Can we build it? Wood furnace day one.......and counting

[Monty]

How long do you think it will take to amoratize the cost? Monty

 

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[COUNTRY GIRL]

Sis, I can see Ty now telling his little friends that my Hubby could fix the goldfish!

Monty, It should pay for itself this year depending on the price of oil. Last year we spent $8000 in fuel oil, and that doesn't count the wood to heat the garage. The house is HUGE 5500 sq feet, the garage is 24' X 48'. We saved around $2500-$3000 by doing it ourselves. But with my luck fuel oil will drop to $1 a gallon now.

 

[nova treasure]

Great Job there Country Girl,I have been thinking about doing something like this with our home,but just haven't taken the step.We heat our 3000 sq ft home with propane and it is a major struggle.It cost $700. a month and it doesnt seem to be getting any cheaper.We have 4 fireplaces but only one usable for the family room.

I know everywhere seem to be different,but is there a code violation to the distance to keep the stove from the house or any other special thing that needs to be thought out before installing this?

Great job,Nova Treasure

 

[Monty]

The reason I asked was because I am interested in reading about alternate sources of heating and cooling. One of my best friends recently retired and bought some land that had a cave on it. He designed a system of drawing 55 degree air from the cave and regulating the temp with a heat pump and some recirculating fans hooked up somehow to his computer. His utility costs are practically nil since he doesn't rely on autside air to heat or lower the temp. Just another idea. Monty

 

[COUNTRY GIRL]

Nova, this particular furnace goes inside a building. I did not want the smoke smell ect. of a wood furnace inside our home, so we built a seperate building to house the furnace. It only needs to be 2 feet from a wall, it doesn't get hot on the outside, the refractory absorbs and holds the heat inside. Notice the picture of the guys leaning on the stove? It's up and running there. You can touch the ouside of the stove.

Monty, That is cool (no pun intended ). Does your friend live in a warmer climate and use it more for cooling? It's only 10 degrees here this morning and I would like it warmer than 55. Another neat idea though.

 

[Monty]

He is located near Rogers, Arkansas and I guess he is in a temperate climate zone, as it is very hot in the summer and seldom gets below zero in the winter. Average winter temp is above 32 I would imagine.The savings is that he doesn't have to raise or lower the temp of the incoming air near as much as you would if drawing from outside air. Monty

 

[COUNTRY GIRL]

Shhhhhh, Monty! Don't tell my husband. Next thing you know he will be building a cave for the summer months!

 

[Cynangyl]

Shhhhhh, Monty! Don't tell my husband. Next thing you know he will be building a cave for the summer months!

Ger doesn't read our posts does he? You might as well get used to the fact, you are gonna have a cave there soon sis! rofl

 

[rmptr]

I've seen a few bermed earth houses, and partial underground homes.
They were actually very nice architecture, and one of 'em had an awesome view out across a valley from the knoll where it was cut in. Lotta concrete, for the retaining....

Oh, it was 28 this morning...
wish I had even a little wood burner!

 

[COUNTRY GIRL]

Sis, He could but thank goodness I just tell him what I WANT him to know. Too many great ideas floating around in here. If he was to ever find a "Do it yourself" forum I'd be in big trouble!

Rmptr I'd enjoy the 28 degrees! Thank goodness the stove has us toasty, at home anyways. Pretty chilly here at work, got a dusting of snow this morning.

 

[Cynangyl]

oy! There are LOTS of DIY forums online....do NOT let him near the computer! rofl Actually it would be fun for the rest of us if he found one! lol