Who did your install?

[djlew]

Hey all,

Nice to not be stuck on the Jotul and General forums! I did a brief search and didn't come up with anything on essentially starting the process of installing a wood boiler or wood furnace. Basically, my system currently is a heat pump with a 3 zone controller and motor dampers that has a tough time keeping up when it gets too cold. I have my Jotul 602 V2 that I can get going and once it is, it works to heat the main floor but a couple rooms down the hallway stay cold and, of course, inconsistent. Lovely for the ambiance though.

I was discussing with a friend and he mentioned why not look into a wood boiler or wood furnace? I did a bit of research and it seemed like a viable option compared to upgrading the wood stove, installing cold climate mini splits or a cold climate 4 ton heat pump. Besides just viability questions of tying into existing ducting, for those who had an installer do the work, who did you go with? Might sound stupid, but was it your local HVAC company or was it your local fireplace dealer? I only ask because I'm not sure of the flue requirements for wood burners vs. traditional stoves. A ton of HVAC companies do boiler work, but only mention gas and oil. I plan to call around, but to save some runaround I wanted to see how you all started your process of getting professional information.

As always, thank you all for the help! And if this info exists elsewhere, I would love to take a look and close this up.

 

[begreen]

The flue requirements for a wood furnace are similar to that of a wood stove along with the same caveats for basement installation regarding draft. Some basements are negative pressure zones.

 

[djlew]

The flue requirements for a wood furnace are similar to that of a wood stove along with the same caveats for basement installation regarding draft. Some basements are negative pressure zones.

Kind of what I figured, and to me, sounds like a combo job between an HVAC contractor and somebody to install a flue like a chimney service company. Nobody around my area actually mentions installing wood boilers or wood furnaces as a service. On the surface it seems like an installation nightmare for somebody in my situation.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Kind of what I figured, and to me, sounds like a combo job between an HVAC contractor and somebody to install a flue like a chimney service company. Nobody around my area actually mentions installing wood boilers or wood furnaces as a service. On the surface it seems like an installation nightmare for somebody in my situation.

Yes, it looks like you will be the designer and general contractor, unless you can find a guy/company to spec it, price it, and install it.

 

[brenndatomu]

So are you leaning towards a forced air wood furnace, or a wood fired hydronic heater? And if the latter, indoor or outdoor?

 

[djlew]

Yes, it looks like you will be the designer and general contractor, unless you can find a guy/company to spec it, price it, and install it.

Adds up, I saw a lot of DIY here which is nice but I'd be concerned with insurance implications.

So are you leaning towards a forced air wood furnace, or a wood fired hydronic heater? And if the latter, indoor or outdoor?

I loved the idea of the hydronic heaters. I feel like in my case a wood fired furnace probably made the most sense but I do wonder if the outdoor hydronic heaters were actually easier to install. I have plenty of space but I know that PEX can be pricey. I guess my answer lies in the nice to have vs. Simplicity possibly.

 

[salecker]

I built my own system with the design help of the guy who owned the store i was buying my stuff from including the boiler.
My system is in it's own building,which includes the wood boiler, 1000 gals storage and my backup oil boiler.
At the time the guy told my wife, as she was complaining of the price of parts she was picking up. That what i had built would have cost over 50K to have built.
I went with the remote building to get away from insurance BS, and to keep all the mess out of our home as my wife and daughter had asthma at the time.
So far 14 years in i have zero regrets about the system i built, yes i have to walk 150 ft in the cold one way to go stoke the boiler. But i have a warm workshop 24/7 whenever i decide to go work on a project.

 

[djlew]

I built my own system with the design help of the guy who owned the store i was buying my stuff from including the boiler.
My system is in it's own building,which includes the wood boiler, 1000 gals storage and my backup oil boiler.
At the time the guy told my wife, as she was complaining of the price of parts she was picking up. That what i had built would have cost over 50K to have built.
I went with the remote building to get away from insurance BS, and to keep all the mess out of our home as my wife and daughter had asthma at the time.
So far 14 years in i have zero regrets about the system i built, yes i have to walk 150 ft in the cold one way to go stoke the boiler. But i have a warm workshop 24/7 whenever i decide to go work on a project.

I totally understand this way of doing it. The more I research, the more I lean towards an outdoor system for that very reason. It's tough, because on one hand I ask myself well why not just a two zone Mitsubishi MXZ mini split and have a unit in the rooms I want to heat when the York doesn't keep up, but I have a lot of access to wood. That, and some of the outdoor boilers I see are upwards of 10-15k USD. I'm trying to avoid electricity as rates are increasing seemingly every season. If you search me up on the forum you'll see me struggle with whether to go with mini split, propane, upgraded wood stove, or wood furnaces/boilers. Tough where I'm at it seems. Thank you for the input!

 

[Whitenuckler]

I totally understand this way of doing it. The more I research, the more I lean towards an outdoor system for that very reason. It's tough, because on one hand I ask myself well why not just a two zone Mitsubishi MXZ mini split and have a unit in the rooms I want to heat when the York doesn't keep up, but I have a lot of access to wood. That, and some of the outdoor boilers I see are upwards of 10-15k USD. I'm trying to avoid electricity as rates are increasing seemingly every season. If you search me up on the forum you'll see me struggle with whether to go with mini split, propane, upgraded wood stove, or wood furnaces/boilers. Tough where I'm at it seems. Thank you for the input!

If a heat pump will work for you that is the way to go. They are up to 400% efficient. You do no work or design. However, as you know they must have a head in the room (OK for you), they need power to run, and if the outside temperature is really low, they don't perform. They cool as well, which is a big plus if you don't have any AC or need a bit more.

 

[brenndatomu]

Well, for what it's worth I have a forced air wood furnace, the Kuuma VF100.
I do somewhat wish for a boiler system, but mainly for heated floors, and the ability to thermostat control the house temp to within a degree or two, but the cost of installing a hydronic system is a non starter for me, even diy.
The Kuuma does work really well, and I only had to somewhat modify the existing duct system to tie the Kuuma in..."backup" heat is fuel oil. Have central AC too...