Help and suggestions requested on wood furnace

[coppermouse]

I have been heating my house with a wood stove for 10 years and I have decided to get a wood furnace. I am tired of the mess in the living room from the bark, sawdust, bugs and ashes. Also I am tired of one really hot rooms and the opposite corner of the house being cold. So here is my plan and questions. Any help suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
First off I am thinking of either a USSC 1557 or a Vogelzang Wood/Coal Model# 2500. Is one significantly better than the other. Any feature(s) on one which are better? Any other brand you might suggest in the $1000 range? The USSC is convenient because I can go pick it up at Tractor supply.

I want to install it in my attached garage. Just on the other side of the wall in the basement is the furnace so I can just run 2 ducts through the wall under the first floor of the house. I know it would be more efficient to put it in the basement, but then I have to haul wood through the house into the basement and still have the mess problem. There is no outside access to the basement and I would have to cart it down the stairs. It would be so easy to fill in the garage. Plus it would keep the garage warm. I would have to use 8" supply and return ducts. Any thoughts on this configuration?

When you connect the furnace to the existing furnace, the units are in parallel. I still have to use the propane furnace bacuse I travel quite a bit and have to keep the house warm when I am out of town.
When they are in parallel how do you prevent one from backfeeding air through the other (ie. When the propane furnace runs the air could flow through the wood furnace to the cold air return? and vice versa. Do you install butterfly valves or something?

Where can I find info on installing the chimney to code? I live near Columbus Ohio. one of the main things is where the chimney exits the roof of the garage, it will be next to the wall of the second story. I need to know clearance for that etc.. There is no room to run the chimney horizontal out the back of the stove and up the side of the house.

How does the thermostat work on those. Does the call for hot air from the thermostat in the house just turn on the forced combustion air blower? Are the internal blowers for warm air circulation controlled by an internal thermostat to cool the plenum to a fixed temp? basically how do I control it?
Thanks in advance.
Tim

 

[elkimmeg]

First of all no solid fuel appliance can be installed in a garage Second of all no return air can come from a garage
Third no un protected duct penetrating can be made in a garage Each penetration would require it to be tied into the fire alarm and a fire supresion system including smoke dampers at the point of breaching the fire protected walls. No inspector in their right mind would issue a permit for such an installation

No solid fuel appliance can be installed in a hazardous area and a garage is considered one

I would rather put up with a little mess , Than compromise so many safety issues

 

[coppermouse]

Well thanks, that pretty much answers that question, I never even thought of that

 

[coppermouse]

If I install it in the basement, how can I find my code requirements?

 

[Eric Johnson]

I've used a wood furnace in a couple of different basements, and it worked pretty well. The wood handling is always an issue. Usually, there's a basement window through which you can toss the wood and then stack it. One nice thing about putting it in the basement is that you get a lot of benefit from the radiant heat, in addition to the hot air going into your system. And, your wood stays nice and dry.

On the one I had (kind of a cheap one; forget the brand), there was a room thermostat that simply turned on the blower when the thermostat called for heat, blowing warm air into the ducts. And then on the side there was a stat that turned on the draft blower to get the fire going when the furnace temp dropped below the setpoint. It was a pretty basic arrangement, but it worked well if you kept wood in the firebox.

If you decide to go the basement route, you'll need access to a Class A chimney not serving any other appliance.

I can't comment on the brands you mentioned, though I'd consider spending a little more if you're serious about it. Furnaces experience many heating and cooling cycles, so good construction and materials are important.

 

[coppermouse]

I am also considering a outside wood burner, any recommendations on those. What is the ballpark cost of those?
Would save me for running a chimney from the basement, it is a 2 story house and that could get pricey, also difficult to run.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Boilers are not for the budget-conscious, especially not if you're trying to do it from scratch. I would say that an OWB, installed (which is to say, all piped into your house) would run a minimum of $7,000 and probably more. If you have a hot air system, you'd have to pipe the hot water to a heat exchanger, which would recover the heat and blow it into your ductwork. One nice thing is that you can get free hot water out of the deal. OWBs burn a lot of wood and produce a lot of smoke.

Insulated stainless steel chimneys are not all that expensive or difficult to run in most cases. At least not compared to installing a boiler.