I am wanting to buy a Russel Decton wood furnace. They have been out of business for some time. I had one in the 80's but left it in the house when it sold. I want to rebuild one. I will come and pick it up.
Russel Decton wood furnace
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I bought one a few ears ago, an Energy King. Paid a lot for it. It burns twice as much wood a year as the Russel and I have to clean my chimney 5 times a winter. I had my Russel 16 years and never had to clean my chimney. The Russel was a great stove. I don't know why they went out of business. I never saw smoke come from my chimney. The Energy King looks like a steam train.
Those newer furnaces I mentioned, although a bit costly, are very efficient.
Sounds like the old unit you had was a gasser or, at least, your wood was primo dry.
Most likely, you'll have a hard time finding an old Russel.
You have sparked interest in me though. I'm looking online now for info on those old Russel units.
Sounds like the old unit you had was a gasser or, at least, your wood was primo dry.
Most likely, you'll have a hard time finding an old Russel.
You have sparked interest in me though. I'm looking online now for info on those old Russel units.
If you find anything let me know. I am in Rockbridge, Ohio. They had an after burner over the main burn chamber and were awesome. I can't understand why they went out of business. They would have easily passed the emissions test and were a fairly simple system. The bottem panel was hinged at the back and had clipps in the front. If the power went off, you could unlatch the 2 front clips and let the front down to the floor and it would work as a gravity unit. They were ahead of their time and worked great
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
That unit looks like it was ahead of it's time, but would be over 40 years old now...not worth the time or trouble to find and fix up what likely is exceedingly rare, and almost surely a crusty ole pile at this point. Once metal has gone through hundreds or even thousands of heat/cool cycles it changes the makeup of the metal and it's almost impossible to weld...it's just not workable anymore.
I second the suggestion of going with a modern furnace, which would be tstat controlled too, not manually fired like the Russell appears to have been. The Kuuma Vaporfire VF100 is top of the heap and a buy once cry once type of unit...the Drolet Heat Commander is the other one still made, but is still not cheap, and will likely not have the life expectancy of the stainless steel firebox VF100. Many happy n warm VF owners here...some were former EK owners too! I looked up that Russell furnace...only thing I found was a link to the owners manual... interesting!
I second the suggestion of going with a modern furnace, which would be tstat controlled too, not manually fired like the Russell appears to have been. The Kuuma Vaporfire VF100 is top of the heap and a buy once cry once type of unit...the Drolet Heat Commander is the other one still made, but is still not cheap, and will likely not have the life expectancy of the stainless steel firebox VF100. Many happy n warm VF owners here...some were former EK owners too! I looked up that Russell furnace...only thing I found was a link to the owners manual... interesting!
Resembles a conventional style baffled woodstove. Increasing the size and adding a blower for forced induction turn it into a furnace.
Doesn't seem hard to fabricate, from your link I viewed.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
The hard part is getting all the holes n passages the right size...plus getting home insurance with a homemade stove would not be possible...heck even an old Russel with a missing UL tag would not qualify either (assuming they were tested)
I agree 100%.
I was just marveling at the simplicity compared to downdraft gassers of today.
I was hoping to have a fabrication shop rebuild it to factory specs, put a new blower on it, rewire, reweld the box and make it like new. That furnace was amazing and simple, and easy to use. I looked at a vaporfire by Kuma. I talked to them and they had me call someone in Ohio to vouch for them. He wasn't very convincing that it was that much better for twice the money. They were my first choice but they seem complicated and hard for a person on a fixed income to justify. I can pay a lot of electric bills for 8 grand plus instillation. I want to buy American made
Yes I do have good hardwood. I have 45 acres of mostly hickory in the Hocking Hills of SE Ohio. hockinghills.com/enchantedacres
I keep it at least 2 years under a roof and right now have around 95 cords.
I keep it at least 2 years under a roof and right now have around 95 cords.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
They weren't happy with theirs?
That's pretty rare...what were the complaints?
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
I guess not. Possible free one in the UP i dont see why this dude wouldnt still give it away
Wood1Dennis
Feeling the Heat
I have some first hand experience with a Russel stove like that so I will chime in. My parents heated with one from 1981 until about 10 or 15 years ago. I did like the hinged plate you describe, we used it a few times. It also had a pipe loop on the side of the firebox to heat water, that was a nice feature, it also did their domestic hot water heating. It worked well for them and was their primary heat source.. But we burned a lot of wood, 8 cord a year. It is still there but hasn't seen a fire for years.
Different homes, different setups but I can tell you it was nowhere near as clean or efficient as my 2016 PSG Caddy. I was the guy to clean the chimney twice a year. The heat exchanger on that stove is a real PITA to clean, pushing old vacuum cleaner hoses in from the smoke pipe output, reaching in as far as my arm could reach to pull the ash out. Ugg. Cleaning the Caddy is a breeze with the hinged access to the heat exchangers from the front.
The Russel Stove was an early attempt at clean secondary burn. They had the right idea, but the fire box was not insulated so the firebox temp never got high enough to really set off the secondaries like a modern one. With the Russel, the conditions had to be just right, with my stove the secondaries are burning minutes after starting a new fire. From scratch. The Russel could never do that. There is no way that it could pass a current emission test. This comment based in the creosote buildup I cleaned and wood consumption that was much higher than my Caddy. It certainly was a good furnace, ahead if its time, yes. But technology has come a long way in 40 years!
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
After living with a SBI (PSG) furnace for a time, I agreed that there is no easier HX to clean than that...the Kuuma isn't bad, but SBI design is easier/quicker for sure.
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