Need replacement furnace. Pellet/corn option preferred.

[Sunshyn]

We have a 30 year old oil/wood/coal furnace on forced air, and the number of times it wouldn't work this last winter was ridiculous. We've got a little money set aside for replacement or repairs but things are very tight with probable longterm layoffs in my husband's field. I dread the idea of spending it on more repairs which probably won't help much anyway when it'll obviously be needed toward a replacement very soon. While looking into possible solutions, I found out that they have pellet/corn furnaces with thermostat controls. I love the idea! Currently my husband is the only one who is able to go up and down the basement stairs the many times required to start and continue running the coal and wood. It sounds like I could manage to run a pellet/corn furnace even for a long weekend if left home alone.

However, I just ran into a glitch in that idea. It sounds like these biomass burners are very much not recommended as the only central heat source. My husband also quite the DIYer, and we're rarely gone more than the occasional weekend in the winter. We have a generator as well as a fireplace with sturdy (as in old castiron with no moving parts) wood burner insert so emergency backups aren't the issue. Yet, I'm concerned about problems mentioned here and there about insurance coverage and the like (mortgage is paid off). Even if it wasn't on its last legs, there is no way we can keep the old hulking furnace and fit in an additional stove. I haven't had luck finding combination units and wanted to know if they exist at all (and if not, why the heck not?!). Can anyone provide any suggestions on possible ways we could go with this?

I would greatly appreciate any recommendations or advice you could give.

 

[harttj]

Hello and welcome.

A pellet/corn burner may be a good alternative. I think having a backup appliance is a must though as sometimes problems do arise. May want to check out iburncorn.com if your interested in an appliance to burn corn. Properly sized and setup and quality unit it will require less work than coal/chunk wood.

I've been very happy with mine. I do use the backup propane boiler in the early Fall, late Spring (probably turn the corn boiler off on Friday) and have it set to automatically fire if the temperature drops in the corn boiler.

Storage and supply is the biggest problem with corn. Being that you are in CT, I don't know how local Farm Co-ops are to you. Currently corn here is $111/ton bulk making it very favorable.

Tim

 

[Sunshyn]

Thank you harttj. I'd actually included corn in the description because most of those seem much more versatile in what it can burn and area it can heat. I wasn't sure about corn vs cherry pits or wood pellets. Is corn also more difficult to store than pellets?

A St Croix dealer just told us that no US pellet burner was capable of heating an entire house. However, another dealer seems to think the MagnuM 7500 would be a great option for our house (though I just ran across a mention that its discontinued?). Unfortunately, without a central heat backup, it sounds like we may have to find another alternative.

We did just hear back that natural gas is available on our street. It may not be affordable to install because we are set far back from the road, but if we could do it, the running costs seem to be comparable and no backup would be required. I'd just had my heart set on a pellet stove.

 

[Como]

Our local Rec Center is heated by a 600,000 btu pellet boiler. Fully automatic. Me thinks the dealer does not know very much.

Natural Gas is likely to be a cheaper option.

 

[sinnian]

Give Mark Norwood a call (207-807-6570). He is in Maine, but can certainly help you out. Traeger/Pinnacle have several pellet/corn furnace models from 70K BTU's / hour (2000 sq. ft) to 130k BTU's / hour (4000 sq. ft) for residential uses.

While having a back up system is optimal, it is not necessary, unless your insurance company mandates it.

I have the boiler version and have been satisfied. I can't say enough about Mark and his customer service. Calling and getting more information doesn't cost a thing.

Here is his site: http://www.evergreenheat.com/pelletsolutions.htm#ModelGBU070

Good Luck ~ Jeff

 

[Sunshyn]

I hadn't seen the Traeger before. We're still waiting on a quote for getting natural gas to the house. Unfortunately, it looks like they'd also have to dig up the street so I have a sinking feeling that just being able to get it here will double the cost of this entire endeavor. If so, we'll probably end up going with a pellet furnace.
Our insurance would allow the pellet stove as long as its professionally installed. Finding a dealer of the model we decide on who can do the installation may be difficult. I know the MagnuM dealer is in MA without a CT install license. Half the pellet stove places we tried never even returned our call. Some seem to be out of business.

I'm learning a great deal with all this. In addition to studying pellets and gas, I also heard about heat pumps. Now my husband is stuck on the idea of getting one no matter what. He's been after me for central AC for years as it is, but it seems to me that it would add central heating backup to a point. He would like everything to be installed together, but that'll depend on how much this will all cost.

 

[sinnian]

You can still purchase a Traeger/Pinnacle through Mark, and have a certified solid fuel installer from Ct. put it in. He may even know someone in Ct ~ I don't know.

You keep going back and forth using the term furnace, then pellet stove. Just to be clear, the ONLY thing they have in common is that they burn pellets. Just be careful when you are talking to a dealer that you mean furnace.

Heat pumps are great, but the best way is to put them in when the house is being built. They are more costly too.

 

[Sunshyn]

Sorry. I seem to be having the best luck finding info on pellet stoves rather than strictly looking for pellet furnaces.

It seems like the best time to install a furnace and natural gas would also be when the house is being built. My husband wants to get a heat pump now because he says its best to get it installed at the same time as the new furnace. He's been pretty insistent about using the money he inherited from his mother toward central AC. Overall, I'd prefer a heat pump to that since it seems more useful. However, I hadn't realized it would be much more work than the central AC install.

 

[sinnian]

I don't want to sound like a financial planner or nosy, but with impending lay-offs....... central AC sounds like a bad idea ($), and heat pumps can be extremely expensive ($15k and up last time I checked). Have you thought about a whole house fan for cooling? Gets installed on top floor ceiling, sucks the warm air out!

 

[Sunshyn]

He is laid off with no planned work coming through his union right now. That's why I managed to talk him out of getting the AC last summer. But the furnace has been having trouble. It had a huge increase in downtime this past winter. After it stopped working during the coldsnap the other weekend, we found out that its 30 years old rather than the 20 we were thinking. There's no doubt it needs to be replaced. I doubt I can deal with another winter like that, especially since he won't have the kind of time he spent on it this winter when he's working again.
He's got it in his head that if we are getting the furnace installed anyway, we should get the other work done at the same time.

I've always thought AC in CT is frivolous, but the only time hot weather really bothers me is a few very muggy days each summer. He, OTOH, has never been able to stand hot weather (hence the main reason we haven't moved out of CT). He did put in one of those fans years ago. It obviously isn't nearly enough for him. He's been bugging me for central AC for years. Then I ran across the heat pump info and asked him about it. It hadn't been something he'd considered before. Now he thinks that would be a great compromise since they are supposed to save on both heating and cooling bills. However, it didn't sound like it would 15k. He was assuming closer to what the AC would cost so he'll probably drop the idea once he gets actual quotes in.


Oh, he just mentioned he wasn't planning on cooling the 2nd floor. So maybe that's one reason he thought we could afford it. There are mentions that heat pump prices depend a great deal on the area one wants to heat/cool. We don't use the 2nd floor much so even the small heaters we have up there are rarely used.

 

[jeff_t]

I had a LDJ 165k furnace that heated my not so well insulated 1500 sq ft ranch very well. Even on windy sub zero days it performed superbly. When we moved, corn prices were high, and I have an ample supply of dead ash trees, so I sold the corn furnace.

iburncorn.com is an excellent resource, just like here.

 

[Sunshyn]

Just an update;
After 2 weeks of waiting while researching natural gas options (as well as appointments with various gas furnace installers) the gas company finally got back to us late today with an unofficial quote of $9000 just to run the line to the house. The entire furnace WITH heat pump and installation has been being quoted at that and less!

I'm back to researching other options. Good thing its not something we need before the cold weather starts again.