Been lurking here and other forums for about a year....currently heating with an old Alaska wood stove that was in the basement when I bought this house 6 years ago. It is a stand alone setup that uses ductwork and a blower to distribute the heat, kind of a "poor man's furnace". I am looking to upgrade to an actual furnace, and I would like the option to burn wood or coal, both of which are readily available to me now. The Woodchuck looks to be a good option for what I want to do (burn wood or coal) and has a combination of features that appeal to me. Anyone care to share their experiences with their woodchuck furnace, good or bad?? Anyone tried burning coal, particularly anthracite, in theirs?? Also, on the 2900/4000 models, there's no smoke bypass setup like in the 526 model (and other furnaces in general) - does this cause a major problem with smoke spillage?? I currently do get good draft with the chimney I have now. Any help/advice/info is appreciated. Thanks in advance....
Meyer Woodchuck Owners...
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JustWood
Minister of Fire
I can't say one bad thing about my 526. Their factory technicians are more than helpfull if you run into a problem. Easy to install if your a DIY'r. A+ all the way aroud. I still get smoke spillage even with the bypass. I have burned alot of bituminous and it works great .
ccwhite
Member
I just bought the 2900. I'm installing in the next couple weeks. The absence of the smoke bypass deal was a selling point for me. I don't like they idea that you're supposed to put that thing out in your way while you're firing. and put it back out of the way once you're done. Anyway if you check out the design of the 526 vs the 2900/4000 you see why there is no selector for this. There is a secondary heat exchanger in the bigger models where the little one just runs the smoke across the top of the firebox hence the selector.
I'm very impressed with the quality of the unit and I can't wait to get it in and fire it up. I be putting up some photos once I'm done with the install.
I'm very impressed with the quality of the unit and I can't wait to get it in and fire it up. I be putting up some photos once I'm done with the install.
glacialhills
Member
I do believe that anthracite coal burns too hot for the woodchuck and they advise only burning bituminous.I don't know of any combo wood/coal furnaces on the market that can burn anthracite coal. But bituminous is very cheap and plentiful, just a bit dirtier.
ccwhite
Member
I personally don't bother with coal. Around here all I can get affordably is bituminous and I don't like the dust and mess. So I just stick to wood. Its clean and free. However the booklet for the Woodchuck has instructions for firing with bituminous and anthracite coal. I can't see any reason why you couldn't burn anthracite in my Woodchuck. It has shaker grates which are very thick and heavy. Now I do have the 2900 which has the same shaker grating as the 4000 but the 526 does not come with shakers you would have to buy them as an option for that unit.
ccwhite
Member
Hey guys! Happy new year. Here are the pics I promised.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31660/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31660/
laynes69
Minister of Fire
If wanting to burn anthracite coal, I would consider a Harmon, or a Hitzer.
http://www.hitzer.com/furnaceunit.html
http://www.harmanstoves.com/features.asp?id=27
http://www.hitzer.com/furnaceunit.html
http://www.harmanstoves.com/features.asp?id=27
ccwhite
Member
The problem I see with the Hitzer is the little round duct outlet on the top of the unit. I made sure my Woodchuck had the big Plenum opening. I also see no mention of how thick the steel is on the Hitzer unit.
The Harman looks like a very nice unit. Very similar to my Woodchuck. It uses the automatic door opening type of draft where the Woodchuck uses a forced air draft blower (just a matter of preference). The Harman says it has a secondary air flow. I would like to see how they accomplish this. My Woodchuck has this as well. The Harman does have the big plenum opening like mine. But again no mention of steel thickness which worries me a bit because it claims to only weigh 580lbs. The Woodchuck 2900 weighs 700lbs and has 7 gauge steel. The 4000 model weighs 815lbs and has 4 gauge steel..
I don't think I would waste my time with the Hitzer unit but the Harman looks like a nice sturdy setup.
If you'd like to look into the Woodchuck you can find the info here.
http://www.meyermfg.com/woodchuck.php
If you'd like to see my setup you can see the pics by following the link in my previous post.
Just my $.02
The Harman looks like a very nice unit. Very similar to my Woodchuck. It uses the automatic door opening type of draft where the Woodchuck uses a forced air draft blower (just a matter of preference). The Harman says it has a secondary air flow. I would like to see how they accomplish this. My Woodchuck has this as well. The Harman does have the big plenum opening like mine. But again no mention of steel thickness which worries me a bit because it claims to only weigh 580lbs. The Woodchuck 2900 weighs 700lbs and has 7 gauge steel. The 4000 model weighs 815lbs and has 4 gauge steel..
I don't think I would waste my time with the Hitzer unit but the Harman looks like a nice sturdy setup.
If you'd like to look into the Woodchuck you can find the info here.
http://www.meyermfg.com/woodchuck.php
If you'd like to see my setup you can see the pics by following the link in my previous post.
Just my $.02
laynes69
Minister of Fire
Theres a few people on the http://nepacrossroads.com/ forum. They are really impressed with the Hitzer furnace.They are coal burners. Nothing but good things to say about the unit. Produces a ton of heat and burns coal well. If you aren't looking to burn alot of coal, then most wood furnaces would do. The thing is, I would hate to buy a wood/coal furnace to burn coal. Install it, and find out its not meant for anthracite. Thats what happened to him. I agree with the 8" top outlet, not enough air movement, but people are heating 2000 square feet with theirs. As far as better built, the harmon would win hands down. Its looks like a well build unit. Has a nice shaker grate system.
Bought a home three years ago and been burning in the woodchuck 526 each year. Furnace has been in home since 1982. No problem heating the home, but I tend to burn large amounts of wood. I burn all kinds of wood the majority is locust with ash cherry and maple. I'm not sure about the proper setting of the secondary heatbox. Should the lever be all the way out or in? Also, I have some registers in the home, farthest away from the furnace, that don't blow hot air. Do I have a problem?
JustWood
Minister of Fire
The secondary burn box you are referring to is a smoke bypass. Should be all the way in . Out when loading .If your leaving it out, this may be the reason you're going through lots of wood.
Get some bituminous coal and offset your wood usage. Less than a ton mixed with wood in mine saves about 2 cord/year .
Get some bituminous coal and offset your wood usage. Less than a ton mixed with wood in mine saves about 2 cord/year .
"I do believe that anthracite coal burns too hot for the woodchuck and they advise only burning bituminous.I don’t know of any combo wood/coal furnaces on the market that can burn anthracite coal. But bituminous is very cheap and plentiful, just a bit dirtier."
WHERE DO YOU BUY CHEAP COAL IN MICHIGAN?? See trains cars full go by ever day, can't find any to buy!!
WHERE DO YOU BUY CHEAP COAL IN MICHIGAN?? See trains cars full go by ever day, can't find any to buy!!
ccwhite
Member
scooter714 said:
Hi Scoot,
Welcome to the forums. Where in east central Ohio? I'm outside of Steubenville. Shameless is right about the lever. Mine doesn't have this feature, just on the 526. The lever is to be pulled out for loading thus directing the smoke to the rear of the firebox and then pushed in for burning thus directing the smoke through the secondary heat exchanger on top of the firebox getting you more heat out of your wood. I would not burn coal unless you have the shaker grates. They did not come standard on the 526 but are available as an upgrade. I don't remember seeing anything in my manual about not being able to burn anthracite on my shaker grates but maybe i just don't remember as all I could buy around here would be bituminous anyway. As to registers not blowing warm air, that sounds like a problem to me. Many things could cause this. How old is the house? How many stories? Ever had a duct cleaning? Is there a cold air return that services this room? Only the one room? Could be an opening in the supply ducts (leak). Is it blowing at all or just not hard enough? Is the room cold? My upstairs registers don't blow nearly as hard as the first floor registers but the rooms are nice and warm.
Again welcome to the forums. Glad to have you here.
We've had a WoodChuck model 2800 furnace since about 1980.
It needed extra welding on the outside door frame when it was delivered...which the factory covered 100%.
Its been bullet proof ever since. It still has the original fire bricks on the inside.
I just saw a new one for sale at Charlies Hardware store Mosinee Wisconsin.
My father had a Yukon in the 70's, but it had been known to burn out the inside fire chamber parts. It was the "mother of all wood furnaces", but I would not own one. His was a natural gas/wood combination unit.
I am not overly impressed with the catalytic converter in the new WoodChuck furnaces. Yes, it will burn up the smoke (how much I don't know) and create extra heat from your wood, but I understand you will need a new catalytic converter ($200-300) in 3 to 4 years to maintain the original efficiency. This does not impress me.
I do agree it is well built, and what can I say? We are still using it after 30+ years! The door latch system has been improved on the new models, but I have seen better on other brands.
If only dry seasoned wood is being burned, I would consider a new EPA rated: Kuuma or PSG (AN Caddy) furnace. If you are burning a mixture of dry and non-seasoned wood, the WoodChuck will handle this chore very well.
Our WoodChuck came with 2 fans. I replaced these with a bigger single fan and a Space Guard air filter system.
About 2 years ago, I called Meyer Manufacturing and asked whether they would build an EPA rated wood furnace in the future, because I was interested in a new wood furnace.
Their answer was a big NO! Because it costs too much to get them EPA rated (other wood furnace manufacturers have paid $25,000 to have this done).
Also, their market are the bigger farm houses where burning efficiency is not as important as heating the home. Hence they are not interested in building a true EPA rated furnace.
To me, if I am going to spend $2500-$3500 on a new wood furnace, it will be an EPA unit that burns up all the smoke, and burns less wood to heat your home. The new WoodChuck's are just too "old school", and if/when the EPA clamps down on wood smoke in the future, I seriously doubt WoodChuck furnaces will still be manufactured!
They would have to be re-engineered to be more efficient, and I understand Meyer Manufacturing is not interested in spending the money to compete in this market. The catalytic converter in my opinion is a band-aid to make them more efficient. But the best efficiency is gained by re-engineering the furnace to eliminate the catalytic converter (as the competition does).
At this point, we will keep the WoodChuck until it dies, and then replace it with a Kuuma or PSG AN Caddy. The AN Caddy ($2800) has a glass front (a waste, and a reducer of efficiency) but the more expensive and smaller BTU Kuuma ($3450) has a regular solid door.
We have no smoke issues when loading wood into the WoodChuck. One has to smart about this though. If you have a big fire going...don't open the door...because it will smoke! If the fire is mostly done and I intend to reload, I crack the door open a small amount at a time, without opening the ash pan door. Then, we rarely get smoke in the house.
The smoke bypass rod is touchy on our furnace. If I let the unit get too hot with the rod pulled all the way out...it is impossible to push it back in until the unit cools down. Therefore, I religiously push it all the way in before it gets too hot (usually 10-20 minutes after starting a new fire). I only use it when loading wood into the unit...to eliminate any smoke escaping into the house.
I wish Meyer was more concerned with improving their wood furnaces to compete with the new EPA units. But with EPA regulations pending, the WoodChuck is off the list.
Best wishes.
It needed extra welding on the outside door frame when it was delivered...which the factory covered 100%.
Its been bullet proof ever since. It still has the original fire bricks on the inside.
I just saw a new one for sale at Charlies Hardware store Mosinee Wisconsin.
My father had a Yukon in the 70's, but it had been known to burn out the inside fire chamber parts. It was the "mother of all wood furnaces", but I would not own one. His was a natural gas/wood combination unit.
I am not overly impressed with the catalytic converter in the new WoodChuck furnaces. Yes, it will burn up the smoke (how much I don't know) and create extra heat from your wood, but I understand you will need a new catalytic converter ($200-300) in 3 to 4 years to maintain the original efficiency. This does not impress me.
I do agree it is well built, and what can I say? We are still using it after 30+ years! The door latch system has been improved on the new models, but I have seen better on other brands.
If only dry seasoned wood is being burned, I would consider a new EPA rated: Kuuma or PSG (AN Caddy) furnace. If you are burning a mixture of dry and non-seasoned wood, the WoodChuck will handle this chore very well.
Our WoodChuck came with 2 fans. I replaced these with a bigger single fan and a Space Guard air filter system.
About 2 years ago, I called Meyer Manufacturing and asked whether they would build an EPA rated wood furnace in the future, because I was interested in a new wood furnace.
Their answer was a big NO! Because it costs too much to get them EPA rated (other wood furnace manufacturers have paid $25,000 to have this done).
Also, their market are the bigger farm houses where burning efficiency is not as important as heating the home. Hence they are not interested in building a true EPA rated furnace.
To me, if I am going to spend $2500-$3500 on a new wood furnace, it will be an EPA unit that burns up all the smoke, and burns less wood to heat your home. The new WoodChuck's are just too "old school", and if/when the EPA clamps down on wood smoke in the future, I seriously doubt WoodChuck furnaces will still be manufactured!
They would have to be re-engineered to be more efficient, and I understand Meyer Manufacturing is not interested in spending the money to compete in this market. The catalytic converter in my opinion is a band-aid to make them more efficient. But the best efficiency is gained by re-engineering the furnace to eliminate the catalytic converter (as the competition does).
At this point, we will keep the WoodChuck until it dies, and then replace it with a Kuuma or PSG AN Caddy. The AN Caddy ($2800) has a glass front (a waste, and a reducer of efficiency) but the more expensive and smaller BTU Kuuma ($3450) has a regular solid door.
We have no smoke issues when loading wood into the WoodChuck. One has to smart about this though. If you have a big fire going...don't open the door...because it will smoke! If the fire is mostly done and I intend to reload, I crack the door open a small amount at a time, without opening the ash pan door. Then, we rarely get smoke in the house.
The smoke bypass rod is touchy on our furnace. If I let the unit get too hot with the rod pulled all the way out...it is impossible to push it back in until the unit cools down. Therefore, I religiously push it all the way in before it gets too hot (usually 10-20 minutes after starting a new fire). I only use it when loading wood into the unit...to eliminate any smoke escaping into the house.
I wish Meyer was more concerned with improving their wood furnaces to compete with the new EPA units. But with EPA regulations pending, the WoodChuck is off the list.
Best wishes.
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