Fire Chief FC1500 install

[Mrpelletburner]

All said and done....I think I paid around 1500 after it was all said and done..so I cant complain. If I ever needed to replace ours, I'd consider the larger tundra.

Which one is the larger Tundra?

 

[3fordasho]

Which one is the larger Tundra?

Heat Pro - same firebox as the max caddy.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

On the tundras it goes under the firebox bed then up the channels at the rear of stove inside the firebox, after that they go north south with tubes distributing the air. So for drolet and other manufacturers go through all that effort to preheat the air it has to do somthing beneficial.

What controls the amount of secondary air or are the air channels always wide open?

 

[Boilers]

What controls the amount of secondary air or are the air channels always wide open?

Air channels are wide open. Flue draft controls how much secondary air comes in! This is why Tundras have a specific range for the draft and sometimes require a baro

 

[JRHAWK9]

I worked for a pump company, the premium pumps were hundreds more than the entry models. The difference, color and warranty! As far as warranty, they were rarely needed. The Caddy is dealer controlled and service is there, where Tundras are consumer. I highly doubt they change materials between each.

If this is truly the case, do they supply a jar of Vaseline with all Caddy purchases then? Wow, I thought the Caddy's were better built than the Tundra's. I played with the original Tundra at Menards a couple years ago and thought it seemed pretty darn chintzy/tinny. Maybe the new ones are better. I never saw a Caddy or the new Tundra/Heat Pro in person.

 

[Medic21]

Let me ask you a serious question @Mrpelletburner , when you were looking to buy a wood furnace, what all models did you seriously consider?
What was the deciding factor that made you pick the FC1000?

I bought mine thinking and epa rating and around a grand couldn’t go wrong.

We all know how that turned out...

Narrowing down OWB choices. I’m staying away from my original choices that were honestly based on pricing and only looking between two brands and deciding between three models. I will not make the price tag decision again.

I’ve got enough scrap metal to dispose of...

 

[laynes69]

Was that the "blue pumps", or the "green pumps"? I took a class at the "blue pumps" "university/training center" in 2015...impressive place!

Green pumps. Everything now is outsourced.

 

[laynes69]

If this is truly the case, do they supply a jar of Vaseline with all Caddy purchases then? Wow, I thought the Caddy's were better built than the Tundra's. I played with the original Tundra at Menards a couple years ago and thought it seemed pretty darn chintzy/tinny. Maybe the new ones are better. I never saw a Caddy or the new Tundra/Heat Pro in person.

A Caddy can be installed in just about any configuration. Back when..there also was a c-cast baffle, insulated air jacket and some other options that wasn't in the tundras. Now they are offering upgrades electronics and such. They do carry the same firebox, but other components vary I'm sure.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

cracked weld?

 

[JRHAWK9]

Looks like it to me. Didn't someone (laynes maybe) say this was going to happen with the draft you were pulling? Overfiring the furnace. Now you can contact them and have it fall under warranty seeing they wanted you to run it this way. It's their baby now......

 

[maple1]

Hard to tell from the pic - I'd say maybe?

 

[Medic21]

Actually looks more to me that there was just poor penetration on that weld than a crack.

 

[JRHAWK9]

maybe clean it up with a wire brush and take a few more photos at different angles.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Actually looks more to me that there was just poor penetration on that weld than a crack.

Coupe spots like this. Have the furnace cooling down so I can clean it down and take some more photos.

Need to investigate why the flue temps are so high. Have to look at my notes regarding the flue temps I saw on the 1000.

 

[brenndatomu]

cracked weld?

View attachment 238580

Cracked weld, and looks like it runs down into the tube some too...

 

[maple1]

Coupe spots like this. Have the furnace cooling down so I can clean it down and take some more photos.

Need to investigate why the flue temps are so high. Have to look at my notes regarding the flue temps I saw on the 1000.

Actually I don't think you need to do any investigating. The answer has been pretty clear to all of us for weeks now.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Actually I don't think you need to do any investigating. The answer has been pretty clear to all of us for weeks now.

Sounds to me like Hy-C may have him chasing a mystical smoking gun just to keep him "occupied".

Coupe spots like this. Have the furnace cooling down so I can clean it down and take some more photos.

Need to investigate why the flue temps are so high. Have to look at my notes regarding the flue temps I saw on the 1000.

Have you ever had a "heart to heart" with the guys at Hy-C? I mean a serious "I'm pi$$ed off" conversation? Sounds to me there's way too much nicey-nicey going on with them. I totally get not wanting to be a dick and confrontational right away, but man, you've been dealing with these guys for way too long and it seems they are just feeding you line after line to string you along. Maybe I'm wrong.

You joked about starting a GoFund me page. Maybe you should and start by making a gesture to Hy-C about them making a $1500 donation to kick things off and in turn they can have their FC1500 back (sure hope you didn't have to pay to "upgrade" to the FC1500 after the FC1000 was a flop).

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Sounds to me like Hy-C may have him chasing a mystical smoking gun just to keep him "occupied".



Have you ever had a "heart to heart" with the guys at Hy-C? I mean a serious "I'm pi$$ed off" conversation? Sounds to me there's way too much nicey-nicey going on with them. I totally get not wanting to be a dick and confrontational right away, but man, you've been dealing with these guys for way too long and it seems they are just feeding you line after line to string you along. Maybe I'm wrong.

You joked about starting a GoFund me page. Maybe you should and start by making a gesture to Hy-C about them making a $1500 donation to kick things off and in turn they can have their FC1500 back (sure hope you didn't have to pay to "upgrade" to the FC1500 after the FC1000 was a flop).

I tend to go about things a different way. Social media and YouTube can go a long way, if it gets to that point. I have found things never work out for me if I lose my sh!t on someone. I have a very hard time believing that they only sold a coupe of these units, just need more people to come out of the wood work.

We now all know that I was not the only one that had puff issues with the FC1000.

I did not pay to upgrade and I guess it is the reason I have not gone off the deep end.

I did talk to the wife tonight and she agrees that that we need a better mouse trap. My fear is I am not in a better position with the updated purchase.

 

[JRHAWK9]

I tend to go about things a different way. Social media and YouTube can go a long way, if it gets to that point. I have found things never work out for me if I lose my sh!t on someone. I have a very hard time believing that they only sold a coupe of these units, just need more people to come out of the wood work.

We now all know that I was not the only one that had puff issues with the FC1000.

I did not pay to upgrade and I guess it is the reason I have not gone off the deep end.

I did talk to the wife tonight and she agrees that that we need a better mouse trap. My fear is I am not in a better position with the updated purchase.

I agree, emoting and going all nutso usually does more harm than good, however, letting them know you are serious as a heart attack may benefit you. Be stern and tell them what you expect and demand it.

Social media can also be a good avenue to take. The issue goes from being just between you and them to everybody watching. They have a bit more to lose when everybody is watching. However, customer service will only do so much, eventually their product has to stand on it's own; so far, it has not.

Better position??? I'm not sure you could have been in a worse position the past two heating seasons. Look around this site, outside of others with Hy-C's, have you seen anyone having remotely as many issues as you have? Heck, you and the others with the newer Hy-C's have pretty much become the entertainment for us furnace guys (and a boiler guy or two) on this forum the past two winters.

 

[brenndatomu]

Yeah I think at this point I would be demanding my money back! And honestly I think asking for some extra $ for "pain and suffering" would not be out of line! You have gone waaayy above and beyond for these people!
Like JR said, you can't get any worse...

 

[brenndatomu]

After seeing the last pics you posted of the air control apparatus on the back there, it makes me wonder, does the primary and secondary air still both come from the same spot, and gets "regulated" by that bi-metallic flap deal? If so, this is really not much better than the FC1000.
I've been trying to come up with an analogy for not controlling the chimney draft...and I think I have it.
The chimney is the engine that drives the stove...so controlling the draft with a damper of some sorts on the chimney is like controlling the speed of your car with the throttle position...works pretty good, right?
But not controlling the draft on the chimney, trying to do it by throttling the intake damper only, is like setting the throttle to wide open, then controlling the speed of the car with the brakes...you can kinda sorta do it...but it is ugly, and crude, and stuff gets tore up pretty quickly...

 

[Mrpelletburner]

After seeing the last pics you posted of the air control apparatus on the back there, it makes me wonder, does the primary and secondary air still both come from the same spot, and gets "regulated" by that bi-metallic flap deal? If so, this is really not much better than the FC1000.

No, completely different air paths.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Everyone has suggested adding a baro and setting it to 0.06” WC.

Hypothetically, if I were to set the draft to let’s say 0.07” WC, loaded the fire box and still only was able to get 4-5 hours of heat from the furnace before the distribution blower started to cycle, what would be the next item on the list to look at (besides a new furnace)?

 

[Case1030]

Everyone has suggested adding a baro and setting it to 0.06” WC.

Hypothetically, if I were to set the draft to let’s say 0.07” WC, loaded the fire box and still only was able to get 4-5 hours of heat from the furnace before the distribution blower started to cycle, what would be the next item on the list to look at (besides a new furnace)?

Put one of those heat reclaiming magic heaters, plumb it into your fresh air on your blower. Haha but that's some crude stuff might void your house insurance.

 

[Medic21]

Put one of those Creosote generating magic heaters, plumb it into your fresh air on your blower. Haha but that's some crude stuff might void your house insurance.

I fixed it for you.