Hot air wood Furnace

[Northland]

Many of my neighbours are loggers and put in outdoor wood stoves over the past ten years. Most seem happy with them but they go through a lot of wood and put out a lot of smoke. Apparently there are a few new EPA rated models that are much more efficient and clean burning

I replaced our crappy airtight fireplace last winter with one of these EPA rated soapstone wood stoves and it's been great. Way more heat, radiant heat as well, much less wood and very clean burning-hardly any smoke at all. In our small home it does the job. Our dogs and cats sleep all around it.

Stove Details | Hearthstone Stoves

BTW, this video illustrates how to build a fire, top-down, with hardly any smoke. I didn't beleive it but I tried it and it really fires better and faster
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videos/Woodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv

 

[arrow]

Thanks Northland for a great post. I personally enjoy and benefit from all the ancillary posts to any particular question. Afterall, no knowledge is not worth knowing.

Thanks Dave for the pics. One set of ducting is for your feed and the other for your return and was wondering how extensive your ducting is as far as distance traveled. If I do switch to a wood furnace, I would just duct the main floor with a feed on one end of the house and a return on the other. You can tell me if I'm missing something such as duct branching and the like. Thanks

Lou

 

[scott_vt]

Good Afternoon Northland,
Yep those Hearthstone stoves are real beauties. If i ever get around to putting a rear addition onto out Vt home Im planning on buying one myself !

I believe HighBeam has the same stove, I just salivate when ever I see a picture of one !

Thanks for the link !

 

[cdaledave89]

I might be a little late with my reply, but I have to comment on my (somewhat biased) experience with a wood furnace. When I bought my house 6 years ago, it already had a Hot Blast (Clayton, U.S. Stove Co.) furnace installed. I have a heat pump as my main furnace, so the wood burner is only used when temps go below 20 F. I used it for a year and noticed quite a bit of dust in the house after running it for a day or two. I took it apart and found that some of the welds in the firebox were not completely fused. I was absolutely apalled at the overall construction of this unit. I know a little about welding, and these were some of the worst welds that I have seen in a long time. It was obvious that it came this way from the factory. I took pictures and sent it to U.S. Stove and called them several times. Their customer service is pretty poor and they had no excuse (or apology) for the poor welds. They offered $50 toward repair by a qualified welder, and that was basically it. I had to buy and replace all of the insulation inside the furnace that was filled with soot and dust from the firebox. I like having a wood furnace but would not ever buy a U.S. Stove product. They are cheap - and you obviously get what you pay for.

 

[Northland]

Can any on tell what they think is the best hot air wood furnace out there. I'm thinking about adding one next year.
Thanks Brian

see

Greenwood Furnace Series Indoor Wood Boiler and Wood Furnace

List of Cleaner Hydronic Heaters | Hydronic Heaters | US EPA


Outdoor boilers; today's most controversial wood heating technology

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Thanks Northland for a great post. I personally enjoy and benefit from all the ancillary posts to any particular question. Afterall, no knowledge is not worth knowing.

Thanks Dave for the pics. One set of ducting is for your feed and the other for your return and was wondering how extensive your ducting is as far as distance traveled. If I do switch to a wood furnace, I would just duct the main floor with a feed on one end of the house and a return on the other. You can tell me if I'm missing something such as duct branching and the like. Thanks

Lou

Lou,
I have 10 vents throughout the house and get decent air flow with the wood furnace. I have a HVAC and gas furnace as a back up with flex pipe for the duct work. My living/heated area is 36x56 and the wood furnace is on the far end of the basement with our bedroom on the other end of the house. There is a good flow comming out of the vent, but no where near the volumn produced by the heat pump or gas furnace. But then again due to the heat generated from the wood furnace I would not want that volumn of air, it would be way to hot in the house.

David

 

[RayMunising]

Good Afternoon Northland,
Yep those Hearthstone stoves are real beauties. If i ever get around to putting a rear addition onto out Vt home Im planning on buying one myself !

I believe HighBeam has the same stove, I just salivate when ever I see a picture of one !

Thanks for the link !

Here's our Hearthstone II woodstove. It's an older model then the stove you have. It's kept us warm for the past 18 years and is the only source of heat we use in our 2000 sq ft house unless we won't be home for more than a day ... then I fire up the propane boiler.

 

[Highbeam]

Here's our Hearthstone II woodstove. It's an older model then the stove you have. It's kept us warm for the past 18 years and is the only source of heat we use in our 2000 sq ft house unless we won't be home for more than a day ... then I fire up the propane boiler.

Okay, for scott especially, here's my soapstone. It is purring away right now at home.

 

[heehaw]

the furnace made in Harrison, Ar., was a top of the line unit back when my inlaws had theirs installed, 1979: i would bet they are still a good piece of equipment. they do take up a lot of space though.
heehaw

 

[scott_vt]

Okay, for scott especially, here's my soapstone. It is purring away right now at home.

Good Evenin Beam and Ray,
Thanks nice shots !