Hi all,
I've been a long-time reader and am thankful for the information available on the forum. I'm in the middle of making some difficult decisions about whether to continue to burn with our wood furnace or not and am seeking advice from those that know more than I on this. I'll try to keep this concise as possible but I tend to ramble.
First, some background info: Wife and I bought a house with a wood furnace system installed a couple years ago. The house and furnace are about 27 years old. We primarily heat with our propane furnace. Ran the wood furnace maybe half of the time last winter but have not burned this year as I know there are cracks and offsets in the clay tile liner from the house moving and I don't feel safe burning until the liner problem is fixed. I don't have much experience heating with wood and want to make sure its safe, especially with our little ones. I even paid a chimney sweep to come out and inspect and he looked down the chimney very briefly and told me it was fine, but I really don't think it is. I've been looking into stainless liners, specifically heavy wall flex liners to be able to navigate the shifts in the clay tiles. This is a two story chimney almost in the middle of the house. I measured and believe the clay liner is 7 by 11 inside diameter. I've attached photos of the furnace and chimney set up for reference.
I've thought through several problems/questions along the way:
1. I am unsure on the flue diameter needed for this furnace. Unfortunately, I don't have any info on the furnace other than knowing it has an 8 inch pipe from the furnace to the chimney. I am assuming this means I need an 8 inch flue up the chimney as well? Or would I be able to use a liner small enough that I could install in the existing 7x11 clay liner? I got to wondering whether the only way to make this setup work would be to remove the clay liner first, which, without knowing much about that process, seems like it would be an absolute nightmare.
2. The wood furnace supply duct is tied in with our propane ducts. We had our propane furnace worked on over the weekend and the repair man suggested having each on their own separate duct system so that its easier on the blowers for each. I don't think this would be too terribly difficult to accomplish, but for those with similar setups, would you advise putting them on two separate ducts or should it be fine as is? One issue, for example, is that I think the damper between the propane supply and wood furnace supply duct is hanging up and causing the propane furnace to get too hot.
3. This isn't a question, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone knows anything at all about this furnace. I've searched and searched online but have never found any information on it at all. Manufactured in 1991 by King Products Division of Martin Industries in Florence, AL. Looks like Martin Industries filed for bankruptcy and was bought in 2003 by Monessen Hearth Systems. Just curious as to whether anyone knows if this should be a decent set up or not. Lack of info available makes it seem like maybe its not a common furnace.
I love the idea of burning with wood. I like cutting firewood, the ability to use as an emergency heat source, and cost savings. But I'm really struggling to determine what to do from here before I invest the time/money into making the setup safe. I'd really appreciate any guidance that can be offered and am happy to provide as much information as needed for clarity.
Thank you!
Travis
I've been a long-time reader and am thankful for the information available on the forum. I'm in the middle of making some difficult decisions about whether to continue to burn with our wood furnace or not and am seeking advice from those that know more than I on this. I'll try to keep this concise as possible but I tend to ramble.
First, some background info: Wife and I bought a house with a wood furnace system installed a couple years ago. The house and furnace are about 27 years old. We primarily heat with our propane furnace. Ran the wood furnace maybe half of the time last winter but have not burned this year as I know there are cracks and offsets in the clay tile liner from the house moving and I don't feel safe burning until the liner problem is fixed. I don't have much experience heating with wood and want to make sure its safe, especially with our little ones. I even paid a chimney sweep to come out and inspect and he looked down the chimney very briefly and told me it was fine, but I really don't think it is. I've been looking into stainless liners, specifically heavy wall flex liners to be able to navigate the shifts in the clay tiles. This is a two story chimney almost in the middle of the house. I measured and believe the clay liner is 7 by 11 inside diameter. I've attached photos of the furnace and chimney set up for reference.
I've thought through several problems/questions along the way:
1. I am unsure on the flue diameter needed for this furnace. Unfortunately, I don't have any info on the furnace other than knowing it has an 8 inch pipe from the furnace to the chimney. I am assuming this means I need an 8 inch flue up the chimney as well? Or would I be able to use a liner small enough that I could install in the existing 7x11 clay liner? I got to wondering whether the only way to make this setup work would be to remove the clay liner first, which, without knowing much about that process, seems like it would be an absolute nightmare.
2. The wood furnace supply duct is tied in with our propane ducts. We had our propane furnace worked on over the weekend and the repair man suggested having each on their own separate duct system so that its easier on the blowers for each. I don't think this would be too terribly difficult to accomplish, but for those with similar setups, would you advise putting them on two separate ducts or should it be fine as is? One issue, for example, is that I think the damper between the propane supply and wood furnace supply duct is hanging up and causing the propane furnace to get too hot.
3. This isn't a question, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone knows anything at all about this furnace. I've searched and searched online but have never found any information on it at all. Manufactured in 1991 by King Products Division of Martin Industries in Florence, AL. Looks like Martin Industries filed for bankruptcy and was bought in 2003 by Monessen Hearth Systems. Just curious as to whether anyone knows if this should be a decent set up or not. Lack of info available makes it seem like maybe its not a common furnace.
I love the idea of burning with wood. I like cutting firewood, the ability to use as an emergency heat source, and cost savings. But I'm really struggling to determine what to do from here before I invest the time/money into making the setup safe. I'd really appreciate any guidance that can be offered and am happy to provide as much information as needed for clarity.
Thank you!
Travis
