OWB, can I make it work in a house with no duct work?

[066blaster]

I'm putting in a offer on a house, it has a fire place with a stove insert in it on the lower level ,,It's a tri level house and for whatever reason is all electric. Baseboard electric heat. What are my options for a outdoor burner? Can I run water lines to radiators or something? Ductwork would really be tuff since all levels are finished. Suggestions? ?

 

[Paragon Builder]

Yeah that stinks that it's all electric. You can run piping to radiators or hydronic baseboard but you will want to size it all properly to get even heat. So get a heatloss done on the house if you buy it.
It would be cheaper to run a couple wood stoves instead though.

 

[066blaster]

I guess I could see how the stove heats it. Maybe I could put a gas furnace in the garage with small ducts running in the attic, with vents in the ceiling for the up stairs. That would be a pain also since the guy filled the attic to the roof with insulation.

 

[Paragon Builder]

An outdoor boiler that meets regs is going for 15-20k installed hooked to existing heating system. Add in installing new heating system to utilize wood boiler and you've got yourself a lot if years before it pays for itself.

 

[AIM]

Need a LOT more info. Duct work would definately be the nicest but not always the easiest. BTW an OWB doesn't HAVE to meet REGS.... A couple wood stoves might be cheaper but what a pain in the arse that would be..

 

[Dogsout]

Sure you can heat without duct work. I have done it for quite a few years now. Hot water heat with radiators in a 100 year old house. I'm guessing this probably is not an option. For the record I do have a OWB and it works great.

 

[Greenthorn]

I think you could burn RR ties and stay warm........oh...that's another thread.....

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I guess I could see how the stove heats it. Maybe I could put a gas furnace in the garage with small ducts running in the attic, with vents in the ceiling for the up stairs. That would be a pain also since the guy filled the attic to the roof with insulation.

That's not good. How can the attic vent?

 

[Paragon Builder]

Need a LOT more info. Duct work would definately be the nicest but not always the easiest. BTW an OWB doesn't HAVE to meet REGS.... A couple wood stoves might be cheaper but what a pain in the arse that would be..

I'm not sure about where the op lives but much of the country now regulates OWB's.
Gasification units are more expensive to buy, maintain, and much more picky about what they eat.
But yes, an OWB could probably be made to work. And I agree that wood stoves are not as convenient. I have both.

 

[olyman]

I'm putting in a offer on a house, it has a fire place with a stove insert in it on the lower level ,,It's a tri level house and for whatever reason is all electric. Baseboard electric heat. What are my options for a outdoor burner? Can I run water lines to radiators or something? Ductwork would really be tuff since all levels are finished. Suggestions? ?

hers a que you should check on..how hardass is the elec co??? in this area,,you have to heat TOTALLY with elec..if they come in the house, and see a woodburner,,or even a gas fireplace,,they give you 2 weeks to get it out,,or lose your special elec rate........

 

[Paragon Builder]

hers a que you should check on..how hardass is the elec co??? in this area,,you have to heat TOTALLY with elec..if they come in the house, and see a woodburner,,or even a gas fireplace,,they give you 2 weeks to get it out,,or lose your special elec rate........

Ouch

 

[NSMaple1]

Duct work would definately be the nicest but not always the easiest.

Disagree with the nicest part.

 

[Paragon Builder]

Duct work would definately be the nicest but not always the easiest.

Disagree with the nicest part.

I don't care for hot air heat either.

 

[NSMaple1]

That would be a pain also since the guy filled the attic to the roof with insulation.

Eeesshhh. What else did he do to the place?

 

[066blaster]

I think you could burn RR ties and stay warm........oh...that's another thread.....

Yes that guy will be my neighbor now. We'll there is 1 house in between. I will be closer to him then my dad..

 

[Marshy]

Maybe consider a different home. The heating/cooling system of a house is a major deal to me. I would no want to redesign/install a new one while already making mortgage payments. If your still committed then I would take another 15-20k off the price to compensate for the HVAC system shortcoming. If your going to install a wood burning hydronic system and have nothing existing already I would strongly consider a high end indoor boiler like a Froling. I think in the end the cost would be comparable to an OWB (if not buying used) and it would burn considerably less wood than the OWB.

 

[Paragon Builder]

Maybe consider a different home. The heating/cooling system of a house is a major deal to me. I would no want to redesign/install a new one while already making mortgage payments. If your still committed then I would take another 15-20k off the price to compensate for the HVAC system shortcoming. If your going to install a wood burning hydronic system and have nothing existing already I would strongly consider a high end indoor boiler like a Froling. I think in the end the cost would be comparable to an OWB (if not buying used) and it would burn considerably less wood than the OWB.

+1

 

[066blaster]

Maybe consider a different home. The heating/cooling system of a house is a major deal to me. I would no want to redesign/install a new one while already making mortgage payments. If your still committed then I would take another 15-20k off the price to compensate for the HVAC system shortcoming. If your going to install a wood burning hydronic system and have nothing existing already I would strongly consider a high end indoor boiler like a Froling. I think in the end the cost would be comparable to an OWB (if not buying used) and it would burn considerably less wood than the OWB.

The house is a gift from my dad. It won't cost me a cent. He wants me close to his place. We are getting a decent deal on it . . The old guy that lived in it was 88. He died and left it to his stepson who is 79. All his stuff is still in it and the stepson doesn't want to deal with it . So we are gonna give him a month to take what he wants and I get the rest. Some junk some useful stuff. Has a nice shop too.

 

[Marshy]

I got ya. That's a mighty nice offer from your Dad. One thin to consider if you are going to do the indoor boiler is thermal storage. Those systems need a thermal storage to work efficiently. Unlike the OWB they don't run non stop, you typically reload them once or twice a day. The downside of the whole thing is if you want to get your state tax credit for the high efficiency indoor boiler you need to have a minimum quantity of thermal storage and the tank has to be a certified thermal storage tank. That adds a lot of cost and consumes a fair of space. My advice is do your research before jumping in. My state would require 600 gal thermal storage if I use a high efficiency IWB like the Frolingthat has a 32 gal water jacket.
I hate forced air heat but the nice thing is it doubles as AC in the hotter months. So unless you are going to go with heated floors with a ground thermal coupled for cooling the only other way to get cooling is forced air.

 

[NSMaple1]

So unless you are going to go with heated floors with a ground thermal coupled for cooling the only other way to get cooling is forced air.

I would go with mini-split(s) long before doing duct work.