# Want wood burning baseboard heat



## Chincoteaguer (Jan 6, 2011)

I have a forced hot air system with humidifyer but am not satisfied with system.   It works as advertised and I have had no system problems since installation 11 years ago.  But there are several other problems:  my wife has allergies (hot air just churns up allergens); the humidifyer helps but house is still too dry; and we do not have natural gas access and must burn expensive propane.  The past two months we burned $1,800.00 of propane

I hope to install supplementary baseboard heating that uses a wood burning source.  I would keep the gas heater and ducking but would install baseboard in the kitchen, dining room, and living areas.  I have burned wood in an older house (space heaters) and have a lot of standing hardwood on the property.  Also, there are many sources for reasonably priced hard wood in the area.

Is this a project that requires more than a  "shade tree fixit man's expertise"?   Are contractors for this work available and should I pay to have it done?  Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.


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## kok328 (Jan 6, 2011)

The answers to your questions can't be answered by anyone here unless they know your skills, knowledge and abilities.
For starters, you will need a wood burner with a heat exchanger, a pump to circulate the water and plumbing lines with baseboard radiators, safety cut-outs/controls for over temp and low flow.  I'm sure you can find the wood burner and heat exchanger as a package.


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## nealtw (Jan 6, 2011)

found this site have a look
I can't set up link so just copy and paste in your search
http://www.houserepairtalk.com/f8/want-wood-burning-baseboard-heat-10615/


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## nealtw (Jan 6, 2011)

sorrey try this one

Hydronic woodstoves by Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #105


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## paul52446m (Jan 6, 2011)

Chincoteaguer said:


> I have a forced hot air system with humidifyer but am not satisfied with system.   It works as advertised and I have had no system problems since installation 11 years ago.  But there are several other problems:  my wife has allergies (hot air just churns up allergens); the humidifyer helps but house is still too dry; and we do not have natural gas access and must burn expensive propane.  The past two months we burned $1,800.00 of propane
> 
> I hope to install supplementary baseboard heating that uses a wood burning source.  I would keep the gas heater and ducking but would install baseboard in the kitchen, dining room, and living areas.  I have burned wood in an older house (space heaters) and have a lot of standing hardwood on the property.  Also, there are many sources for reasonably priced hard wood in the area.
> 
> Is this a project that requires more than a  "shade tree fixit man's expertise"?   Are contractors for this work available and should I pay to have it done?  Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.


Hi paul here. is the areas that you want to heat with this wood burner on the ground level.? Do you have a basement or a crawl hole under your home. If you get back with me i can tell you how to do it... Paul


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## Chincoteaguer (Jan 6, 2011)

nealtw said:


> sorrey try this one
> 
> Hydronic woodstoves by Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM Issue #105



Just finished reading the article from your link.  Thanks a bunch!  It is a good start.  Looks like the article covered exactly what I would like to do.  The only negative is that a qualified installer is recommended.  I don't mind paying to have the work done but it might be hard to find someone with experience with wood burning boilers.


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## paul52446m (Jan 6, 2011)

Chincoteaguer said:


> Just finished reading the article from your link.  Thanks a bunch!  It is a good start.  Looks like the article covered exactly what I would like to do.  The only negative is that a qualified installer is recommended.  I don't mind paying to have the work done but it might be hard to find someone with experience with wood burning boilers.



The out door wood heaters are just that. They are not a wood fired boiler.
 They are not under the rules of a boiler. They are not a pressured vessel.
 They are just a wood burning heater. Paul


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## nealtw (Jan 6, 2011)

talk to the plumbers in your area. this is not new.


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## Chincoteaguer (Jan 7, 2011)

paul52446m said:


> Hi paul here. is the areas that you want to heat with this wood burner on the ground level.? Do you have a basement or a crawl hole under your home. If you get back with me i can tell you how to do it... Paul



yes, area is on ground level.  Have good clearence in crawl space.  My home is on what we call a point (surrounded on three sides by water).  We have about 30 feet on one side of the house before sloping to the water and about half that on the other side.  Can't put the burner in the back.  Wife would be unhappy to obstruct view of water.  Can these burners be placed on a slope (hoping to put on the short slope - not 30ft side).  I know they have to be level and I could grade and slab to accomplish this but worry that this is not safe.


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## Chincoteaguer (Jan 7, 2011)

paul52446m said:


> The out door wood heaters are just that. They are not a wood fired boiler.
> They are not under the rules of a boiler. They are not a pressured vessel.
> They are just a wood burning heater. Paul



Thats a good piece of information.  The article seemed to suggest that if you got the wood heater that the boiler came with it.  Thanks for the insight.


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## paul52446m (Jan 7, 2011)

Chincoteaguer said:


> Thats a good piece of information.  The article seemed to suggest that if you got the wood heater that the boiler came with it.  Thanks for the insight.



If you want to install  a outdoor wood heater, and radiation in your home, you might not have to use a boiler or a header to do the job. you will have to answer the question i asked in my first post.  They will tell you that you can't tie a outdoor heater to a boiler inside with out using a header, because the inside boiler is a pressurized unit. It is  pressurized because you tie a feed line 
 from you water supply. Well its not against the law to make your boiler system a open tank system and them it is not a   pressurized system.
   Later paul


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## Chincoteaguer (Jan 8, 2011)

paul52446m said:


> If you want to install  a outdoor wood heater, and radiation in your home, you might not have to use a boiler or a header to do the job. you will have to answer the question i asked in my first post.  They will tell you that you can't tie a outdoor heater to a boiler inside with out using a header, because the inside boiler is a pressurized unit. It is  pressurized because you tie a feed line
> from you water supply. Well its not against the law to make your boiler system a open tank system and them it is not a   pressurized system.
> Later paul



Answers to your questions are in a previous post.  I had the same questions about pressurized boilers.  You say that the need for pressure is the link to a feed from the water supply.  I assume the non-pressurized boiler is feed through some other means??.  Do you fill the system with liquid one time and then add more as needed?  Also, are the thermostats and circulation pumps easy to install.  I think I can do the plumbing but I'm a little leary about electrical stuff.


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## paul52446m (Jan 8, 2011)

I have put boilers in cabins that have no indoor plumbing. If the boiler and radiation are 
 on one floor, i put a 6 gal. tank by the boiler and at a height just above the boiler.
 I make a lid for this tank and a 3/4 in copper pipe out of the bottom of the tank that goes to the boiler. I fill the system through this tank. i can use water and mix antifreeze 
 with it. I fill the system until the tank is half full. this tank is also the expansion tank.
 If you start half full when the water heats up it expands into the tank.
   This is why i asked you if you if the area you want to heat is on one story.
 You would have to have you outdoor heater a little above the height of your radiation.
  In Mi where i am at you can still install a open tank system. 
 I have a large boiler license and i just asked the state inspector about this.. 
 wiring would not be a problem your out door unit would have a pump that would run all the time. You would need two 1" full flow zone valves a thermostat and relay.
 When the thermostat calls for heat it would open a zone valve and close the bypass 
 zone valve . Later Paul


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