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Wood burning furnace users


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Just bought this wood burner.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/united-states-stove-co-1557m-hotblast-furnace-5095270

I know nothing about wood burners in a house. Tips on using them would be great. Kinda concerned about piping it into the chimney and whether it should be lined or not. It's going in the basement.

I'm getting rid of the heating oil furnace and oil tank if anyone is interested.

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I have a wood burner ( not a furnace ) and I really like it. It's pretty messy but if you have it in your basement it shouldn't be bad. I don't think you need to line your chimney but make sure it is sealed up where the burner vents in to the chimney. good luck and stay warm.

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My neighbor has this exact model. He has his in his garage. he likes it but he is always busting his hump cutting, splittlng and stacking wood year round. I did that as a kid for my parents and always told myself I wouldnt do it again when I had my own house.

I replaced a direct vent propane drain (AKA gas log set) with a pellet burner insert 2 years ago and love it. dump a bag of pellets in in the morning and that usually lats all day. heats the house and its easy to maintain.

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I replaced a direct vent propane drain (AKA gas log set) with a pellet burner insert 2 years ago and love it. dump a bag of pellets in in the morning and that usually lats all day. heats the house and its easy to maintain.

How did you go about doing this? I have a direct vent built-in gas fireplace in my family room that I never use because its a waste of gas. I thought in order to have a real burner in there, you had to have an actual chimney. Is that not the case with a pellet burner?

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Pellet stoves can be direct vented as well. I used one 3 foot section of pipe straight out the back with an end cap that directs the fumes out and down at about 45 degrees. as long as you dont have any combustables within 30 inches (I think thats the minimum) mine is about 36 inches from the outlet to the ground, you should be fine. find a local pellet stove dealer in your area (I would avoid the TSCs, Home Depots, etc) and ask as many questions as you can. I researched and visited several dealers in columbus before making my final descision. www.hearth.com has a forum section dedicated to pellet burners, but as with any online forum, there are tons of people that like to help and a few asshats as well. your mileage may vary.

Bill.

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I know a guy that has an outdoor wood burner. His is also set up to heat the water as well. If you are able, I'd consider putting it outside. No need to run much of a chimney and all the ash/dirt will stay away from the house. I don't know anything about them, just thought I'd throw that out to you.

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Well I have both. I have a outdoor boiler unit and a indoor woodburner. I burn indoors until it is really cold out and then I light the outdoor burner. It's just the idea when the outdoor burner is lit... It is lit. It's a pain to let it go out and try and re-light it and get the water hot again.

I love my indoor burner. I did a new chimney with triple wall pipe when I put mine in.

If I was you and I was going to breech a chimney to install a woodburner I would call a specialist and have them look at your chimney. You need to be sure your chimney can take it. If there are cracks in the mortar and the brick or stone is bad or has cracked you could be in danger of a fire... once the creisot(sp) builds up...

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I have one of those in an outbuilding and a smaller wood stove in the house.

Be sure your chimney is up to snuff. Have it checked by a pro and clean it once a year. Burning green (unseasoned) wood produces a lot of creosote and you waste a lot of heat burning off the moisture. Get a stovepipe thermometer and put it on the pipe about a foot from where it enters the chimney.

Be sure you keep the blower fans running or you'll overheat the outside shell. I had a power failure and it got hot enough to char the paint.

Good luck.

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my chimney runs from the basement straight up thru the center of the house. I'm going to have to chuck out some money for a stainless steel flexible "liner" that i hopefully can do myself. Insurance companies don't like normal chimneys. Apparently all that gunk build up thne can burn out the mortar and cause a house fire. Which i don't understand how chimneys worked well 50 years ago.

If i could pipe it correctly i'd just put it in my mud room and pipe it out the side of the house but tapping into the cold air return and existing duct work would be a bitch. Easy if i didn't mind pipes running across a wall.

Below is a link to a liner type. There's zillions of them. i need to talk to a pro to figure out what's the best "affordable" choice.

http://www.efireplacestore.com/fsd-mstdcs6-25.html?productid=fsd-mstdcs6-25&channelid=LSCAS

Edited by Gump
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Ok...screw the wood burning furnace idea. I'm taking it back. It would be around $2000 with the cost of the furnace and by the time i do the chimney myself and have sheet metal work done THAN i have to drag wood around and still rely on space heaters if I leave town.

Opting for a heat pump. A/C and heat. Done. Might be about twice the money but screw it.

Any HVAC guys on here?

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Ok...screw the wood burning furnace idea. I'm taking it back. It would be around $2000 with the cost of the furnace and by the time i do the chimney myself and have sheet metal work done THAN i have to drag wood around and still rely on space heaters if I leave town.

Opting for a heat pump. A/C and heat. Done. Might be about twice the money but screw it.

Any HVAC guys on here?

Good move. Call That Dude.....oh, wait.

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  • 3 years later...

Burning wood ain't all that bad. I have the 1557m, and while I think its a POS, it does heat the house. Ceramic lined block chimney. It would be a much better furnace with a spring dampener rather than the slide setup. Also, the upper baffle channels smoke right out the door when trying to feed it. Used to have an old Suburban model that came with house, but firebox finally rusted thru. Should have spent the extra money to get a Brunco model. I believe all the new burners have to comply with epa regs, which aren't the best for clean burning. The stove designs are solid, but people like me who grew up with airtight stoves of yore have a hard time operating these new efficient stoves. I'm absolutely sure I have more smoke and creosote with new new stove than I did with the older one.

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