Furnace Recommendation

[JRHAWK9]

I have to be careful how much I feed cause its not uncommon to wake up in the middle of the night to 78-80! It's 29 here now and it's 74 and climbing and I've done my partial load for bed.

I hear ya. Need to start weighing wood, over time you'll get a good feel for how much to load and also your burning rates in order to easily compute how much to load based on outside temp. Downside is your wife may try to commit you to the loony bin.

It's 12° here and supposedly on it's way down to single digits and I'm waiting for my small 16lb load from after work to pretty much disappear before loading tonight's load. House is also 74° (was 75° a minute ago) and Kuuma is set to minimum burn. Still running the slow blower speeds with great results too.

 

[Brokenstone]

I can pretty much get a 5 degree temperature rise per hour with my Yukon in any weather. It is definitely capable of putting out the heat.
Is "Boilers" measuring his draft on the wrong port of the manometer?
I would make it a priority to switch to the Field Barometric Damper.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Do you happen to have a parts list for he tubing you used for your manometer?

 

[maple1]

I just picked a piece of steel brakeline off the shelf at an auto parts place (12"+/-) that had a fitting on the end I could jimmy up to hold it to the pipe thru a hole I drilled into it. Might have had to also pick up a second fitting to fit into the first to sandwich the pipe between. I cut the other end of the brakeline off & fit it into the manometer hose. So get a size that you can slip the hose over the end of. Tightly.

And yes as hinted at above, make sure you hook it up between the furnace & barometer so it reads what your furnace is seeing. But I suspect you've got that covered.

If you meant the rubber tubing that comes with the manometer - don't have a listing for that. But thinking should be able to find a simple tubing replacement of proper size to fit tightly on the mano fitting?

 

[Brokenstone]

My Dwyer Manometer came with its own rubber tubing and a very small copper tube 3-4 inches long.
Drill a hole in your black pipe about the same diameter as whatever metal tubing you use.
Insert it in your black pipe before your Manometer, zero your manometer beforehand and then measure your draft.

 

[maple1]

Mine only came with the rubber stuff.

 

[Brokenstone]

Mine only came with the rubber stuff.

Brake line should work ok.

 

[brenndatomu]

Do you happen to have a parts list for he tubing you used for your manometer?

I just drilled a 1/4" hole on the side of the pipe, bent a 2' piece of 1/4" copper tubing into an S shape, let the tubing hang in the hole, just stuffed the rubber tubing into the copper...but I like what @Boilers did here, nice set up.

 

[Brokenstone]

I should have written Before your draft regulator, NOT "before your manometer" sorry for the confusion I may have created.

My Dwyer Manometer came with its own rubber tubing and a very small copper tube 3-4 inches long.
Drill a hole in your black pipe about the same diameter as whatever metal tubing you use.
Insert it in your black pipe before your Manometer, zero your manometer beforehand and then measure your draft.

 

[Boilers]

My Dwyer manometer only came with rubber tubing as well.

Here is my parts list:

I also used a brake line cutter, and teflon tape for all brass threaded connections.

Copper tubing: 10 feet, 1/4" OD: $5.19

https://www.menards.com/main/plumbi...392-c-8565.htm?tid=2076481299813891540&ipos=2

Brass 1/4" compression x 1/4" MIP Elbow: $3.79

https://www.menards.com/main/plumbi...sion-x-mip-elbow/17700066/p-1444442660180.htm

Brass 1/4" coupling : $1.99

https://www.menards.com/main/plumbi...226-c-9432.htm?tid=9189495332155370736&ipos=8

Brass 1/4" MIP to 1/8" ID Barb : $1.45

https://www.menards.com/main/plumbi...44-c-9432.htm?tid=-971545138363657752&ipos=12

 

[Brokenstone]

The copper tubing that came with my Manometer is a lot smaller than a 1/4 inch.

 

[Boilers]

The copper tubing that came with my Manometer is a lot smaller than a 1/4 inch.

The 1/4" OD copper tubing I linked to above is supposedly 1/8" ID. I measured it myself and it slightly larger than 1/8" ID, but in the end, the Dwyer manometer just gives you a ballpark measurement anyway.

Dwyer lists the accuracy at ±3% FS, so 3% x full scale (3) = 0.09 IN H2O. This means that the actually accuracy on this model is +/- 0.09 IN H2O

I dont expect my measurement is off by a whole 3% in either direction, but its probably not as exact as we would like.

 

[Boilers]

As an update, I have still only heated the house with the wood furnace except for 2 days when we left to visit family for Thanksgiving. We did have a few very cool days where the temperature was in the high teens for much of the day and around 10 degrees overnight. The furnace was able to maintain the house temperature, but could barely raise the temp in the house. I woke up to 62 degrees. I started a new load and it took 3-4 hours to get the house temp up to 66. At that point, the fire had burned down enough that there was no way it would raise the temp any higher without adding more wood.

I have checked some of my firewood and its about 30% moisture content. It takes a solid 30-45 minutes of tampering with the door/ draft control before the fire will stay lit on its own with the damper closed. Its quite a pain. I cant wait to get some truly dry wood to try out. I have cleaned the heat exchanger and flue one time. The flue was fairly clean. I definitely got more soot out of the heat exchanger than i did out of the whole 24' flue.

The Field Barometric Damper model 6-RC has now been installed for 2 days. It works like a dream. Its set such that it keeps the draft between 0.055 and 0.065. I cant say (yet) that this has made much difference in the heat output of the furnace, but it definitely gives me more peace of mind knowing that when I go to bed, there will not be any more high draft conditions, no matter what the weather is outside.

Operation wise, once I get the fire to maintain a good burn, the temp probe in the plenum usually reads 125-130. The fan will run continuously for quite a while. I have never had the temp probe read 140+. I dont know if this is because my wood isnt very dry or what. I think if I were to close down my floor registers a little more and create more static pressure, I might be able to maintain house temps better overnight. Still some experimenting to do...

Lastly, I really think I can boost the output of this furnace by making my cold air duct suck off the ceiling of the furnace room. This air is "preheated" by the radiant heat of the furnace/plenum. With my IR temp gun, Ive measured 90 degrees above the furnace, tapering off to 73 degrees in the furthest parts of the room. It was only 67 degrees on the main floor. My logic is that the plenum temps will be hotter if I'm ducting in ~80 degree air vs ~67 degree air from the rest of the house. I will be testing this soon, as I dont think the furnace will keep up once the bitter cold arrives.

 

[maple1]

Dry wood should make a big difference - 30 is pretty wet. Also usually readings get more inaccurate in that range, so it might even be higher.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Lastly, I really think I can boost the output of this furnace by making my cold air duct suck off the ceiling of the furnace room. This air is "preheated" by the radiant heat of the furnace/plenum. With my IR temp gun, Ive measured 90 degrees above the furnace, tapering off to 73 degrees in the furthest parts of the room. It was only 67 degrees on the main floor. My logic is that the plenum temps will be hotter if I'm ducting in ~80 degree air vs ~67 degree air from the rest of the house. I will be testing this soon, as I dont think the furnace will keep up once the bitter cold arrives.

This is one of the little tweaks I did with my cold air. It does make a difference. I'm taking in basement ceiling air and mixing it with some reclaimed air off of the hottest part on the face of the Kuuma and then it gets sent through the air jacket on the Kuuma. All you are doing is increasing the furnace's delivered efficiency. It does make a difference though. I'm seeing "cold air" temps inside the blower box as high as 86°.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

This is one of the little tweaks I did with my cold air. It does make a difference. I'm taking in basement ceiling air and mixing it with some reclaimed air off of the hottest part on the face of the Kuuma and then it gets sent through the air jacket on the Kuuma. All you are doing is increasing the furnace's delivered efficiency. It does make a difference though. I'm seeing "cold air" temps inside the blower box as high as 86°.

Any chance you could post a photo?

 

[brenndatomu]

I'm surprised you are getting along as well as you are with wood that wet @Boilers , once you get some 18-20% wood you will be fine.
Also, read through the big Tundra thread to find out how to install a temp controller, it will eliminate all that twiddling around trying to maintain the fire after you load

 

[Boilers]

I'm surprised you are getting along as well as you are with wood that wet @Boilers , once you get some 18-20% wood you will be fine.
Also, read through the big Tundra thread to find out how to install a temp controller, it will eliminate all that twiddling around trying to maintain the fire after you load

Not all of it is 30%. Everything I’m burning was dead wood, that I cut and split late summer. So the skinny stuff is pretty dry. The large splits are pretty wet, ~30%. I’ve been hand selecting the most dry pieces based on size, weight, and appearance. I’m beginning to run out of small stuff though!

 

[JRHAWK9]

Any chance you could post a photo?

Sure, but there may be some , and responses. Red Green would be proud, but disappointed I didn't use more duct tape.

A few years ago I experimented with using Home Depot boxes to box out the intake of the cold air and bring it up to the basement ceiling. I saw immediate results and left it like that. The following year I wanted to have it made permanent by using sheet metal and had two HVAC companies come out to give me an estimate to have it done. They both left stating I would hear back from them shortly. It's been years and never heard squat. My guess it's way too small of a job for them to come out by us to do. So, my HD boxes still remain. Fugly, yes, but also functional and that's all I care about. If I knew what I was doing I could do the sheet metal myself, but I don't so I won't.

The rigid ducts run from the front of the Kuuma to the rear "box out" of the return and suck/reclaim some of the radiant heat off the face of the furnace, at the hottest part, where it mixes with the air being pulled off the basement ceiling and then sent through the furnace jacket to be heated before being sent out to the house. The whole basement still remains heated quite well just with the leftover radiant heat.

Seeing I'm sure I'll be asked about the duct connected to the BD, I figure I'll explain it. It just goes to a cold air make up air vent on the outside of the house. It sends unheated outside air up the chimney instead of using heated basement air to regulate the draft. Ran it this way since February of last year with no issues, even though I'm seeing stack temps right at the collar (before they get mixed with the outside air) of down to the 270° range when on pilot. No issues with condensation or creosote. I also have a tee and 4" reducer in the makeup air duct near the floor which points at the ground in order to provide makeup air for combustion, LP drier and the LP Power Vent water heater.

BTW, the extension cord in the photo is no where near as close as it looks. I have since routed it up and out of the way of when I remove the stove pipe at the end of the burning season.

 

[brenndatomu]

Seeing I'm sure I'll be asked about the duct connected to the BD, I figure I'll explain it. It just goes to a cold air make up air vent on the outside of the house. It sends unheated outside air up the chimney instead of using heated basement air to regulate the draft. Ran it this way since February of last year with no issues, even though I'm seeing stack temps right at the collar of down to the 270° range at times when on pilot. No issues with condensation or creosote.

Which you would only get away with this on a Kuuma...nothing else burns clean enough to not creosote the chimney up with these low temps. No smoke, no creosote.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Have you measured the temperature before the distribution blower? Just wondering what is the return air temperature.

I know the area around my stove stays a constant 76 degrees and the air before the distribution blower is 73 degrees. Based on your photos, I am going to test out making a duct from cardboard, see if I can raise that temp.

 

[brenndatomu]

Have you measured the temperature before the distribution blower? Just wondering what is the return air temperature.

I know the area around my stove stays a constant 76 degrees and the air before the distribution blower is 73 degrees. Based on your photos, I am going to test out making a duct from cardboard, see if I can raise that temp.

Careful...you'll need to do some crafty origami to keep this "duct" well away from your stove pipe, especially as much heat as gets sent up the stack on those Firechiefs.
I suppose you could treat it with fire retardant too...this works good, I've tried it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003M8G39E/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Careful...you'll need to do some crafty origami to keep this "duct" well away from your stove pipe, especially as much heat as gets sent up the stack on those Firechiefs.
I suppose you could treat it with fire retardant too...this works good, I've tried it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003M8G39E/?tag=hearthamazon-20

Way ahead of you [emoji12]

The other day I ordered ceramic insulation to wrap around the exposed stove pipe.

1" Ceramic Insulation Blanket for QuadraFire Wood Stoves, & More. 31" x 24" x 1" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CJNE3QI/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[JRHAWK9]

Have you measured the temperature before the distribution blower? Just wondering what is the return air temperature.

I know the area around my stove stays a constant 76 degrees and the air before the distribution blower is 73 degrees. Based on your photos, I am going to test out making a duct from cardboard, see if I can raise that temp.

Mine's going to be higher because of reclaiming it off the face. I hit consistent mid 80's during a burn.

If you are talking the temp of the air I'm pulling off the ceiling, that's normally around mid 70's or so. I have an indoor/outdoor temp gauge hanging right at the intake at the ceiling.

Which you would only get away with this on a Kuuma...nothing else burns clean enough to not creosote the chimney up with these low temps. No smoke, no creosote.

Yep. I'm not going to lie, I do see some light creosote buildup right at the BD tee in the stovepipe, but it's not enough to even remotely be concerned about and cleaning it once a year is just fine. Most of it is from doing all the cold lights I've been doing during the shoulder season. It hasn't been consistently cold enough yet to be burning 24/7. The short piece of pipe attached between the BD tee and BD gets pretty cold when it's cold outside. The temp of the air entering the BD has gotten down to 20°. Not this year yet, but last year.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Careful...you'll need to do some crafty origami to keep this "duct" well away from your stove pipe, especially as much heat as gets sent up the stack on those Firechiefs.
I suppose you could treat it with fire retardant too...this works good, I've tried it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003M8G39E/?tag=hearthamazon-20

Was thinking the same thing.