News on epa 2020 certified combination wood furnaces

[dgwood]

Hi all!

I am new here but have been burning wood for the last decade. Looking into purchasing a new wood furnace for my 1600 sq ft home. As far as I know, there are only 3 new wood furnaces on the market: Drolet heat commander, Caddy advanced (these two owned by same parent company PSG, and Kuuma vapor fire 100. I heard some discussion that Caddy may be coming out with a combination wood/oil furnace for 2023-24 heating season and this sparked my interest. Does anyone have any insight into whether this is true or not? I don't really want have two separate furnace units in my basement and would much prefer a single unit. Besides that it would be complicated to install a wood furnace in series with my existing oil unit.

Appreciate any input on the topic or wood furnaces in general. Thanks

 

[sloeffle]

@SBI_Nick might be able to give you some information. There have been some other threads about this same topic that might have more information.

 

[LogCabinFever]

Nick has been a bit inactive as of late. But I’ll try to answer some questions, since I’ve looked into combination furnaces for about 3-4yrs. Below is the thread on the PSG Caddy

The Caddy Advanced is finally on PSG's site...

Caddy Advanced No sign of the CR model yet though...

www.hearth.com

There is no EPA 2020 certified combination furnace in existence currently in the USA. PSG has been working on the Caddy Advanced CR (Combo Ready) furnace for quite a while (4+yrs since the release of the regular Advanced) and as far as I know, it’s still in development. I’ve been told by multiple sources that they will no longer offer a wood/oil option, since it likely would never pass current EPA standards. They plan to offer wood/electric and wood/propane. From what I gather, it’s been a very rocky road to develop this furnace, and they keep running into issues, and keep pushing the release date. Now they no longer mention release dates. So I would say this: if you’re committed to the combo idea, you’ll have to be patient.

Also, you mention that you can’t put in two furnaces in series. In the US, series installations are not permitted anyways.

Check out the thread and see if it still interests you. My house has a relatively small footprint like yours, and so I understand the interest in just having one furnace.

 

[SBI_Nick]

@SBI_Nick might be able to give you some information. There have been some other threads about this same topic that might have more information.

Hello,

the Caddy Advanced CR is still in work, with the price increase of many components we are putting some more time in cost reduction effort. Like it was mention by LogCabinFever the combo that will be offer is with a gas furnace, either propane or natural gas that would looks a lot like a series installation, but fully integrated.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[dgwood]

I appreciate all the responses as that has shed some light on my question and I see that a wood/oil combo will likely never happen. I spoke with a customer service rep today who said the same thing and that the furnace will likely not be released until next heating season.
My new plan is to replace my existing oil furnace with a heat pump system/air handler setup that will allow me to use the existing duct work as I can’t solely rely on a wood furnace for heat so a backup system is necessary. I will be supplementing this system with a wood stove in the basement.
I do have some questions regarding the new heatflow s5 forced air system. It’s an add system on to compatible wood stoves that allows you to connect up to 4 ducts to more efficiently distribute the heat to other rooms. The manual says it cannot be used with existing duct work unless the existing furnace is removed or made inoperable. Can anyone tell me why I can’t just hook a duct line to my existing duct work supply run and use it in conjunction with my existing oil furnace and/or future heat pump? Of course I would likely turn the furnace off and use the blower fan in the furnace or heat pump in conjunction with the blower fan in this kit to circulate the air through the house.

https://www.drolet.ca/us/en/wood-stoves/db03033k/

 

[brenndatomu]

I do have some questions regarding the new heatflow s5 forced air system. It’s an add system on to compatible wood stoves that allows you to connect up to 4 ducts to more efficiently distribute the heat to other rooms. The manual says it cannot be used with existing duct work unless the existing furnace is removed or made inoperable. Can anyone tell me why I can’t just hook a duct line to my existing duct work supply run and use it in conjunction with my existing oil furnace and/or future heat pump? Of course I would likely turn the furnace off and use the blower fan in the furnace or heat pump in conjunction with the blower fan in this kit to circulate the air through the house.

https://www.drolet.ca/us/en/wood-stoves/db03033k/

Its probably due to not having return air hooked up to the stove and the possibility of pulling a negative pressure in the stove room if both are ever running together, causing a reverse draft in the stove chimney, CO in the house.

 

[dgwood]

The stove would be located in the same room in the finished basement within 12’ of the furnace and main lines of duct work. Would it be sufficient enough to cut a hole in the return duct line and insert an adjustable air vent so it can be opened and closed as needed? I thought about doing this regardless so that the blower fan can pull warm air from the basement and distribute it through the house.

 

[brenndatomu]

I thought about doing this regardless so that the blower fan can pull warm air from the basement and distribute it through the house.

For most people that doesn't work.
And no I doubt that would guarantee the furnace couldn't pull negative pressure on the stove....not even 100% sure that's why they forbid the 2 together...