New to wood burning, looking to install in a new home

[TheBorgCollective]

Hi all!

I'm looking to install a gas furnace, but I'd also really like to have a wood furnace add on, hence the thread
Or if it would work better, a combination furnace of gas and wood? I haven't looked into the combination furnaces, but any recommendations would be wonderful!

To give a little context, it's a basic rambler style home with an unfinished basement and electric baseboards for heat. I also live in North Dakota, so it gets quite cold in the winter and electric heat, while technically efficient, is extremely expensive...

Now while I've never done it, I think it would be rather simple to run the duct work since there's nothing impeding it at this time. I'd like to do as much myself as I can, but I know wiring I would probably leave up to a contractor.. I'd also have to really look into where the exhaust pipe would go.
I'm assuming this is usually run outside the side of the house immediately, rather than up through the floor and through the ceiling?
Do you surround the pipe outside with siding to match the house, or brick, or something else entirely?
I guess if I wanted to add a fireplace or something, this would also need to be considered.

For the incoming air, does it need to come directly from outside, or can I recirculate it?
If I were to get two separate units, I've read that the fan for wood furnaces are less powerful than gas/electric, is this true?
How does this affect heating when using more than one?

Really looking for pros/cons of the separate units vs the combination units as well as some general questions. Thanks!

 

[Karl_northwind]

Call a local heating company for a quote on a gas furnace installation, and ask them to quote installing a Kuuma wood furnace with it. I don't sell them, but the couple I've installed have been really nice pieces of equipment.

I don't think there is a combi unit around.

 

[andym]

Is the wood option intended to serve as the primary heat source? If not, you may be better off just installing a wood stove.

I am still wrapping up my diy wood furnace install. I had no experience with rectangular metal ductwork, but it was not too difficult. Having separate ductwork for the wood furnace is ideal if you have the room.
Currently your 2 options for new wood furnaces are the tried and proven Kuuma and the recently released Drolet Heat Commander. Both are wood only.
The best route for the chimney is thru the roof. I've got mine through the wall. While it works fine for me, cold starts are much harder.
Spend time on here researching wood furnaces. Pay attention to all references concerning dry wood. This is a must have. Being new to wood burning may actually be to your advantage. Old habits are often not good ones!

 

[RockyMtnGriz]

If you get a LOT of snow on your roof, try to figure a way to have your stovepipe located so that it is close to the peak of your roof. Same advice goes for anything that penetrates the roof, actually.