Idea for a wood stove in an uninsulated/unfinished basement.

Good point...I may have gotten my terminology twisted around earlier.

I'm not trying to nit pick here, but since it is being explained in detail, the induced draft furnace uses one blower (for combustion) (then there is another much larger blower for heat/AC distribution into the house) not one to pull air into the burner, and then another to push flue gasses up the chimney...at least none that I have ever seen (I'm not full time HVAC tech though either)

 

No, not picking at all and you are 100% correct! The blower motor is for air distribution throughout the duct system.

The induced draft forces air into the burn pot (and in this case) oil to be burned and thus, this force also aids in the vent process by "pushing" the products of combustion into and up the flue.

Power vent is added into the chimney pipe after the furnace and aids in pulling and then pushing the products of combustion up or in more common cases out (horizontally) the vent pipe.

 

Ask and you shall receive! Let me know if there are any specific parts you’d like to see. I know little about the oil furnace since we have never used it and never plan to but I always like to learn!

 

More ductwork pics

I know for sure the three ducts going into the box at the top in the last picture are all air intake for the blower. (Is “air intake” the right term? It sucks air in from the floors upstairs)

 

Pic of oil furnace with the entire plenum ducted into the bottom side of the wood furnace. Oil furnace blower motor blows the air across the oil furnace heat exchanger into the plenum and then into the bottom of the wood furnace through the ductwork.



The square box you see on the other end of the oil furnace is the return air plenum This is where the blower motor gathers the air from the house through the ductwork/round pipe/panned off joist spaces and blows it across the heat exchanger.



I have no idea just WTH this is!! Maybe some sort of water tray (judging by the stains) on top of the wood furnace to aid in humidity for the house? Can't tell if the top of the plenum it sits on has been opened for it or not..... Is that metal panning of the ceiling covering the joists? It looks rusty.



Looks like the beginning of your supply air trunkline at the plenum.


Be sure to leave the filter access door on the oil furnace attached/installed where it should be or else the return air will be drawn form the basement instead of from the duct system. Also, it you run the furnace with that door off, the air filters are bypassed and will help lead to premature failure of blower motor from the introduction of dust/dirt.

 

I’ll have to look closer at that pan tomorrow when I’m not in bed half asleep

do you think it would be fairly easy to remove the oil furnace and just have a forced air wood furnace?

 

The wood furnace would benefit by having some sort of vertical rise in it's vent pipe to the chimney.

The ductwork would benefit by not having to make so many twists and turns and detours (all necessary BTW).

I will not attempt to begin to analyze the low voltage control wiring that is existing, but with only a wood furnace, it should be simpler.

Removal of the oil furnace can entail actual disassembly of it if you don't have an unobstructed path for removal. (Tore down too may of those and carried them out piece by piece back in the day.)

Can it be easy? Sure..... if you are skilled in measuring and sizing ductwork to be tied into the existing ductwork, venting and electrical. Maybe you have/know someone that can help out in this field?

Also, having a wood furnace would entail babysitting it every heating season. Not such a bad thing, but at your age, maybe there will be times you need to be away for extended periods of time? That = no heat.

 

The main source of heat for the house is ductless heat pumps. I just like cutting, stacking, and burning wood so it would be a secondary heat source for us.