1 cord in 1 week

[carm317]

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?

 

[flyingcow]

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.

 

[jatoxico]

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.

 

[bholler]

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

 

[carm317]

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!

 

[Seasoned Oak]

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.

 

[Smoke Signals]

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.

 

[carm317]

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.

 

[Wisneaky]

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?

 

[jdogg]

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

 

[drz1050]

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.

 

[DoubleB]

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.

 

[maple1]

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?

 

[SXIPro]

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.

 

[brenndatomu]

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

Yes! ^ ^ ^

Insulation is cheap.

And pays you back forevermore...summer and winter

 

[heaterman]

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.

 

[j7art2]

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.

 

[7acres]

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.

 

[j7art2]

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

3 face is one cord, pretty close.

 

[j7art2]

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

 

[Wisneaky]

This wood cord calculator is what I use.

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

 

[bholler]

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

 

[begreen]

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.

 

[begreen]

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.

 

[carm317]

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.