New to wood furnaces and i have a quick question

[Oly's Stump]

Those girls look nothing like a granny energy saver!

 

[ttopmustanggt88]

thats wierd all the links still show furnace when i click on them. but i just got power back from the ice storm ill check into it more later.

 

[reaperman]

My advise, would be not to hook up the thermostat for the draft air blower at all. I have a firechief with the same set-up. I hooked it up like it said to, but soon realized it was a farse. On paper, it may look like a good idea: When the thermostat calls for heat, the draft fan kicks in to get the fire cooking once again. But, unless the wood furnace will heat up your home in very short time to kick off the thermostat, the blower fan will keep forcing air on a fire that is most likely roaring as soon as the draft fan kicks in. I've found that my firechief operated WAY too hot using this feature. Besides, the plenium fan will run as long as the internal thermostat, says, to keep the furnace from overheating. So if the wall thermostat tells the draft fan to shut down, the plenium fan is still going to run because the draft fan just kicked up a major fire that is going to keep your plenium fan running. The plenium fan may run for hours, depending on volumn of wood etc. So the theromstatically controlled wood furnace, in my opinion does not exist. Besides, if the fire did simmer down after the wall thermostat shut down, and the plenium fan shut itself off. Chances are the fire isnt hot enought to keep your chimmney clean.

I disconnected the wall thermostat and have the draft fan wired so I can manually operated it if I want to. And I do at times when building a fire.

 

[hanko]

My advise, would be not to hook up the thermostat for the draft air blower at all. I have a firechief with the same set-up. I hooked it up like it said to, but soon realized it was a farse. On paper, it may look like a good idea: When the thermostat calls for heat, the draft fan kicks in to get the fire cooking once again. But, unless the wood furnace will heat up your home in very short time to kick off the thermostat, the blower fan will keep forcing air on a fire that is most likely roaring as soon as the draft fan kicks in. I've found that my firechief operated WAY too hot using this feature. Besides, the plenium fan will run as long as the internal thermostat, says, to keep the furnace from overheating. So if the wall thermostat tells the draft fan to shut down, the plenium fan is still going to run because the draft fan just kicked up a major fire that is going to keep your plenium fan running. The plenium fan may run for hours, depending on volumn of wood etc. So the theromstatically controlled wood furnace, in my opinion does not exist. Besides, if the fire did simmer down after the wall thermostat shut down, and the plenium fan shut itself off. Chances are the fire isnt hot enought to keep your chimmney clean.

I disconnected the wall thermostat and have the draft fan wired so I can manually operated it if I want to. And I do at times when building a fire.

Bravo on the forced air damper comment. Those F----ing things can cause a major melt down. Say if you wanna bring the temp up 5 degees, you better not not go away with that forge left running. I took one look at mine and said no damn way. I too put a switch on the side of my wood beast to turn it on and off when I want

 

[ttopmustanggt88]

thanks guys those are the kind of tips im in need of save me alot of time in the long run. so are you saying no thermostat inside the house?? just the one on the plenum to kick it on at 140 and off at 90?? and use the forced draft fan when needed manually correct? when i bought this stove it came with no fans or switches or wiring of anykind. so anyone with a place where i can purchase this would be helpful also. where on the plenum would i place a thermostatic switch to control my main fan?? thanks again for all the help. josh

 

[hanko]

I wish you can send some photos. If you say it was like a fire chief, the fan control mounts on the right side right in the heat exchanger, I mean the space between the fire box and the metal encloser. My Charmaster mounts in the plenum itself approx 12 inches up off the furnace itself. I know the Clayton mounts in the rear, so you see they are all different. does this unit have a three quarter hole in the right side?

 

[reaperman]

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj127/reapowilliams/?action=view&current=sto002.jpg

He is a pic of my set-up. Hope it works, just uploaded to photobucket for the first time. You can see the Honeywell thermostat unit (small silver box near the top of the furnace). The long probe of the thermostat sticks into the furnace and near the top of the firebox. Also you get a good look at the 12" duct tube, connecting into the gas-furnace duct work. It always bothered me how the heating guy connected into the side of the duct. It would seem more efficient if he somehow could have got the air to blow up the ducts instead of in sideways. But the heat does blow out of the registers. The cold air return isnt hooked up on my unit either. The HVAC guy said it isnt necessary yet, until I finish off my basement or mech room. I have a open stairway close to the back of the furnace. I didnt believe him so I had the wife's cousin over, (a heating guy, also). He said, "when you start finishing off the basement, than call".

 

[ttopmustanggt88]

Alright im gonna give it another shot made em smaller hope this works.

and yes there are 2 holes on one of the sides.

 

[wdchuck]

Looks pretty similiar to my Daka, natural draft. Simple, and if the power goes out, just take off the sheet metal skin, and let it radiate the heat, it works well that way too.

 

[hanko]

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj127/reapowilliams/?action=view&current=sto002.jpg

He is a pic of my set-up. Hope it works, just uploaded to photobucket for the first time. You can see the Honeywell thermostat unit (small silver box near the top of the furnace). The long probe of the thermostat sticks into the furnace and near the top of the firebox. Also you get a good look at the 12" duct tube, connecting into the gas-furnace duct work. It always bothered me how the heating guy connected into the side of the duct. It would seem more efficient if he somehow could have got the air to blow up the ducts instead of in sideways. But the heat does blow out of the registers. The cold air return isnt hooked up on my unit either. The HVAC guy said it isnt necessary yet, until I finish off my basement or mech room. I have a open stairway close to the back of the furnace. I didnt believe him so I had the wife's cousin over, (a heating guy, also). He said, "when you start finishing off the basement, than call".

Wow thats one ugly stove. Wheres the rest of it? It looks just like a naked fire chief. I hope you do have the sides.

 

[ttopmustanggt88]

yes i have the sides and top for it. and i did not buy this stove to win a beauty contest i bought it to heat my home. i hope you dont buy stoves based on looks hanko

 

[wdchuck]

Oh yeah, thanks for the small kb pics, makes it easy on us dial-up guys. 5kb/sec download speed for pics.

 

[laynes69]

As far as the forced draft is concerned, some can be dangerous. If it pushes air below the fire then it would forge quickly. I have forced draft on my 1500 Hotblast, and I use it here and there when its cold and needed. My furnace puts out the air above the fire not below it, and it creates turbulance to burn up the smoke and up the draft. Works well on my system, and the thermostat can keep the home at an accurate temp when cold. My forced draft has a limit, that when it hits 175 it will shut down so the furnace won't overheat. It takes just a minute or two for the house to heat up and the forced draft to shut off when the heating demand is met. But yes it can be dangerous, but on certain models safety is there. I have a digital thermostat for my wood furnace and my LP Furnace. All forced drafts should have a limit control put on them so they don't overheat the unit. Maybe somethings not correctly hooked up for them to get so hot. I could set mine high and leave for the day and have no concern whatsoever.

 

[reaperman]

Laynes69, has a good point about the forced draft.

My unit sounds like it is set up like his, with the fan being higher than the fire itself, and with the limit switch being able to shut off the forced air fan. I know each home is set-up differently, and therefore no two heating systems are the same. With my system the adjustable limit switch is set at 150-on, 90-off, and high limit 175-off. I've tried to use it, but as I watch my limit switch dial when the plenum fan kicks in,the dial immediately looses about 20degrees. And pretty much stay there, or slowly drops as the plenum fan runs. So the dial never seems to actually increase in temp. Even when the draft fan is running. So the high limit just seems to be impossible to hit on my unit. The stove sure gets hot though, it can actually start to warp the back stove panel. So I always wondered if I got a faulty limit switch or if there is just so much air moving around the firebox keeping it cool. I keep my 3 speed plenum fan on the lowest setting, figuring it will keep the furnace running hotter. And on "low" it doesnt seem to make a differnce in heating the home up any slower. The house is always plenty warm. Also the ductwork in my home seems to have plenty of "branch-offs" from the main duct, running to individual register vents in each room of the upstairs. Therefore there isnt a powerful rush of air being blown out of each register,(like when the main LP furnace is blowing). It's more like a steady warm stream of air coming from each register. So it takes some time to heat the home up a few degrees. But with the plenum fan running almost continuesly, the home heats up very nicely, just not fast. So the forced draft fan doesnt seem to aid in heating up my home fast. Each home system will be different. We all have learned how to run "our" systems, its trial and error. But its nice sure nice to learn a few tips from others. I'm no expert, just a guy who likes to burn wood. opcorn:

 

[hanko]

yes i have the sides and top for it. and i did not buy this stove to win a beauty contest i bought it to heat my home. i hope you dont buy stoves based on looks hanko

hey, mines ugly too. i dont think furnaces are all that attractive. not like some of the freestanding jobs with enamel paint. but like you said, we dont buy these things for looks. send a photo when it get put together