1 cord in 1 week

[carm317]

Hello,

My husband and I just purchased and installed the max caddy in a new home we just purchased this past summer. It's our first time dealing with wood since our last home was gas. Gas was not an option here therfore we purchased the caddy. My husband is very experienced with oil and gas furnaces and boilers but has never installed a wood burning furnace until now. The furnace is running good, keeping our 3000 Sq ft home warm at about 68-70 degrees most of the time. He had to redo a lot of the ductwork to because it was originally done incorrectly. My question is this, is it normal to go through an entire cord in 1 week? We have purchased 2 cords from 2 different dealers and each have only lasted a week! At about $220 a cord, that seems to be very expensive. Seeing that we didn't decide to use a wood furnace until well into the winter, we have no firewood that we cut and split ourselves. Is this normal? If not, any suggestions on how to make the wood last longer?

 

[Husky]

Are you sure your getting a whole cord? What is your measurements after stacking?

 

[maple1]

My answer is no.

 

[flyingcow]

My answer is no.

+1.

128 cu/ft to a cord. Measure it close. 16 inch length? Maybe not getting a full cord?

Or house will put out candles when standing by closed windows?

Sorry, bad humor. But something doesn't sound right.

 

[brenndatomu]

Is it even physically possible to burn a full cord in one week in a Max? If so, sounds very difficult to do...

 

[laynes69]

I say no also. One thing you will find is a modern woodfurnace like the Caddy series requires well seasoned wood. This time of year with the major cold we've been having, I guarantee the wood isn't even close to seasoned. This reduces heat output and increases wood consumption. Also, was draft verified when installed and a barometric damper installed? I have the Max Caddy's little brother and it would be impossible to chew a cord in a week. We are heating 2500 sqft with tall ceilings and I've finally hit 4 cords since September. A cord in the bitter cold will last us 4 weeks or a little over, in the 30's it could take 2 months. Could you describe your home (tightness, insulation levels, age) and your chimney setup. Also, the furnaces aren't meant for open damper burning, once hot it should be able to shut down and stay hot for a while.

 

[brenndatomu]

Alright, now that I got that outta my system, time for something a lil more helpful.
1. Wood that is not fully dried will burn without giving off nearly as much heat as truly dry wood does. Your chances of getting truly dry wood from most firewood suppliers is about 1:10,000. Firewood suppliers are also notorious for shorting people on quantity. The best way to tell if you got what you paid for is to stack it. Stacked fairly tightly, a cord should be 128 CF, or 4' tall, 4' wide, and 8' long (or some variation thereof)
2.How often are you reloading? A Max should go 8-12 hrs on a load depending on the heat load of the house at that time.

 

[carm317]

Are you sure your getting a whole cord? What is your measurements after stacking?

We didn't measure the first cord, the second cord was about right. Maybe a foot short but that's about it.

 

[carm317]

Alright, now that I got that outta my system, time for something a lil more helpful.
1. Wood that is not fully dried will burn without giving off nearly as much heat as truly dry wood does. Your chances of getting truly dry wood from most firewood suppliers is about 1:10,000. Firewood suppliers are also notorious for shorting people on quantity. The best way to tell if you got what you paid for is to stack it. Stacked fairly tightly, a cord should be 128 CF, or 4' tall, 4' wide, and 8' long (or some variation thereof)
2.How often are you reloading? A Max should go 8-12 hrs on a load depending on the heat load of the house at that time.

1. When we stacked the second one, it was about correct.
2. We are loading it every 4 - 5 hours, that's when we pack it up pretty good but leaving room for air circulation. If I only throw in 5 or 6 logs it will last about 2-3 hours.

 

[carm317]

I say no also. One thing you will find is a modern woodfurnace like the Caddy series requires well seasoned wood. This time of year with the major cold we've been having, I guarantee the wood isn't even close to seasoned. This reduces heat output and increases wood consumption. Also, was draft verified when installed and a barometric damper installed? I have the Max Caddy's little brother and it would be impossible to chew a cord in a week. We are heating 2500 sqft with tall ceilings and I've finally hit 4 cords since September. A cord in the bitter cold will last us 4 weeks or a little over, in the 30's it could take 2 months. Could you describe your home (tightness, insulation levels, age) and your chimney setup. Also, the furnaces aren't meant for open damper burning, once hot it should be able to shut down and stay hot for a while.

House was built in 1996, insulation is okay. We are having trouble with an area under the kids playroom that has no insulation and is bringing in a lot of cold through the floor in that one room and is making the basement colder which is where the furnace is located. The damper is working good, closes off once the house is at temp. The chimney is about 7 or 8 according to my husband.

 

[carm317]

Is it even physically possible to burn a full cord in one week in a Max? If so, sounds very difficult to do...

Oh it's possible! The wood does have moisture because I can hear it sizzle when it lights up, but I'm not sure if that means anything.

 

[laynes69]

With wood sizzling, it's too wet. A good majority of heat is lost trying to boil off the water. Do you know what type of species the wood is? I would find someone with truely seasoned wood and give that a try, even if it's one load. Also look at draft. What size are your splits?

 

[brenndatomu]

Oh it's possible! The wood does have moisture because I can hear it sizzle when it lights up, but I'm not sure if that means anything.

It does mean something...wet wood. Should hear no sizzle or hiss. You'd be amazed the difference it makes.
The fire just never gets hot and the damper stays open way too long...poof, wood all gone and no heat from it.
One thing you can do to help is to supplement your firewood with a few pieces of kiln dried lumber. 2x4 cut offs, or pick up some pallets from the back of your local big box store (they'll usually give 'em to ya as they often throw 'em out) cut them up to add in with a load of your wood.
ECO bricks (or whatever brand of compressed sawdust bricks you have available locally) work well too, just need 2 or 3 added in...
Better buy wood now for next year, even then it may not be dry enough for next year depending on what species of wood you get

 

[claydogg84]

Wet or dry it doesn't matter, going through a cord of wood in that time is unrealistic. something seems off here, and I would lean towards inaccurate measurement of an actual "cord".

 

[jatoxico]

The chimney is about 7 or 8 according to my husband.

Are you saying the chimney is 7' long?

What were you using for heat before you started using the wood? 1 cord a week at $220 a cord, might as well let your primary heat source do the job and get some sleep instead of feeding the furnace round the clock. Really something doesn't seem right.

Oh check your chimney. Cord a week of wet wood could go south quick unless it's really only 7' long.

 

[BrotherBart]

Going through a cord in a week you have to be shoveling a load of coals out of that heater every hour or two. Around the clock.

 

[brenndatomu]

The chimney is about 7 or 8 according to my husband.

Are you saying the chimney is 7' long?

Yes, please clarify

 

[BoiledOver]

Firstly, your troubles can be remedied. The more information the members here have, the better they can help you. Please don't be offended by some of the questions you may receive. The remedies may or may not be useful to this heating season. Dry wood is critical.

Is it running flat out continuously? Where is the combustion air coming from? Whatever hot moist air goes out the chimney, there is probably that much cold air coming in from whatever leaky area you have. Do you have a flue damper?

Could be a few things adding up to a big hit. Maybe you are pushing a lot more heat up the chimney than is necessary. Dryer wood is better. Combustion air piped to a point close to the combustion air intake instead of drawing across the room would help.

 

[BrotherBart]

It is in the basement. Has to be talking about diameter, not height.

 

[jatoxico]

Firstly, your troubles can be remedied. The more information the members here have, the better they can help you. Please don't be offended by some of the questions you may receive.

Yes good point, not trying to pile on. If you give good accurate info the group should be able to help you get the best performance you can expect from your system allowing you to save wood and money while at the same time being safe.

 

[carm317]

With wood sizzling, it's too wet. A good majority of heat is lost trying to boil off the water. Do you know what type of species the wood is? I would find someone with truely seasoned wood and give that a try, even if it's one load. Also look at draft. What size are your splits?

Supplier said its oak, the are about a foot and a half long and maybe five or six inches wide.

 

[carm317]

Yes good point, not trying to pile on. If you give good accurate info the group should be able to help you get the best performance you can expect from your system allowing you to save wood and money while at the same time being safe.

I'm trying to answer the best I can. Sorry for my ignorance when it comes to wood burning furnaces, I seriously don't know much at all, obviously. I did research on this site as to what would be a good option and saw a lot of good reviews and recommendations for the max caddy. What I didn't realize was the cost. We spent 5000 on the unit and just found out that it would be another 2200 for the oil option. I had no idea it wasn't included. Not to mention that we spent over 2000 on electric bill using space heaters while we waited the seven weeks for the caddy to come in. Really can't afford 800 a month on firewood. I'm desperate for help, this winter has been extremely expensive for us.
The chimney question I thought diameter but if you are asking height, it's about 30 ft.

 

[bholler]

wow it would be cheaper to burn oil something isnt right

 

[carm317]

Firstly, your troubles can be remedied. The more information the members here have, the better they can help you. Please don't be offended by some of the questions you may receive. The remedies may or may not be useful to this heating season. Dry wood is critical.

Is it running flat out continuously? Where is the combustion air coming from? Whatever hot moist air goes out the chimney, there is probably that much cold air coming in from whatever leaky area you have. Do you have a flue damper?

Could be a few things adding up to a big hit. Maybe you are pushing a lot more heat up the chimney than is necessary. Dryer wood is better. Combustion air piped to a point close to the combustion air intake instead of drawing across the room would help.

The unit is in the basement so it is using the air there but there is an crawl space that has no insulation on the other side of the basement that blows very cold air into the basement. It is at least 30 ft away from the unit but it is very cold, if you stand by in front of the opening it feels like an AC unit is on. It does have a damper that is working appropriately. If you are asking about the blowers running continuously, no they do not. They turn off while the heat rises to 126 degrees, once they reach that temp, the blowers turn on.

 

[carm317]

wow it would be cheaper to burn oil something isnt right

We thought the same thing but to purchase the oil option it's another 2200 and we have spent so much this winter that it's not really an option this year, maybe for next winter we will try to buy.