Fire Chief OS2200 Add On Furnace?

[jblank288]

Anyone have any experience with a Fire Chief OS2200 outdoor add on wood furnace? Here is a link:

http://www.firechiefwoodfurnace.com/fcos2200.aspx

I have a 1900 sq ft, single level house and 1200 sq ft garage that I would like to heat, both are well insulated. I would be adding to an existing propane forced air furnace. My furnace room is located on an exterior wall and would be easy for running duct from the outside. I am trying to avoid adding on to my furnace room and taking up valuable garage space, hence the choice of an outdoor unit. However, I am not completely against an indoor unit such as a Caddy Add On or other indoor add on.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Anyone have any experience with a Fire Chief OS2200 outdoor add on wood furnace? Here is a link:

http://www.firechiefwoodfurnace.com/fcos2200.aspx

I have a 1900 sq ft, single level house and 1200 sq ft garage that I would like to heat, both are well insulated. I would be adding to an existing propane forced air furnace. My furnace room is located on an exterior wall and would be easy for running duct from the outside. I am trying to avoid adding on to my furnace room and taking up valuable garage space, hence the choice of an outdoor unit. However, I am not completely against an indoor unit such as a Caddy Add On or other indoor add on.

I read through their manual. I looked at the design. I read the warning and view the short warranty.
You can do better.
Having an outdoor warm air furnace looses a ton of heat. Adding a shed that is insulated would be a better choice to house an add-on.

 

[freeburn]

Hey CrappKieth is there a place on the internet besides the Yukon website that a person can see these things? Youtube video or somewhere you can see an actual unit in action?

 

[CrappieKeith]

Not that I know of.....I've been trying to get the owner to sign off on letting me produce something that shows them in full operation in a video.

 

[freeburn]

Do you have one at home? Could you post your own home video or is that a NO-NO too? What's the spin draft on the door for? I know you don't have a window on the door, so how do you know how to burn it?

 

[laynes69]

You would burn much less wood with the caddy. The add-ons are meant to be installed in series, and would take up little room. There are benefits to having a furnace outdoors, but a 11 Cu ft firebox, and burntimes of 6 to 12 hours, you will use alot of wood. Sure the mess is outside, but I would be nervous about burying ductwork and using flex duct like called for in the manual is a no no. I would look into building an enclosure outdoors and going with something else if you need it outside.

 

[johnn]

jblank288,,Ijust stumbled on your thread from the home page,short time back,i did a lot of research on add on furnances,,but no first hand experience,that being saidirechief would not be my first choice,economics aside,, The caddy-add-on by psg from canada is a epa burner,with a window in the door,it comes with some features not featured in other models. Laynes post above has a picture of a usstove 1950 their only epa burner, (i believe),which IS a copy of the psg caddy add-on wood furnace-pf01500, (the very words of their rep,,,not me) pictures are quiet similiar..Undersatnding the need for garage space,,you have the choice to make between wood handling and space..psg has a distributor in Madison, Wis..others i have looked at include Wood chuck,psg, usstove,mp-8 add on,lennox,Englander 28-3500,yukon eagle,if an add on is utilized, look at them also,hope it helps

 

[laynes69]

The 1950 is a Caddy. They were both built by SBI. They were distributed by USStove a couple of years ago. One other thing to add about a caddy, they qualify for the tax credit. That will help with the cost back at tax time.

 

[johnn]

as an after thought,not knowing how your furnace room is incorporated into your garage,,there could be some safety code violations,incorporating wood burners in the garage,,voiding insurance coverages,,check it out

 

[jblank288]

This place is claiming they qualify for the 30% tax credit. True or not? Anybody have any experience?


(broken link removed)

 

[laynes69]

Not. I contacted them. I would hesitate to purchase something from them. There is no way that design could achieve 75% efficiency. Where the tax credit gets you is the company is not responsible if you cannot get the tax credit, to talk with a tax professional. What these companies don't realize for every return filed, they could be fined 1,000 dollars each. So no I highly doubt they qualify.

 

[freeburn]

I think that the safest way to get a furnace that qualifies, is to be able to download and print out a certificate that has the model furnace on it and then verify it with your tax man. Every furnace that I've seen that qualifies, says it in writing on a certificate, not printed on the web somewhere or by someones word. Unfortunately, that's very seldom good enough anymore.

 

[jblank288]

Here is the tax form that they sent me. What a joke.

http://www.cootworld.com/taxform.pdf

 

[freeburn]

That actually looks legitimate. I'm just wondering how that furnace could qualify???

This may or may not give you some assistance. I got it from this website - http://www.hpba.org/government-affairs/issues-legislation


Q: What information should be included in a manufacturer's certification statement?

A: A manufacturer's certification statement must contain the following information:

(1) The name and address of the manufacturer.

(2) Identification of the class of qualified energy property (Biomass-Burning Stove) in which the property is included.

(3) The make, model number, and any other appropriate identifiers of the stove.

(4) A statement that the component is an eligible qualified energy property.

(5) A manufacturer's certification statement must contain a declaration, signed by a person currently authorized to bind the manufacturer in these matters, in the following form: "Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this certification statement, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, the facts are true, correct, and complete."

Q: What should a retailer provide and the customer retain for tax purposes?

A: Retailers and consumers must keep exact records of any sale or purchase. Retailers should provide a consumer with the manufacturer's certification statement for the specific product model purchased. A consumer may rely on a manufacturer's certification statement that their products are qualified energy property. A taxpayer is not required to attach the certification statement to the return on which the credit is claimed. A consumer claiming a credit for qualified energy property should retain the certification statement as part of the taxpayer's records. Manufacturers should make this certification document available to consumers on the web, in the product packaging, or in some other easily accessible manner.

 

[laynes69]

It doesn't matter. If they don't have the efficiency, then its void. I'd hate to get audited if I was lying.

 

[Gooserider]

It doesn't matter. If they don't have the efficiency, then its void. I'd hate to get audited if I was lying.

IANAL, and so forth, but my understanding is that if the stove maker gives you a certificate saying you are eligible, you are covered, no matter what... Obviously Joe Consumer doesn't have a test lab in the toolbox, so the presumption is that he has made a good faith determination that he was eligible based on the manufacturer saying he was... If the certificate was challenged (IMHO unlikely, the IRS doesn't have any test labs either) the problem would fall on the people issuing the certification - who swore the stove was eligible under penalties of perjury and all that...

Gooserider