Does $3300 sound right to have an add on wood furnace installed?

[glacialhills]

I am buying a gassification wood furnace (Kuuma vapor fire 100) and was just quoted a price of $3300 to install it from a local with wood stove install exp. I have a new high 90+ effic. forced air gas furnace already, so I only need to add plenum to existing duct, run cold air return, wiring/thermostat, and chimney.
I am adding this furnace on the other side of basement from the existing furnace near walkout to aid in wood hauling.Existing duct work is almost overhead of where gassifacation furnace would be, so, 40ft. of return air duct is only long run of duct needed. I knew the chimney would be the most $$$ but $3300 to install this setup? This is a single story ranch. I guess I was not expecting the installation to be this high. Is it that hard to do? Do most people install themselves? This quote is over my budget by 25% +. I have checked around the area and it is really hard to find someone with wood furnace installation experience. Most were just typical gas furnace installers that said...and I quote "So you want to put in a furnace...sounds good...oh a wood furnace...pause... oh ya I think I can probably do that." Needless to say I was not filled with confidence that they had ever run a wood fire chimney or know the best/right way to do it or how to get a good draft. I want this done right and not a "trial by fire"...literally. Due to health and lack of knowhow I am not able to do the chimney myself. My father in law is a master plumber with hvac exp. though. is this something within his scope or is it more specialized? Any comments/ suggestions would be great. Thanks

 

[begreen]

Seems a little high, but sheetmetal work isn't cheap these days. Will they also be installing a dampering system in the plenums to prevent a feedback loop between the units?

 

[glacialhills]

Gosh for 3300 I would sure hope so. :bug: I kind of got sticker shock when he said the price and I just said I was going to get a few more estimates. My wife said why didnt I ask him for a break down of costs? Duh... I just heard that # and my brain froze on $$$. after the shock wore off I priced out duratech ss online and for the entire chimney it was about $950.00 for material and thats for retail. Not much other sheet metal work to be done other than plenum and return air. and Yes a damper system to isolate the two furnaces from each other. I am just wondering if this is a project my father in law and I can tackle or not? I think we are comfortable with everything but the chimney itself. And I think that is just because niether of us has done a chimney before.

 

[verne]

If your father in law is a master plumber it is definitely no problem. The chimney is the easy part in my opinion. when you put all the parts and pieces together Im not sure that is such a bad price. They are out to make a living, just ask your father in law what a plumber gets paid an hour. Its at least $ 80 around here.

 

[JustWood]

Your in amish country. Check around to see if there are any sheet metal shops. I had super heavy duty stainless steel double wall made for $15/ft a couple of years ago. They make better quality than what you can buy from stove dealers. I also had a plenum made up for $80. For your cold air return you could use the flex duct from HD or Lowes for around $1/ft. Sounds like a fairly easy install similar to mine. But that is a steep price IMO.

 

[webbie]

You didn't day if you were installing a new chimney or if you are relining an existing one......at first glance it does not seem exceptionally high - not a ripoff by any means....nothing comes cheap today...

Without know exactly what is being done, it is tough from afar.

 

[webbie]

A slightly off-topic comment.....

I find quite a lack of materials on their web site to back up their claims of complete combustion and "gasification". Can you point me to a cutaway or a better idea of how the combustion in this furnace works? From their description, it sounds like a firebrick lined standard configuration.

 

[begreen]

After speaking with them I would agree. This is not a gasification furnace in the sense of a Tarm, Eko, etc. It's burn is conventional.

One installation concern to be aware of is that this furnace has a cool exhaust. According to Kuuma there should be no more than one elbow on the flue, a straight shot is preferred. Use a pair of 45s instead of a 90 if possible.

For more detail in another thread:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/19283/#208394

 

[glacialhills]

Thanks for the heads up webmaster and begreen, I was really wanting a gassification boiler like eko or tarm, but since I already have a forced air system I thought it wouldn't make much sense to use a coil to transfer the heat to my duct work. Wouldn't that defeat the savings and economy of the gassification process.So what is the difference between the vaporfire and a true gassifier? I am trying to learn all about this stuff and have been reading hours of posts and q and a. This site is an amazing resource! If you know of a way this can be done or any suggestions of adding a wood gassification boiler to my current gas furnace setup by all means I am open to any help.
Yes, Leeswood I sure am near an amish area. I know they are quality craftman and do great work. I had an amish crew do the roofing on my new house. did an awesome job and worked really fast and hard. Yes even at 80 bucks an hour thats a bunch of 80s at 3300 even if he paid retail for all the parts. Oh and yes we are putting in a new chimney and not just relining an existing one. Thanks so much for all the help and keep em coming.
Glacialhills

 

[verne]

not really two men two days - no material.

 

[glacialhills]

oh, I also wanted to add that I liked the fact that this furnace can be run as gravity fed when the ice storm knocks out the power for a few days. Quote I got was for just one guy not a crew. 2 days to run prefab cold air, make a simple plenum with directional damper and run some class a chimney straight up thru a ranch and hook up wiring? hmmm. I do know that my entire 90+ gas furnace was installed in a day with all the duct work run by one guy.

 

[webbie]

So what is the difference between the vaporfire and a true gassifier? I am trying to learn all about this stuff and have been reading hours of posts and q and a.

Gasifier, as John Gulland noted, is probably the wrong word for the Tarm, EKO, etc. - perhaps calling it a fan-assisted downdrafter or something like that would be more accurate.

But the combustion design is 100% different from that Vapor furnace. The Vaporfire appears to be updraft combustion - which is pretty much the way these units have worked for decades or more. They may have a few tricks up their sleeve such as a hot chamber and secondary air, but there is no proof of this in testing or anything like that.

You might want to watch my old tarm video to understand downdraft combustion:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/7729/

see the first video in that thread.

 

[glacialhills]

Thanks for the link to the video, explained things well.I am torn about getting a furnace after seeing the tarm in action. after I see the way the coils for hot air exchange for ducts works. The tarm looks like a super well built furnace. Are the prices compatable with the $3500 they sell the vaporfire for? I do like that the vaporfire can run as a gravity feed stove when the power goes out. I do want to specially thank you for a wonderful site. My wife thinks im nuts for spending hours reading on here, but to me its a real pleasure, I have learned a lot and hopefully have prevented a lot of trial and error mistakes most first time 24/7 wood burners make.
Glacialhills