How to get long lasting low output fire from Drolet Heat Commander

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Does it make sense to start with the barometric damper, set it accordingly, and see how it goes? Is the manometer essential, or an asset, or just a good idea? Thanks. New territory for me.
 
Does it make sense to start with the barometric damper, set it accordingly, and see how it goes? Is the manometer essential, or an asset, or just a good idea? Thanks. New territory for me.
Well, good question...normally I'd say you could just try the baro and go from there, but with a chimney that tall, I'm betting that won't be enough, at least when it's real cold out.
But it's up to you, you'll get it sorted out either way...install the baro n report back...good thing about it is that none of this stuff is expensive.
 
I have a pretty tall flue as well and I use a short horizontal piece before going vertical, manual damper, all double wall. I used to use a Dwyer mano but last year switched to a magnehelic and I love how responsive it is compared to the mano! My setup does really well around -.04" to -.05". I do have to open manual damper each time I load, then close it based on outdoor conditions but I'm so used to it by now.

Eric
 
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Bleeding off heat into the basement will help, even adding some supply lines. It also helps having heat pump appliances. I have a HPWH right next to my wood furnace that steals some heat which helps.

I also have a system where I just burn chunks for the first part of the season until like Christmas. These are pieces of cutoffs and stubbies that don't stack well. In CT, we don't get too cold until the latter part of December. Then I go to the bigger pieces from there until March/April.

One thing that I see is the HC seems to put out some serious heat.
 
I ended up adding a 6 inch duct to dump air into the basement which helped. I hate wasting fuel though so I've been expirementing with loading thr furnace different which has certainly helped. I now put less wood in and center it around the air intake grate so it still burns clean/doesn't smolder. I also found that keeping the thermostat turned way down so the furnace is always idling helps quite a bit. I just let the house cool down before I start the furnace if it's mild out. Since the stove puts out so much heat it'll raise the temperature in the house quite a bit even with the thermostat turned all the way down.

As for yrams question: I have a 30ft tall chimney with a 6 inch liner in it. The HC is in my basement. My barometric damper is always letting a significant amount of air in once the furnace is going. You must have an insane amount of draft given your chimney setup. I would highly recommend getting a manometer and barometric damper. The manometer is incredibly useful to make sure the HC is dialed in. Keep in mind that just because you set the baro to .04 iwc doesn't mean you'll actually be drafting that much. Especially with your setup, you might max out the baros full potential and still have excessive draft. I have to keep my baro set to .02 iwc in order for it to draft .04 to .06. I also have my baro angled ever so slightly upward so creosote doesn't drip onto the damper causing it to stick closed.
 

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Hello y'all,

I did not buy a manometer but did buy the recommended barometric damper. Fortunately I had installed the flue pipe with a T at the outlet (upside down T, that is), so the damper fit right into the outward end, and the wood furnace is performing perfectly. Thank you so much!!!
 
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I just wanted y'all to know, I bought the barometric damper, set it on 2 which is what the furnace guy set the furnace damper on (same 40' chimney, different flue), and the Heat Commander is living up to its reputation and performing beautifully. Thank you all!
 
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