# 1 cord in 1 week



## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

Hello,

My husband and I just purchased and installed the max caddy in a new home we just purchased this past summer. It's our first time dealing with wood since our last home was gas. Gas was not an option here therfore we purchased the caddy. My husband is very experienced with oil and gas furnaces and boilers but has never installed a wood burning furnace until now. The furnace is running good, keeping our 3000 Sq ft home warm at about 68-70 degrees most of the time. He had to redo a lot of the ductwork to because it was originally done incorrectly. My question is this, is it normal to go through an entire cord in 1 week? We have purchased 2 cords from 2 different dealers and each have only lasted a week! At about $220 a cord, that seems to be very expensive. Seeing that we didn't decide to use a wood furnace until well into the winter, we have no firewood that we cut and split ourselves. Is this normal? If not, any suggestions on how to make the wood last longer?


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## Husky (Mar 2, 2015)

Are you sure your getting a whole cord? What is your measurements after stacking?


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## maple1 (Mar 2, 2015)

My answer is no.


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## flyingcow (Mar 2, 2015)

maple1 said:


> My answer is no.


+1. 

128 cu/ft to a cord. Measure it close. 16 inch length? Maybe not getting a full cord? 

Or house will put out candles when standing by closed windows? 

Sorry, bad humor. But something doesn't sound right.


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## brenndatomu (Mar 2, 2015)

Is it even physically possible to burn a full cord in one week in a Max? If so, sounds very difficult to do...


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## laynes69 (Mar 2, 2015)

I say no also. One thing you will find is a modern woodfurnace like the Caddy series requires well seasoned wood. This time of year with the major cold we've been having, I guarantee the wood isn't even close to seasoned. This reduces heat output and increases wood consumption. Also, was draft verified when installed and a barometric damper installed? I have the Max Caddy's little brother and it would be impossible to chew a cord in a week. We are heating 2500 sqft with tall ceilings and I've finally hit 4 cords since September. A cord in the bitter cold will last us 4 weeks or a little over, in the 30's it could take 2 months. Could you describe your home (tightness, insulation levels, age) and your chimney setup. Also, the furnaces aren't meant for open damper burning, once hot it should be able to shut down and stay hot for a while.


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## brenndatomu (Mar 2, 2015)

Alright, now that I got that outta my system, time for something a lil more helpful. 
1. Wood that is not fully dried will burn without giving off nearly as much heat as truly dry wood does. Your chances of getting truly dry wood from most firewood suppliers is about 1:10,000. Firewood suppliers are also notorious for shorting people on quantity. The best way to tell if you got what you paid for is to stack it. Stacked fairly tightly, a cord should be 128 CF, or 4' tall, 4' wide, and 8' long (or some variation thereof)
2.How often are you reloading? A Max should go 8-12 hrs on a load depending on the heat load of the house at that time.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

Husky said:


> Are you sure your getting a whole cord? What is your measurements after stacking?


We didn't measure the first cord, the second cord was about right. Maybe a foot short but that's about it.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

brenndatomu said:


> Alright, now that I got that outta my system, time for something a lil more helpful.
> 1. Wood that is not fully dried will burn without giving off nearly as much heat as truly dry wood does. Your chances of getting truly dry wood from most firewood suppliers is about 1:10,000. Firewood suppliers are also notorious for shorting people on quantity. The best way to tell if you got what you paid for is to stack it. Stacked fairly tightly, a cord should be 128 CF, or 4' tall, 4' wide, and 8' long (or some variation thereof)
> 2.How often are you reloading? A Max should go 8-12 hrs on a load depending on the heat load of the house at that time.


1. When we stacked the second one, it was about correct. 
2. We are loading it every 4 - 5 hours, that's when we pack it up pretty good but leaving room for air circulation. If I only throw in 5 or 6 logs it will last about 2-3 hours.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

laynes69 said:


> I say no also. One thing you will find is a modern woodfurnace like the Caddy series requires well seasoned wood. This time of year with the major cold we've been having, I guarantee the wood isn't even close to seasoned. This reduces heat output and increases wood consumption. Also, was draft verified when installed and a barometric damper installed? I have the Max Caddy's little brother and it would be impossible to chew a cord in a week. We are heating 2500 sqft with tall ceilings and I've finally hit 4 cords since September. A cord in the bitter cold will last us 4 weeks or a little over, in the 30's it could take 2 months. Could you describe your home (tightness, insulation levels, age) and your chimney setup. Also, the furnaces aren't meant for open damper burning, once hot it should be able to shut down and stay hot for a while.


House was built in 1996, insulation is okay. We are having trouble with an area under the kids playroom that has no insulation and is bringing in a lot of cold through the floor in that one room and is making the basement colder which is where the furnace is located. The damper is working good, closes off once the house is at temp. The chimney is about 7 or 8 according to my husband.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

brenndatomu said:


> Is it even physically possible to burn a full cord in one week in a Max? If so, sounds very difficult to do...


Oh it's possible! The wood does have moisture because I can hear it sizzle when it lights up, but I'm not sure if that means anything.


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## laynes69 (Mar 2, 2015)

With wood sizzling, it's too wet. A good majority of heat is lost trying to boil off the water. Do you know what type of species the wood is? I would find someone with truely seasoned wood and give that a try, even if it's one load. Also look at draft. What size are your splits?


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## brenndatomu (Mar 2, 2015)

carm317 said:


> Oh it's possible! The wood does have moisture because I can hear it sizzle when it lights up, but I'm not sure if that means anything.


It does mean something...wet wood. Should hear no sizzle or hiss. You'd be amazed the difference it makes. 
The fire just never gets hot and the damper stays open way too long...poof, wood all gone and no heat from it.
One thing you can do to help is to supplement your firewood with a few pieces of kiln dried lumber. 2x4 cut offs, or pick up some pallets from the back of your local big box store (they'll usually give 'em to ya as they often throw 'em out) cut them up to add in with a load of your wood. 
ECO bricks (or whatever brand of compressed sawdust bricks you have available locally) work well too, just need 2 or 3 added in...
Better buy wood now for next year, even then it may not be dry enough for next year depending on what species of wood you get


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## claydogg84 (Mar 2, 2015)

Wet or dry it doesn't matter, going through a cord of wood in that time is unrealistic. something seems off here, and I would lean towards inaccurate measurement of an actual "cord".


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## jatoxico (Mar 2, 2015)

carm317 said:


> The chimney is about 7 or 8 according to my husband.



Are you saying the chimney is 7' long?

What were you using for heat before you started using the wood? 1 cord a week at $220 a cord, might as well let your primary heat source do the job and get some sleep instead of feeding the furnace round the clock. Really something doesn't seem right.

Oh check your chimney. Cord a week of wet wood could go south quick unless it's really only 7' long.


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## BrotherBart (Mar 2, 2015)

Going through a cord in a week you have to be shoveling a load of coals out of that heater every hour or two. Around the clock.


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## brenndatomu (Mar 2, 2015)

carm317 said:


> The chimney is about 7 or 8 according to my husband.





jatoxico said:


> Are you saying the chimney is 7' long?


Yes, please clarify


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## BoiledOver (Mar 2, 2015)

Firstly, your troubles can be remedied. The more information the members here have, the better they can help you. Please don't be offended by some of the questions you may receive. The remedies may or may not be useful to this heating season. Dry wood is critical.

Is it running flat out continuously? Where is the combustion air coming from? Whatever hot moist air goes out the chimney, there is probably that much cold air coming in from whatever leaky area you have. Do you have a flue damper?

Could be a few things adding up to a big hit. Maybe you are pushing a lot more heat up the chimney than is necessary. Dryer wood is better. Combustion air piped to a point close to the combustion air intake instead of drawing across the room would help.


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## BrotherBart (Mar 2, 2015)

It is in the basement. Has to be talking about diameter, not height.


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## jatoxico (Mar 2, 2015)

BoiledOver said:


> Firstly, your troubles can be remedied. The more information the members here have, the better they can help you. Please don't be offended by some of the questions you may receive.



Yes good point, not trying to pile on. If you give good accurate info the group should be able to help you get the best performance you can expect from your system allowing you to save wood and money while at the same time being safe.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

laynes69 said:


> With wood sizzling, it's too wet. A good majority of heat is lost trying to boil off the water. Do you know what type of species the wood is? I would find someone with truely seasoned wood and give that a try, even if it's one load. Also look at draft. What size are your splits?


Supplier said its oak, the are about a foot and a half long and maybe five or six inches wide.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

jatoxico said:


> Yes good point, not trying to pile on. If you give good accurate info the group should be able to help you get the best performance you can expect from your system allowing you to save wood and money while at the same time being safe.


I'm trying to answer the best I can. Sorry for my ignorance when it comes to wood burning furnaces, I seriously don't know much at all, obviously. I did research on this site as to what would be a good option and saw a lot of good reviews and recommendations for the max caddy. What I didn't realize was the cost. We spent 5000 on the unit and just found out that it would be another 2200 for the oil option. I had no idea it wasn't included. Not to mention that we spent over 2000 on electric bill using space heaters while we waited the seven weeks for the caddy to come in. Really can't afford 800 a month on firewood. I'm desperate for help, this winter has been extremely expensive for us.
The chimney question I thought diameter but if you are asking height, it's about 30 ft.


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## bholler (Mar 2, 2015)

wow it would be cheaper to burn oil something isnt right


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

BoiledOver said:


> Firstly, your troubles can be remedied. The more information the members here have, the better they can help you. Please don't be offended by some of the questions you may receive. The remedies may or may not be useful to this heating season. Dry wood is critical.
> 
> Is it running flat out continuously? Where is the combustion air coming from? Whatever hot moist air goes out the chimney, there is probably that much cold air coming in from whatever leaky area you have. Do you have a flue damper?
> 
> Could be a few things adding up to a big hit. Maybe you are pushing a lot more heat up the chimney than is necessary. Dryer wood is better. Combustion air piped to a point close to the combustion air intake instead of drawing across the room would help.


The unit is in the basement so it is using the air there but there is an crawl space that has no insulation on the other side of the basement that blows very cold air into the basement. It is at least 30 ft away from the unit but it is very cold, if you stand by in front of the opening it feels like an AC unit is on. It does have a damper that is working appropriately. If you are asking about the blowers running continuously, no they do not. They turn off while the heat rises to 126 degrees, once they reach that temp, the blowers turn on.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

bholler said:


> wow it would be cheaper to burn oil something isnt right


We thought the same thing but to purchase the oil option it's another 2200 and we have spent so much this winter that it's not really an option this year, maybe for next winter we will try to buy.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

brenndatomu said:


> Yes, please clarify


Sorry, I thought the question was about diameter. Height is about 30 ft. Dumb question, how does this impact the unit functionality?


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## flyingcow (Mar 2, 2015)

_Not to mention that we spent over 2000 on electric bill using space heaters while we waited the seven weeks for the caddy to come in._

7 weeks cost 2k in electricity? Wow.


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## jatoxico (Mar 2, 2015)

carm317 said:


> I'm trying to answer the best I can. Sorry for my ignorance when it comes to wood burning furnaces, I seriously don't know much at all, obviously. I did research on this site as to what would be a good option and saw a lot of good reviews and recommendations for the max caddy. What I didn't realize was the cost. We spent 5000 on the unit and just found out that it would be another 2200 for the oil option. I had no idea it wasn't included. Not to mention that we spent over 2000 on electric bill using space heaters while we waited the seven weeks for the caddy to come in. Really can't afford 800 a month on firewood. I'm desperate for help, this winter has been extremely expensive for us.
> The chimney question I thought diameter but if you are asking height, it's about 30 ft.



First year is the toughest and we've all been there to one degree or another. Not knowledgeable about furnaces but the resources are here. Since it seems to be established that you're wood use is atypical you may want to consider a new thread about proper setup, use and maintenance of your system.

Give the system (model/etc) and the flue configuration (e.g 30' chimney inc pipe diameter) and any other relevant info. You may be sending a lot of the available heat up the flue or something but seriously, 2 cords of wet wood in this cold could create a lot of creosote at least at the cap so keep in mind you may need to sweep sooner than later. That's a safety issue.


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## bholler (Mar 2, 2015)

flyingcow said:


> Not to mention that we spent over 2000 on electric bill using space heaters while we waited the seven weeks for the caddy to come in.
> 7 weeks cost 2k in electricity? Wow.


Yeah i would be looking for gaping holes letting the heat out at those rates.  You really need an energy audit you have to be loosing massive amounts of heat somewhere


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

flyingcow said:


> _Not to mention that we spent over 2000 on electric bill using space heaters while we waited the seven weeks for the caddy to come in._
> 
> 7 weeks cost 2k in electricity? Wow.


7 weeks is how long we waited for the unit, but we took several weeks before deciding which to purchase. We had 8 space heaters for about 3 months (from the beginning of winter until about the 15th of February) which all together cost us about $2300 in electric bills. That doesn't include the first couple of weeks of February, not looking forward to that bill either!


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## Seasoned Oak (Mar 2, 2015)

flyingcow said:


> _Not to mention that we spent over 2000 on electric bill using space heaters while we waited the seven weeks for the caddy to come in._
> 
> 7 weeks cost 2k in electricity? Wow.


Must have been using those "magic" edenpure miracle boxes.   $$900 For green fire wood isnt much better. Probably would be about half that or less with dry wood.


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## Smoke Signals (Mar 2, 2015)

carm317 said:


> The chimney question I thought diameter but if you are asking height, it's about 30 ft.



Do you have a barometric damper installed in the chimney? At this high you may be over drafting.


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## carm317 (Mar 2, 2015)

jatoxico said:


> Are you saying the chimney is 7' long?
> 
> What were you using for heat before you started using the wood? 1 cord a week at $220 a cord, might as well let your primary heat source do the job and get some sleep instead of feeding the furnace round the clock. Really something doesn't seem right.
> 
> Oh check your chimney. Cord a week of wet wood could go south quick unless it's really only 7' long.


We just bought the house this past summer therefore it's our first winter heating the house. The previous owners had wood/oil combo but the furnace wasn't working so we had to purchase a new unit. Because we didn't buy the oil option, we are stuck using wood.


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## Wisneaky (Mar 3, 2015)

Smoke Signals said:


> Do you have a barometric damper installed in the chimney? At this high you may be over drafting.


You'd almost have to have have too much draft. If you don't have a barometric damper installed than get one ASAP. I can almost guarantee that with a 30ft chimney you'd need one. My chimney is only 19ft and I need one. Even with wet wood it would be almost impossible to burn through a cord of wood in a week. Are you sure your buying actual loggers cords or are these people ripping you off and selling you face cords?


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## jdogg (Mar 3, 2015)

carm317 said:


> We didn't measure the first cord, the second cord was about right. Maybe a foot short but that's about it.


 Well than you need to tell your seller you expect the next one to be a foot over or you will report him for fraud! Also try to get some of those compressed wood bricks from TSC and see if they make your stove work way better. Hang in there its March and spring will soon be here, but you need to get about 20 cord cut, split and stacked as soon as possible so you have wood for a few years burning seasoning. PS I wouldn't worry about the cost cause seasoned wood is always worth more $$$ and more BTUs. As soon as the snow is gone you either need to get cutting or buying or both. A cord of green oak is about 15mil. BTUs the same cord of wood after seasoning 1-3 yrs.=25mil. BTUs. Theres your free heat! You just have to have the forsight to PREPARE


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## drz1050 (Mar 3, 2015)

jdogg said:


> Also try to get some of those compressed wood bricks from TSC and see if they make your stove work way better.



This. Maybe call the local woodstove shops if there is no TSC close by. A ton should run you ~240ish, and last way longer than one of these "cords" you've been running through. 

For the cord measurement: 4x4x8 is a proper cord, 128 sq ft. 3x4x8 is 96, 3x3x8 is 72... one foot is way more than one foot. I'd be sure to stack the next delivery you get from this guy and measure it right.


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## DoubleB (Mar 3, 2015)

The math seems possible to me:  4.5 cuft firebox * 4 loads per day * 7 days = 126 cuft per week, and 1 cord is 128 cuft.  Wet wood, drafty house, cold weather, undersized cord of wood, "oak" might actually mean "willow", etc. 

Given your expense, you might consider a small investment in an infrared thermometer to measure your exhaust temperatures.  That might give the folks here some ideas too, like if you are losing excessive heat up your chimney (due to inadequate ductwork, baffle in the wrong position, etc.)  Same with the previous recommendations of getting a barometric damper, especially if you in fact have an 8" exhaust pipe, or even 7" with a 30 foot chimney.

Have you cleaned your heat exchange tubes recently?  If possible, you might post a picture, it could reveal something.


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## maple1 (Mar 3, 2015)

Pictures.

Sounds like you have a lot of issues - your best bet for the rest of this year is likely to find some biobricks or equivalent to get you through, as mentioned. You should also clean your chimney & furnace before burning them, it's gotta be a mess.

Issues: house leakage, duct layouts, chimney draft (get a manometer to check & monitor that, and a barometric damper), and wet wood.

Do you know what the previous owners heating bills were?


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## SXIPro (Mar 3, 2015)

What is stopping you from insulating that spot under the kids' playroom? Even if you had nice dry wood and if the furnace was working properly, you are still losing a lot of efficiency because of that uninsulated space. Insulation is cheap.


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## brenndatomu (Mar 3, 2015)

maple1 said:


> You should also clean your chimney & furnace before burning them, it's gotta be a mess.


Yes! ^ ^ ^


SXIPro said:


> Insulation is cheap.


And pays you back forevermore...summer and winter


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## heaterman (Mar 3, 2015)

Thinking out loud here.......

A full cord contains roughly 21MMbtu.
Assume that the wood is not sufficiently seasoned and let's peg the efficiency of the Caddy at 50%  .
That gives us 10.5MMbtu actually delivered into your home in a weeks time.
Hourly that's 62,500 btu which is high but not out of the realm of possibility.

My guess is that the Caddy is doing okay and is just responding to the heating load of the house.

Assuming once more that is the case your options for this winter are pretty grim. It's just going to eat a bunch of wood.

For next season ......  you should be putting up wood right now. This summer spend your time and $$ getting the house insulated and tightened up. You'll probably be amazed at the difference next year.


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## j7art2 (Mar 3, 2015)

a cord a week? Good lord. I've gone through 11 cords (I have 12 cut for this winter) and I thought that was a lot.. My unit is about 10% efficient.


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## 7acres (Mar 3, 2015)

claydogg84 said:


> Wet or dry it doesn't matter, going through a cord of wood in that time is unrealistic. something seems off here, and I would lean towards inaccurate measurement of an actual "cord".



I've got a neighbor who uses "face cord" and "cord" interchangeably. From what I can tell a "face cord" is about 1/4 of a full cord. I could see burning through a face cord in a week. I can't see paying $220 for 1/4 of a cord though.


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## j7art2 (Mar 3, 2015)

I had initially thought that as well, until I saw the price.

3 face is one cord, pretty close.


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## j7art2 (Mar 3, 2015)

This is what I use to calculate my cords. All of my wood is stacked tightly in unused horse stables, and I stack 10x10x7 approximately in each.

http://www.maine.gov/ag/firewood.html


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## Wisneaky (Mar 3, 2015)

This wood cord calculator is what I use.

http://www.calculatorpro.com/calculator/cord-calculator/


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## bholler (Mar 3, 2015)

j7art2 said:


> I had initially thought that as well, until I saw the price.
> 3 face is one cord, pretty close.


That depends on the lenght of the wood which is why i hate to see anyone use the term a face cord for me would be a half a cord most it would be a third and some would be a quarter.  Allot of guys here sell wood by the truck load which would be fine if all truck beds were the same


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## begreen (Mar 3, 2015)

carm317 said:


> 1. When we stacked the second one, it was about correct.
> 2. We are loading it every 4 - 5 hours, that's when we pack it up pretty good but leaving room for air circulation. If I only throw in 5 or 6 logs it will last about 2-3 hours.


Just to verify, a full cord is 128 cu ft. Stacked that would be 4ft x 4ft x 8ft.


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## begreen (Mar 3, 2015)

carm317 said:


> We thought the same thing but to purchase the oil option it's another 2200 and we have spent so much this winter that it's not really an option this year, maybe for next winter we will try to buy.


Regardless of the fuel you need to completely seal off the crawlspace from the basement. Any ductwork going thru the crawlspace should be well insulated.


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## carm317 (Mar 3, 2015)

Wisneaky said:


> You'd almost have to have have too much draft. If you don't have a barometric damper installed than get one ASAP. I can almost guarantee that with a 30ft chimney you'd need one. My chimney is only 19ft and I need one. Even with wet wood it would be almost impossible to burn through a cord of wood in a week. Are you sure your buying actual loggers cords or are these people ripping you off and selling you face cords?


We don't have a damper for the chimney so my husband is going to buy one this week. Hoping that with insulation it will help. As for the wood, being inexperienced in knowing what good wood looks like, we may have just gotten really crappy cords.


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## begreen (Mar 3, 2015)

Buy next season's wood now. Stack it and cover it on the top only. If you can get some ash wood, go for that. It dries out fastest.


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## carm317 (Mar 3, 2015)

maple1 said:


> Pictures.
> 
> Sounds like you have a lot of issues - your best bet for the rest of this year is likely to find some biobricks or equivalent to get you through, as mentioned. You should also clean your chimney & furnace before burning them, it's gotta be a mess.
> 
> ...


We are going to get the damper and my husband is almost finished with correcting all the ductwork. The previous owners left the house empty for over a year, it was a short sale therefore we never spoke to them, just attorneys and agents. We are hoping that this suggestions help.


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## claydogg84 (Mar 3, 2015)

begreen said:


> Buy next season's wood now. Stack it and cover it on the top only. If you can get some ash wood, go for that. It dries out fastest.



I disagree. If this system is going to consume this amount of wood you need to look into a different heat source. If you can somehow figure out what the real problem is, if there is one at all - then maybe you could make it work. But, in my eyes, 10+ cords per heating season is unrealistic, as well as the exact opposite of cost efficient.


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## carm317 (Mar 3, 2015)

SXIPro said:


> What is stopping you from insulating that spot under the kids' playroom? Even if you had nice dry wood and if the furnace was working properly, you are still losing a lot of efficiency because of that uninsulated space. Insulation is cheap.[/quote
> We've had the max caddy running for about 3 weeks now and it's been trial and error. My husband started working on the ductwork first and is almost finished, this has already made a difference. The house wasn't getting to desired temp until he moved around the ductwork. He is going to work on the insulation next which we calculated would be another $600 in insulation because it's a rather large area. He is also going to go to the supply house this week to see about the chimney damper. We are going to take all the suggestions we have received and work on them one by one hoping that we will have a much better winter next year.


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## carm317 (Mar 3, 2015)

maple1 said:


> Pictures.
> 
> Sounds like you have a lot of issues - your best bet for the rest of this year is likely to find some biobricks or equivalent to get you through, as mentioned. You should also clean your chimney & furnace before burning them, it's gotta be a mess.
> 
> ...


What pictures should I post?


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## carm317 (Mar 3, 2015)

claydogg84 said:


> I disagree. If this system is going to consume this amount of wood you need to look into a different heat source. If you can somehow figure out what the real problem is, if there is one at all - then maybe you could make it work. But, in my eyes, 10+ cords per heating season is unrealistic, as well as the exact opposite of cost efficient.


I'm thinking its a combo of wood, not having the damper and the much needed insulation. We are going to start on damper and insulation first. And definitely going to have the chimney cleaned out asap.


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## begreen (Mar 3, 2015)

claydogg84 said:


> I disagree. If this system is going to consume this amount of wood you need to look into a different heat source. If you can somehow figure out what the real problem is, if there is one at all - then maybe you could make it work. But, in my eyes, 10+ cords per heating season is unrealistic, as well as the exact opposite of cost efficient.


It sounds like they have a lot of heat loss, both to the crawlspace and up the 30 ft chimney. Address those issues and wood or any other fuel consumption should come down. My guess is that there are other issues in this house as well. An energy audit would be well worth the investment.


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## maple1 (Mar 3, 2015)

carm317 said:


> What pictures should I post?


 
The furnace & its hookup. Plenum/trunks. Chimney connection & chimney.

You might also want to get something you can measure your smoke pipe temperatures with.

And a damper could make things worse if it decreases draft too much - especially with wet wood. And with inexperienced operators. A manometer would come in quite handy to measure your chimney draft, along with duct pressures to make sure things are OK there. Ebay or google up 'Dwyer Mark 2 Model 25'. Quite inexpensive, and well worth the cost.

I am also quite curious about the measured size of the wood you bought.


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## brenndatomu (Mar 3, 2015)

maple1 said:


> The furnace & its hookup. Plenum/trunks. Chimney connection & chimney.
> 
> You might also want to get something you can measure your smoke pipe temperatures with.
> 
> ...


Good stuff ^ ^ ^.


carm317 said:


> Supplier said its oak, the are about a foot and a half long and maybe five or six inches wide.


Wood split size was posted earlier if that what you meant ^ ^ ^

Also if searching for a Dwyer manometer on ebay or...try Dwyer mark II, dwyer model 25, dwyer manometer

Aren't the Caddys a dealer install only item? Dealer should have setup correctly and advised optimal operation


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## kennyp2339 (Mar 3, 2015)

Please have someone check your chimney, if your burning so so wood with the volume you say, you could have some creosote build up.


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## Fred61 (Mar 3, 2015)

begreen said:


> Just to verify, a full cord is 128 cu ft. Stacked that would be 4ft x 4ft x 8ft.


Since I and most of those with little boilers cut our wood at 18 inches in length our cord measures 3' x 4' x 10.67'. I had a wood vendor that wouldn't sell me 18 inch wood because he couldn't stack it 4' x4' x 8'. He said I had to take 16 inch wood. After a 1 hour math lesson we were no further ahead than when we started so I took the 16 inch wood. 16 inch wood is 1.33 feet and 18 inch wood is 1.5 feet and that's all you need to know unless you're one of those guys that insists on 19.5 inches or 14.5 inches.

Where it gets complicated is vendors like the last one I had. I ordered 18 inch wood and he delivered all lengths between 11 inches and 22 inches with very few actually at 18 inches.


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## flyingcow (Mar 3, 2015)

food for thought. Previous post was they went through a lot of money with electric heaters.don't get hung up on the measured cord of wood.thought I think that they are doing the best they can with what they have. We need to help them for the next season.  please forgive me how this reads its all voice to text.


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## Fred61 (Mar 3, 2015)

flyingcow said:


> food for thought. Previous post was they went through a lot of money with electric heaters.don't get hung up on the measured cord of wood.thought I think that they are doing the best they can with what they have. We need to help them for the next season.  please forgive me how this reads its all voice to text.


Sorry, I'll try to stay on subject.


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## j7art2 (Mar 4, 2015)

Do you have a Harbor Freight near you? Pick up a moisture meter. You'll know exactly what you're getting once you test it, and they are very inexpensive. About $12. I use mine all the time. Other places like Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards all sell them.


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## Seasoned Oak (Mar 4, 2015)

heaterman said:


> Thinking out loud here.......
> 
> A full cord contains roughly 21MMbtu.
> Assume that the wood is not sufficiently seasoned and let's peg the efficiency of the Caddy at 50%  .
> ...


Any way you slice it 10 million BTUs a WEEK is an awful lot of heat when the average home only uses 70 MILLION for the whole winter
MY draft old 3000 Sf house use 125 million a season so thats why i use the most cost effective fuel for my main heat source which is coal . My monthly cost is never over $170 even if it runs 24/7


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## Seasoned Oak (Mar 4, 2015)

He should easily be able to figure out the btu load from his electric bill.


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## BoiledOver (Mar 4, 2015)

Glad to hear that you and hubby are making headway with the ducting and other issues. There are many others who have been exactly where you are this winter. Stepping into a whole new heating system during a monster cold winter can't be any fun.

To bring anyone else up to speed who stumbles on this thread I will state that the following concerns have already been mentioned. These folks are working in earnest do address what they can at this time.


Wood quality
Cord size
Flue draft
Insulation
Ductwork
Makeup air
Chimney cleaning
Wood moisture meter
Ecobrick
Pallets

Best wishes and keep your chins up carm317


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## wolfe64 (Mar 12, 2015)

Not to pile on, but to reinforce what many others have said, use seasoned wood. Oak takes 2 years to season and is very common firewood in NJ.. Insulate, we bit the bullet and super insulated our 1840 drafty 1800 sq. ft. farmhouse last year. Wood consumption down about 35% from winter of 2013-14.


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## rotaxman (Mar 22, 2015)

hi there, Heaterman made the points I would have made. I would add that my dad goes through that much wood every winter. For him the problem is extremely poorly insulated house. too much draft (wood burns away too quickly), and poorly designed duct system. I read all three pages and I think you have same issues. additionally:
 I suspect that you are not burning red or white oak which has one of the highest btu ratings.
A new and properly installed wood stove does not need a chimney damper 
I didn't see your outdoor temperature. We experience 30 below zero for a month every winter, tapering off in March. 
Questions for you:
is your interior wall cold to the touch?
cold floor? (besides play room)
do you have ice build-up at the edge of your roof.
Final thoughts: my dad's main reason for high consumption is the poorly heated roof and walls. that alone would reduce consumption by half. I know because I just renovated one third of his house and switched him to electric heat. Problem solved.


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## Wisneaky (Mar 22, 2015)

rotaxman said:


> A new and properly installed wood stove does not need a chimney damper


I disagree with that comment. There is no way to have a perfectly designed system that would control draft without one because of different chimney heights, wind speed, and outside temperature which all effects the draft of a flue. Any time you have draft over -.08 inH2o you should have some sort of damper to keep the heat from going up the chimney.


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## brenndatomu (Mar 22, 2015)

rotaxman said:


> A new and properly installed wood stove does not need a chimney damper


I have to agree with Wisneaky, a well designed chimney will need a damper more than one that only works so-so. 
-.08" WC draft would be the absolute highest draft reading that the Max can tolerate. I believe PSG calls for -.04" to -.06" WC normally


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## MarylandGuy (Mar 24, 2015)

rotaxman said:


> additionally: I suspect that you are not burning red or white oak which has one of the highest btu ratings.


 
She could easily be burning red or white oak.  When the wood guy spends the morning cutting a live tree down, splitting and stacking it in his truck, and delivering it to her that afternoon, there will be major issues.  As others mentioned, a lot of the BTU's are used to boil off the water in the green wood.


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