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woodchuck
@69.118.94.x

woodchuck

Anon

[HVAC] Woodchuck wood furnace not making heat

Hey guys I just picked up a woodchuck 2800 hot air wood furnace.

This is the first "wood furnace" I've had but I've had wood stoves so wood is nothing new.

Here is the issue that has me perplexed, the thing just won't make heat.

Fans work, the switch to turn the fans on and off might not be 100% accurate in temp but it works.

Trying to heat 1600sqf block shop with I'd give it R10 on the roof.

I have a fisher wood stove in there, thing gets the place way better than outside, I figured with a larger wood furnace I could tie into the hot air ducts and get a more even heat at the LEAST make the same temp but faster... I can't even warm it up, just blowing right off the top of the furnace... (again keep in mind the fisher stove in there is just a radiant stove...)

Now I've looked around for any info on the 2800 and it's so old I cant find anything everything seems to refer to the new 526 as "comparable".

It seems to me like the air is not being blown over the firebox inside the furnace (if you put your hand inside the thing, you can feel no air movement directly over the firebox in fact some of the air stays cold), but with out being able to find any real info on them, I can't see if parts are missing, etc. Feels like more heat is radiating from the furnace than is being blown... Everything I goggle everyone says the thing works great.

If any pictures would help... I can take them.

I pretty much just don't get what I'm missing here... I can't understand how something so simple is not making heat?
joewho
Premium Member
join:2004-08-20
Dundee, IL

joewho

Premium Member

[HVAC] Re: Woodchuck wood furnace not making heat

Piece of packaging still inside, blocking the vent?

woodchuck
@69.118.94.x

woodchuck

Anon

It blows alot of air, just it seems to not blow it over the firebox, it's old and used, I did not see anything blocking off, packaging, mouse nest, etc.
joewho
Premium Member
join:2004-08-20
Dundee, IL

joewho

Premium Member

Does it have an 80/20 air selector? One setting is for coal the other for wood.

woodchuck
@69.118.94.x

woodchuck

Anon

Click for full size
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Some pictures
joewho
Premium Member
join:2004-08-20
Dundee, IL

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Re: [HVAC] Woodchuck wood furnace not making heat

I have no idea about this. I just did a search and saw that there is a setting for coal or wood. If you get the name and model number, I'm sure there is more info for you out there.

tp0d
yabbazooie
Premium Member
join:2001-02-13
Bulger, PA

tp0d to woodchuck

Premium Member

to woodchuck
Possible with the 2 fans yer moving -too- much air across the heat exchanger? That would make the air feel cool.. but if you have a good fire going in it, the air should be warm.

Try disabling one fan mebe... might have to block it off tho

-j

Tex
Dave's not here
Premium Member
join:2012-10-20

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Re: [HVAC] Re: Woodchuck wood furnace not making heat

How cold is the air the fans are pulling in from the shop? Do you have a good fire and has it had time to heat up the fire box?
joewho
Premium Member
join:2004-08-20
Dundee, IL

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Re: [HVAC] Woodchuck wood furnace not making heat

»www.meyermfg.com/manuals ··· huck.pdf

woodchuck
@69.118.94.x

woodchuck

Anon

First, its a woodchuck 2800 yep old one, all I can find is the info on the new ones...

It seems like the air is not going over the heat exchanger but rather just around it, maybe this is by design, but if I put my hand inside, near the firebox, it is burning hot BUT no air is flowing over it...

I think each fan does one side of the firebox so if I disable one, might throw things off but... at this point can't hurt to try.

The air today was 55-60? Ended up being warmer outside... Not saying I expect hot hot air to come out... but the issue I have here is that thing, does nothing it seems to warm the shop, the fisher wood stove not 8 feet away, will warm the place better, no fans, just a chunk of steel, and it will use *less* wood. This is what makes me think I'm missing something. Last year it was it was below 0 out highs in the 10's lol, and we were still able to get the shop tolerable with the fisher, now, even when its 35F out... the furnace hardly warms it... I think the size is good enough... maybe it aint? I mean it holds more wood than the fisher...

Tex
Dave's not here
Premium Member
join:2012-10-20

Tex

Premium Member

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I think the primary problem is related to lack of duct work and static pressure. On the back side where the blowers are mounted, was there a plenum or filter box that is missing? If it is missing, that could partially be why the blowers aren't moving as much air as they are designed to move. Also, I can barely tell, but it looks like there is some kind of duct on top of the furnace. Is that all the duct work because properly sized and installed duct work is critical to how well the furnace will operate and how much air the blowers move. After all, it basically operates like a forced air gas furnace.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

3 recommendations

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said by woodchuck :

I mean it holds more wood than the fisher...

So, essentially the question is...how much wood could a woodchuck burn if a woodchuck could burn wood??

NS4683
join:2000-08-25
NJ

NS4683

Member

said by John Galt6:

So, essentially the question is...how much wood could a woodchuck burn if a woodchuck could burn wood??

Yuck. That was horribly cringe inducing to read.
telco_mtl
join:2012-01-06

telco_mtl to John Galt6

Member

to John Galt6
said by John Galt6:

said by woodchuck :

I mean it holds more wood than the fisher...

So, essentially the question is...how much wood could a woodchuck burn if a woodchuck could burn wood??

I was so tempted, but i decided to stay serious

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6 to NS4683

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to NS4683
said by NS4683:

Yuck. That was horribly cringe inducing to read.

Yeah, well...

Actually, that is part of my question...is the wood being consumed within an appropriate time frame? The rate at which the BTUs are being released from the burning wood would have an impact on how hot the stove gets. Is there sufficient air getting to the firebox?
Hellrazor
Bah Humbug
join:2002-02-02
Abyss, PA

Hellrazor to John Galt6

Member

to John Galt6
said by John Galt6:

So, essentially the question is...how much wood could a woodchuck burn if a woodchuck could burn wood??

None, they have an amish heater...

woodchuck
@69.118.94.x

woodchuck

Anon

It did have a box on the back to hook up to existing duct work I took it off as I have nothing to hook up to, it's a square room, the blowers move a ton of air though, just seems to be moving it not over the firebox...

The ductwork on top, is just some pipe that came with it, it should be the correct size as the plate ontop of the furnace is the same exact color as the furnace (making me think it is original)however, it's 90 and maybe 3 feet of pipe. Seeing as I guess I forgot to hit post when I typed this yesterday, I looked today, said 7-8 round on the plate on the front (this has 12) so I put some duct tape over duct, kinda warm today... so hard to tell... should be snowing tomorrow and the pipe for the fisher is rotted so, I'll be seeing how well that works...

So pretty much I might need more ductwork, to maybe slow the air down some...

This woodchuck can burn alotttttttttttttt lol

I would say the thing burns MORE wood than the fisher that seems to put out more heat.

Let me put it like this, on a maybe 30F night, it aint like we were anywhere next to warm, and we were loading that thing to the TOP... the fisher... most everyone agreed it seemed colder with the woodchuck than if the fisher was on...

Should be getting enough air... had the thing wide open, pipe has a damper... the fisher has a magic heat... I am no opposed to putting it on this pipe but I was half thinking, it should not matter as much as the woodchuck should be chucking some heat lol.
LittleBill
join:2013-05-24

LittleBill

Member

don't you have a furnace temp guage,

i mean this isn't rocket science, its a drum filled with wood and blowers that blow around the bottom up and through. i don't know how its not blowing over the fierebox since it can be clearly seen.

did you dampen it down enough? or is it all going out the vent?

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

Premium Member

Is the air the blowers draw in somehow making it into the combustion area? It looks like the unit is supposed to be taking combustion air only through the front and all of the air the blowers draw in should be discharged out to the room (I guess through vents in the top).

If the vent air is going into the firebox it would go right out the flue and really accelerate the burning. It sounds like that may be what's going on.

BlueMist
join:2011-01-24
Cookeville, TN

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Try pulling the plug on one of the two blowers as a test. Your situation might only need one, like most of the documentation seems to show.