Yukon furnace disassembly

[Coult45]

I'm removing this beast and replacing it with a heat pump over the next few weeks...months...timeline is a little uncertain as I dive in and start to learn what I don't know. I'm hoping to sell it to someone who wants it for a workshop, pole barn, etc., since it's in great shape and will burn coal, oil, and wood.

Does anyone have any experience pulling the heavy components out of this and the electronics off the exterior, minimizing damage and hassle for the person who's going to put it back together and operate it? I want to make sure I don't do something stupid with the tile/stone stuff inside the burn chamber, or anything else that might screw it up unnecessarily.

As you can see by my mastery of the HVAC vernacular, I'm a natural at this. Any tips are much appreciated!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

My question would be why would you take something out that is in great shape and works good? And can use so many heat sources. Heat pumps are pretty limited in their ability to heat when it gets cold.

If anything, just put in a few mini split systems for each room to provide heating and cooling but leave this big boy in place for when it gets really cold.

 

[Coult45]

My question would be why would you take something out that is in great shape and works good? And can use so many heat sources. Heat pumps are pretty limited in their ability to heat when it gets cold.

If anything, just put in a few mini split systems for each room to provide heating and cooling but leave this big boy in place for when it gets really cold.

Yeah, there are a lot of pros and cons that went into the decision. it's a solid unit, and puts out a ton of heat. But the fuel oil tank was underground, and I don't know how old it was or what kind of quality it was (double-walled, etc). And every buried tank leaks, eventually. I didn't want that potential environmental problem somewhere down the line. My wife wanted nothing to do with wood or coal, so the fuel flexibility doesn't do much for us (although I counted it as an asset in my zombie apocalypse planning). Plus, I'm a tree-hugger, so an 80% efficient furnace burning non-renewables bugged me. I even considered converting it to propane, but smarter people than me convinced me that it would be a dumb investment to sink into a low-efficiency furnace.

You might be surprised at how good modern heat pumps are. Four of my neighbors run them. They're all seeing significant savings compared to the propane and fuel oil furnaces they replaced. And none of them had any trouble during our coldest sub-zero stretches.

 

[TimW451]

Seems like something that would be best for the new owner to disassemble.

 

[Coult45]

I'm hoping to get some quick interest when I post it, and a buyer who says "I'll come and get it now" would be idea. But...if that doesn't happen, I still need to get it out of my furnace room. And that will require some level of breakdown. Even then, it will take a small army of my neighbors to help me haul it out of the house.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I will just say this, my suggestion to you would be to install the heat pumps and run them and keep your furnace as a back up until you see the effectiveness of the heat pump system in the dead of winter. Then you can do an actual comparison between that 80% efficient oil burner and the new heat pump system, and how comfortable you are.

Is your garage heated?

I’d also find out if those four neighbors have heat strips / supplemental heart strips in their systems, and see if they will let you look at their utility bills, total cost of installing these systems, Its one thing for people to say they are saving a lot and looking at the actual numbers.

I also live where it gets very cold in the winter, not getting above zero for weeks at a time, a propane boiler is my primary heat source that pumps the hot water through 3 different zones each with its own thermostat, and wall mounted heat exchangers, this system works great! But the majority of heating is done with a wood stove, 80-85% of my heating is done with wood. There is no way I’d live where I do without a primary and back up heat source.

ERCOT is a great example, in 2010 there was a cold wave that went through Texas and there were massive power outages and ERCOT was fined $15M by NERC for not having the blade heaters on in their wind turbines, and NERC recommended their power plants etc.. be hardened against the cold to prevent freeze up of condensate lines, and to put in alternative fuel sources for their gas fired boilers etc…

Fast forward to 2020, yet another cold wave descends on Texas, again massive power outages, this time the blade heaters didn‘t matter cause it was just too cold, thousands upon thousands of homes with burst pipes etc.. due to freeze damage.. why because ERCOT didn’t do what NERC had recommended as far as hardening against the cold. Except one part of Texas that didn’t get mentioned, they had one outage of 2000 people and within 15 mins all but 500 were back in power the rest in a couple of hours. This was El Paso electric, and not only did they harden their facilities against the cold, when it was clear that the natural gas pumping stations were coming off line and natural gas was not going to be available, their power plants switched over to fuel oil and kept their units running for the duration until natural gas was restored. El Paso installed tank farms with fuel oil per the NERC recommendations as an alternative fuel source and prevented all of their customers from having to go without power during this cold wave.

 

[Coult45]

Some great points!

Two neighbors are perfect case studies. One switched from propane, and texts me almost every month to share exact year over year savings. Not sure what the overall ROI timeline is for him since I don't know his install or purchase cost is, but his monthly fuel cost savings gives me solid information. The other had NO heat, slowly converting a summer camp to a full-time home. Put in mini splits with no heat strips. His house is 2x4 exterior walls with almost no remaining insulation. When we were minus 5 to 10 for multiple nights in a row, the system kept up...just barely. Kept the house in the mid 60's without his fireplace running. I'm buying the same brand, but a unit that ties in to my existing ducting vs the mini splits. And I'm doing the install myself, which conservatively saves me $10k at a minimum.

As far as emergency backups, we're on the same page. My propane fireplace insert can heat my whole house, which I'm putting to the test right now. Fuel oil tank was pulled from the ground last friday, and we've been staying warm with only the fireplace since then. Mid 20's at night, so not bitter cold. I also think I can install the heat pump so I can run it off my generator when needed.

And as a little added insurance on the heat pump, I'll be getting the supplemental heat strip. Which reminds me...I need to order that last piece.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Cool! You did your homework!