Secondary wood furnace

asylum575 · Jan 30, 2008

Anyone have a secondary boiler/furnace installed to a hot water heating system. I run a gas boiler for the baseboard hotwater system at home. Thinking of adding a wood stove and was wondering if the stove can be Y'd into the water loop to heat up the water in the system.

Highbeam · Jan 30, 2008

Several companies make wood fired boilers. Some of these boilers are extremely efficient and some are not. Some must be outdoor some may be indoor. Some have oil or propane backups too. None that I've seen are suitable for living room placement as a woodstove would be.

Diesel-ME · Jan 31, 2008

There are many many ways to connect up multiple heat sources. Starting from as simple as adding a water heat plate to a normal woodstove right up to a big outdoor boiler. The actual plumbing fully depends on your scenario.

Sometimes you want to avoid mixing water from two systems - such as when one heat source is atmospherically open (not a pressurized system) and the other (like your gas boiler) is closed.

I run my outdoor boiler through a 40-plate water-water heat exchanger. I added a zone pump to my oil boiler that loops water from the output side of the oil boiler over to the heat exchanger then back to the return manifold of the oil boiler. I put a signgle pole - double throw aquastat on the wood boiler supply line that gives power to that zone pump if the wood boiler water temp is above 150 or powers my oil burner if it's below 150. In that way the oil takes over if I'm late loading the wood boiler AND I'm not providing oil-heated water to warm my wood boiler. So I use all the other zone pumps, baseboards/radiators and controls of my oil boiler while supplying the heat from the wood boiler.

So anyhow, as to connect in directly or not - it really depends on things like whether or not your alternative heat source is a closed loop under pressure, an open system or whatever.

You'll have more questions to ponder before you are ready to implement anything I'm sure

~paul

450EXC · Jan 31, 2008

I have a wood boiler in the cellar conected to my oil boiler. It is a great way to use wood to heat the whole house, not just the rooms close to a wood stove in the living room.

I have never seen a living room stove set up as a boiler but I guess you could rig up a heat exchanger. Might not look that great.

The newer Gasification units are very effiecent as far as wood goes. I think it is better to use a seperate boiler for your back up since the combustion chamber in a wood boiler is not effiecent for oil or gas. It was accually cheaper last time I was checking prices. And hold onto something when checking prices, $ 7k - 10k.

I like the indoor units better than the outdoor wood boilers.

asylum575 · Jan 31, 2008

Well, I was think about installing the stove along the interior wall adjacent to the utility/boiler room. It will be no more than 4 feet away from the gas boiler. Then I was thinking I can send the stovepipe through the wall and up with the boiler pipe. Would have to cut a hole in the roof, Hmmm.
My main objective is to use the heat from the stove to heat more than one room.
Another possibility is to rig a blower to blow up. The stove will be on my lower level(bilevel home) in the family room. Then cut a hole in the ceiling and the floor above. Install a register and see if I can get the heat to rise out the register.
Just wondering. I love trying to figure new ways of doing stuff.

heehaw · Jan 31, 2008

we lived in a old house in Pa back in the 70's: had hot water radiator heat on the first floor, with registers or whatever they are called in the ceiling/upstairs floor, to allow the heat to go upstairs to the bedrooms: it worked great. but then back then i didn't seem to need as much heat as i do now!!
heehaw

asylum575 · Jan 31, 2008

heehaw,
It's amazing what a couple of degrees can do. 65 kinda cool, 68 ok, but 70/71 comfortable. I try to get away with 67ish, but wifey likes it tropical. She blames it on the kids. Boy is 3 1/2 yrs, girl is 3 1/2 weeks. I gotta toughen those kids up.

Ed

Highbeam · Feb 1, 2008

I have learned to enjoy a warm stove room where folks all congregate and live together with colder outer rooms like bedrooms and such. At first this meant 63 in the bedrooms and 70 in the living room but then a funny thing happened. We started lounging in that living room under blankets and wearing long sleeves. Not suffering of course but basking in the warmth. Next thing you know we have learned to like 75-77 degree living room temps and 66 in the bedroom. I fear that we will soon go higher and then if I ever had to actually pay for heat that we would need to move to Texas in Eddie's backyard.

When it is muddy, rainy, windy, and dark outside at 35 degrees I can tell you that 75 feels nice with bourbon in your hand.