table. I also want to go to what ever body of water I am willing to buy the fuel and permits to get to and not be limited to what ever is handy. But I do have a 1920 14" 5' lathe and a 1935 horizontal/vertical mill in the shop. I'll get to play with them a little for that project. The boat lives here at home as do all my toys.

Small 1250 sq. ft. story and 1/2 108 tear old home. Original unlined brick chimney in dead center for 80 years. Its now double SS lined past 15 years.

I am undecided.... should I build a real masonry fireplace under it and do a wood/pellet insert, or just build a floor to ceiling masonry surround directly under this chimney and move the wood/pellet stove inside it? Plan to use a lot of masonry mass to act as a heat sink. This will relocate the wood/pellet stove directly in between the four downstairs rooms (directly under the chimney) instead of out in the room.

Thanks
Dave

I think you should just go with making a euro-style masonry heater that burns wood. Trying to hybridize it with a pellet insert doesn't make a lot of sense since pellet stoves don't work as radiators like wood stoves, so the mass of the masonry heater wouldn't really be used. Just keep it as a masonry heater

 

[mikk45133]

Thanks chken. I looked at the masonry heater (russian stoves) earlier but I do not have the space available for that much masonry. Neat idea but a ranging uncontrolled fire is a bit spooky to me. Still leaning to a combo. See right now I can do wood at next to no cost off this place. But I will not be able to do that physically forever... and being that I am 63 now... leaning towards pellets. While our electric has been better in recent years than is used to be... the pellet stove it is still subject to it. We were without power and electric with sub zero temps for 11 days some years ago Christmas... but we had Christmas dinner and were toasty warm due to non interlaced LP range and conventional wood heat. I cant/will not have total electric dependency... thus the combo idea... convert to wood when needed.

I'll figure it out.

Dave

 

[mikk45133]

Sources on parts? Thanks...

 

[Watcher1]

None made. Well, if they can design one... so can I. Will have to get my design hat on and open up a new cad drawing.... any one know where parts might be had to build a pellet system? I'll need temp sensors, speed control and auger. Rest is flat plate I'll weld up. It will install in someones conventional wood burner.

Don't laugh, I was told I couldn't trailer sailor a 9600 lb 30ft SeaFarer Deep fin keel with a 10 ft beam... I said "sure I can" and designed and built the tri-axle trailer its on. Full GCVW is 22,000 lb and uses a retarder system on my 1 ton.. Carrying the keel in a trough (80% of the weight) 7" from the ground in the middle of a full axle triple group... yea think about that a minute.... the axles were already under this trailer for a different boat so is what I had). Yea I am proud of it. Not much I cant design and build. I am also designing a folding hydraulic mast system for the same boat. "Push button" launch. Marina's do not like me. I am supposed to hire their crane at $400 a hr and another 400 for their boat lift in this class of boat and another $2000 each winter to store it. I am a poor man... can't play at their table. I also want to go to what ever body of water I am willing to buy the fuel and permits to get to and not be limited to what ever is handy. But I do have a 1920 14" 5' lathe and a 1935 horizontal/vertical mill in the shop. I'll get to play with them a little for that project. The boat lives here at home as do all my toys.

Small 1250 sq. ft. story and 1/2 108 tear old home. Original unlined brick chimney in dead center for 80 years. Its now double SS lined past 15 years.

I am undecided.... should I build a real masonry fireplace under it and do a wood/pellet insert, or just build a floor to ceiling masonry surround directly under this chimney and move the wood/pellet stove inside it? Plan to use a lot of masonry mass to act as a heat sink. This will relocate the wood/pellet stove directly in between the four downstairs rooms (directly under the chimney) instead of out in the room.

Thanks
Dave

I can help! I have a magnum 6500 to part out. Good control board. Stirrer motor, I might get rid of the auger and motor also if they don't match up with my 3500.

 

[chken]

Thanks chken. I looked at the masonry heater (russian stoves) earlier but I do not have the space available for that much masonry. Neat idea but a ranging uncontrolled fire is a bit spooky to me. Still leaning to a combo. See right now I can do wood at next to no cost off this place. But I will not be able to do that physically forever... and being that I am 63 now... leaning towards pellets. While our electric has been better in recent years than is used to be... the pellet stove it is still subject to it. We were without power and electric with sub zero temps for 11 days some years ago Christmas... but we had Christmas dinner and were toasty warm due to non interlaced LP range and conventional wood heat. I cant/will not have total electric dependency... thus the combo idea... convert to wood when needed.

I'll figure it out.

Dave

Good luck on your project.

 

[Bioburner]

Early pellet stove wood stove adaption

 

[mikk45133]

I can help! I have a magnum 6500 to part out. Good control board. Stirrer motor, I might get rid of the auger and motor also if they don't match up with my 3500.

Hello watcher1. Been a long winter and my old Wondercoal 5027 did yet another winter (28th). This summer i plan to build a new masonry "closet/hearth" for a new wood/pellet stove to sit in... directly under the chimney column. This lets me reclaim the space the current wood stove uses in the living room.... and look at a glass front sort-of like a fireplace but will not take p room in the room area.

I haven't finished designed the combo yet but will be shortly as it may effect the masonry. Do you still have the parts you mention above? Thanks, Dave

 

[Watcher1]

Hello watcher1. Been a long winter and my old Wondercoal 5027 did yet another winter (28th). This summer i plan to build a new masonry "closet/hearth" for a new wood/pellet stove to sit in... directly under the chimney column. This lets me reclaim the space the current wood stove uses in the living room.... and look at a glass front sort-of like a fireplace but will not take p room in the room area.

I haven't finished designed the combo yet but will be shortly as it may effect the masonry. Do you still have the parts you mention above? Thanks, Dave

Wow sorry for the delay. It's all gone off craigs list.

 

[Simpleacres]

A masonry heater is a great idea. They are possibly the safest burning wood-fired appliances out there, and they can be configured to fit about any configuration. www.masonryheater.com has more information.