Fire Chief FC1500 install

[Mrpelletburner]

Hopefully you ordered a Fields...those Vogelzang baros are a real POS

I did order a Fields, hopefully this time it doesn’t get blown across the room again.

 

[brenndatomu]

I did order a Fields, hopefully this time it doesn’t get blown across the room again.

OK, so you did have one before...I thought you did. It musta got a lil deformed during "the incident", huh?

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Let's revisit "the incident"

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[brenndatomu]

Let's revisit "the incident"

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

I had an old work car that used to do that once in a while...blew the muffler wide open finally!

 

[maple1]

Let's revisit "the incident"

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

This forum needs a Hall of Fame for things exactly like this. That was/is epic.

 

[brenndatomu]

This forum needs a Hall of Fame for things exactly like this. That was/is epic.

Or hall of shame for HY-C and their FC1000...

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Just a quick update...

The stove has been firing great, quick to start and keeps the house REALLY warm (stove should have been delivered with a palm tree). The other day I had talked to the folks at HY-C and they provided some great suggestions regarding how I load the stove and when to use/not use the draft blower (a.k.a. learning the stove). They also mentioned NOT to install a barometric damper as the stove was designed to operate without one and was reminded that each stove is designed differently. While I am still trying to figure out how/when to reload and how much to reload.

So far this stove has not disappointed.

 

[maple1]

So if no baro, what do they recommend to do if you have too much chimney draft? Surely they wouldn't want it operated in an overdraft situation?

(Getting some deja vu here....)

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Don’t think I have enough background on the topic of stove design, however they referred to their stoves as a “forced draft” stove and the stove was designed to account for high drafts. It was mentioned that adding a baro results to the stove not pulling a proper draft during the burn cycle. Also, they are concerned I might end up with another explosion of unburned gases.

All fair points.

They mentioned the key to troubleshooting and wood stove is to limit changing to many variables at once.

Right now it was suggested to only use the draft blower for cold starts and load smaller splits on the hot ambers and larger splits on top. Also play with loading different amounts of wood. This is a tough one for the overnight burns, which first floor temps reach ~88 degrees when the stove hits peak heat output.

On the flip side, I have not had any back puffing and the section above the fire box (area the stove pipe is connected to) has just a small amount of fine ash. This tells me I am not longer having a creosote issue (fyi same wood, different stove).

 

[maple1]

Hate to be the one to get into this stuff again - but that is BS.

The manual clearly states in black & white that the chimney draft should be maximum 0.08". Which means the stove is not designed to account for high drafts. And if it is more than that, it can be adjusted with the installation of a flue damper. Which a barometric damper is a type of. It doesn't say don't use a baro, but does say a manual damper is recommended. (IMO an automatic baro is way better than a manual one - might just be me). It does warn against a heat reclaimer, so tip of the hat at that.

Definitely deja vu - I'll just stop there. Good to hear it is working better than the old one though.

 

[laynes69]

All I can say is they better replace the furnace when it's damaged from being overfired. The draft is nothing now, wait until the weather is in the single digits or below zero (if your climate gets that cold). Honestly it's an unbelievable reply.

 

[JRHAWK9]

 

[brenndatomu]

So if no baro, what do they recommend to do if you have too much chimney draft? Surely they wouldn't want it operated in an overdraft situation?

(Getting some deja vu here....)

Exactly!

Don’t think I have enough background on the topic of stove design, however they referred to their stoves as a “forced draft” stove and the stove was designed to account for high drafts. It was mentioned that adding a baro results to the stove not pulling a proper draft during the burn cycle. Also, they are concerned I might end up with another explosion of unburned gases.

All fair points.

They mentioned the key to troubleshooting and wood stove is to limit changing to many variables at once.

Right now it was suggested to only use the draft blower for cold starts and load smaller splits on the hot ambers and larger splits on top. Also play with loading different amounts of wood. This is a tough one for the overnight burns, which first floor temps reach ~88 degrees when the stove hits peak heat output.

On the flip side, I have not had any back puffing and the section above the fire box (area the stove pipe is connected to) has just a small amount of fine ash. This tells me I am not longer having a creosol issue (fyi same wood, different stove).

Oh these guys are killing me!! If there's even one person there with a college degree, it came from a Cracker Jack box!
And if these same individuals you are talking to had anything to do with the design of the FC1000, that explains a lot!
This is a "forced draft" stove, yes. But that means nothing more than it has a combustion blower instead of relying totally on the chimney to pull the air into the firebox...and that it. The draft the you are trying to control is the chimney draft...and this is the true engine of the stove...without it, you'd have no fire as soon as you turn off your combustion blower.
The barometric damper is there to control the chimneys draft, of which you have a ton of due to the height of the chimney.
It is not gonna make the chimneys draft any lower than it would be otherwise, except when the draft level is higher that what the baro is set at...which apparently HY-C wants 0.08" WC (which still sounds too high to me) when the draft exceeds -0.08", then the baro opens up just enough to keep it there...if it goes down, the baro closes. Basically it just knocks the peaks off.

One of the reasons you are overheating the house is because once the stove gets up to full operating temp, that raises the chimney temp, which raises the draft, which pulls more air into the firebox, which raises the temp, which puts more heat up the chimney, which...on and on. Until you run out of wood in 2 hours. If you control the chimney draft maybe the wood can last 4...or even 6 hours. As was mentioned above, once it gets real cold, you will over fire that firebox without a baro on the stack...you haven't seen anything yet.
Having a combustion blower and a baro are not mutually exclusive...many wood furnaces do it...my old Yukon Big Jack was that way...per the factory.
And I haven't read it (yet) but if the manual does say to have a manual damper but not a baro...then they are even bigger idiots than I thought. A manual damper on a furnace with a combustion blower that can be started by the houses thermostat is a death trap.
What happens when you have your manual damper closed to control the draft, and the house cools off during the night kicking the combustion blower on...where is all the extra air going? It can't get up the stack, you have it pinched off...so its gonna blow smoke and CO out every seam just like your 1000 did when it backfired.
When the blower kicks on with a baro on the stack (instead of a manual damper) the baro just closes...easy peasey.
But bottom line, don't send that baro back...you gonna need it soon.
My forehead is gonna be purple if I can't stop slapping it every time I read a reply from these HY-C guys!

 

[maple1]

(broken link removed to https://www.woodlanddirect.com/Fire-Chief-FC1500-Indoor-Wood-Burning-Furnace)

Anybody know exactly what that $51 draft damper accessory is? 'Draft' I would equate with combustion air or chimney draft. But is it rather a duct damper? If so, why do they call it 'draft' damper? Haven't seen anything like that before, but I also don't do ducts.

 

[brenndatomu]

(broken link removed to https://www.woodlanddirect.com/Fire-Chief-FC1500-Indoor-Wood-Burning-Furnace)

Anybody know exactly what that $51 draft damper accessory is? 'Draft' I would equate with combustion air or chimney draft. But is it rather a duct damper? If so, why do they call it 'draft' damper? Haven't seen anything like that before, but I also don't do ducts.

Don't see a price anywhere...but the only dampers I can find are backdraft dampers for the ductwork...

 

[brenndatomu]

Here's a snip of the manual...its says anything over -0.08" WC draft must be controlled...and they recommend a manual damper...morons!

 

[maple1]

Did you see where it also mentioned fire hazards several times - the first hazard listed being draft over 0.08"?

 

[brenndatomu]

Did you see where it also mentioned fire hazards several times - the first hazard listed being draft over 0.08"?

Yes, and that's a maximum of -0.08", not minimum! Those guys need to read their own manual!
If it were mine, I'd have that Fields baro on there and set to -0.06" so fast it'd make your head spin.

 

[brenndatomu]

More from the FC1500 manual...draft to be -0.04 to -0.08" WC

Over firing defined as burning through a load in 2 to 4 hours...didn't you say the "heat" was declining after 2 hours @Mrpelletburner ?

 

[Mrpelletburner]

I know, crazy right.

 

[JRHAWK9]

I'm guessing it's safe to assume the home owner didn't read the manual either.

 

[ssmall07]

I got the same answer from HY-C about not having a damper for the chimney.......the gentleman I talked to said they are in the process of revising the manual

 

[brenndatomu]

I got the same answer from HY-C about not having a damper for the chimney.......the gentleman I talked to said they are in the process of revising the manual

To say what?

 

[ssmall07]

To say what?

That they dont recommend a damper in the chimney the furnace like my sf1000 has a 3/8 in opening on the slide on combustion blower so the furnace can only pull that much air in. They said the flue dampers were causing more problems than good

 

[Mrpelletburner]

I'm guessing it's safe to assume the home owner didn't read the manual either.

I have read the manual. With that said, the original release of the manual last season was a copy and paste from their previous stoves, which operate different from the newer style stoves.

The last time I added the baro damper, things did not end well. Therefore I am moving forward with caution and trying to operate the stove per their feedback even if it goes against all logic. The last thing I need is to go off on my own and have them tell me good luck, we tried to help. I also don’t want to tell anyone making good suggestions that they are wrong either as everyone here is only trying to help and learn so they can continue to help.

So far this week, following their suggestions...

- Distribution blower kicks on shortly after initial load or reload and stays on until all fuel has been burned and the stove is down to hot ambers. When the stove is down to ambers, the distribution blower cycles.

- Loading the fire box for the over night at 11pm results to the first floor hitting high 80’s at around 2 am and the fire box down to very small ambers at 7am. At 7am the first floor will be 71 degrees. Only complaint here is I should be getting a longer burn time and perhaps not so much of a spike of heat.

- No matter if it is 20 or 30 outside, the first floor quickly rises to mid 80’s with ease and the second floor maintains ~71 degrees, because the first floor is so hot. This happens even if I reduce the amount of fuel per load. Yes, shorts and a tee shirt is a must.

- Stove pipe looks like it is burning off the build up of creosol. Here is a photo of the inside of the stove pipe yesterday. I am assuming the flake off is from the previous state of the build up of creosol?

Assuming this is starting to look like cleaner burns?