Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: What's been keeping me busy the past while... (Read 1225 times) previous topic - next topic

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

My 110 year old house had a 40 year old combination wood/oil furnace when I bought it. This furnace was getting very long in the tooth, to the point it was getting unsafe. Last year toward the end of the heating season I noticed it was filling the house with smoke. I took it apart, got out a mirror, and inspected the inside of the heat exchanger, and discovered it was rusted out (thus removing the barrier between the fire and the ducting). In short, it was shiznit.

The thing was a pig anyway, burning 7-8 cords of wood per season PLUS several hundred gallons of oil. And I never did feel comfortable with a fire burning unattended in the basp00get. Time to go.

I didn't want another oil appliance because furnace oil is $4/gallon around here. When I rewired the house I installed electric heat, but that's still a hellish expensive way to heat this old  shack.

Enter the woodstove. I'd wanted one since I bought the house, but the furnace  shiznitting the bed kinda rushed it along. The sale of the T-Bird funded the project (fear not, I will save up to get a replacement Cougar, Mark VII or four-eye Bird next year). It's an EPA certified "clean" stove (the fire burns the strangest way I've ever seen) and it heats this house like crazy. The old furnace could barely take the chill out of the air; the night before last it was -9 celsius and windy and the house was a sauna. The furnace would burn about a dozen and a half sticks of wood per day, this stove burns about 7 or 8.

The new stove itself:X

To vent the flue gases I had a few choices: Either install a stainless steel insulated chimney on the side of the house (expensive and not ideal as I wanted to mount the stove central to the house) or tap into the existing masonry chimney, which has a stainless liner. I remembered when I redid the interior that there was a breech in the brick chimney in the living room, so I cut some drywall away and found it:
X

Unfortunately there was no breech in the stainless liner inside the masonry:
X
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #1 –
Now, that lack of a breech may seem like a simple problem to overcome, but this was the biggest headache to this entire project. My plan was to disconnect the furnace in the basp00get, pull the stainless liner up 8 feet, turn it 180 degrees so that the breech in it lines up with the breech in the livingroom, and away we go. Sounds simple, right?

Well, my house is 1.5 story, the roof has a 12/12 pitch (that means 45 degree slope), and the chimney is right at the peak. And I am deathly afraid of heights. I figued I'd get a chimney guy out to do that part. I called every one listed in the phone book. Most didn't return my call, one guy shoed up and said it'd be no problem and I never heard from him again, and one guy showed up and said it'd be a HUGE job, and would cost at least $1700. I figure this was a "shag off" price, and I took it as such. I ended up gathering my wits, getting help from a friend with no such fear of heights, and doing the chimney mod myself. I have no pics during the chimney mod because it was dirty work and I didn't wanna stop it to take pictures...
(continued)...
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #2 –
I hope you get it burning sone. Wood stoves work great. When I lived with my father inlaw it kept the house too hot.
88 Cougar LS 5.0 .030 over, ported E7s with GT40 valves & trickflow springs, Proform roller rockers, HO cam, removed air silencer, K&N filter, smog pump delete, 2.25" dual flowmasters, Pacestter H-pipe & headers, HO computer, 65mm TB, Explorer intake, 19# injecters, 3.45s, rebuilt posi, and TCI shift kit.

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #3 –
...Anyway, I got the chimney done. This was only half the battle. Now that I was sure I could put the stove where I wanted I had to build a hearth pad. My floor is very uneven (the joists are logs) so first up was to build a plywood platform. I also had to repair the holes in the drywall that I made while working on the chimney. I covered the plywood platform with ceramic tile:
XX
And then finally the stove was placed on the pad:
X
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #4 –
Once it was set up on the pad I connected the stove pipe, and it was time for some HEAT!
XXX
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #5 –
Now today I was able to get the tile up on the wall. The wall tiles need to be grouted, and then some minor trim installed, that wall painted, and the stove project will be complete!
XXX
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #6 –
So in doing this project I've added HVAC tech and brick layer to my resume... God, owning a house, especially an old one, is a PITA...
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #7 –
Nice work. You did a great job on the hearth area.I can certainly appreciate what you're going through.Our house was built in the 40's. No cellar or upstairs....thank God. We installed central heat and air,removed the floor furnace,ave remodeled every single room except the rest of the bathroom (I just refloored it). One step at a time. It can get expensive,but we learn a lot. Again Carmen, Nice work.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..
 

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Thunder Chicken;342630
So in doing this project I've added HVAC tech and brick layer to my resume... God, owning a house, especially an old one, is a PITA...

I hear that
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_137541156293768&ap=1

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #9 –
Very nice, looks like a finished product alright. Glad to hear you're nice and toasty now lol.
1987 20th Anniversary Cougar, 302 "5.0" GT-40 heads (F3ZE '93 Cobra) and TMoss Ported H.O. intake, H.O. camshaft
2.5" Duals, no cats, Flowmaster 40s, Richmond 3.73s w/ Trac-Lok, maxed out Baumann shift kit, 3000 RPM Dirty Dog non-lock TC
Aside from the Mustang crinkle headers, still looks like it's only 150 HP...
1988 Black XR7 Trick Flow top end, Tremec 3550
1988 Black XR7 Procharger P600B intercooled, Edelbrock Performer non-RPM heads, GT40 intake AOD, 13 PSI @5000 RPM. 93 octane

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #10 –
Awesome job, and looks like a good little wood burner, too.

My 32 year old house is starting to get it's share of problems. Some of the wiring in the basp00get needs to be redone, several of my pvc water pipes leak, and a couple of my drains as well. The basp00get wall is bowing in on the south side, and has 3 or 4 big-assed cracks. The carpet is all faded and we're going to start with the mudroom over the winter and work our way in, new tile flooring, new(er) paint, move the washer/dryer upstairs, and put a smaller deep freeze in as well. Also my porches are rotting and falling in, I cut off half of the back one and redone it, still have to do the front, thinking about eliminating it till spring. Also need new storm doors, and almost done putting metal on the roof. Whew, lol.
'98 Explorer 5.0
'20 Malibu (I know, Chevy, but, 35MPG. Let's go brandon, eh)

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #11 –
I really like it. Nice job. I'm a bit envious. We have a wood pellet stove. It's a cheaper py one and I can't wait to pick up a nice harmon. We have an old cast wood stove for back up but it doesn't get used.
:america: 1988 Thunderbird Sport, Former 4.6 DOHC T56 conversion project.

Rest of the country, Welcome to Massachusettes. Enjoy your stay.

 
Halfbreed... Mango Orange Y2K Mustang GT
FRPP complete 2000 Cobra engine swap, T56 n' junk...
~John~

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #12 –
Looking good, sir, looking good :cool:
If worms had daggers, birds wouldn't f**k with 'em

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #13 –
My brother has the very same (identical, actually) unit in the basp00get of his 80-year-old Pittsburgh house. It radiates an insane amount of heat when it's cookin', and his furnace only kicks over when it's really cold outside. The heat rises up through the stairway and feeds the entire first and second floors. He even puts a pot of water on top to act as a humidifier, and the water evaporates very quickly. That's a very nice (and cheap) bonus to the whole thing; you should consider that.

You said it burns in the strangest way - his does also. I asked him about the odd-looking flames and he told me that it recirculates the smoke to maximize efficiency (secondary burn?) and to reduce schmutz in the chimney; much like an EGR system, I'm assuming. He also said the "glass" on the door was some kind of NASA-grade ceramic material.

Nice choice.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

What's been keeping me busy the past while...

Reply #14 –
Nice unit , glad to see you will be keeping warm up there in the Arctic Circle
Fox-less at the moment