Hey everybody,
My name's Dan and this is the first time I've ventured into this part of hearth.com, I usually spend my time in the wood burning stoves section. However a quick rundown for me...I live in an old Farmhouse built in 1896 that my wife and I just renovated and moved into...I have a Woodstove insert in my family room, and a small KUMA Tamarack woodstove in the basement. The insert is great, however it's location in the house is not ideal it's in an addition on the house and has trouble getting the heat out to the rest of the house. The basement stove is great too....when we're home. Its such a small stove and with these cold snaps we've been having (Eastern PA) temps around 1-5 Degrees F, it burns wood extremely fast even when i have it dampered down and on low...although no matter what I still have trouble getting heat all the way upstairs. I have forced air on a heat pump with an electric coil backup and with it being nearly a 3,000 sq. foot house...and the temps I mentioned earlier I'm still getting some nasty electric bills up in the 500 dollar range even though im burning in my stoves like crazy.
Sooo. Here I am looking at wood furnaces....and now for my questions!
1. Would putting one in my basement and hooking it into my ductwork help? I'm going to be in pattern of cutting my own wood by next year so that will make the fuel cost cheap....but is it going to heat my house well
2. How hard is it to install? Do I have to pipe from the furnace directly into the air handler? Or can i Take it to an existing Return Duct in my living room directly above where the furnace would be placed?
3. Anyone have any ideas on a good model?
4. can I use my existing 6" Flue in the basement for my woodstove now or do I need a bigger flue size?
5. Can I run a few "supply Ducts" if you will off of the ductwork that would go to my air handler or return duct? to heat a few other additions off of the house that don't have ductwork now?
6. Any suggestions from anyone on here currently using a wood furnace that I should be considering? Anyone in my area that could tell me how many cords they go through using a furnace?
Any and all help would be great...If I can start heating my house better and save $$ That would make and my wife happy as CLAMS!
Thanks in advance for any of your help guys. I really Appreciate it.
Dan
My name's Dan and this is the first time I've ventured into this part of hearth.com, I usually spend my time in the wood burning stoves section. However a quick rundown for me...I live in an old Farmhouse built in 1896 that my wife and I just renovated and moved into...I have a Woodstove insert in my family room, and a small KUMA Tamarack woodstove in the basement. The insert is great, however it's location in the house is not ideal it's in an addition on the house and has trouble getting the heat out to the rest of the house. The basement stove is great too....when we're home. Its such a small stove and with these cold snaps we've been having (Eastern PA) temps around 1-5 Degrees F, it burns wood extremely fast even when i have it dampered down and on low...although no matter what I still have trouble getting heat all the way upstairs. I have forced air on a heat pump with an electric coil backup and with it being nearly a 3,000 sq. foot house...and the temps I mentioned earlier I'm still getting some nasty electric bills up in the 500 dollar range even though im burning in my stoves like crazy.
Sooo. Here I am looking at wood furnaces....and now for my questions!
1. Would putting one in my basement and hooking it into my ductwork help? I'm going to be in pattern of cutting my own wood by next year so that will make the fuel cost cheap....but is it going to heat my house well
2. How hard is it to install? Do I have to pipe from the furnace directly into the air handler? Or can i Take it to an existing Return Duct in my living room directly above where the furnace would be placed?
3. Anyone have any ideas on a good model?
4. can I use my existing 6" Flue in the basement for my woodstove now or do I need a bigger flue size?
5. Can I run a few "supply Ducts" if you will off of the ductwork that would go to my air handler or return duct? to heat a few other additions off of the house that don't have ductwork now?
6. Any suggestions from anyone on here currently using a wood furnace that I should be considering? Anyone in my area that could tell me how many cords they go through using a furnace?
Any and all help would be great...If I can start heating my house better and save $$ That would make and my wife happy as CLAMS!
Thanks in advance for any of your help guys. I really Appreciate it.
Dan