Hvac. If it is not one thing, it is another

[redman2006]

So, when we bought the house, we knew the Hvac would have to be replaced. We did not know how soon. It is starting to get chilly here, so we are about to have to get a move on it or freeze our butt off.

Well, I got a quote, then another. Ouuuuuuccch! $9500. This quote includes comete replacement of existing system including all duct work.

The duct work adds about 5k. The reason for the duct replacementioned is the home was built without central ac, only heat. The ac was added but, no additional returns were done. In addition to that, the current ducting is not insulated, would not be effective or efficient, and there are health concerns with using it.

So, here is the dilema. We want a wood stove anyway. A good one to heat and cook. We have found a couple of options and are planning to do this, but we have never completely heated with wood. We have used it for supplemental heat. If the stove went out, the heater kicked in. No stoking all night or worries about fires or frozen pipes if we had to leave the house.

Who here heats solely with wood? Tips, tricks, stoves you like?

We are looking at something like the Kitchen Queen or J A Roby Quiesenier style. A heater and a cooker. We do have a fireplace. We had planned on an insert for it. Now, we just are not sure what to do. The Hvac has to be done for summer, so we may just have to bite the bullet.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

[Valliam13]

What about a ductless system?

[kickstand]

We only use a wood fireplace. No HVAC in home. I'm at lunch right now, but will post more later.

[Cwi555]

https://www.trane.com/residential/en/products/heating-and-cooling/ductless-systems.html

[redman2006]

I looked at ductless, but it has been a while. I guess I need to put that back on the list of possibilities

[Sacajawea]

Well, you're gonna need a/c anyway right? So, you're going to have have the ducts replaced anyway and get a new system. That makes me lean to just biting the bullet. Extremely painful and probably sets back your wood plans.

I have looked at through the wall units - I'm guessing that's what the ductless systems are - for small cabin. It would make tons more sense than baseboards and window a/c units. They do seem to be efficient though for a log cabin, perhaps an odd style choice. You'd have to compare install & running costs and weigh the pros & cons, I guess.

I have heated with solely with wood before. Very small, tight house (self-built) and it was an average sized soapstone stove. We could easily get 14 hrs of heat out of a single load of wood, and given our work commutes/parenting duties that helped. Sounds like you have a bigger house, so perhaps price an outdoor wood furnace? IF... you have plenty of wood to hand, to cut yourself. Buying wood gets expensive - I did that for 4 years in an old farmhouse while I went to school and we supplemented with a kero heater in the studio, but the house wasn't ever what one would call "warm". Wood chores are a LOT of work/time. Cutting, splitting, stacking, carrying and cleaning up the mess inside.

The new place has a wood/gas furnace (complete with blower, heat exchanger & it's hooked to a/c) to deal with the separate garage & studio. Just fired it up today; I get fresh wood tomorrow. It's been running about an hour, so I'm going to give it a look-see in a bit to see how efficiently the wood burns. Heat temp is set below 70.

The way this furnace works, if the wood fire goes out - the gas kicks in and keeps a lower temp maintained until one starts a new fire. If you anticipate being gone longer than one load will run... might be something to check into. It's a Yukon furnace; made in Minn. Takes 24 in logs.

[Betty Buckshot]

I'm just guessing, but your old ductwork might be asbestos? (since you mentioned health concerns). They might lower the price if you did the demo work on the ducts yourself. Don't know what dumping is like where you are, but when I was in Nebraska a homeowner could demo & dispose of it w/o permits. Contractors had to pay more & do special stuff for disposal.

[redman2006]

No asbestos. It is just filthy beyond clean up and on insulation leading to mold issues. Mold in and around the duct work.

[KyDave59]

I don't heat only with wood, but...

I spent a lot of time as a child with my grandparents, and they heated with a single coal stove, which was located in the central room. This was in a house built in about 1920, well before the idea of insulation was conceived. The coal stove, a "Warm Morning" would keep that central room nice and toasty, but the rest of the house stayed pretty cool. And, even in that central room, the air would become stratified, such that the top of the room was hot, but down near the floor, it was cold. What was needed was some sort of air circulation system, which the house lacked entirely. Even a fan or blower would have helped. Still, it, along with a feather bed, kept people from freezing to death.

It was a bit difficult to keep a fire going all night, although you could bank a couple of large lumps of coal, and close down the damper, and have a bit of fire left in the morning. Still, the house would be pretty cold in the morning, at least until you added some small lumps of coal to get the fire going again.

My parents primarily heat with a wood-burning insert for their fireplace. They do have a central HVAC system, which they use in blower mode, to distribute the heat. A ceiling fan also helps prevent stratification, although the blower on the wood-burning insert also helps. Their house is fairly comfortable, although dad tends to get the den where the stove is located a bit too warm in the evenings. It is possible to bank the wood, using some large logs, to keep the stove burning overnight. Still, though, it takes a while to warm the house up in the morning.

As far as the situation with your duct-work, and the mold, eww. That needs to be cleaned up, since the mold isn't healthy, and since it may be deteriorating the beams in the house. And, since you're going to need air conditioning next summer, you may have to bite the bullet and get it replaced. The central duct-work will help distribute the heat from a wood-stove or wood-burning fireplace insert.

Note that a fireplace without an insert mostly functions as a heat loss device (e.g., More heat gets sucked out of the house and up the chimney than the fire produces to heat the house.

Dave

[Jstwaiting]

My daughter installed the split A/C system CW linked. It worked well - she could set the individual room temperatures and in the spare bedrooms could turn off the A/C completely until needed. I believe she had three outside units and five wall units in the house.

She had same issues - boiler heat - no ducts. Worked well for her. And the wall units had rotating vents so the air blew up and down - not just straight out.

[Kailani Kealoha]

The ductless systems everyone mentioned are pretty incredible. I don't know how practical they would be if you have a 2 story house though. The biggest benefit that ductless has in my opinion is health related. They can be cleaned easily to reduce allergens. Mitsubishi systems are pretty bulletproof in my experience.

[Sacajawea]

Redman, was it you who got the Regency wood insert? I'm looking around and can't find that thread.

If it was - how did you like it over the winter?

Just had an inspection & cleaning, and this guy is also a Regency dealer. My woodstove has a really poorly welded crack in it, right to the pipe collar... and there are issues with the fireplace too. So an insert in the fireplace and a woodstove on the first floor look to be in my future.

[redman2006]

It was me. We were very happy. There is a learning curve, but good, dry wood makes a massive difference. Granted it was an easy winter in a mild climate, but all we used was that insert to heat the house. I used about 2 cords.

I would be happy to answer any questions.

If we had the room, a freestanding would be more efficient, especially if the power was out. A catalytic stove is more effecient as well, but we did not want parts to replace every 5 years.

I know there are nicer, fancier and more efficient stoves, but for what I paid, I am thrilled.

[Sacajawea]

Thanks much. My chimney guy pointed out the advantages of the different models in a power outage too. I'm thinking... there's a generator in my future along with some electrical system improvements.

[Sacajawea]

So, refresh my memory. You got the insert model that sticks out from the fireplace? No blower? Is that correct? I'm debating with myself, because I really like the contemporary flat version - but that one, by rights, should include a blower to get heat out into the room. The other one, will still radiate heat - sans forced air - and provide a surface for tea kettle or pan. Just how wide IS that surface? I couldn't find that dimension in the specs.

Thanks.