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Post by duff on Oct 6, 2005 23:05:44 GMT -5
Kevin, I looked into it for my house and the guy I talked to said min. of $8K to upgrade. There were a few options that went along with the deal and I can not remember everything. He also said you would still need some back up heat for the real cold days.
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Post by kevin1 on Oct 7, 2005 5:09:41 GMT -5
Kevin, I looked into it for my house and the guy I talked to said min. of $8K to upgrade. There were a few options that went along with the deal and I can not remember everything. He also said you would still need some back up heat for the real cold days. If that's the case then they just priced themselves out for me , I could convert to a conventional electric furnace cheaper than that . At $8,000 I don't see myself recouping the investment . Was the guy you spoke with talking about a closed loop outside system , or the kind with the plumbing in the floor ? If it's the plumbing inside variety I couldn't have that without a major retrofit anyway .
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Post by duff on Oct 9, 2005 21:39:35 GMT -5
Closed loop outside system. Initial cost is very prohibitive. Have you though about an outdoor wood boiler? There are expensive but only cost you wood after that with minimal yearly maintence so I have heard. I have heard many good things about them. Sounds like you live in an area where neighbors wouldn't be a problem or gathering enough wood. They also heat your water if wanted. I looked at the central boiler and they were about 5-8K as well. Nothing is cheap that is for sure.
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Post by kevin1 on Oct 10, 2005 18:40:26 GMT -5
I couldn't say for other companies , but my insurer isn't crazy about any kind of wood heat , inside or out .
I saw one with some kind of Scandinavian name that sat encased in a 20 ton sand pile and had the heat exchanger plumbing inside the pile as well before piping it into the house . Space and water heat all in one . It was much less than geothermal and you could run the pump and blower on a small generator if needed .
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Post by duff on Oct 11, 2005 15:30:03 GMT -5
Can't understand why they would be worried about a wood heat source that is set away from your house? It would be safer then any other combustion furnace you have in your house or space heater. I have seen where closet doors have been blown off their hinges because a water heater malfunctioned and caused a mini explosion.
And a very good friend of mine had his mom and dad's place completely destroyed becasue their neighbors house exploded due to faulty gas lines in their house. This was probably 8 years ago or so in Elwood.
The units I have looked at are all stand alone sheds with the hot water piped into the house. Once we get a student loan paid off we will have one.
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Post by kevin1 on Oct 12, 2005 11:25:02 GMT -5
I agree Duff , but that's the way they are .
My son is supposed to come over this weekend and remove the wood furnace that's driving up my insurance cost and ruining the efficiency of the system as a whole due to the way it was installed , if I don't get a substantial discount the current insurer is history anyway . I'll be sure to inquire with the next one about how they view outside stoves , it wasn't really an issue when we bought the place since I had no intention of using the wood furnace at the time . Then it will just be a matter of shopping around for prices and possibly a finance plan . I have a great spot for it right outside the garage wall from where the present furnace and water heater are located .
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Post by Gunsafe on Jan 26, 2006 1:23:22 GMT -5
the best thing is Geo thermal and cellulose insulation its like a sore weenie, just cant beat it....it pays money back to u in the long run, talk to your electric co. they can help u on this.. or a home energy loan, listen to Doug rye on radio Saturday mornings 9 am est. 104.7 witz jasper.. or www.dougrye.com great person to listen to on this subject..
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Post by chicobrownbear on Feb 9, 2006 16:16:05 GMT -5
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management could have something to say about the outdoor wood furnaces in the very near future. I don't know what the deal is, but I think they are taking air quality samples in Washington County in regard to these systems. More on that as the news comes through the grapevine...
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Post by duff on Feb 9, 2006 21:49:44 GMT -5
I think it has more to do with dense housing and the short stacks these units have. Nothing worse then living shoulder to shoulder and having your neighbor pouring smoke at you. Trust me I know, it happened more then once when I lived in the city.
Anyways here is a recent blurb about these and some of the opposition IDEM is up against.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006 Environment - House amendment would prohibit regulation of wood-fired boilers
A press release of State Representative Eric Koch, dated yesterday, announced:
(STATEHOUSE) Jan. 30, 2006 – An amendment by State Representative Eric Koch (R-Bedford) to House Bill 1332 would pre-empt the Indiana Department of Environmental Management from regulating outdoor wood burning furnaces and boilers.
“Many homes and businesses in my district are doing their part to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels by burning wood,” Rep. Koch said. “Wood is a renewable form of energy and Hoosiers should be encouraged, rather than discouraged, to burn wood, especially when fuel prices are so high.”
“Our limestone industry is a major user of these types of furnaces because of the large size of their buildings,” Rep. Koch said.
House Bill 1332 is an alternative energy bill co-authored by Rep. Koch that also includes incentives for biodiesel, blended biodiesel, and ethanol production.
Rep. Koch represents House District 65, which includes parts of Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, and Lawrence Counties.
Here is the amendment and here is HB 1332.
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Post by chicobrownbear on Feb 10, 2006 9:02:48 GMT -5
Mitch loves to sweep environmental issue under the corporate rug. This one will probably pass.
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Post by duff on Feb 10, 2006 11:01:52 GMT -5
I hope so, I am really considering getting one of these units.
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Post by steiny on Feb 13, 2006 21:06:43 GMT -5
I love wood heat. Have a nice furnace with blower on the back porch of the house. The back porch is concrete floor and masonry walls, seperated from the living room via a pair of double pocket doors. If we want a fire, we open up the double doors and fire up the stove. If we don't feel like messing with it, leave the doors shut and to heck with it. It burns pretty steady until outside temps hit the 40's. Then it can get uncomfortably hot.
Just put another antique style parlor stove in my trophy room. It's mostly for looks, but I'll burn it when it's cold out and I have company hanging out there.
In regards to insurance, I checked with my man (State Farm) and he had no problem, so long as everthing was professionally installed to manufacturers specs.
I've got all the wood I'll ever want for free, and enjoy cutting firewood in the winter, when there isn't much else to do anyway. I doubt if it really saves much money when you consider; time spent, chain saw, chains, fuel & oil, cost of the stoves and chimneys, a hydraulic splitter, etc.
Probably the most financially intelligent move is to simply insulate the heck out of your house, seal everything up good, good windows, good doors & weatherstrips, change furnace filters regularlly, and get a handle on your utility expenditures.
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Post by kevin1 on Feb 18, 2006 11:25:03 GMT -5
The house we bought a year ago had a regular fireplace converted to gas log. Well, with natural gas prices the way they are and heading I spent last night tearing out and capping gas lines and had our first REAL fire! Bring on the sub zero temps! ;D A word of caution , unless your fireplace is getting it's return air from outside somehow you'll actually be robbing heat from your living space . Fireplaces are one of the worst ways to heat a space unless you have an insert in place .
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Post by danf on Mar 19, 2006 21:04:27 GMT -5
We bought our house almost 4 years ago and it has a furnace that is ~50 years old. It won't work, and it's not worth fixing. We had it worked on that first fall, and it worked until that next spring. Hasn't worked since. But we don't have the money to replace it. However, there is a wood stove in the living room, and between that, a couple of electric baseboard heaters, and ceiling fans we do fine. I figure we burn between 20-30 ricks of wood per season, but don't know for sure as I've never had that much stacked up at the beginning of the season. Bought a new chainsaw last summer and my uncle basically gave me his splitter, so I'm good to go for quite a while!
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Post by Bentwrench on Mar 23, 2006 20:15:39 GMT -5
I heat my house with shelled corn. Clean, cheap and easy. Right now I have a free standing stove but will be instaling a corn fired boiler in my new place in acouple of years.
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Post by duff on Mar 24, 2006 11:22:32 GMT -5
What is the cost for a new corn boiler? What are the fall cons of the set up?
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Post by shootsa410 on Mar 24, 2006 13:52:18 GMT -5
I have about a 2100 sq ft home (2 story) with geothermal (closed loop). It was installed new when the home was built 14 years ago. When we want it warm in the house we turn up the heat, when we want it cool we turn up the air and we don't scrounge. My electric bill averages out to $123 for the last 12 months. The home is all electric, washing maching, dryer, stove and electric back-up for the hot water heater. I have two filters in the duct system that need to be changed but that is the only required maintenance.
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