Clayton 1800 Warm Air Furnace Questions

[old_ky_man]

Does anyone heat with a Clayton 1800 Warm Air Furnace which is made by US Stove?
I have one in the basement that is connected to our air handler in the attic via a 12 inch insulated duct. The stove connects to 4 ft of 6 inch stove pipe, then to 24ft of 6 inch double wall insulated stainless steel flue with 5 feet sticking out the roof. I normally heat 3850sq/ft (4700sq/ft if I open the basement doors to the garage) to 73-75F most of the winter, and burn all the wood you can get on a large wheelbarrow every 24 hours. The house is insulated well (R21 in the basement walls, R13 in basement ceiling , R15 upstairs walls and R50 in upstairs ceiling).
QUESTION 1: Does this sound like an excessive amount of wood to burn per day?

The stove drafts more than fine but creosote build up is sometimes a problem when trying to choke it down early or late in the heating season. I have installed a fresh air vent which is located above the stove. I do not use the forced air draft and only let if draft naturally by opening the two dampers that are located on the ash door and below the fuel door.
QUESTION 2: Which is best for combustion (A) air entering below the fire through the ash pan and up through the grates (B) air entering at the height of the fuel, (C) or both?

The stove has a selectable secondary heat exchanger which brings the exhaust to the front of the stove then up through a tunnel to the back of the stove then out the flue. I can not tell much difference in the heating capabilities with the secondary heat exchanger selected, but it does tend to creosote more.
QUESTION 3: Do I just need to burn the stove hotter to eliminate the creosote while using the secondary heat exchanger?

The blower on the stove is automatic and has an output switch to select the speed of 1100, 1250, or 1400 CFM.
QUESTION 4: Which speed would be best to move the heat around (does a faster air speed cool the air)?

 

[laynes69]

I don'thave that furnace but ill give you some of my thoughts...

Question 1. It doesn't sound like alot of wood when considering the size of the house. But when theres excessive creosote, there is wasted fuel. There are units on the market now that use less wood and burn much cleaner, but they can be pricey. Even then I doub't they would heat something that size.

Question 2. I have had forced draft and now natural draft. I feel that natural draft is better for longer burns, but forced draft will ramp a fire quickly. We don't have that furnace, but on our old furnace forced draft would burn up wood fast. Proper combustion air depends on the unit. Depending on the design some have air under the grates for coal, air at the door, heated secondary air above the fire, or multiple sources of air. Thats something to experiment with until you find what works.

Question 3. No matter what you do, you will see some creosote at the secondary heat exchanger. I heat with a EPA certified wood furnace and we get a small amount in our exchanger that we clean about once every month. You have room temp air hitting that heat exchanger, so creosote will form there. Burning hotter will help eliminate some, but won't stop it. There will be that line of whats acceptable based on the temperature of the house. Just sweep when needed.

Question 4. With the btu ratings of that furnace and its size 1400 cfm would be just fine. Your air may feel a little cooler, but you will get better circulation in the home and you will extract more from the furnace. Also if it has an adjustable limit/control tweaking that can get you a little more heat.

It sounds like everything you are doing sounds pretty normal. As far as the shoulder seasons, smaller hot fires would be your best option.