Ductwork for wood burning furnace

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Dana

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Did you look at the manual?

The intake on the hot air blower is the room air, so the return plenum would have to be the basement, or a return duct system that emptied into the basement. Their recommended retrofit approach onto an existing system seriously unbalances the duct system. (ACCA Manual-D? HA!! We don' NEED no stinkin' Manual-D! ;) ).

Yes it's possible to design a duct system around this. The blower is rated 850 CFM but they don't specify the pressure at which it actually delivers that much air. You'll have to do a room-by-room heat load calculation and calculate the CFM of say 120-140F air that it takes to serve up that load, and design the duct sizing to each room proportionally, with some balancing vanes to tweak it in, an provide sufficient return path cross section so that it actually flows with the doors closed. Or you can put the 8" output duct into a short 12" square plenum and home-run a bunch of 5" round ducts to each room with balancing vanes and spend the rest of your life fine tuning it. :)

There are code-issues when installing atmospheric drafted wood-burners below grade, since the lowest air-intake into the house should not be above the firebox. The further below grade the firebox is, the greater the backdraft potential. A 3-4" diameter proximity-air duct taking outdoor near the combustion air intake of the woodburner is a good idea in tighter than average houses.

This is also specifically not an EPA rated wood burner, and may not be legal to install in your jurisdiction. EPA rated wood burning appliances put out far less particulate matter, and are typically 30-50% more efficient than less sophisticated unrated designs. You may be able to use it in rural areas without the neighbors complaining, but it's something to consider before going ahead with it.

Are you sure you really want to take this on?

Do you have an existing chimney, even a fireplace upstairs, perchance?

How is the place currently being heated?

Is the foundation insulated?
 
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