# Fire Chief FC1000 or Royall 8095?



## Mrpelletburner (Feb 4, 2018)

Looking to replace a home made setup with a “real” setup. 

This is our 2nd year of burning wood and would like to purchase a more efficient setup. Our house is a cape style (2,000 sq ft), 2x6 construction and at the moment the stove is only ducted to the first floor via 3 vents. Current setup keeps the floors warm and the first floor 72degs. So far we have burned about 2.5 - 3 cords of wood.


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 5, 2018)

I just purchased a Fire Chief FC1000 for $2k delivered. So far, I can assure you that you should have a 6" diameter flue all the way to the roof cap or you may have draft issues. Also, make sure your wood is 20% moisture content (MC) or less; it does not like to burn wood that is higher than that. Otherwise, the unit is great and is ready to tie in to your existing ducting system with two 8" diameter heat ducts. I am just starting to have success running the unit and it's great so far.

I see you are in central MA. If you would like to stop by and check mine out you are welcome to.


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## Medic21 (Feb 5, 2018)

I installed the SF1000 shelter version.  The only issues I have had are draft to keep the fire burning while the inducer is not in use.  Other than that with Ash, Oak, and some elm I can keep the house at 74-75 on 20 degree days with 6-9 hour burn times.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 5, 2018)

@Medic21 would buy the stove again? Also how much area are you heating?


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## Medic21 (Feb 5, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> @Medic21 would buy the stove again? Also how much area are you heating?



Yes I would.  House is 2100 square feet with basement.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 5, 2018)

Did you have to line your chimney?


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 6, 2018)

I'm going to make a blanket statement here that if you are going to buy the FC1000 (or even the SF1000), make sure you have the appropriate ducting to put the air where you want it. Mine is currently in the basement and not hooked up to any ducting right now, and it's very difficult to heat my house without an appropriate duct system. I'm certainly not getting the kind of heat movement that I should be with it, I can tell you that much. I was quoted roughly $2,000 for a DIY kit to install in my house. Can't swing that kind of coin right now, but maybe this summer I will take a stab at putting together a system.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 6, 2018)

With my current home made setup, I have (1) 8" duct which runs the full length (side to side) and supplies 3 floor registers. The folks at Fire Chief stated that you must have a max of 100 sq in and use both 8" ducts or else risk the stove of overheating. The next step is to supply heat to the 2nd floor, still trying to figure out where to run duct inside inner walls. Also would like to supply our unheated mud room.

From what I read, it seems that the FC1000/SF1000 requires very seasoned wood as there is no adjustments, besides opening the ash cleanout. With the older FC500 style, you had a draft baffle that you could adjust for cases that the wood is not 100% seasoned.

The other concern I have is the inner walls of the FC1000 appear to be sheet metal. When loading, are they getting dented and will they ?eventually need to be replaced?

Speaking with the tech at FC, he stated either the FC500 or FC1000 would satisfy our house requirement.


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 6, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> With my current home made setup, I have (1) 8" duct which runs the full length (side to side) and supplies 3 floor registers. The folks at Fire Chief stated that you must have a max of 100 sq in and use both 8" ducts or else risk the stove of overheating. The next step is to supply heat to the 2nd floor, still trying to figure out where to run duct inside inner walls. Also would like to supply our unheated mud room.
> 
> From what I read, it seems that the FC1000/SF1000 requires very seasoned wood as there is no adjustments, besides opening the ash cleanout. With the older FC500 style, you had a draft baffle that you could adjust for cases that the wood is not 100% seasoned.
> 
> ...


You are correct. There are no damper adjustments on the FC1000. I am having a difficult time with wood that is over 20% MC. It seems that hitting upwards of 400deg on the stack first is key to driving out the moisture, then closing the door and letting it burn. I will say that I haven't let it go more than an hour without feeding it though, so it's definitely burning through a lot of wood (mostly smaller splits given the high MC).

Next year will be different, having larger splits at 20% I think will yield longer burn times for sure.

You are halfway correct about the interior. The first 5-6" of the walls are firebrick but the rest is heavy gauge sheet metal. I wouldn't be so concerned about denting, you wouldn't treat the sheet metal any better or worse than you would fire brick. Just don't slam the wood in there and you'll be fine. I'm sure FC will stand behind their product.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 6, 2018)

It is amazing.. I can't locate any feedback regarding the Royall furnace, even a different model. 

Also, tried 3 times now reaching a tech at Royall without a call back. Had placed 1 call to hy-c and talked to a guy for over an hr regarding the FC1000.


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## JRHAWK9 (Feb 6, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> It is amazing.. I can't locate any feedback regarding the Royall furnace, even a different model.
> 
> Also, tried 3 times now reaching a tech at Royall without a call back. Had placed 1 call to hy-c and talked to a guy for over an hr regarding the FC1000.



They are in the same town I work in (Reedsburg, WI).  I'm about 5 minutes away from them as I type.  I'm pretty sure they can't legally sell them new anymore because they are dirty, hungry smoke dragons.


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## Medic21 (Feb 6, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> Did you have to line your chimney?





Mrpelletburner said:


> With my current home made setup, I have (1) 8" duct which runs the full length (side to side) and supplies 3 floor registers. The folks at Fire Chief stated that you must have a max of 100 sq in and use both 8" ducts or else risk the stove of overheating. The next step is to supply heat to the 2nd floor, still trying to figure out where to run duct inside inner walls. Also would like to supply our unheated mud room.
> 
> From what I read, it seems that the FC1000/SF1000 requires very seasoned wood as there is no adjustments, besides opening the ash cleanout. With the older FC500 style, you had a draft baffle that you could adjust for cases that the wood is not 100% seasoned.
> 
> ...



I have a Class 3 8" that was existing for the old burner.  

As far as ducting goes.  I tied mine directly into the plenum for the Furnace and CA with 1 8" run and split a second 8 into three 6" for two floor registers and eventually the one in the basement will go in the garage.  I installed dampers on every run to balance the air.  I have yet to kick out the high limit and that is with the ash getting a little out of control and getting the front a little red.

As far a seasoned wood goes it is better but, too much seasoned wood and it will back puff a little on days over 35 degrees.  I add some ash that is only seasoned this year with each load and that seams to help.  I use both large and smaller splits and a mix of ash and oak in almost every load.  I have not found a difference as it seams to heat long after the wood has burnt to coal chunks with the inducer.  I pack it fairly full and it is about 1/3 to 1/4 full of coals when I reload and it is still heating.  I do hit 500-550 before closing the door and it takes a while to find the setting on the damper over the blower for optimal burning. 

The sides inside the box are thick insulated panels and I have not dented them or done anything to damage them.  I believe they are warrantied if needed.

My only suggestion to Fire Chief would be a deeper fire box ressesed below the door for east of cleanout and loading.

Other than that I am very happy and this will serve me well till I go to a gasification boiler when I build my new shop. I'll tie the floor heat and house into that and out this in the shop to remove the chill and heat offices upstairs.


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## Medic21 (Feb 6, 2018)

TF

This will last me all night.  I started cold because I got off a 36 hour EMS shift.  A layer of three and four inch ash then add large oak splits and let them get burning one at a time while the inducer is running.  If you try to add too fast it will never get a good burn, just get hot and burn up the wood in no time.  I have the slidernonly open about 1/4 inch as I do this.   once everything is charred and burning a blue flame I open the slider to 3/8 and let it do its thing.   I hope this helps.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 7, 2018)

Medic21 said:


> TF
> I have the slidernonly open about 1/4 inch as I do this.   once everything is charred and burning a blue flame I open the slider to 3/8 and let it do its thing.



The stove has a draft adjustment? Being a newbie, guess I am not following what the slider is. Can you show a pic or explain?


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 7, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> The stove has a draft adjustment? Being a newbie, guess I am not following what the slider is. Can you show a pic or explain?


The outdoor units do have a manual draft adjustment. The indoor units do not. I’m not sure why they don’t but it may be related to the shorter length of the stack on the outdoor models.


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## Medic21 (Feb 7, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> The stove has a draft adjustment? Being a newbie, guess I am not following what the slider is. Can you show a pic or explain?


. 

Slide over inducer Motor.


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 7, 2018)

Medic21 said:


> .
> 
> Slide over inducer Motor.


Ahh yours is moveable whereas the indoor ones are riveted shut.


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## Medic21 (Feb 7, 2018)

Turd Ferguson said:


> Ahh yours is moveable whereas the indoor ones are riveted shut.



Mine is an indoor unit.  Riveted at the bottom but, swivels on the rivet.  I'll give u a picture when I'm home.  It was taped in position when I unpacked it.


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 7, 2018)

Medic21 said:


> Mine is an indoor unit.  Riveted at the bottom but, swivels on the rivet.  I'll give u a picture when I'm home.  It was taped in position when I unpacked it.


Mine arrived with two rivets in it. Did yours? When did you buy it?


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## Medic21 (Feb 7, 2018)

Turd Ferguson said:


> Mine arrived with two rivets in it. Did yours? When did you buy it?


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 12, 2018)

Medic21 said:


> View attachment 222571
> View attachment 222572


Very strange. See attached. I have also attached a K-type thermocouple to read outlet air temperature as I get this up and running.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 12, 2018)

Thanks for the photos! Wonder what S/N mine will be.

Did you use the stove during this warm weekend? My old school setup baked us out of the house.


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 12, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> Thanks for the photos! Wonder what S/N mine will be.
> 
> Did you use the stove during this warm weekend? My old school setup baked us out of the house.


I did; however, circulating the air to the upstairs without the use of the duct work is really hampering my efforts. I'm also fighting wet wood again, which is having a huge effect on BTU output. With both stoves running I'm having a hard time keeping the house warm.

My objective this week is to get the ductwork issue sorted out and go from there. I am also going to construct a mini solar kiln to see if I can get any improvement on drying, seeing as how this continues to plague me this season.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 13, 2018)

Ok mine just got delivered!

Built on 10/20/17


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 13, 2018)

I have the 2 rivets.


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 14, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> I have the 2 rivets.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Very strange. You and I must have gotten "new" production units after they made a change. How do you like it so far?


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 14, 2018)

Appears to be very well built... not as heavy as I thought it was going to be. Going to drag into the basement this weekend. It would be nice to run a very small fire in it outside, but would have to add on a stack to pull draft.

Today I had the chimney swept and inspected (see attached). Looks like I need to order that 6" liner (emptying every pocket here)


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 14, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> Appears to be very well built... not as heavy as I thought it was going to be. Going to drag into the basement this weekend. It would be nice to run a very small fire in it outside, but would have to add on a stack to pull draft.
> 
> Today I had the chimney swept and inspected (see attached). Looks like I need to order that 6" liner (emptying every pocket here)
> 
> ...


You are "lucky" in that you can do your own chimney. How tall is it?


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 14, 2018)

25’


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 14, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> 25’
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Should be easy then. You'll pull a great draft, too. Mine is closer to 40.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 14, 2018)

Company quoted me today $1,500 for just the liner, $600 to install, $600 to break up the flue liner and $250 to pull my pellet stove liner as to make sure it doesn’t get damaged when breaking out the clay. [emoji15]


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## Medic21 (Feb 14, 2018)

Turd Ferguson said:


> Very strange. You and I must have gotten "new" production units after they made a change. How do you like it so far?



When I called them after I first fired it they said people were opening up the slide too much.  They must have adjusted that after.  I would consider drilling a river so it moved because on a warmer day it would burn too hot.  I close mine down and keep the stack temps at 300-350 on days like today.  The 550-600 it would run with the inducer would have me opening windows.  Just a thought.


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 15, 2018)

Medic21 said:


> When I called them after I first fired it they said people were opening up the slide too much.  They must have adjusted that after.  I would consider drilling a river so it moved because on a warmer day it would burn too hot.  I close mine down and keep the stack temps at 300-350 on days like today.  The 550-600 it would run with the inducer would have me opening windows.  Just a thought.


I’m sure it would void the warranty on mine if I did it. You’re much more lucky.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 17, 2018)

How bad is this going to smell when I first fire up the new stove?


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## Medic21 (Feb 17, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> How bad is this going to smell when I first fire up the new stove?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Bad.  I put a stack on mine and burned it outside first.  It still stunk up the house for a week.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 17, 2018)

Ok, was going to do the same. Glad I asked [emoji15]


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 17, 2018)

Moving day today. 
Would of gone faster/smother if the ground was not mud.

First thing I did was attach (2) 2x2’s with 45’s cut at the ends (skis). Next was to ratchet strap and connect to the ball hich on the truck and pull (this was the quck and easy part). This got the stove close to the opening of the basement. Next I used 1-½” pvc pipes and rolled via ratch straps the stove 1’ at a time (not fun). Some where during the process I got smart and used a 2x6 to lift/push the stove along (lots of mud). Finially got the stove to the bulkhead, sitting on a couple 2x6’s. Because I was by myself, I need to make sure I controlled the descent of the stove, so I attached straps to the front of the truck’s tow points. I also secured a strap over the top of the stove down to the pallet, which kept the stove attached to the pallet. Slowly I moved the truck forward, getting out and assisting the descent. Ended up clearing the top of the bulkhead by ½”, yet it was tight, but cleared. This whole process took about 3-4hrs (should of hired a moving company). The stove made it in 1 pc to the basement, tomorrow I will connect it up.

The one thing I did do is fire it up outside... glad I did as the burn off was a cloud of smoke.


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## Turd Ferguson (Feb 19, 2018)

Mrpelletburner said:


> Moving day today.
> Would of gone faster/smother if the ground was not mud.
> 
> First thing I did was attach (2) 2x2’s with 45’s cut at the ends (skis). Next was to ratchet strap and connect to the ball hich on the truck and pull (this was the quck and easy part). This got the stove close to the opening of the basement. Next I used 1-½” pvc pipes and rolled via ratch straps the stove 1’ at a time (not fun). Some where during the process I got smart and used a 2x6 to lift/push the stove along (lots of mud). Finially got the stove to the bulkhead, sitting on a couple 2x6’s. Because I was by myself, I need to make sure I controlled the descent of the stove, so I attached straps to the front of the truck’s tow points. I also secured a strap over the top of the stove down to the pallet, which kept the stove attached to the pallet. Slowly I moved the truck forward, getting out and assisting the descent. Ended up clearing the top of the bulkhead by ½”, yet it was tight, but cleared. This whole process took about 3-4hrs (should of hired a moving company). The stove made it in 1 pc to the basement, tomorrow I will connect it up.
> ...


Awesome. Looks like you know what you’re doing. Get those ducts hooked up pronto.


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## Mrpelletburner (Feb 19, 2018)

Now that the stove has made it to the basement and is all hooked up, I created another thread for stove feedback and tips. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/fire-chief-or-shelter-epa-stoves-feedback.167418/


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## Mrpelletburner (Mar 14, 2018)

Anyone reading this thread should jump over to the following thread.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...pa-stoves-feedback.167418/page-9#post-2254814


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