Fire Chief 1700 2019 model

[Moira155]

Hi everyone!
So my FC 1700 could have longer burn times I think. Is the automatic draft supposed to be kept on all the time? And what is the black box called on the back? It has some type of tape on it that has been on since we installed a year ago. Heats the house great but still trying to get longer burn times. Seems to last only 6-8 hours. Also, with the 3speed fan- if it’s on low will that make it last longer? Super confused and the company never got back to me when I tried asking questions before! The front of my stove also gets a white type of coating right below the fire chief name on the red area, is this normal?
thanks!

 

[brenndatomu]

Auto draft? You mean the combustion air blower? No, that should only be on when the tstat calls for heat as I understand it.
Black box is likely a temp sensor of some sort?
Duct blower on low probably won't extend burn time any...might help heat the house better or worse depending on your house and duct system.
White on the front is probably from overheating the paint...these things are known for making the front of the furnace glow red (not good!)
@Mrpelletburner might be able to answer some questions for you about these things...

 

[usernametaken]

Moira, do a search on Fire Cheif here for some light reading. You might not burn your furnace again afterwards....

 

[Moira155]

Auto draft? You mean the combustion air blower? No, that should only be on when the tstat calls for heat as I understand it.
Black box is likely a temp sensor of some sort?
Duct blower on low probably won't extend burn time any...might help heat the house better or worse depending on your house and duct system.
White on the front is probably from overheating the paint...these things are known for making the front of the furnace glow red (not good!)
@Mrpelletburner might be able to answer some questions for you about these things...

The front of the stove never glowed red at all. The white film comes off if rubbed enough. I can feel a good flow of warm/hot air come out of it.

 

[usernametaken]

Do you have a barometric damper? Often times too much draft will cause short burn times with the furnace overfiring. I'm not sure what the spec is for your furnace but most are happy at .06 or less.

 

[Moira155]

Do you have a barometric damper? Often times too much draft will cause short burn times with the furnace overfiring. I'm not sure what the spec is for your furnace but most are happy at .06 or less.

No barometric damper. I will look into that. Last night I turned off the draft fan and it had a beautiful bed of coals over night. It seems when the draft fan is on a lot of the heat goes out the flue. We have it hooked up to our electric heat duct work and have tried using it along side it but if the electric heat comes on and the furnace is off then the air goes backwards out of the intake filter pushing out all the warm air in the chamber. Super new to this furnace and only have used it a few times so trying to figure everything out still. Where would I find what percentage it should be at for the barometric damper?

 

[brenndatomu]

Where would I find what percentage it should be at for the barometric damper?

Owners manual...

6-RC - Field Controls 6-RC - 6" Draft Regulator for Wood, Oil, or Coal

Field Controls 6-RC - 6" Draft Regulator for Wood, Oil, or Coal - The Field RC is furnished as standard equipment on many leading brands of oil or coal-fired heating equipment. It is calibrated to allow for easy adjustment to the furnace or boiler manufacturer?s specifications. Designed for...

www.supplyhouse.com

 

[usernametaken]

That's the one I have. You will also need a manometer to check the draft and allow you to set it properly to the manufacturers spec. Many here use the one manufacturer by Dwyer. It's cheap enough and will allow you to set your draft. I wanted something fancier so I went with a Magnehelic gauge permanently mounted.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

The black box controls the secondary air. There is a coil inside that is calibrated at I believe 75 - 78 degrees F. As the stove heats up, the coil expands and opens the bottom door.

The draft blower will help heat the unit up fast, but also sends a lot of heat up the flue.

I would not install a barometric damper. I know the manual states it is ok to use one, but I just .

I still have a 1500 sitting in the basement and if it wasn’t such a PITA to switch out units, I would be willing to try the 1500 again.

I am on my second season using the HeatMax II and this is the first season that I have zero creosote buildup! Dry season wood is key! Cannot stress this enough. However, even with seasoned wood, on 35 F and above days, I still get back puffs, not all the time, but it happens.

I think the problem with any of these newer units is they require seasoned wood and most folks wait until fall and buy both the furnace and wood (raise your hand if you have been down this road). I have be buying 18-24 month old wood and stack as soon as the snow melts in a covered shed that bakes in the sun all summer long. I now can light a match and can start a load.

Hope this helps.

 

[usernametaken]

From all my reading of your two long running threads, it would seem not installing a baro was one of your main issues that you chose to ignore because you preferred placating FC to keep getting more poorly designed furnaces sent to you. I don't see the OP mentioning having any trouble with creosote build up... only short run times which could very well be an overfire issue due to too much draft.

 

[Mrpelletburner]

Another great example of why I am so done with this forum.

OP feel free to PM me if you have questions.

 

[usernametaken]

Oh, and where did your FC 1000 end up?