Opinions on ds energy max 160

[ultimatespine]

Hi, new here from Massachusetts and i'm looking into a wood stove big enough to heat my house from the basement. 2700 sq ft ranch with another 2700 sq ft unfinished, unheated open basement. Basement is mostly below grade. The stairway to the main level is on one end. Insulation in the ceiling of the basement, concrete walls not insulated. House is currently being heated with oil hydroair. Boiler in the basement, air handlers in the attic. Approx 800 sq ft of the main level has 13 ft ceiling.

I am thinking of wood with maybe coal at times. I have "free" access to wood. The energy max 160 is rated at 160,000 btu with heating area of up to 3500 sq ft. Do you think this stove is big enough to heat my house from the basement? Stove will be placed close to the middle on a west facing wall. I will remove the insulation from the basement ceiling and maybe insulate the walls at some point. I would rather not cut registers through the floor. Any input would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

I posted this on the nepacrossroads forum and most suggested a boiler. I would like to avoid more work if a free standing stove can pull it off. Looking to get more input from others before I make a decision

 

[BrotherBart]

For folks not familiar with the Energy Max wood furnace, here it is.

(broken link removed to http://woodstoves.net/ds-stoves/wood/ds-machine-stoves-energy-max-160-furnace-wood-coal.htm)

 

[laynes69]

No matter the size, I don't see it heating your home. You want a wood furnace with a high output and a strong blower. Tying a woodfurnace into the ducting would be the option I would go with. Something like the Max Caddy by PSG would be a better option. An 1800 cfm multispeed blower with a firebox the same size as the energy max. The furnace also has a glass door for a view of the fire. With a ducted furnace, you wouldn't have to remove the insulation between both spaces. Napoleon also has large firebox furnaces with high btu outputs. The only pitfall is either are not made to burn coal, but are very efficient with wood.

 

[velvetfoot]

You say you have a boiler? I assume hydro-air means that there is a hot water coil in the air ducting? If you added a boiler you could tap into the existing water piping. Perhaps baseboard hydronic in the basement?
Most solid fuel boiler people here prefer a storage tank, which adds to flexibility but also to cost.

 

[ultimatespine]

Yes I have a boiler with air handlers for heat and ac in the attic. Are wood/coal boilers efficient? The general consensus is they're usually good at one but not the other. Any experience with some of the dual fuel out there?

 

[dogwood]

Ultimatespine, what does the water to air heat exchange coil in your air handler look like? Is it anything like this:



These are commonly used w/a heat exchangers that wood boilers are plumbed into when adding a wood boiler to an existing forced hot air system, like mine is. If your heat exchange coil is similar and sized large enough it might be relatively easy for you to hook a wood boiler into your existing oil hydroair system.

What size pipes run to the air handler from your current boiler? If you have adequately sized piping to provide enough hot water to your air handler from the wood boiler or storage you're ahead of the game. You might need to to adjust the air flow blowing through your air handler's heat exchanger to work with the wood boiler's output. I have read standard oil or gas boiler systems are designed to function with 180 degree water. My boiler water from storage, for example, is useful from a range of 140-180 degrees with my water to air heat exchanger designed around that parameter instead of 180 degrees.

Honestly I've never heard of the Energy Max, but using convection from the basement to heat your home sounds sketchy when you seem to have the makings of a good modern wood boiler system already there, and a good portion of the installation work probably already in place.

Hopefully one of the site's experts with knowledge or hydroair systems will chime in. Good luck.

Mike

 

[laynes69]

I completely missed the boiler part. I agree, if you already have a boiler system, I would go that route.

 

[ultimatespine]

Ultimatespine, what does the water to air heat exchange coil in your air handler look like? Is it anything like this:

View attachment 191302

These are commonly used w/a heat exchangers that wood boilers are plumbed into when adding a wood boiler to an existing forced hot air system, like mine is. If your heat exchange coil is similar and sized large enough it might be relatively easy for you to hook a wood boiler into your existing oil hydroair system.

What size pipes run to the air handler from your current boiler? If you have adequately sized piping to provide enough hot water to your air handler from the wood boiler or storage you're ahead of the game. You might need to to adjust the air flow blowing through your air handler's heat exchanger to work with the wood boiler's output. I have read standard oil or gas boiler systems are designed to function with 180 degree water. My boiler water from storage, for example, is useful from a range of 140-180 degrees with my water to air heat exchanger designed around that parameter instead of 180 degrees.

Honestly I've never heard of the Energy Max, but using convection from the basement to heat your home sounds sketchy when you seem to have the makings of a good modern system already in place, and a good portion of the installation work possibly already in place to boot.

Hopefully one of the site's experts with knowledge or hydroair systems will chime in. Good luck.

Mike

Sorry I don't have much experience w/ hvac. Not sure what the coil looks like. All I know is what seem to be standard copper pipes going up to the attic from the boiler into a unit that distributes air.

Another question, If I add a wood and coal boiler to an existing system, can I share the flue of the oil boiler?

 

[maple1]

Im not sure I would go boiler if you can't also do storage. If the oil unit is working OK I might lean to an add on wood furnace & keep what is there intact. You'd need to figure out your flue situation though and what you can fit where and how.

 

[velvetfoot]

The air handling unit is in the attic. Can one do an add-on furnace with that config? There's likely no ductwork in the basement.

 

[ultimatespine]

No duct work in the basement.

Silly question, but does have a circulator in the return just before the boiler mean it's not a gravity fed system?

 

[velvetfoot]

No duct work in the basement.

Silly question, but does have a circulator in the return just before the boiler mean it's not a gravity fed system?

Yes. The pump circulates the hot water from the oil boiler in the basement to the heat exchanger in the attic.