Thinking about installing a indoor wood furnace

[94ranger55]

I currently have a wood stove in the basement and it does the job ok....but I want something that will really keep the WHOLE house warm, also from I understand a wood furnace would require less re fueling and tending to ?I have existing duct work with registers so half my battle is over.....what are the good brands to look at and what else should i look for ...thanks again

 

[94ranger55]

p.s....house is 1500 sq ft ranch..with the intention of putting addition on in the future...also if you would go with a straight wood ,wood/oil or wood/gas unit ?

 

[ikessky]

1500sqft isn't a huge space for a wood furnace, so your going to be limited in what you can use without having the heat run you out of your house.

If I knew then what I know now, I would get something that has a secondary burn system on it. I have a house that is probably about the same size as yours and running my Daka 24/7 would burn me right out. It's not hard to hit 76 degrees. Most days I will let the fire go out for the afternoon and evening and then restart it before bed. Having a secondary burn would allow you to burn less wood and have better burn times. All in all though, I've been pleased with my Daka. I get pretty good burn times and haven't had any chimney issues, although I've made sure I'm at least a year ahead on my wood and I sweep half way through the season. Also, every time I reload, I make sure to burn really hot.

So, if I did it over or when I need a new furnace, I will look at the PSG Mini Caddy, the Yukon Big Jack (BJ90), and the Blaze King Apex.

 

[laynes69]

There are a few furnaces out there that are clean burners. Like Ike said, I would get something with a true secondary combustion. Also having a unit that has natural draft instead of forced draft will allow for you to save wood. Right now you are a little small for a wood furnace, but even with our furnace we could build a smaller fire and wake up to coals and burn clean. Once you would build on then things would be better. We heat with a Caddy, and its EPA certified which means less wood, more heat, and a cleaner chimney. The few I would look into are the PSG Caddy, the Blaze King APEX, the Kumma Vapor Fire furnace and the 385 Energy King. Over time I think the older furnaces will be forced to comply with clean air standards which will open a better market for wood furnaces in the future. We have been happy with our purchase.

 

[94ranger55]

Ok cool thanks ......right now iam burning a solid 5-6 cords with my VC Vigilant ....what would be the expected cord usage for a indoor furnace ? Also how long will a load in the firebox last (on average ) i have standard 8x12 clay flue will I need to install a liner or will the clay be ok ? Right now iam looking at a company called Charmaster from Minnesota then seem to be built very rugged has anyone had any experience with them ?

 

[ikessky]

I think Charmaster has been around for quite a while. I thought I remembered seeing a picture of an old furnace that had "Charmaster" on the door. I could be wrong though.

With my Daka, I burn between 4-6 cords. I would expect that an EPA furnace would probably put me into the 3-4 category. My burn times vary, but if I fill the furnace I can usually get 6-8 hours. I can't speak for the EPA furnaces, but I would expect to get somewhere in the 10-12+ range. If I remember correctly, CrappieKeith said that he loads his BJ90 (Yukon furnace) twice a day.

Personally, I would reline the chimney.

 

[JustWood]

Agree with everything stated so far.
I have 1600 sq ft and heat with a 526 Woodchuck. It does very well heating and have no complaints but "if I knew then what I know now" I wood have gone with the Big Jack or the Caddy.
Burn on average 5-6 cords and 1 ton of coal 24/7 from mid Oct to end April.
Straight wood I get burns from 8-10 hours.
Mixing coal I've had up to 18 hour burns.

 

[smokinj]

I am running hot water and hot air heating 2700 sq ft with a 1557 us stove furnace. 4 years now 10-12 cords a year. (1600 sq ft I would just run a mack Daddy free standing stove!) My Insulation is bullet proof with double pain windows wearing fleece back curtain's.

 

[laynes69]

Last year we burnt about 6.5 cords heating a 2400 sq ft victorian with 10' ceilings. Good insulation, but very leaky. Since then we lined the chimney and did more air sealing on the house. This year I am hoping to be around the 5 cord range. We have burnt since the beginning of October and we have used a little over a cord. You will need to line the chimney, which we had almost the same size and we had to line for the furnace to perform properly. You will get better heat distribution with a wood furnace and I would expect for you to use 6 cords max, and more in the 4 to 5 cord range for a house that size. If you don't have a call for heat all the time a full load of hardwood would get you 10-12 hours of heat.