Indoor Wood Furnace. Problem Burning

[Racerboy832]

It's me again. I have the US Stove 1537G Indoor wood furnace. It seem lately that my stove with Smolder through wood when the bottom of the stove is Full of hot ash chunks. It doesn't turn the blower motors on much either. It is possible my wood is too wet? I pulled the plug in the back, left the bottom open 2 turns. I can fill it full before bed, leave it open to get a great flame going, close it down and it is down hill from there.

 

[dwinch53]

first of all can you hear a sizzle? when the door is opened...how long has the wood been drying?..I have a firechief which is similar to yours..i leave the bottom open 1/2 turn and the top window opened 1/3 of the way and it works well..also i have an inducer blower for the fire box..hopes this helps

 

[ericjeeper]

Sounds like you are shutting off to much airflow

If the wood will burn great with the air controls open.. The wood sounds dry enough to continue burning with minimal air.But not to minimal. Fire has to have air..

 

[Racerboy832]

It seems like I can get this huge pile of glowing chunks of woodpieces but not much actual fire. If I leave the chunks to glow for another 4-5 hours then they will burn down to ash and fall into the ash pan. It won't turn the blower motor on unless there is more heat in the box.

 

[ericjeeper]

Is your flue clean?

It might not be drafting worth a hoot.. what if you leave the door cracked a bit..Can you get a rip roaring fire?

 

[retired redneck]

It seems like I can get this huge pile of glowing chunks of woodpieces but not much actual fire. If I leave the chunks to glow for another 4-5 hours then they will burn down to ash and fall into the ash pan. It won't turn the blower motor on unless there is more heat in the box.

I have one of these,open ash door about half way get fire going good close door and turn draft knob 2 turns opean. also you need to remove stove pipe and clean smoke shelf i clean mine every year befor start up,didn't do this for two seasons once and shelf was 1/2 pluged would not draw right till i cleaned it...

 

[reaperman]

It seems like I can get this huge pile of glowing chunks of woodpieces but not much actual fire. If I leave the chunks to glow for another 4-5 hours then they will burn down to ash and fall into the ash pan. It won't turn the blower motor on unless there is more heat in the box.

It sounds to me like you just solved your own situation. You have a good bed of coals, but they aren't producing enough heat to kick on your plenium fan. And when the fan does kick on it most likely shuts off a short time later. Is there a limit switch on your system that could be lowered, allowing the fan to come on at a lower temperature? Some types of wood that "coal-up" give off a great deal of heat, such as oak, some other types of softer wood also coal-up and not produce near the amount of heat that a harder wood does. From my experience with my wood furnace, when the fire dies down to coals, the plenium fan usually stops running also, and will go into more of a cycle mode. Thats where a wood furnace and a wood stove seem to differ. A wood stove will put out heat as long as there are a few sparks laying around. Where a wood furnace is more of a balls-out, type of system, without a decent fire, no plenium fan.

 

[laynes69]

If you have the honeywell limit/control, Adjust your settings. If I have a firebox full of coals, it produces heat just fine, I can heat the house off of coals until it burns down for me to reload.

 

[Zodiac45]

I have one of these,open ash door about half way get fire going good close door and turn draft knob 2 turns opean. also you need to remove stove pipe and clean smoke shelf i clean mine every year befor start up,didn't do this for two seasons once and shelf was 1/2 pluged would not draw right till i cleaned it...

Bingo!

 

[Racerboy832]

Mine is in the garage under the house. If the blower isn't pumping air then is isn't heating anything. The cold outpowers the warmth. My house is built on many huge rocks. As much as I try to warm the garage it won't hold the heat cause the rocks are sucking it out. Does anyone know the exact model Honeywell switch I can order?

 

[laynes69]

You need a honeywell limit/control with a 5 or 5 1/2 inch insertion for the furnace. Look on ebay. Just type in limit control. This way you can set your on/off and extract more heat from the unit.

 

[laynes69]

Another thing to do, which if you have too many coals, open the damper up on the ashpan quite a bit. This will allow those coals to roar and heat nicely. I don't like to load up before bed on a firebox full of coals.

 

[ericjeeper]

Why are you buying parts?

I am somewhat confused here.. To me it sounds like a simple problem of not getting the firebox hot enough to make the switch..

 

[laynes69]

No, alot of times the stock thermodisc tends to operate out of range. It takes more heat to kick on, and kicks off rather quickly. As it cycles on and off, the house drops in temp. I can have 2 inches of coals, and my furnace will run. By installing a limit/control, you can lower the off temp and lower the on temp. This way it takes less for the blowers to fire back on. Just a few degrees and these furnaces will not heat correctly. On hearth, a man had his limit set too high. He said he couldn't get his house over 69 degrees with it roaring. I had him take it from 180 down to 140 on and 90 off. One hour later, the house was 72. The new furnaces come with a thermodisc, the older ones, or the upgrade for the forced draft kit come with a limit/control. Much better with these furnaces. My old one lasted 20 years on my furnace, before I replaced it.

 

[ericjeeper]

10-4

No, alot of times the stock thermodisc tends to operate out of range. It takes more heat to kick on, and kicks off rather quickly. As it cycles on and off, the house drops in temp. I can have 2 inches of coals, and my furnace will run. By installing a limit/control, you can lower the off temp and lower the on temp. This way it takes less for the blowers to fire back on. Just a few degrees and these furnaces will not heat correctly. On hearth, a man had his limit set too high. He said he couldn't get his house over 69 degrees with it roaring. I had him take it from 180 down to 140 on and 90 off. One hour later, the house was 72. The new furnaces come with a thermodisc, the older ones, or the upgrade for the forced draft kit come with a limit/control. Much better with these furnaces. My old one lasted 20 years on my furnace, before I replaced it.

I understand now..