wood/oil combo

[philupthegastank]

I was wondering if anyone here has experience with the yukon husky or any other wood/oil combo? I have a 2400 2 story house that needs a new furnace.

i really wanted a wood stove put in a house im renovation but after finding out that the chimney needs a new liner, i cant afford two seperate chimney builds, so im thinking ill have to go a combo unit with an all fuel flue.

The reason i wanted a wood stove was for heat during power outages. I live in a pretty rural area, so it would be piece of mind knowing i can still heat my house if the power goes out, cause if it goes out, it has potential of lasting a day or more. Is the gravity fed heat from a oil/wood furnace sufficient to heat a house or at least the main level if there is no power? thats one of my biggest questions.

thanks for any info!

 

[newyorker]

caddy and caddy max are combos check them out you can run the wood without electricity but would have to operate manually and obviously no blower

 

[brenndatomu]

I was wondering if anyone here has experience with the yukon husky or any other wood/oil combo?

Yup

i really wanted a wood stove put in a house im renovation but after finding out that the chimney needs a new liner,

What is the heat source now? Could you do a DIY liner, save money to build a SS class A chimney for the other? If you have NG or propain you could get a HE furnace that can be vented out through the wall with PVC pipe, then you could you use the chimney for a wood burner!

Is the gravity fed heat from a oil/wood furnace sufficient to heat a house or at least the main level if there is no power?

If the ductwork is done correctly, absolutely! Plus it will warm the basement just from radiant heat too...warm floors are NICE!

 

[philupthegastank]

Hey thanks for the replies,

Right now I have an oil furnace from 1983 venting up the unlined masonry chimney. Currently I dont live in the house, which gives me the added bonus of having some time to get things done. I had to gut the house but thankfully the roof and siding and windows are all brand new from 4 years ago. I bought it as an estate, so i got it at an okay deal, but boy does it need some work.

Since the chimney isnt lined, and I need a new furnace, and I want a wood stove and all my walls are down, i figured now is the time to do what I can and then be done with it, but with chimneys being pretty pricey, i dont know if i could afford two chimneys, a new oil furnace, and new wood stove plus the hearth pad and wall shield. thats a lot of coinage. I figured doing one new chimney flue with an all fuel rated chimney up the masonry chimney with a yukon husky might be the cheapest and the more "less of a headache" route.

If i convert to gas it will be around 4k, and that doesnt include the tank or the piping from the tank to the house. the yukon husky is around 5k, so i could probably convert to gas with the price of a yukon husky and then get the masonry chimney lined for a wood stove.

There is no duct work though to the second floor, so that would have to be installed too, but at least it would be done right to allow heat flow up if there was a power outage.

Im only 24, so a lot of this stuff is new to me unfortunately. I have a very handy father in law that could help with projects, but obviously he will only help so much. I went in a little over my head, but it is a cool house, with 11 acres, with a mortgage thats less than the rent of a small 1 bedroom in the city.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I've heated with a combination oil/wood boiler and while it seems like a convenient, relatively inexpensive way to provide wood heat with a fossil fuel backup, I think you're usually better off with separate units. My preference would be a good gasifier with a cheap oil or gas backup unit plumped into the system. That way, the wood side goes down for any reason (especially if it rots out), then at least you can isolate it and heat with the backup. With a combi unit, that's impossible and remarkably inconvenient in the middle of the winter. Also, bear in mind that the cheaper combination units use the same firebox (unlike better alternatives like the Tarm), which is not only inefficient on the fossil fuel side (usually), but creosote in the firebox can clog up the works on the oil or gas burner as well. And, since they usually vent into the same chimney, you run the risk of damaging your chimney liner when the water in the wood mixes with the sulfur in the fossil fuel over time.

Mine eventually corroded out in the middle of the winter on the guy who bought my house. He had little choice but to buy another, identical unit to replace it. No time to shop around or figure out how to pipe in a different boiler design.

 

[brenndatomu]

Well said ^^^

 

[Chicken Farmer]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/for-sale-charmaster-chalet-furnace.129906/

If you're considering a furnace..........this one can be had for less than asking price........I know the guy......

 

[Motor7]

I think I would line that chimney no matter what you decide to burn....too many unknown factors with your existing set up. You can do a liner yourself and save a ton of cash.........

 

[philupthegastank]

thanks for all the information and replies. I think im going to convert from oil to gas (propane), that way Ill have a very efficient furnace that I can vent through the side of the house, and that will free up the masonry chimney to be lined for a wood stove. The contractor said $3,000 for taking out old furnace, a 96% afue propane furnace from goodman, install and running gas lines and all the rest, but that doesn't include the propane tank and those lines + regulator from the gas company. The hard thing about what im doing to the house is that i live over 4.5 hours away from it, so its hard for me to do big projects in a weekend. If anyone is into house renovations and want to see some pictures, let me know

What type of liners are good for self install for using a wood burning stove? I have a pretty high chimney and a very steep roof, i would probably have to rent a lift.

 

[BoilerMan]

^^^^^^ This is exactly what I was going to suggest. A condensing PVC-vented LP furnace is around $1,500 and frees up a chimney for wood. Then you can use LP for clothes drying and cooking (and you can cook in a power outage w/o building a fire).

TS

 

[brenndatomu]

If anyone is into house renovations and want to see some pictures, let me know

Hey, I'm game. Throw a thread up in one of the "off topic" areas, then post a link here.

What type of liners are good for self install for using a wood burning stove? I have a pretty high chimney and a very steep roof, i would probably have to rent a lift.

Do you have an internal or external chimney?

 

[newyorker]

never heard to many good things about goodman furnaces....

 

[philupthegastank]

I have an internal chimney, right in the middle of the house.

here is my roof, you can barely see the chimney, but its on the center left of the top of the roof

Do you have a recommendation of a gas furnace? Im limited to only a couple of companies near I live, the third companies boss just went to jail for embezzlement.

 

[newyorker]

i did alot of research and put in a rheem rgrm

 

[philupthegastank]

We have a rheem electric fiberglass water heater that we really like, Ill ask if i can order a rheem through them and see what they say. Is it fairly complicated to put your own furnace in?

Here is the thread with some pictures from the house rehab: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/farm-house-rehab.137110/

Like i said, im in way over my head, but thats sort of how I learn.

 

[newyorker]

its not hard even if you half to knock out a new plenum you just have to get the lp kit and put the right pressure to it

 

[BoilerMan]

York, Lennox, Trane, are popular brands of reliable scorched air condensing furnace. I'd recommend getting at least a two stage as they are only a hundred bucks more in most cases.

The order I put them is the order I like them......from my limited use of Forced Hot Air.

TS

 

[philupthegastank]

thanks for all the information, I appreciate it!

 

[newyorker]

Yeah all good brands 2 stage isn't for effient just keeps temp more even I would get a variable speed fan also but its easy to spend someone else's money

 

[philupthegastank]

I would look into heating with just wood, but we like to travel and it can get down to -25 F where we are at, and hope to go to warmer places in the winter for a week or two.