Looking for wood furnace suggestions

[Skibender]

Hello all,
I'm putting together the final design plans on a home my wife and I will be building this year. I've been reading this forum for awhile now and I'm looking for suggestions on which wood furnace I should consider. It will be approx. 1950 sq. foot ranch in SE Wisconsin. I'm planning on the home to be well insulated. Considering using the spay in foam in wall cavities. The wood furnace will be paired with a NG furnace and be located in a walk-out basement. I have burned wood in the past so I have experience with units that are not as efficient as today's models.
I don't want to create an argument of which stove is the best. Just looking for opinions. I will be using well seasoned wood. I already have 10 cords cut, split and stacked. The land was vacant and had many trees already down so I took care of them last fall. Unfortunately, my builder suggested that a group of oak trees towards the front of my property look like they are showing signs of oak wilt. If so, I might be cutting those trees down. One of the main items on my wish list is ease of use once the stove is fired up. It seems as though some stoves require a little extra babysitting after re-stoking. I would like to reload and move on to other tasks. I'm sure I'll have alot more questions as I usually over-analyze major purchases - lol. Looking forward to hearing some opinions. Thank you in advance.

 

[BadgerBoilerMN]

Change furnace to boiler and then you'll have something.

 

[lindnova]

My Heatmor 200 needs filling 2 times a day and clean ash once a week. Pretty easy. Still, sometimes there are hiccups, but most are self inflicted.

The only options now are the epa models or a "coal" model. The Heatmor has been good to me and is going on year 9. Dealer support is very important also. My dealer closed a year after I bought mine and now the nearest one is 200 miles away. Luckily I have not needed dealer support yet. Portage and Main or Heatmaster are supposed to be good also. Central Boilers are very popular around me, but I am not sold on them being as well built as some of the others.

I have spent more time tinkering with the heat exchangers, mixing valves and plumbing inside to fine-tune my system, but generally it is pretty simple to use.

10 cords is a good start. You likely will go through at least that much every year. I spend a lot of time cutting wood. Lately I have gotten bigger saws and gain efficiency in methods to harvest the wood which has saved me a lot of time compared to where I started with a MS260 only.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

It seems as though some stoves require a little extra babysitting after re-stoking. I would like to reload and move on to other tasks.

The Kuuma is a true load and go. It doesn't get easier.

 

[brenndatomu]

Depends what your budget is...Drolet Tundras are easy to run mid size wood furnace...if you want something bigger the Drolet Heatpro. You can also buy a little better version of the same furnaces called PSG Caddy and Max Caddy respectively.
FYI, if you go Tundra...get one made in the last 2-3 months, there has been issues with some of the earlier ones.
Drolet and PSG both (same parent company, SBI) have top notch customer service. About the only better CS out there would be maybe Kuumas. (broken link removed)

 

[Skibender]

Thanks for the great feedback so far. I'm thinking wood furnace and not a boiler mostly because I would still need duct work for air conditioning. I'm fairly open on the budget as long as it meets my needs. I've looked at the Kuuma's website and some of the threads on this site. Look like nice units but if there are better priced options then I will consider them. I also looked up the Drolet tundra and max Caddy. Seems like the Drolet Tundra is cheaper than the Caddy. Is the cost difference because the Caddy is a better built unit? How does the Drolet Tundra stack-up against the Englander?

 

[STIHLY DAN]

IMHO the tundra beats the Englander, the caddy beats the tundra, and the kuuma beats the caddy. Price also falls in line with each. Its 11 below with 30 mph winds right now and the 2,800 sq ft house is 74* everywhere. All I did was open the door put wood in and go upstairs.

 

[dogwood]

Skilbender, do yourself a favor and get yourself a more efficient gasifier, even if it costs more. You'll never regret it. The technology is better. No smoke, creosote is burned, and your wood goes a lot further. I bet those ten cords would last a good deal longer than a year with a Kuuma. I have a boiler myself, a Tarm Solo Innova. I could never go back to a regular wood furnace or stove now that I'm spoiled by it.

Granted Virginia is warmer than Wisconsin (although it's going down to 7 degrees tonight), but on the coldest days I only load twice a day, and have only burned 2-3 cords of oak, locust and cedar this mild winter thus far. I'm heating three thousand square feet with high ceilings. I would have liked a Kuuma to go along with our forced hot air system, but the layout of our home, having no basement, and having to rework the ductwork and relocate the LP furnace took us in another direction.

Mike

 

[lexybird]

Depends what your climate and other goals are . I have a max caddy . It's a high tech EPA unit and has a very large firebox for long clean burns and more heating capability .mine has been wonderful and a joy to own and I wouldn't trade it for any furnace on the market and I have owned several other units over the years . I heat a 2,000 sq foot split level in northern pa. Love the giant viewing window the quality construction the auto air setting and variable fan speed control. It allows for ability to run an electric heating unit option domestic hot water option and fuel oil burner options .technology with versatility ...In my opinion bigger is better and this one really stands out in the pack of new EPA units ,mine has proved to be a great investment for me

 

[StihlKicking]

Thanks for the great feedback so far. I'm thinking wood furnace and not a boiler mostly because I would still need duct work for air conditioning. I'm fairly open on the budget as long as it meets my needs. I've looked at the Kuuma's website and some of the threads on this site. Look like nice units but if there are better priced options then I will consider them. I also looked up the Drolet tundra and max Caddy. Seems like the Drolet Tundra is cheaper than the Caddy. Is the cost difference because the Caddy is a better built unit? How does the Drolet Tundra stack-up against the Englander?

Boilers can heat you home through your central duct work with a water to air heat exchanger. This is what I use. Love my boiler, it also heats my domestic hot water. Like the guy said above. "Get a boiler then you will have something."

 

[Skibender]

You guys are giving me lots of options. I like the varied responses. Question for Lexybird or any other Caddy owner - is there much futzing around with the unit once you reload over a hot bed of coals? That seems to be a selling point for the Kuuma. Just wondering about the Caddy. I want a solid unit that will last many years but not looking for a unit that needs me to monitor it 20 minutes + after a re-stoke. Thanks again.

 

[brenndatomu]

Full disclosure, I have a Tundra, and that's one reason I suggested the Tundra/Caddy and the Heatpro/Max Caddy...so easy to run and clean burning. Just to be clear, the Tundra and Caddys are the same mid sized firebox...and the the Heatpro and Max Caddys are the same larger firebox...some relatively small differences (in the big picture) in the 2 lines...and the Caddys are bought through a dealer network, the other 2 are big box store lines for the most part, and about half the price (on sale) of the Caddys.
I'll let Lexybird speak for himself on the Max.
You mentioned the Englander earlier, that is a fine heater but it is not automated at all...and it will require more "futzing" than the others...also not gonna be as clean of a burner (more chimney cleaning)

 

[laynes69]

I have a Caddy. It all depends on the weather. If the house drops below the setpoint on the thermostat, and the damper is open you could load and go. Otherwise, I would advise to open the damper, load and within 10 to 20 minutes depending on the coalbed set the thermostat and be done. It's far better than a manually operated furnace. If you want load and go, then the Kuuma would be it, but is it worth a couple thousand extra....that's up to you? We have a large victorian home (2500 sqft living and 1200 sqft basement). Last night it was °0F and we kept our house at 72° for 9.5 hours before reloading. That was with a 2.5-3 cuft load of locust. A new home well insulated would do far better.

 

[lost in the woods]

You mentioned the Englander earlier, that is a fine heater but it is not automated at all...and it will require more "futzing" than the others...also not gonna be as clean of a burner (more chimney cleaning)

I have the ''summers heat'' add-on wood furnace (I think same as 'Englander') and yes you will be goofing around putting wood on the fire several times a day and also when you get up to pee in the middle of the night. . . HOWEVER I am very impressed with the lack of creosote!! I ran all new duratech doublewall stovepipe and chimney pipe. . . I would def. recommend that , but it is way more costly than laying up a masonry block chimney. Overall, I am really glad we went with the add-on furnace and piped the hot air into our existing ductwork. The only downside to my set-up is that with this unit you have to babysit the fire throughout the day and night. It works fine for us though because my wife is a stay at home mom so she's always home to tend the fire

 

[lexybird]

I load and go on a bed of coals but I burn very seasoned wood and I sweep a couple times a year to ensure everything is good to go .a fresh recharge and You may need to open the load door a while till it takes off good but don't think you have to baby sit the thing just because it's not a 6,000$ kumma lol it runs off your digital thermostat and does several things the kumma can't do but I won't get into a peeing match over which is better ..the max caddy also has a large high tech firebox that offers burn times over 12 hours and can heat over 3,000 sq ft . it is Very simple to operate and you set the t stat and let it do its thing it even changes the blower speeds according to duct temperature . Seeing the fire in the large viewing window is a great benefit to me

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Skibender, I was in your exact situation a few years ago. Was sick of being late for work getting the stove to the point it would cruise. Then hurry home so I could work on burning down the coals cause the damper was still on low air from fire up. I was looking for automated stoves. That's when I found the furnace, didn't really care of burn times or quality. Ok I cared about that too, just number one was automated burn. We all have different needs and wants, so do yourself a favor and do your own research on the units too. Some here have great bias advice, some are "I have it so its the best" Others have no clue what they are talking about, don't know there own unit forget about researching and having knowledge of other units. Good luck in your search.

 

[Skibender]

Once again - great feedback. Seems as though the Caddy and Kuuma are both great choices. I will for sure do more research. Another question - I seem to recall reading that I shouldn't consider running a duct into my garage because it could pull c.o. into the house. Is this correct?

 

[brenndatomu]

Yep

 

[brenndatomu]

Was sick of being late for work getting the stove to the point it would cruise.

Truth! Been there in the past

 

[Karl_northwind]

I don't know anything about the caddy, but I've sold a few kuumas and put a couple in, and have heard nothing but good things from my customers. they've also been really easy to deal with on little hiccups.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

I don't know anything about the caddy, but I've sold a few kuumas and put a couple in, and have heard nothing but good things from my customers. they've also been really easy to deal with on little hiccups.

I didn't realize they had dealers, thought they were buy direct. Glad I'm not an installer, wood furnaces are HEAVY.

 

[Karl_northwind]

Not a dealer. I don't think they do have dealers. but I did install some of them last year when there was a rebate program here. they are definitely Heavy. we had to reinforce the stairs before taking it down. I deal with just about anything wood or pellet burning, from little Kuumas up to a 700,000 BTU chip boiler so far.

 

[Highbeam]

I load and go on a bed of coals but I burn very seasoned wood and I sweep a couple times a year to ensure everything is good to go .a fresh recharge and You may need to open the load door a while till it takes off good but don't think you have to baby sit the thing just because it's not a 6,000$ kumma lol it runs off your digital thermostat and does several things the kumma can't do but I won't get into a peeing match over which is better ..the max caddy also has a large high tech firebox that offers burn times over 12 hours and can heat over 3,000 sq ft . it is Very simple to operate and you set the t stat and let it do its thing it even changes the blower speeds according to duct temperature . Seeing the fire in the large viewing window is a great benefit to me

Lexy, your signature still says you have the Englander add-on. I always get confused when you write posts because I imagine that old POS Englander. Hope Englander releases a modern furnace but for now it's not even competitive.

 

[brenndatomu]

Lexy, your signature still says you have the Englander add-on. I always get confused when you write posts because I imagine that old POS Englander. Hope Englander releases a modern furnace but for now it's not even competitive.

Yeah Lex, update your sig man!
I don't think the 28-3500 is around anymore...but hopefully the wife isn't still disgruntled!

 

[lexybird]

Sorry friends I'll get right on that