What's the right furnace??

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TheBigIron

TheBigIron

Feeling the Heat
Dec 23, 2014
274
Peru, IL
Hi all.

Happy holidays. I currently heat my home with an Avalon wood stove and am looking into adding an add on wood furnace in the basement and tie that into homes existing ductwork. Home is 2 story approximately 2000-2500 sq. ft. I have 2 separate furnaces, 1 that heats my upstairs and the other 1 that heats my main floor. I'm looking to install the add on as primary heat and tie into both ductwork systems. Any advice on this is MUCH appreciated. I have an unlimited access to good clean hardwoods in my family's timber. I really enjoy being outside and cutting wood.

Thank you all. Dave
 
This should probably be moved to the Boiler Room.....

 
Just start reading.....many choices out there.......just comes down to what you like......
 
Most add-on setups rely on the existing furnace blower to circulate air. This is usually an easy solution-the wood burner simply goes downstream from the existing furnace. Since you have two existing systems, and you want to upgrade to a single system you might have to plan on extra funds or time to tackle this.

Can you use your existing chimney or do you need to add a new one? This will also affect your overall budget.

Good luck and Happy Holidays
 
lower end tundra - mid range psg caddy - big budget kuuma in that order
 
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newyorker said:
lower end tundra - mid range psg caddy - big budget kuuma in that order
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, does anyone know the life expectancy of each these stoves?
 
1970roadrunner said:
Most add-on setups rely on the existing furnace blower to circulate air. This is usually an easy solution-the wood burner simply goes downstream from the existing furnace. Since you have two existing systems, and you want to upgrade to a single system you might have to plan on extra funds or time to tackle this.

Can you use your existing chimney or do you need to add a new one? This will also affect your overall budget.

Good luck and Happy Holidays
Click to expand...


Roadrunner both of my furnaces vent outside the house in PVC. The chimney is in good shape but requires a stainless steel liner put down in.. Just want to heat the house with wood and not pay the utility company, plus wood heat is hotter.. Just want some ideas on a good add on wood furnace.
 
My Caddy has its own blower motor. So you could theoretically could put it anywhere as long as you can get it tied into the ducting and chimney.

Newyorker hit your best choices from least expensive to most.

BoiledOver said:
Out of curiosity, does anyone know the life expectancy of each these stoves?
Click to expand...
They are really just a wood stove in a metal box. So I would espect the same life span as a wood stove.
 
you see alot of wood furnaces around from the 70s? mayb 30 years or better if well taken care of
 
im easy on equipment i burn well seasoned wood in a good environment i will want a new one long before it wore out
 
I think I would go at this differently. You have two furnace systems in the place. Figuring how to efficiently and cost effectively to tie into existing ductwork is not an easy thing to do. Your sizing has to be right on the money and the lay-out as well. I would go one of two ways.

Install a wood boiler instead of a furnace. No duct work. You will need to put a hot water coil into the existing high efficiency furnaces duct work and pump the water from the boiler to the coil. You will need a two stage t-stat. The advantage is much simpler install having to run a pair of 3/4 copper lines to each furnace and the one boiler can in fact do both furnaces. If you get really ambitious you could put radiant heat in the sub-floor. In short you have options and options are good when trying to adapt one system to another.

The other thing I would try, that would be less costly than either a furnace or boiler is to put some fans in the basement to move that basement heat into the upstairs. Look at the Tjernlund Airshares. They have room to room and floor to floor fans and they are a good product.
 
I agree with post from Jackfre, but it may be out of you price range. I have three air handlers, two in basement one in third floor. They all have hot water coil built in and run off either propane boiler or wood boiler. You would need to install two coils and run pipe and purchase boiler.
 
My 2 years of research just resulted in an order of a Kuuma VF 100. My home already had the duct work so it was the best fit. I spoke to a handful of companies and I felt most comfortable with Kuuma.

With that said, anybody from Upstate NY with a Kuuma to compare set up notes?
 
DaveH said:
With that said, anybody from Upstate NY with a Kuuma to compare set up notes?
Click to expand...
Email or call Kuuma, they will look up some locals for ya to talk to. I wanted to see one in action, they sent me a list...haven't made it to see the closest one yet.
 
Contgrats they are top of the line im s sure you will love it i have not heard one bad thing about them if not to personal whats a guy have to give for one of them
 
newyorker said:
Contgrats they are top of the line im s sure you will love it i have not heard one bad thing about them if not to personal whats a guy have to give for one of them
Click to expand...

4,950.00 plus shipping. Their prices are on their site.
 
Your wife must he happy double your budget lol
 
Just under $6k with shipping and H2O coil. Decent sized investment but last years cold winter cost $3500 in propane so it should pay off. I couldn't find negative feedback on the unit and it was nice to talk to the owners, not salesman when I called.
 
DaveH said:
Just under $6k with shipping and H2O coil. Decent sized investment but last years cold winter cost $3500 in propane so it should pay off. I couldn't find negative feedback on the unit and it was nice to talk to the owners, not salesman when I called.
Click to expand...

I placed an order for one last spring and installed it this summer/fall. They are a true pleasure to deal with. Emails are always answered within 24 hours. Mine is running exactly how Daryl (and all the owners I've talked to in the past) state they do.
 
Hi, Just to clarify. DaveH (who has purchased a Kuuma) is not the OP of this thread.

To the original poster (The46Zone) also named Dave, how are you doing with your decision process?
 
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