Furnace options

[RBI]

Our family cabin ( West of Sundre ) is in need of a new furnace .

The cabin gets shut down for the winter , and basically gets most of its use on the weekends , May to Oct , well now til the end of November , as Ethan and I use it during hunting .

Point being , it doesn't get use much during the cold season .

The Cabin is approx. 1000sq ft ( It's basically an A frame/loft and a couple of bedrooms and bath in an addition .

Current furnace is about 100-110,000 btu downdraft furnace .

Here's the question , We certainly don't need a fancy new High eff .( high cost ) furnace ,but a far as new gas goes , obviously that all that's available .
Did a bit of looking for a decent used furnace , but trying to find a down draft is difficult .

Starting to think , maybe an electric furnace would be fine ( assuming much lower actual furnace cost ) But at this time that is unknown .

Electric baseboard heating has been considered , but strong lack of wall space is a concern ( not necessarily a killer though ) .

Looking for idea's or options

If there really is no other good (cost saving ) options , then I guess we just bit the bullet and have to by a new gas furnace ,( certainly best option for the cabin , just not the wallet )

Dad had a HVAC company in Calgary here for 30 years , ( retired 20 plus yrs now ) , and might still be able to get a wholesale price . ( or not )

If it comes down to that , are there any recommended installers on here , that work in the Sundre / Olds area , or heck here in Calgary , that love a nice drive in the country :).

Thanks for anything you can offer Bob

[masalma]

Have you considered the on demand units. Have used them in my trip to Africa. Just flick on a switch and you got hot water. Lowest cost. Don't have any actual reviews locally though.

[RBI]

Have you considered the on demand units. Have used them in my trip to Africa. Just flick on a switch and you got hot water. Lowest cost. Don't have any actual reviews locally though.

I'm looking for a furnace , not a hot water unit. but thanks anyway

[dewalt18]

Have you considered the on demand units. Have used them in my trip to Africa. Just flick on a switch and you got hot water. Lowest cost. Don't have any actual reviews locally though.

As nice as on demand systems can be, I doubt the OP would find it adequate to heat his cabin. . . . . :snapoutofit:

That being said. As far as new goes, high efficient is your only option. Used, as you already mentioned, will be very tough to find in a down draft. If your father still has connections to get something wholesale, I'd recommend going that way, and ask around for a quality guy willing to do an install for you (my PM box is always open lol). If he's not able to get you wholesale pricing, maybe give me a shout anyways

DW18

[masalma]

I'm looking for a furnace , not a hot water unit. but thanks anyway

Oh sorry for some reason I was thinking water heater the whole time I was reading your post.

[FishingMOM]

Our family cabin ( West of Sundre ) is in need of a new furnace .

The cabin gets shut down for the winter , and basically gets most of its use on the weekends , May to Oct , well now til the end of November , as Ethan and I use it during hunting .

Point being , it doesn't get use much during the cold season .

The Cabin is approx. 1000sq ft ( It's basically an A frame/loft and a couple of bedrooms and bath in an addition .

Current furnace is about 100-110,000 btu downdraft furnace .

Here's the question , We certainly don't need a fancy new High eff .( high cost ) furnace ,but a far as new gas goes , obviously that all that's available .
Did a bit of looking for a decent used furnace , but trying to find a down draft is difficult .

Starting to think , maybe an electric furnace would be fine ( assuming much lower actual furnace cost ) But at this time that is unknown .

Electric baseboard heating has been considered , but strong lack of wall space is a concern ( not necessarily a killer though ) .

Looking for idea's or options

If there really is no other good (cost saving ) options , then I guess we just bit the bullet and have to by a new gas furnace ,( certainly best option for the cabin , just not the wallet )

Dad had a HVAC company in Calgary here for 30 years , ( retired 20 plus yrs now ) , and might still be able to get a wholesale price . ( or not )

If it comes down to that , are there any recommended installers on here , that work in the Sundre / Olds area , or heck here in Calgary , that love a nice drive in the country :).

Thanks for anything you can offer Bob
I would look for places that are getting torn down. A lot of them will have mid eff furnace that might still be salvageable but you might need to talk to people.
There are always these types of houses coming down in Calgary.

[Sfscott]

I think your best option would be to go with a newer high efficient unit, as you stated really all that is available these days. One thing to remember is that if your going new you can scale back the size of the unit, something in the 75000 BTU Range should be lots for a building of that size. Or you could go really old school with the good old reliable wood or pellet stove!

[From The Hip]

I think your best option would be to go with a newer high efficient unit, as you stated really all that is available these days. One thing to remember is that if your going new you can scale back the size of the unit, something in the 75000 BTU Range should be lots for a building of that size. Or you could go really old school with the good old reliable wood or pellet stove!

I too say pellet stove.Super cheap to run and they give off abundant heat.

FTH

[RBI]

Maybe it would be a good idea if I were to to call it a cottage or maybe even more like a house. Its not overly rustic or rough .

Does anybody have any experience with electric furnaces , be it using them or installing them ? Pros and cons ?

Again thanks

[dewalt18]

I do have electric experience, but it's going back 15 years to when I was still working in BC. They work well and heat a home, but the drawbacks will be that you may not have have a large enough electrical service in place to supply a new unit. Obviously there is provisions there for gas, as that is what is existing, only there would be some venting changes due to a new unit being high efficient, which is minor

[dale7637]

Go see an outfit that has camp shacks and Wellsite trailers. You will find a used down draft mid efficiency furnace before you can blink. Only thing to change is the orifice to go from lpg to ng. 10 second fix.

[dewalt18]

Go see an outfit that has camp shacks and Wellsite trailers. You will find a used down draft mid efficiency furnace before you can blink. Only thing to change is the orifice to go from lpg to ng. 10 second fix.

If you go this route, be sure to have a gas fitter convert the gas valve as well, as LP runs at a different pressure than NG

[RBI]

Go see an outfit that has camp shacks and Wellsite trailers. You will find a used down draft mid efficiency furnace before you can blink. Only thing to change is the orifice to go from lpg to ng. 10 second fix.

Interesting idea ,

A/ where might I look for an outfit like that ?

B/ If it was used for a camp shack or trailer , what would be the odds , do you
think , of finding one big enough for my needs ?

[Sneeze]

I am reasonably sure that lots of the new furnaces can be set to the up or downdraft installations.

I have installed a few of them. Its not rocket science.

On a high eff unit I would be concerned about water being left in the unit when you shut it off for the season.

alpinehomeair.com

I think they still have mid efficiency units for sale, plus all sorts of other heating options.

[dale7637]

Interesting idea ,

A/ where might I look for an outfit like that ?

B/ If it was used for a camp shack or trailer , what would be the odds , do you
think , of finding one big enough for my needs ?

Try Apex, Peak, Alta Fab, Winalta Rentals, True-co Modular, any of them should be able to help you out.

When we had shacks, we were installed 90K Btu units, so they should be big enough.

[partsman]

Oh sorry for some reason I was thinking water heater the whole time I was reading your post.

That's because your always getting in hot water as my mom used to say.:thinking-006:

[benamen]

Not sure on your setup but seeing as the existing furnace is a downdraft, could you change out some of your ductwork so you could hang an updraft furnace horizontally?
A couple of years ago I was in the market for two furnaces. Found a 93 percent Lennox furnace in Calgary that was two years old for $600 and found a 97 percent Lennox furnace in Edmonton that was less than a year old for $1300.
We heated the cabin for a couple of years with two electric construction heaters and finally have the gas furnace in. We have a thermostat that can be adjusted remotely and it certainly is nice to arrive at the cabin when it is up to temperature.
I installed the 70,000 BTU SLV98 into my 1250 SQ Ft cabin and it heats it just fine. And I did hang the furnace horizontally in the crawl space.

[Dean2]

You already have a hot water heater and a gas hook up. Install a second Hot Water heater, one that will run with glycol in it on a closed loop system. Just run glycol lines to a radiator in each room, put a bi-metal fan on top of each rad, no electrical required runs off the heat, and put a remotely adjustable thermostat in each room. You don't need to heat in the winter and you don't have to drain the radiators or 2nd HW heater. Still have to drain and flush your water lines unless you leave the heat on at 5 degrees C all year round. A lot cheaper than a furnace and more efficient than forced air heating.

[Sneeze]

A lot cheaper than a furnace and more efficient than forced air heating.

Curious... have you ever priced out hydronic heating compared to forced air?

I hope you investigate further - its no where near as cheap as forced air. Even if you are not running under floor lines - its crazy expensive.

Calculate how many feet of baseboard heaters you need per room then sell your first born. Then try to stumble through balancing the system so your rooms close to the boiler don't cook and the ones far away freeze.

Water heaters with recovery rates big enough to use as quasi boilers are big bucks. (Priced similar to boilers) Add in circulation pumps, expansion tanks, zone valves, copper piping and a bunch of gycol and you have yourself a very expensive heating system. Don't get me wrong here - they heat nicely if the system is installed correctly - but they are definitely not the cheaper alternative.

I posted a website link where you can get a mid eff furnace, 40k BTU down-flow for $525 USD including shipping.

Done, problem solved.

[RBI]

Curious... have you ever priced out hydronic heating compared to forced air?

I hope you investigate further - its no where near as cheap as forced air. Even if you are not running under floor lines - its crazy expensive.

Calculate how many feet of baseboard heaters you need per room then sell your first born. Then try to stumble through balancing the system so your rooms close to the boiler don't cook and the ones far away freeze.

Water heaters with recovery rates big enough to use as quasi boilers are big bucks. (Priced similar to boilers) Add in circulation pumps, expansion tanks, zone valves, copper piping and a bunch of gycol and you have yourself a very expensive heating system. Don't get me wrong here - they heat nicely if the system is installed correctly - but they are definitely not the cheaper alternative.

I posted a website link where you can get a mid eff furnace, 40k BTU down-flow for $525 USD including shipping.

Done, problem solved.

They won't/can't ship mid eff units to Canada , and I'm going to need a lot more than 40K BTU. That being said , its an interesting idea , and I will try to give them a call tomorrow . Thanks

[Dean2]

Curious... have you ever priced out hydronic heating compared to forced air?

I hope you investigate further - its no where near as cheap as forced air. Even if you are not running under floor lines - its crazy expensive.

Calculate how many feet of baseboard heaters you need per room then sell your first born. Then try to stumble through balancing the system so your rooms close to the boiler don't cook and the ones far away freeze.

Water heaters with recovery rates big enough to use as quasi boilers are big bucks. (Priced similar to boilers) Add in circulation pumps, expansion tanks, zone valves, copper piping and a bunch of gycol and you have yourself a very expensive heating system. Don't get me wrong here - they heat nicely if the system is installed correctly - but they are definitely not the cheaper alternative.

I posted a website link where you can get a mid eff furnace, 40k BTU down-flow for $525 USD including shipping.

Done, problem solved.

I have it in this house to heat the basement, and had it in my previous house as basement heat as well. They are both in floor heat with zone controls, pumps and all the other bits and pieces. I am well aware of the requirements to install it in very large homes, and the cost, but to do a 1000 square foot cabin is quite a bit different.

I have also done garages and cabins with this type of heating and it is not all that expensive to install, as long as you use Radiators, or put the tubing in when you are pouring the pad (Last garage cost $300 for 4 zone in floor tubing). I am assuming this cabin would have somewhere between 3 and 5 rooms max, which means one pump, 5 zones and 5 radiators. I would use the taller old style rads and a bi-metal fan, not baseboard type in a cabin and garage.

As long as you are comfortable running the lines yourself, this is not an expensive install.