I bought this furnace and have it hooked up to a lined 6" chimney. I haven't had the duct work hooked up yet. I did a small burn to help set the insulation in the chimney. I really have no idea running this furnace. First time wood burner. Any input would be helpful. Thanks
Shelter SF1000 E
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maple1
Minister of Fire
I'm thinking it might be a bit too late for the best input, which would be don't buy a Shelter. Not having direct experience with one, hopefully others will chime in - but you might be having your hands full this winter.
Have you operated an EPA stove or furnace previously? They require very dry wood. Underline very dry.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Did you buy it from a big box store with a liberal return policy by any chance?
Do a search here on Hearth on running these things...this topic has been thoroughly beat to a pulp...
Do a search here on Hearth on running these things...this topic has been thoroughly beat to a pulp...
I find it hard to believe that they could be quite that terrible. There is a learning curve with any wood burner. Wood furnaces seem to be especially so. Kuuma sounds like the easiest, Drolet/Caddy (2nd generation) next, with Shelter somwhere beneath that. Are they really impossible to safely operate, assuming the operator is educated on how to properly operate it with dry wood? (You guys here have dealt with this issue for years already, I'm a newbie, I know it.)
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Believe it...lawsuit worthy IMO...its well documented here...grab a bowl of popcorn and look it up
They soon won't be on the market anymore anyways, now they have to pass the EPA 2020 test without "cheating" this time...
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That or take your word for it and go throw another load in the Heatmax2. I was mainly trying to offer some hope to the OP. Your option of checking the stores return policy is good. Didn't some people get a refund through Menards due to the problems with the early Tundras?
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
It would be nice to offer some hope...but he doesn't need any more smoke blown up his butt, I'm sure the SF1000 is smoking enough already.
Doubt it...the problems came up well after the point that they would have taken them back...now SBI did warranty a bunch through Menards...basically if you bought it from Menards, you got a Menards in store credit for the original purchase price.
I think the advise of grabbing a bowl of popcorn and start reading as a great direction to take
I was lucky and found this site before i spent much money on my system.
I would nave been stuck with a crappy boiler.
Instead i have a pretty bullet proof heating system.
Just fired it up yesterday,after checking all the levels and giving it a good cleaning.
Worked flawlessly, year 11 for it i think.
So read all about your stove then decide if you really need the agro to stay warm.
If you haven't used it yet,get as much information as you can against it and try to get your money back.
There may be a chance that you can't legally install it.
Good Luck
I've already had a small fire in it. So I don't think I would be able to return it. Guess I'm pretty much stuck with it.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
I think the only one that I recall even halfway getting his to kinda sorta heat the house was @Medic21 ...might want to look up his stuff regarding the FC1000 / SF1000.
Hopefully they have changed something with them that will make the current inventory less volatile than the earlier units...but if they still get all their air (primary and secondary) through the combustion blower housing...still gonna be a bad deal.
Medic21
Minister of Fire
You are one of the unlucky ones. Menards no longer carries them, selling out inventory and that’s it.
The two best days owning one of these was the day I bought it and the day it went to the shredder at the scrap yard. Two years and tons of owner research and development with nothing but, blame on my install from HY-C. They swear there are hundreds of these things running without problems, I have yet to hear from one of those people on any forum or social media platform.
Batch burn a load at a time, burn it hot, and don’t try to let it idle and it will produce a ton of heat. If you want to load it for overnight just get a 55gal drum and some wet hay and put that in your house to smolder overnight, it will be less smoke.
Medic21
Minister of Fire
I hope Miranda Lambert will climb naked into my bed tonight. There is a better chance of that happening than this piece of crap making good even heat without burning down the house to do it.
I tried two years and sent it to the shredder at the scrap yard in Ft Wayne. I couldn’t even sell it in good faith to anyone.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
They are usually pretty good about taking things back...my opinion is that if you are thinking about that, it's now or never...unless it cracks open on ya like both of @Mrpelletburner 's did, even then HY-C will just repair or replace it.
Did you buy this to do most of your heating, or just take the edge off the bill a little?
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
In the spirit of being a little less of a party pooper, and a little more helpful...here is some reading to get you started, if you haven't seen it already. (here's where that popcorn comes in handy)
www.hearth.com
www.hearth.com
Fire Chief or Shelter EPA stoves feedback
While researching new EPA rated stoves, I could not locate much info regarding the new Fire Chief / Shelter EPA rated stoves. Hope this thread becomes a place where FC/S owners can post their experience setup. Perhaps someone that had an older version and has since upgraded, could provide...
www.hearth.com
Search results for query: fc1000
www.hearth.com
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
WHY!!?!!??
-CLICK ME-
Sucks for you man, but looks like the rest of us will have some entertainment once again this winter on the forum.
In the spirit of being a little less of a party pooper, and a little more helpful...here is some reading to get you started, if you haven't seen it already. (here's where that popcorn comes in handy)
Fire Chief or Shelter EPA stoves feedback
While researching new EPA rated stoves, I could not locate much info regarding the new Fire Chief / Shelter EPA rated stoves. Hope this thread becomes a place where FC/S owners can post their experience setup. Perhaps someone that had an older version and has since upgraded, could provide...Search results for query: fc1000
I wouldn't worry about being a party pooper. He had the same access to all the research materials we all have had.....some choose not to take advantage. Caveat emptor
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