Many options now thinking owb

[tjcole50]

So far you guys have been a huge help! Some of you have commented on several of my posts regarding an updated insert and a proper install with ss liner. My big concern is I am looking at a whole new setup replacing my country comfort insert. Problem is it's going to cost me 3500-4500 once all said and done. Now I have my stove running 24/7 currently and is not doing the job. It holds the house at 66-68 degrees. I know the layout of my house does not help. But it is a 1700 sq ft A- frame that is completely open to dining/kitchen/loft I do have ceiling fans that help for a slight gain but max is 68 degrees . My fiancé is really liking the idea of an owb but we both love our indoor fires. I have access to 17 acres of woods right behind me which has tons of downed trees from storms. A lot is to dirty to burn in the house but is not to the point that an owb couldn't handle it. (Neighbor has one and burns it all). Sorry for the rambeling but basically the small central boiler unit would not be much more $ it seems. Does anyone think/know that a new stove , block off plate , and proper install will push my main living space into the mid 70 degree range with outside temps hitting 10-25 degrees? Also house was build in 76 and has new windows and just put in new front door myself that's tighter than a snare drum! Thanks again for advice and apologize for grammar.

 

[Beer Belly]

What type of wood ???...properly seasoned ???....what are your stove top temps ???.....

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

OWB cost can jump up pretty quick once you figure in pumps, tubing, heat exchanger/exchangers, electricity to run the pump/pumps, and the fact that they tend to be quite a bit less wood miserly. I have a couple friends that heat with them and I was considering putting one in but decided against it. One of them has already burnt more than twice the wood that I have and he's heating about 2/3 the space that I am. That said, they both love theirs.

 

[oldspark]

So your house is as good as it gets?
Money spent on the house pay off no matter how you heat it.

 

[brenndatomu]

Problem is it's going to cost me 3500-4500 once all said and done.

$3500-4500 is a good down payment on a OWB, another $10 Gs will get you the rest of the system

 

[begreen]

Moved to the boiler room so that you can chat with the experts.

 

[maple1]

What do you have for a heating system now, besides the stoves?

 

[tjcole50]

Propane furnace currently. Yes there is much more cost the more I pay attention. I had about 2 cord of oak/hickory but burning 1 year old ash currently I do think my oak and hickory were not given proper time I cut and split that early summer. But those still seems ed alittle heavier than properly seasoned. Good news is I stumbled upon a stove dealer just tonight and he had a buck 94nc on display and the firebox is comparable to current setup but the buck has much more height Inside. I'm really torn but for 3/4 less money the buck is looking mighty tempting. Last night I got a full day/night burn with the well seasoned ash and I finally hit 72 degrees. Also that's coming from a stove that has been abused by previous owners and is also not installed properly( direct connect dumping into 13x13 clay about 10 ft up). Never been this back and forth with a purchase but this is a very important and expensive decision. I appreciate everyone's efforts and understanding of my chaos posts !

 

[BoilerMan]

Honestly I'd tell ya if you can't get 1700 square feet above 68 degrees in 10-20 degree weather, there is something wrong. When it's above zero I'm still into shoulder season wood. and I'm heating almost twice the footage you are. If you do get an OWB be ready for 10+ cord/year if your lucky.

TS

 

[tjcole50]

Honestly I'd tell ya if you can't get 1700 square feet above 68 degrees in 10-20 degree weather, there is something wrong. When it's above zero I'm still into shoulder season wood. and I'm heating almost twice the footage you are. If you do get an OWB be ready for 10+ cord/year if your lucky.

TS

I agree man. A lot is us burning the wood I split too early. But our stove has some broken parts and I had to make an eBay blower work on our current setup. The cat is shot and baffle is warped and beginning to break on the right side. I feel we should heat far above 68 degrees even when our temps hit single digits and below zero. Our house has cathedral ceilings but I feel the stove location is perfect being dead center of the a-frame on an exterior wall. I got to see the buck 94nc today in person and I like it a lot. My fiancé wants nothing to do with a cat stove so I'm still debating that. I know that I will benefit greatly from a new stove /block off/insulation and liner! Just exploring options and the more I learn about owb the less I'm intrigued

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

If the cat's shot and the baffle's warped and cracked that thing is not going to heat up to par. I was stove shopping last year and was dead set on an OWB so I could heat my house along with my garage and part of my shed......then....I started adding things up and the price got to about the 15k mark with tubing, pumps, exchangers, etc and then my buddy tells me with his OWB he burns about 12-13 cords a year to heat a house smaller than mine and a garage smaller than mine not to mention I'll be heating a third building. I decided nah, not for me. I spent $2800 on a new stove and I'm a happy camper. I'm moving my old corn/pellet stove to the garage and my garage stove to the man cave in the machine shed....all good, and I'm laughing all the way to the bank with $12k less spent up front and god knows what I saved in the long run not running and replacing umpteen pumps and god knows what else that controls the stupid OWB....

Then you get into power outages....gotta have a generator to run the pumps at the boiler and the pumps at the house and the fan in the furnace.....


Sorry, I'm done rambling.

 

[tjcole50]

If the cat's shot and the baffle's warped and cracked that thing is not going to heat up to par. I was stove shopping last year and was dead set on an OWB so I could heat my house along with my garage and part of my shed......then....I started adding things up and the price got to about the 15k mark with tubing, pumps, exchangers, etc and then my buddy tells me with his OWB he burns about 12-13 cords a year to heat a house smaller than mine and a garage smaller than mine not to mention I'll be heating a third building. I decided nah, not for me. I spent $2800 on a new stove and I'm a happy camper. I'm moving my old corn/pellet stove to the garage and my garage stove to the man cave in the machine shed....all good, and I'm laughing all the way to the bank with $12k less spent up front and god knows what I saved in the long run not running and replacing umpteen pumps and god knows what else that controls the stupid OWB....

Then you get into power outages....gotta have a generator to run the pumps at the boiler and the pumps at the house and the fan in the furnace.....


Sorry, I'm done rambling.

And that's the conclusion I have been coming to. Any comment on buck 91 cat vs 94nc no cat? I kinda like the idea of simple stove feed let it go rather than extra care and parts of a cat stove

 

[brenndatomu]

Probably would get more info on the buck if you started a thread about it in the stove forum...