May give up on dutch west 264 first post kinda long.

[northeast puller]

Hi I am a new member but have been reading for 2 years and you folks have helped more then you know. I have been burning wood now some 20 years. This is my problem. Do to job changes I now own and operate A true value hard ware store. I am not home 14 hours a day 6 day’s a week. I have a Dutch west 264 cat stove in a lime stone basement heating old two family farm house at 3000 + square feet. Any rework in the house has been insulated as much as possible over the last 20 years. I am thinking on giving up the wood and going to pellets. I have a classic Bay 1200 Quid that I use .It keeps the one family toasty at 1 bag a day. I get class 3 creosote that I can not keep to a manageable thing with my wood stove. Hear are the facts. 37 foot outside block brick face with 8x10 clay liner with 8" thimble in basement new 20 years a go and in good shape. Problem # 1 cleanout door is above the stove out let creating a cold spot in chimney. Problem # 2 can not keep stack temp up when not home to curb hard shell creosote build up and keep house warm. I have 6 full cords of 3 year old split oak, ash and walnut wood and never burn less then 3 years old. From this forum I have learned the stove pipe should be further in to the chimney not just in the thimble’s I have bought a stove pipe thermometer and have it up 18" from the stove top on 6" signal wall pipe. When stove temp reaches 500 I in gage the cat (stove top thermo above cat )The stack at start up will get to 400 after that I chicken out and back it down .when stove cat is up and kicking it is at 1000 to 1500 and stack from 250 to 325. I do ad the stove granules every other burn. If I do not remove and clean pipe and fist 2 foot of chimney after every 5th or 6 burn I get the hard shell glassy build up. I can not even think about burning stove every day for safety reason as the fire does not stay long enough to maintain stack temp and gums up even more. I know an insulated liner would help a lot. However I do not think I could sweep it with the bend it would need from the stove at a T. This house is cable of using 1400 gallons of oil with out the wood stove and pellet stove at 62 in the house which is not that warm as I get older. The misses is afraid of the stove and has had bad experience loading when she gets home from work so that is not an option’s have looked some what in to a in door wood boiler but may still have all of the same above trouble. An out side boiler wood be the ticket but getting the lines threw the 2 foot thick lime stone basement would be big challenge. My free endless wood supply will come to and soon as the people who own it have it for sale. To be frank with the store and only 1 day off it would be tough keeping a good wood supply. I am thinking instead of $1800 for a good liner may be find a large pellet it stove off C list for the basement making a hood to attaché to my 2 8" ducts from the floor that go to my wood stove now. Putting a pellet stove in the living space is not an option do to poor floor plan and no room big enough with wall space. As A wood pellet dealer I can buy pellets cheaper then most people . Maybe I should just man up and by the Harmon p105 pellet boiler that does my hot water and all and kiss oil good by. So I know this is long but what would you folks do in this case. I am out of cost effective ways to stay with wood unless I am missing some thing burning wood. Thanks, Northeast puller.

 

[jtb51b]

Have you considered a wood furnace? One with a powered draft inducer might just be the ticket for you.. Only problem is you dwindling wood supply, that will make any wood appliance tough.. I am not too familiar with pellets but as an owner of a hardware store you might be able to buy a bit cheaper than others. If that is the case I would do the math and decide from there, I probably would only buy one from CL if it was the exact size I needed as your looking for something that will do the job and be easy for everyone else to run while your not able to be there. Anyhow, good luck just some thoughts.

Jason

 

[poppymike]

DO you buy or cut your wood? You can't cut pellets and there what 3.50 to 4+$ a bag, I paid $3.87 this year
I only say this because I have a pellet stove and I burn around 2 tons a season + the heat pump at times.
My father has a outside wood furnace--no smoke(in the house just neighborhood) no dust or flue fire to fret about
And I think it will burn for days,he also heats his water with it.

 

[northeast puller]

poppymike , No right now my wood is free. But the place that they let Me clean up dead and blow downs is for sale. So when that happens I will be buying or scrounging wood.I know the out door boiler is the ticket however the town do gooders have made ordinance's a gaisnt them and I do not meat the acre limit to have one.The basement is lime stone and 2 feet thick. Getting the lines in it would be a PITA or may destroy more then I gain doing it.If I haft to buy wood it might as well be the ease of pellets.I am a True Value store owner and sell pellets . So I would not be paying retail on them. My pick up and Goose neck trailer can hold 6 ton legal and 8 tones if I wanted to push it.I have a new pellet mill that opened last year 12 miles from the house. So this is starting to be looking like the best option. Now the question what stove free standing or go all out to the Harmon P105 hot water boiler and be finished hoping for heat and hot water one and for all.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Sounds like you have a decent heat load and don't have time to deal with getting or burning wood? With dealer pricing on locally produced pellets, that pellet boiler sounds attractive. I would consider the same thing if I didn't enjoy firewood production and the independence that comes with it. The guys in the boiler room are probably better to ask about central heat options.