New member with one question

[Hiredgun]

I've been poking around here for a month or so now digging out little bits of info here and there. Now I've decided it was time to join,introduce myself,and ask a question.

Living in NW Arkansas and having a nearly unlimited supply of firewood (almost 450 acres of hardwood forest) I decided that i was going to install an OWB furnace at my new (to me) house. Well, I hunted around for about 4 months till I stumbled on an old Lynndale model 910 that i could afford.
Over the course of the last couple months I dismantled it,hauled it halfway across the state (to within 20 miles of where it was manufactured) and reassembled it. I've run all new ductwork and heavily insulated it. I'll admit, I probably could have got a newer OWB in better condition but:
a) I enjoy a challenge
b)I work within a budget that I can pay for outright
c) I've been accused of not being right in the head
I've completely rewired the whole unit from scratch as the PO had it jerry rigged in a bad kind of way. I've hunted down relays,draft fans,limit switches. Lynndale is apparently no longer in business so it's been a real challenge tracking down parts that perform to OEM specs. I've managed to get it accomplished though and I sleep warm at night because of it without having to listen to my gas furnace run.

Now I turn to the gurus for a little guidance. There is a handle on the outside of the furnace that controls a door near the top of the firebox on the inside. Having rebuilt and rewired the furnace with no guidance of any kind I feel a little thick for not being able to figure this out. If you look at the last picture on the bottom of the page of the following link http://www.arkweb.com/lynndale/Features/Primary/primary.html
You will see a cross section of how the stove works and the door near the top of the firebox that I'm referring to.

So here's my question of the day. In your experienced opinion(s), would the furnace generate more heat with the door open or shut?

I know, it sounds silly but it's driving me bonkers.
So let's hear your opinions on this and we'll go from there.

One other thing. If anyone has a lynndale 910 that needs parts like a draft fan or such feel free to PM me. I've got part numbers to readily available parts!

 

[Hunderliggur]

The little door is a bypass damper used to light the fire (bypassing the lower chamber). Open bypass, light fire, when run ing well (15 to 30 minutes for my gasser) close the bypass to get the increased efficiency from the lower chamber.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Welcome aboard!

A few questions . . .

You say duct work . . . is this a furnace or a boiler?

You say the manufacturer is out of business . . . who maintains the WebSite?

Have you been starting and loading it with the flap open or closed?

Have you been running it with the flap open or closed?

Sounds like she's puttin' out for you. Happy Burning!!

 

[laynes69]

Most furnaces has a bypass damper that is used when loading. You would pull it out which would change the smoke path, then load the furnace. After loading when you close the door, the lever should be pushed in. That furnace looks like a tank. The smallest furnace they make has a 8.5 Cu. Ft. firebox. How much wood are you going through? Does it burn pretty clean?

 

[Hiredgun]

Welcome aboard!

A few questions . . .

You say duct work . . . is this a furnace or a boiler?

You say the manufacturer is out of business . . . who maintains the WebSite?

Have you been starting and loading it with the flap open or closed?

Have you been running it with the flap open or closed?

Sounds like she's puttin' out for you. Happy Burning!!

This is a furnace. Hot air comes from furnace, return air from house feeds back to the furnace.Lather,rinse,repeat

You know, I've wondered about the website. All the phone numbers and email addys are non-op. Being 20miles away I drove past their address listed on their website. nada. i've talked to some of the local companies that used to do business with them and keep hearing the same thing. No longer in business. so, who knows....

I have run the furnace with the flap opened,closed, and partially open. It definitely doesn't blow as much smoke in my face when it's open but does throw tracers (aka sparks) into the air if I linger with the door open too long.

How much wood do I go through? Well, that's subjective. If I have control of the thermostat I can load it 1/2 full when I get home at 6Pm and then again at 6Am before leave for work. If the misses gets her fingers on it I'll load when i get home, again before i go to bed, then again when I leave in the morning. I set the thermostat at 70* and my thermometer in the sunken living room maintains 74.9* all night long. That's at the lowest point in the house measured 24" from the floor. When I installed the return i piped it from the backside of the coat closet next to the front door and put a return cover in the door. So it is pulling return air from 5" off the floor in the lowest room of the house right next to the door. seems to work quite well there. So far I'm not going to complain. It has been everything I have ever wanted an Outdoor furnace to be.

I've been heating with wood for more than 20 years (with the exception of my last place). The one ting that aways got me was the dust. It drove me nuts. Now I leave all that outside. My father also has a wood furnace and thinks i'm nuts for being so "anal" about the wood I burn. Glad to see there are people out there that are even more 'anal' than myself. Soem of you folks go to extremes that I would never dream of. He laughed at me because I had my wood stacked and sorted according to age,type,and time of day to burn. I had daytime wood and night time wood. He likes to cut it and burn it. Sometimes he even lets the birds get off the branches before he throws them in the furnace, and he wonders hy he can't keep his house very warm.

Almost forgot, yes. The firebox on this thing is HUGE! It is literally 3 cubic feet larger than the fridge in my last house!

Anyhow, thanks for the warm welcome and the replies. I have a feeling it's going t be pretty cozy around here!

Ed