After learning of Englander's add on wood furnace, I think I want to go that direction instead of a wood insert unless there are major reasons not to that I haven't thought of. One problem is that my second flue is sort of blocked off from access by my electrical panel. Are there any options or ways around moving the electrical panel? Some sort of magic way to get into that second flue via the furnace flue? Wishful thinking, probably. ;D
Insert vs. add on wood furnace and chimney question
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I know! When we rewired the house that was pretty much the only place to put the panel. It might be able to squeeze back into the space where the wall jogs back in from the chimney bump out, but at the time this was done, the old meter was installed there and still hooked up. So I'm screwed, huh?
Not good, even if it could be moved a little, the panel need to be a set distance from the furnace. I don't know the code offhand, but suspect it's at least 36"?
The current furnace could possibly be forced-drafted which would free up it's flue, but you still would need to keep the new wood furnace away from the panel by the code required distance. Well, you still can go with the insert, so all's not lost.
The current furnace could possibly be forced-drafted which would free up it's flue, but you still would need to keep the new wood furnace away from the panel by the code required distance. Well, you still can go with the insert, so all's not lost.
Is the 36" (assuming that is what is code for me) from the wood stove/furnace or the pipe into the flue? Also, what does "forced drafted" mean?
I'm not a code expert here, would have to look that up. But the intent is to have nothing near the panel that would interfere with access or servicing. Will try later to look up the explicit code. Forced draft means that the exhaust from the furnace is connected to a hi-temp blower and it is exhausted out the side of the building.
**I am not an electrician - but I have to study the National Electric Code for my fire alarm license**
OK now i got that out of my system, I pulled out my trusty NEC 2005 handbook and looked this up for you.
Assuming you have 220v in your panel - you must have 3.5ft from the face of your panel to any possibly grounded equipment.
If you want to look it up its article 110.26 in the 2005 NEC book.
Hope that helps.
Devon
OK now i got that out of my system, I pulled out my trusty NEC 2005 handbook and looked this up for you.
Assuming you have 220v in your panel - you must have 3.5ft from the face of your panel to any possibly grounded equipment.
If you want to look it up its article 110.26 in the 2005 NEC book.
Hope that helps.
Devon
Hi,
I have an Eagle/Yukon oil and wood combo furnace in the basement and installed an insert in a fireplace in the main room of the house at the beginning of the season. I will try and give you an idea of the differences between the two. The main area is quite open and I can heat the entire house with only the insert, except in the really cold days. I personally prefer the insert. I like having the stove in the area we spend the most time from an operational perspective and the radiant heat from the stove is unexplainably the most soothing heat. You lose the radiant heat with the basement furnace.
Negatively, moving wood into and storing it in the main room of the house is a little dirty. I would not want carpet. The basement gets just as dirty but does not matter as much. The insert results in a less even heat distribution. There is a bubble of heat emanating from the stove. The back rooms are a good 4-8 degrees cooler than the room the stove is in. The bathrooms are the coldest. As the outside temperature gets colder the spread of the temperature between the back rooms and stove room gets greater. If your house is compartmentalized you will really have trouble distributing the heat. The insert may only effectively heat the room it is located in. I had to install ceiling fans and provide a source of humidity. Two things the furnace already had.
The furnace is easier to operate. I have to manage the air control on the stove. I just put wood in the furnace and that’s it. There is no manual air control. The insert is an EPA certified stove which burns much cleaner and uses less wood than the furnace for the same heat. I have to clean the furnace chimney twice during the heating season and a third time at the end. The insert only needs to be cleaned once after the heating season.
My particular furnace does not do an effective over night burn when there is a lot of heat demand. The fire box is 4+ cu ft but at best has a tiny amount of coals and is dead cold after seven hours. A fire has to be started from scratch. The insert has a large bed of coals and only needs more wood.
I like both the furnace and the insert. For me the insert gets the edge due to location, efficiency, and the radiant heat around the stove.
Dean
I have an Eagle/Yukon oil and wood combo furnace in the basement and installed an insert in a fireplace in the main room of the house at the beginning of the season. I will try and give you an idea of the differences between the two. The main area is quite open and I can heat the entire house with only the insert, except in the really cold days. I personally prefer the insert. I like having the stove in the area we spend the most time from an operational perspective and the radiant heat from the stove is unexplainably the most soothing heat. You lose the radiant heat with the basement furnace.
Negatively, moving wood into and storing it in the main room of the house is a little dirty. I would not want carpet. The basement gets just as dirty but does not matter as much. The insert results in a less even heat distribution. There is a bubble of heat emanating from the stove. The back rooms are a good 4-8 degrees cooler than the room the stove is in. The bathrooms are the coldest. As the outside temperature gets colder the spread of the temperature between the back rooms and stove room gets greater. If your house is compartmentalized you will really have trouble distributing the heat. The insert may only effectively heat the room it is located in. I had to install ceiling fans and provide a source of humidity. Two things the furnace already had.
The furnace is easier to operate. I have to manage the air control on the stove. I just put wood in the furnace and that’s it. There is no manual air control. The insert is an EPA certified stove which burns much cleaner and uses less wood than the furnace for the same heat. I have to clean the furnace chimney twice during the heating season and a third time at the end. The insert only needs to be cleaned once after the heating season.
My particular furnace does not do an effective over night burn when there is a lot of heat demand. The fire box is 4+ cu ft but at best has a tiny amount of coals and is dead cold after seven hours. A fire has to be started from scratch. The insert has a large bed of coals and only needs more wood.
I like both the furnace and the insert. For me the insert gets the edge due to location, efficiency, and the radiant heat around the stove.
Dean
Thanks Devon & Dean.
I measured and I have just over 7' between the edge of the electric panel and the edge of my oil furnace to the right in the picture, so getting a wood furnace in there should be ok. My oil furnace is a Thermopride and according to the manual, it can be power vented and Thermopride sells their own kit for it. I'll have to talk to my oil guy that installed this last year and see what if it is possible to change the venting and how much it would be.
*If* I can do all this, it may end up costing the same as a mid-large sized insert, but I think I'd get better performance out of a wood furnace through the ductwork. My house is a cape cod style. I think I posted the floor plan here a couple of months ago when I started thinking about all of this. It's basically a two story box. 4 rooms on the 1st floor and 3 bedrooms upstairs. I think an insert would heat the downstairs ok because every room has two openings, but upstairs might be difficult.
This is my second winter heating with only oil. Before this I had an old, old Oneida Royal wood/oil furnace which we used mainly with wood. 150 gallons of oil would last two seasons. I'm freezing with this oil furnace because I refuse to turn the thermostat past 64 because I can't afford $3000 a winter for oil. I want my wood back! The old furnace heated the house excellent with wood. Sometimes even too warm. What I wouldn't give for that now... I really think I'd be happier with a wood furnace in the basement. I have a walk-out basement with a garage door off the driveway(not used for a garage--was my soon to be ex-husband's workshop area) so getting wood into the basement couldn't be easier. I have a 3 1/2 year old so an insert and gating an insert off from him is also a concern.
Thank you again Dean for the comparison between the insert and the furnace. If the wood furnace won't work out for me, I will go with an insert. Some warm rooms in my house will be a big improvement over no warm rooms.
I measured and I have just over 7' between the edge of the electric panel and the edge of my oil furnace to the right in the picture, so getting a wood furnace in there should be ok. My oil furnace is a Thermopride and according to the manual, it can be power vented and Thermopride sells their own kit for it. I'll have to talk to my oil guy that installed this last year and see what if it is possible to change the venting and how much it would be.
*If* I can do all this, it may end up costing the same as a mid-large sized insert, but I think I'd get better performance out of a wood furnace through the ductwork. My house is a cape cod style. I think I posted the floor plan here a couple of months ago when I started thinking about all of this. It's basically a two story box. 4 rooms on the 1st floor and 3 bedrooms upstairs. I think an insert would heat the downstairs ok because every room has two openings, but upstairs might be difficult.
This is my second winter heating with only oil. Before this I had an old, old Oneida Royal wood/oil furnace which we used mainly with wood. 150 gallons of oil would last two seasons. I'm freezing with this oil furnace because I refuse to turn the thermostat past 64 because I can't afford $3000 a winter for oil. I want my wood back! The old furnace heated the house excellent with wood. Sometimes even too warm. What I wouldn't give for that now... I really think I'd be happier with a wood furnace in the basement. I have a walk-out basement with a garage door off the driveway(not used for a garage--was my soon to be ex-husband's workshop area) so getting wood into the basement couldn't be easier. I have a 3 1/2 year old so an insert and gating an insert off from him is also a concern.
Thank you again Dean for the comparison between the insert and the furnace. If the wood furnace won't work out for me, I will go with an insert. Some warm rooms in my house will be a big improvement over no warm rooms.
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