JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
This may have been mentioned already, but can you crack open a basement window near the wood furnace? Maybe you need makeup air....?
Fire Chief or Shelter EPA stoves feedback
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JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
Sounds like another manufacturer I know...cough, cough, SBI....cough, cough Tundra.
Hope this video helps... At 1:12 mark in the video, see the large gap between the front of the stove and the air channel. Wonder if that gap should of been welded up? Also on the opposite side of where the air enters, there is a channel that doesn't have holes or seem to pull air from anywhere. Will have to talk to HY-C regarding this vertical channel (36 second marker shows the vertical tube).
Basement window near the stove is cracked opened anytime we have used the stove. Not sure if it has made a difference regarding the fire. It does help clear out the smoke in the basement when the stove back flashes.
3fordasho
Minister of Fire
Does all primary and secondary air come through that little opening on the draft blower?
laynes69
Minister of Fire
I'm with you, if that's the case......that's nothing. For sure that will cause puffing issues.
3fordasho
Minister of Fire
Well if that is the only inlet air opening... don't think it's near enough. The Tundra has at least 2 openings for what I assume is secondary air that are wide open all the time. Then there is the primary flap that is controlled by the damper motor, even that has an always open port. Then there is the air boost port right below the door glass, maybe 1/4" diameter.
If that riveted cover on your blower is truly the only air inlet, I don't see how your furnace would work with the induction blower off.
laynes69
Minister of Fire
Our furnace has a 3/4" hole when the primary is closed, and that's not enough (I keep it cracked open a little). We also have two 1.5" square holes for the secondary air and two 1/4" pilot holes. There's also 3 holes when the damper is open that are around 1" x 2" or so. That's for a firebox that is smaller than the firecheif, even with all that air, burns still lasting 8-12 hours. It doesn't seem hy-c thought out the design process. Like I've said before there's too much variable in the field.
hy-c support stated the reason why the draft opening is so small is so the stove doesn't overheat. They were having an issue with people opening up the slider, walking away, only to return to a cracked stove.
I really hope my purchase is "beta" testing for them.
So far today the stove has had only 1 back flash via the draft fan inlet port and that was only because I closed the draft flapper to much. Otherwise the stove draft has been at a steady 0.05-0.07" wc all day, 500-700 degrees.
laynes69
Minister of Fire
That stinks! If that's the case about overfiring, they should've eliminated the forced draft and went with a simple servo controlled natural draft design. Like many old school designs, the fire would basically smolder until heat was needed and a draft blower would kick up the fire then go back to a smolder. That's not the case with an EPA design. If a firebox cannot maintain an active flame during the offgassing phase, then the unit is not doing it's job. It's really a bummer because Hy-c was one of the manufacturers with a different design than the others. It is nice however to see feedback from actual users whether good or bad. I hope the company makes things good with you.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Hey! Mr "stock" Kuuma...Sounds like another manufacturer I know...cough, cough, SBI....cough, cough Tundra.
At least the Tundras worked good from the get-go...just had some longevity issues and couple of others minor bugs to work through...
[COLOR=#000000]But[/COLOR] @Mrpelletburner has been WAAAAAY more patient than I would be with a new unit if I was having extreme backfire issues like this! I Hate a smoky smelling house!
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brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
If that's the case then that's a terrible design! Primary and secondary air need to be from separate sources IMO. Otherwise whats to maintain the 75/25 (or whatever it is) split ratio once the T-stat is satisfied? As is, it can just go the path of least resistance...
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LOL My new favorite channel to watch is "My Stove". It's like watching paint dry, however I need to make sure the house doesn't fill up with smoke.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Well, if not welded up, at least not gapping wide open like that.
The way it is now I can see why there are issues...when the draft blower shuts off there is no way it is getting anywhere near enough secondary air to the middle and back of the firebox...that low volume of air just pulls right in through those holes on the lower right side of the door...and maybe a little out that gap up top there (if there is even enough volume left to make it up there at that point) Too bad there is no door glass so you could see exactly whats going on in there...that would solve the mystery right quick IMO.
Like @3fordasho and @laynes69 have already mentioned...the Tundra/Heatmax and Caddys all have (2) 1.5" square openings feeding the secondary air tubes...and those have nothing to do with the primary air intake
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
Hey! Mr "stock" Kuuma...
stock?? what fun is that?
I don't even own a string trimmer which is stock. 
I haven't touched how the furnace burns and/or controls it's burn though, just optimized how the BTU's are being delivered for my situation. Something which every wood furnace owner should probably do in order to maximize the delivery of the BTU's being produced. Oh, and maybe pushing the envelope a bit on removing as much heat from the flue gasses as possible by choking things up in the HX to take advantage of my excessive draft and very well insulated chase/chimney.
yeah, I agree, I think I would have told them to come pick their POS up long time ago myself. Although, I probably would have done the same thing with the Tundra after the first crack appeared or if I got one of the original "consumer beta test models" they used for "real world R&D" in which the ashpan setup potentially could have turned the owner's house into their very own personal CO bank.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
At about 25 seconds in, the weld in the inside corner of the intake air tube (upper right corner of the loading door) is that weld cracked loose from the front of the firebox? Almost looks like that may be part of why there is that gap up top there...
Good catch! Going to let the fire burn out to check. That whole run should be either a solid tube or welded IMO.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
I bought mine 2-3 years old...and "pre-cracked", for cheap...it was to be more of an experiment/trial than anything else...so I knew what I was getting myself into...the original owner did not, although SBI did take good care of him...and because of that he bought a Max Caddy (and loves it)
Things were a little sketchy there for a while early on with my Tundra, but she's dialed in like a well oiled (but cracked) machine now.
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brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
They might not weld it solid for expansion/contraction reasons...ask SBI about that one! (I wonder how many Tundras they had to warranty before they figured it out?!)
laynes69
Minister of Fire
I also noticed your thermometer is where an air channel is located on the inside. If you're reading 500 degrees, the actual firebox would be much hotter. I would think the temperature wouldn't be accurate because of the incoming air. Honestly, I wouldn't think there's much preheating going on there.
maple1
Minister of Fire
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
well, ya know, you may be able to buy a certain member's Fire Chief soon here for cheap to play around with. You'd also know what you'd be getting into.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Think ima pass on this one...well, ya know, you may be able to buy a certain member's Fire Chief soon here for cheap to play around with. You'd also know what you'd be getting into.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
Think ima pass on this one...
Look at the up side, it could double as a whole home smoker!
