Burn Times

[lazer415]

Energy King Wood/Coal forced air furnace

I have a new 2,000 sq ft home in Upstate NY. I recently put in a Energy King 385 furnace.

I have been burning seasoned wood and was wondering what type of overnight burn times I should get? When I go to bed and and fill the stove I am at 70 degrees in the house. Just about every morning I am getting up to 60 degrees.

In the morning it is also taking me at least a few hours to get back up to 70 degreses.

Wondering if anyone had any ideas or knew if I would get better results burning coal.

 

[laynes69]

There has been one other person on here with that furnace. I don't have that furnace, but there are a few things to look at. How tall is your chimney? If it's tall do you have anything to tame the draft? Have you checked the secondary heat exchanger tubes to make sure they are cleaned? Are you running the furnace with the draft controls open, and do you have natural or forced draft. Being that furnace is made to burn with secondary combustion, once burning you should be able to close down the damper and the secondaries should produce most if the heat. If your draft is too strong you may be pushing heat up the flue. Is your furnace on a thermostat? The most we lose overnight in temperature is 3 degrees and we have a large old home. What kind of burntimes are you seeing?

 

[Fred61]

One more question to add: Does your heat load exceed the capacity of the furnace?

 

[Como]

Coal has a much greater energy density. So would put out a lot more energy for the same volume.

 

[lazer415]

Thanks for the info. My chimney around 35 ft tall. I have been thinking about putting a a damper in the pipe. Right now I don't have one and the stove does really draw. The stove is not overheating. I have the thermostat on the stove set at 100 and 150. My wall thermostat I keep at 70. After 8 hrs I will have a fair amount of hot coals but in the morning the temp will be close to 60 when the temps are 10 degrees or lower. The stove does not have a fan blowing onto the flame. The model is the more efficient model and has a automatic draft door. The stove is brand new so the heat exchangers are clean.

 

[laynes69]

Your manual specifies a barometric damper or key damper to be installed if your draft exceeds .06" of water. You need one with a chimney that tall. Without one, you are sending too much heat up the flue. Slowing down the draft allows for combustibles to stay in the firebox longer, and exchanging more heat from the furnace. If you bought the model that qualifies for the tax credit, it will not burn coal. That model is a wood only model. If you want to burn coal, you need the shaker grates and forced draft. Also you should have backdraft dampers in the ductwork to stop the backflow of heat, and have the pressures in the ductwork checked. You can purchase a manometer for around 40.00 that allows you to check your draft in the chimney and ductwork. I have found with both of our woodfurnaces, 90 off and 140 on were the best settings for heat extraction. If you are seeing an 8 hour burn with no dampers that great. Get the draft set to the proper speeds, and you will see a longer burn and more heat. If your home is new, it sounds like there is some heat loss. To have the woodfurnace burning and losing 10 degrees overnight doesn't sound right. Hope this helps.

 

[lazer415]

The info helps. My stove is the tax credit model and it does burn coal. It has the wood/coal grates and shaker. I will check the draft and get a damper in it.

 

[laynes69]

When you get a damper in the flue, report back. I'm curious since there are few users here using that furnace.