New Furnace & Initial Setup Recommendations

[silvaquas]

Hi everyone, first timer here but have been researching for a bit. Need some help…

I have a ~3000 sq. ft. home in the snow belt of Ohio. Temps can get well below the 30s most of the winter and we see single digits pretty regularly here.

My house is 100% electric. I have a wood burning fireplace in an open area of the house, but I know it’s not going to be near enough to keep things warm without that costly electric heat pump being needed. Hence, I’d like to pull the trigger on a wood furnace setup so I can avoid that electric heat as much as possible.

If anyone can provide some insight on my thinking below or simply drop advice, that would be extremely helpful.

Furnace: I’ve been looking at the Drolet Heatpro, but could use thoughts and opinions here…

Venting: I don’t have a chimney within the basement. Best recommendation on venting to the outside and drafting? My initial plan was to run a lined ~45º out of the house and then up against the side of my current brick chimney… For ventilation throughout the house, my family is in the HVAC business, so I can tie into the duct work for my electric furnace pretty easily, but is there anything I should be aware of here as well?

Wood: I’ve been starting to store wood that’s been seasoned for ~1 year. I currently have ~3 cords (Yeah, I know, I know. Pick up the pace buddy…). Any ballpark numbers on what I should shoot for gathering? Is 1 year of seasoning enough? Also - thoughts on eco-bricks?

Apologies for the heap of beginner questions. Excited to get started but want to learn as much as I can. Thanks in advance!

 

[Jgib4]

I was in a similar situation as you when we moved in to our house. All electric heat and high bills. We put in a fire chief 450 multi fuel and it has served well. I had to burn in seasoned wood first two years because that’s all we had, so I burned it hot and cleaned the chimney twice during the season.
Depending on what part of Ohio you are in a multi fuel unit could serve you well, only if soft coal is close to you. It burns similar to wood and can Be mixed. I wasn’t aware of this when we purchased ours, and the nearest soft coal is a 2 hour drive one way.
I plan on trying the eco bricks myself this year. From what I have read it helps when burning in seasoned wood. So wouldn’t be a bad thing to get some.
As far as how much wood. Completely depends on how cold it gets, House size and insulation and how hot you burn it. It seems like these new epa stoves burn longer then some of the older ones. I went through I think 3 cords of wood and 1.5 tons of coal last year. My house is about 2000 sq feet of finished space but is not insulated well, built in the 60s.

 

[brenndatomu]

Howdy!
The Heatpro should do a good job for you...I'd want a minimum of 5 cords per year ready to go if I were you...and 1 year is seldom enough on all but the softwoods (pine, poplar, maybe soft maple, etc) most woods need 2 years, Oak needs 3 yrs...and this time doesn't start until the log has been cut, split, and stacked (CSS) either.
You can supplement with ECO bricks, but most people don't like to use them exclusively...better to mix in with firewood.
As far as the chimney, put up a class A chimney. If you can, straight up through the house is best, if that won't work then get a "through the wall kit" (or maybe you can just go through the masonry wall and don't need the kit?) and go up the outside wall. Menards has about the best prices on class A chimney, they sell Supervent and it is a great deal, especially when it goes on sale or they have the 11% rebate on everything (sometimes in the fall they do both!)
I'd buy the Heatpro there too...that's about as cheap as you can find them.
https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...94.htm?Spec_InnerDiameter_facet=6+inch&ipp=36

 

[silvaquas]

Howdy!
The Heatpro should do a good job for you...I'd want a minimum of 5 cords per year ready to go if I were you...and 1 year is seldom enough on all but the softwoods (pine, poplar, maybe soft maple, etc) most woods need 2 years, Oak needs 3 yrs...and this time doesn't start until the log has been cut, split, and stacked (CSS) either.
You can supplement with ECO bricks, but most people don't like to use them exclusively...better to mix in with firewood.
As far as the chimney, put up a class A chimney. If you can, straight up through the house is best, if that won't work then get a "through the wall kit" (or maybe you can just go through the masonry wall and don't need the kit?) and go up the outside wall. Menards has about the best prices on class A chimney, they sell Supervent and it is a great deal, especially when it goes on sale or they have the 11% rebate on everything (sometimes in the fall they do both!)
I'd buy the Heatpro there too...that's about as cheap as you can find them.
https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...94.htm?Spec_InnerDiameter_facet=6+inch&ipp=36

Thanks! That's really helpful.

Think my two largest problems right now getting into this is getting the furnace through a normal sized-door and venting the chimney. I have a wood burning fireplace I could vent up through underneath (unfortunately it starts on the first floor, there's no chimney in the basement - is this a bad idea?) or I'd have to cut a 45º through the masonry with the through wall kit and up the outside wall - which I could run up against the chimney so it's not too unsightly...

 

[brenndatomu]

Thanks! That's really helpful.

Think my two largest problems right now getting into this is getting the furnace through a normal sized-door and venting the chimney. I have a wood burning fireplace I could vent up through underneath (unfortunately it starts on the first floor, there's no chimney in the basement - is this a bad idea?) or I'd have to cut a 45º through the masonry .

Cut through at a 45?
Why would it not go through the door? A 30" door is pretty standard...its only 29 13/16" wide
http://sbiweb.blob.core.windows.net/media/1458/df03000_heatpro.pdf

 

[silvaquas]

Cut through at a 45?
Why would it not go through the door? A 30" door is pretty standard...its only 29 13/16" wide
http://sbiweb.blob.core.windows.net/media/1458/df03000_heatpro.pdf

Sorry, should have clarified. My basement door has some wide moulding trim on it that I'm going to have to take off and nail back up, most likely. Not a big deal though.

Since I'm not able to vent straight-up, I was thinking of cutting through the masonry at a 45º angle (might have to be 90º, then another 90º, though) then up against the side of the house. That said, the installation guide lists that as being an inferior setup...

 

[brenndatomu]

Sorry, should have clarified. My basement door has some wide moulding trim on it that I'm going to have to take off and nail back up, most likely. Not a big deal though.

Since I'm not able to vent straight-up, I was thinking of cutting through the masonry at a 45º angle (might have to be 90º, then another 90º, though) then up against the side of the house. That said, the installation guide lists that as being an inferior setup...

Outside class A chimney works fine if everything else is proper...its just that indoor is better.
And yes, you will have to drill straight through the wall at 90*. There are no fittings/brackets to do it any other way.