Fire Chief FC1500 install
- Thread starter Mrpelletburner
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brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
What has a Honeywell HLS on it?
What do you want to accomplish?
Me personally, I don't trust these cheap Chinese controllers enough to put them in charge of safety/limit switches...using them as we have been as a temp controller does not (or should not) remove the factory safety controls...in other words, if the Mypin fails, either the fire goes out from not enough air, or the factory limit switche takes over and closes the damper.
Got to think through all the possible scenarios when wiring up mods...this is fire inside your home after all...
What do you want to accomplish?
Me personally, I don't trust these cheap Chinese controllers enough to put them in charge of safety/limit switches...using them as we have been as a temp controller does not (or should not) remove the factory safety controls...in other words, if the Mypin fails, either the fire goes out from not enough air, or the factory limit switche takes over and closes the damper.
Got to think through all the possible scenarios when wiring up mods...this is fire inside your home after all...
I added a K type thermal probe to measure the plenum temperature and it is WAY off. I am measuring 110 F when the HLC reads 150F. Just didn’t know if there was some way to get better controls for the system while I wait for another unit to be delivered.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
I'd just adjust the Honeywell to compensate if you want something higher...not worth fooling with for a short term problem...IMO
So I traveled up north for some skiing with the family this weekend. Funny thing... even though I was staying at a hotel, I still woke up at 3:30 ready to reload the fire box. [emoji15]
Ouch! Our previous furnace was like that, my wife would make me set an alarm to wake up and feed the furnace. I would go to bed late (around 11 pm) so the furnace would still be going at 4am when I woke for work. I never got to sleep in on the weekends, or I would wake to a cold furnace and house. Since we've tightened up our home and replaced the furnace with our current model, it's not an issue. Last night I loaded at 9pm and at 7am it was 71 in the house, temp was 11 degrees. Not to mention the old furnace had a 6.5 cuft firebox, which I would stuff every night. We now load less than half in the current furnace.
maple1
Minister of Fire
Those crazy loading routines get to be hard on the health after a while. Seriously.
By the end of the heating season with my old boiler, I was a wreck.
sloeffle
Minister of Fire
Yep, I use to do the same thing when we had our wood stove. For about 2 - 3 months of the year I didn't sleep very well.
Loaded up last night around 11 on about 3” of very hot embers. The heat output didn’t skip a beat, first floor at 73. Headed to bed at 11:30, outside temps were in the lower 20’s. Woke up at 5:30 and the first floor temperature was down to 67 degrees, 64 upstairs.
This is what the fire box looked like.
![[Hearth.com] Fire Chief FC1500 install](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_1480-webp.239441/ "[Hearth.com] Fire Chief FC1500 install")
To be honest, I have no clue if the Tundra II would look the same.
This is what the fire box looked like.
To be honest, I have no clue if the Tundra II would look the same.
I'll post a picture of what the tundra ll looks like after 7 hours... usually 7 hours later my house is still 75f maintaining that with just the coals in the box.
Also remember my flue temps are sitting at anywhere between 300-380f. So if your throwing 500f temps up the chimney along with unburnt smoke that's lost heat that didn't make it into your house.
Thanks! I am trying to break down things into 2 parts.
Part 1, firebox and hot embers.
Part 2, supply/static pressure. Is my duct system causing heat loss or inadequate supply.
Does this make sense?
I guess it's always good to write notes down to improve your setup. The two things that will do the most for you are the temp controller and ICM. That's really what will make the most difference.
Also your supply ducts might have an impact... but you do have 2 -8inch ducts and are pulling return air off your basement ceiling?
Just so we are on the same page... if all that and HY-c engineer can't get you 10 hour burns your done with the dead horse?
At the moment the return air duct from the basement ceiling has been removed as we had a flooded basement last week (2" of rain and 5" of snow melt all in 1 day). But yes, pulling return air from the basement ceiling can give you a 2 to 3 degree bump.
Going forward I am going to have a sheet metal enclosure build and attach it to the rear of the distribution blower box. Then out of the top of the sheet metal enclosure, I will attach 2 8" solid vertical duct, connected to a 45 toward the ceiling and connect to insulated flex pipe. Will terminate the flexible duct at the basement stairs. The 2 vertical ducts will pass to the left and right of the stove pipe, helping preheat the return heat.
Correct... if they leave and I am still getting the same out of this unit, I am done with the suffering. Over this burning season, I have woken up in the middle in the night to either thinking I heard the stove back puff (BANG!) (PSD from the FC1000) or to reload. Cannot begin to tell you how tired I am during the day.
![[Hearth.com] Fire Chief FC1500 install](/talk/data/attachments/239/239476-1005705658480572527d10b0c0c5aadf.jpg?hash=60GJGKSfGO)
![[Hearth.com] Fire Chief FC1500 install](/talk/data/attachments/239/239477-044c5b986088f5d0aea81af4eb8d965a.jpg?hash=YtqRXPcbGB)
![[Hearth.com] Fire Chief FC1500 install](/talk/data/attachments/239/239478-d01ccc81c3f48fc153c85756574a57c2.jpg?hash=ADkNvY6hU7)
Mr. Pellet burner, What is HY C doing for you , anything?? Call me an idiot but I bought an Fc1500
Doesn't come with one... and never really had the need for it. Once the first layer of wood is laid down iv never had smoke come back into the house.
Even after tossing one log on the fire I rarely have a trickle of smoke roll out.
woodey
Feeling the Heat
I applaud your patience and effort you have put into this up to this point, but I think the old saying "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" applies here.
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Looks like there are more people coming out of the woodworks now. Guessing your having similar issues as mrpelletburner?
What is going on with your FC1500? What are you not having luck with?
The couple issues I am having are short burn times (actually heat output) 4 to 5 hours max and starting to see cracked welds. I am now 75 days in with the unit and have yet to figure out the adjustment that will product longer burn times (actually heat output).
I don't think anyone is an idiot for buying the FC1500. Now the FC1000 should be pulled from the market.
![[Hearth.com] Fire Chief FC1500 install](/talk/data/attachments/239/239489-8cbb42ca00fa265eb7247cb1eae13e4b.jpg?hash=aNAvcN1md3)
![[Hearth.com] Fire Chief FC1500 install](/talk/data/attachments/239/239490-d1407e1c5886b7d58e1d95fb188e6473.jpg?hash=XLUsoL0Kvx)
![[Hearth.com] Fire Chief FC1500 install](/talk/data/attachments/239/239491-e5957c211904bd86e7bb8ce20ec5629c.jpg?hash=w8TOnJPxeZ)
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
That's called "boost air"...it has a 1/4" hole that blows a little air right on the base of the fire to keep things rollin after a reload, mainly once the main intake damper closes...basically, it just helps keep the primary fire going a bit. Many "tube type" stoves have a version of this.
There is one in the back too...you can see it in @Case1030 's "7.5 hour" pic...about halfway up, right in the center
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