Super insert

[USMC80]

Hi guys, been lurking for a while and decided to join up as this place is filled with great information.

Have a 1800 sq ft two story house with a wood burning furnace (forced air) in the basement. Been running that for years and it does a great job but messy and not very efficient, if I had to guess its from the early 70's. Also not fun having to wake up in the middle of the night and trip down a flight of stairs to add wood. If I had to guess its from the early 70's. I also have a fireplace upstairs in the living room that is not used and would like to put a insert in. Here is one of my big concerns.

Would I be able to use the fan from the furnace to circulate the heat from the insert? I think the insert would heat the whole upstairs (about 1000 sq ft) but would like to keep the basement at maybe 60 degrees as well. I was hoping that when real cold i could turn the furnace fan on and it would move the heat throughout the house?

Been narrowing it down to different units and thinking that the Pacific Energy Super would be a good option for me

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[etiger2007]

Hi USMC, Welcome to the forum. I have an insert as pictured and I heat 1700 sq ft with it. I heat 1200 or so downstairs and heat an upstairs of about 500 sq ft. I also have a basement and in my situation-set up my basement never gets really cold, sure its cooler than the rest of the house but not bad at all, I never have to worry about pipes freezing, I would guess the basement is probably in the 60's somewhere. I have tried to circulate the warm air up stairs with the central heat fan but I dont think it really helped in my case, I get awesome results by running a ceiling fan and a small fan pointed towards the stove room to move the heat around. Good luck.

 

[dave_376]

replace the furnace with a new one. Cost of a Super should be similar to a new furnace and not as even throughout the house as the furnace. I would rather have the mess in the basement than in my living room. If I have hot air instead of baseboard hot water in my house I would hook up a furnace with out thinking about it. (broken link removed)

 

[USMC80]

Thanks for the quick reply, yes my main concern is the pipes freezing and just keeping it bearable down there (around 60 degrees). I have ceiling fans in all the bedrooms upstairs and will be adding one in the living room where the insert will be.

 

[USMC80]

replace the furnace with a new one.

That is another option I was looking at. A new Furnace with install would run me over 6k and would like to stay away from that for now. Really wanted to utilize the fireplace in the living room as it is useless right now.

 

[mellow]

What are you budgeting for the insert install?

 

[USMC80]

I will install the insert with the help of my brother.

 

[mellow]

If you can install an insert why not install a wood furnace?

Slap in an englander wood furance and call it a day: http://www.englanderstoves.com/28-3500.html

$1200.00 at home depot so I am sure you can find it cheaper elsewhere.

 

[USMC80]

If i were to buy a new furnace it would be a wood/oil and most likely a Yukon, this i would not be able to install myself. Really would like to sit in front of a nice fire in the living room but want to make sure it would be sufficient heat that i would not have to run the furnace unless it got real cold

 

[etiger2007]

If i were to buy a new furnace it would be a wood/oil and most likely a Yukon, this i would not be able to install myself. Really would like to sit in front of a nice fire in the living room but want to make sure it would be sufficient heat that i would not have to run the furnace unless it got real cold

We really like sitting in front of ours with a beer in hand and feeling all that heat. I can see where it would suck to load a stove in the basement and never get to view it.

 

[USMC80]

We really like sitting in front of ours with a beer in hand and feeling all that heat. I can see where it would suck to load a stove in the basement and never get to view it.

Exactly, we could still use the furnace if needed on extreme cold spells

 

[begreen]

You're going to love the new stove. If you don't have a good 3+ cords of wood already stacked and drying, now would be the time to get it.

 

[USMC80]

You're going to love the new stove. If you don't have a good 3+ cords of wood already stacked and drying, now would be the time to get it.

Started splitting about 3 weeks ago. Got about 2 cords done already and should have 3 by the end of this weekend. I split all my own. Do you think it will be ready for this winters burn or should i order some more that is more seasoned?

 

[mellow]

Depends on the the species of wood and if it is stacked in a windy sunny location with plenty of air gaps. Examples: Oak - no. Maple - yes Gum - Yes Cherry - Yes

 

[etiger2007]

You will want to stay about three years ahead on your wood so getting green wood dosent matter. Mellow hit it on the head stack it in a nice dry spot where it gets sun and wind. Im moving two years worth of wood (started yesrterday) to an area on my property that is dry, my current location is the part of the yard that dries out last,

 

[dave_376]

You should be able to put in a pacific energy super for around $3000 (maybe less if you shop around alot) if you do it yourself. ~$2000 for the stove and ~$1000 for the liner, insulation, and block off plate.

 

[USMC80]

ok so have narrowed it down to the jotul 550 (wifes choice) and the Pacific Energy t5 Alderlea. Have heard nothing but good reviews about the T5 and some good and bad about the 550. Any input would be appreciated