# hot blast forced draft kit



## walkerdogman85 (Feb 26, 2012)

i am thinking about putting a forced draft kit on my hotblast 1557m i just dont know excatly how it works and if it will keep my house at a consitent temp. is it controlled by thermostat or what any info or pics would be great thanks


----------



## begreen (Feb 26, 2012)

Can you explain further what's meant by forced draft? That sets off some red flags. If you mean a replacement for the chimney, that's not an option for a wood furnace. Or do you mean a draft assisting fan? That might be risky. For sure, contact US Stove before proceeding.


----------



## laynes69 (Feb 26, 2012)

Personally I think they are a waste of money. I put a kit on our old furnace and it just lowered the burn times. The kit nor furnace will keep your home at a constant temperature. If it did that would require the distribution blower to only kick in when heat is needed from a thermostat. If the furnace was wired that way, it would very easily overheat. So as long as fuel is in the firebox, the blower will run pushing heat in the home. There's nothing that can be done for a furnace like that to make it run like a gas furnace without compromising safety. A boiler and a coil in the plenum is about the only way.


----------



## Stephen in SoKY (Feb 26, 2012)

To be effective the forced draft needs a thermostat that anticipates the need for heat, turning the forced draft on a pre-set number of minutes before the distribution blower. I believe the kit has such a delay built in, but I'd absolutely call USSC and be certain before ordering. The forced draft kits are necesary in burning coal and desirable in burning wood if your furnace won't quite keep up with demand. I suspect you will see somewhat more wood being burned so I'd expect shorter reload intervals.


----------



## LLigetfa (Feb 26, 2012)

I think this is in the wrong forum and the OP has a furnace or OWB, not a hearth stove.  OWB's often have a forced draft.


----------



## laynes69 (Feb 26, 2012)

The op has a forced air furnace. The problem with the design of that unit, the air enters the firebox is forced below the baffle. The design does nothing for burning coal. The old furnace I replaced was the same model as the op. It was around 25 years old when we tore it out. When I ran the forced draft set for 70 degrees, I would wake to a cold house and a furnace that was completely out. I would wake to the rattle of the forced draft blower in the ductwork.


----------



## walkerdogman85 (Feb 26, 2012)

i am not sure which forumn it was supposed to go in i am new on here just thought about moving my hotblast 1557m just out side the house to eliminate the hazzards and force it into the house. i have seen it done on here thats why i thought i would need the forced draft kit i guess i just dont know what it does or how its supposed to be set up. where do you mount the blower and how is it controlled if you say that the heat wont be constant temp in the house thank you


----------



## walkerdogman85 (Feb 26, 2012)

can you post some pics of your set ups if they are outside or if you have the forced draft kit thanks


----------



## laynes69 (Feb 26, 2012)

I don't have the furnace now. The blower for the kit runs off a wall thermostat and mounts in the back of the unit where the plug is. The forced draft kit mounts to a thermostat on the wall. What I mean by it won't be constant is the main blower on the wood furnace won't shut off and on to keep a house at 72. You may set it there, but it may hit 80 based on fuel load. I got rid of that furnace and upgraded about 3 years ago.


----------



## walkerdogman85 (Feb 26, 2012)

i am thinkg about buying a hardy boiler but it is going to cost me 7500 and to me that is alot of money to just burn wood but i think that is the route i am going to take i like this hotblast but i need more consistant heat. but i have all summer to make my decision i just thought i was going to save money i just bought this hotblast 2 months ago i should have just waited


----------



## jeff_t (Feb 27, 2012)

I got pretty good at maintaining somewhat consistent temps with the same furnace. It takes a while to figure things out. Mostly dependent on how much wood I put in it, based on weather conditions. That way I could still burn with an adequate amount of air to keep it burning as clean as I could, without overheating the house. I tried to avoid smoldering burns. In really cold weather I'd set an alarm for 6-7 hrs after I went to bed, so I could get up and feed the beast.

I did two things to the furnace to help with air control. First thing was to simply take the sheet metal cover off the loading door so I could see exactly how the slider was set. I could also peek in and get a view of the fire if it was open far enough. I don't think I ever ran it open more than 1/4". I also took the spinner off the ashpan door and ground it flat, so I was able to close it all the way if I needed to.

I also wired the blowers up on separate switches, so I could just run one at a time on the mild days.


----------

