Kuuma Vapor Fire 100 indoor furnace new install done and "Fired up!" with pics

[glacialhills]

Just got my furnace installed and have been burning for a day. My first impressions...I am really impressed! So easy even a caveman can do it. It is totally computer controlled and all you have to do is put in good seasoned wood.It controls the draft completely and burn times have been 8 and 8.5hrs. with cherry.Thermostat set to 70. 1840sf ranch No temp. swings mark on 70 in the living room over entire burn and super even heat.Outdoor temp low 20's. Cant wait to see what a load of hickory or white oak will do. The company answered questions when called right away and talked with me as long as it took they knew the stove, electrical connections, plenum, chimney, everything...like the back of their hand, and even called me back when my cell lost call. They tried 5 times! and ended up calling back to my land line house phone. Now that is customer service. This furnace blows no smoke, has ultra insulation( can touch its outside and is just warm). Two layers of firebrick and under that ceramic liner. also stack temps are super low. can touch class a 3 foot above the stove. but box temps are prolly way over 600. The Kumma company is a small family owned place way up in Tower MN. they build these furnaces like tanks. And they are not inexpensive but in this case you really do get what you pay for +... Extra heavy guage steel, high limit alarms, over abundant insulation and zero creosote with good seasoned wood( he told me he has yet to have to clean his chimney after running it 18 years) all these things made it worth every penny to me in peace of mind factor.

 

[Dave T]

Sounds good, looks good, nice fire in the box keep us updated on wood consumption have you had wood burning heat in the past how does this stack up to others..Is it a boiler with a built in exchanger?? Dave

 

[glacialhills]

Had an old Franklin growing up and a Wards furnace for the Basement.Have used a hearth stone and jotul at uncles and parents. This is not even in the same Universe as those. This thing runs like it has cruise control and does everything all by itself. it adjusts up and down with load and output. it is a forced air furnace. No boiler. Biggest thing I have noticed so far is how even it keeps the temp in the house. The old furnace I grew up with would have huge swings and very little way to control output. This Kuuma Vapor fire 100 controls intake air, damper, and heat output precisely down to a couple of degrees. It burns the logs right down to nothing without changing the temp in the house until it is out of fuel. Has led lights on the computer that tells you what is going on at a glance from across the room. Dont see me having to do much tinkering and has almost zero learning curve...unlike a lot of others. Almost disappointed that there is so little to do to get really good burns already....Almost.

 

[glacialhills]

Anyone else want to comment on my install?

 

[daleeper]

Photo's too small to see, but looks like every air and vent connection had to be offset a little? I have thought about a wood furnace rather than a stove, and am wondering if you have central a/c in your house or if this is a stand alone system? Do you have a backup heating system, if you do, what kind?

I couldn't find anything on the internet about this Kumma furnace, are you aware of a web site for them?

Thanks for sharing the photos. That furnace should keep you warm this winter.

 

[webbie]

Looks good to me....main thing is that it obviously works well. Anything that can do the job in your climate - in this weather......is working to beat the band.

 

[jebatty]

More info:

(broken link removed)

 

[markpee]

She sure is purty!

 

[brent3556]

Any update on how you like it now that we are a fair distance into the heating season? I am really looking at this Kuuma for my shop and or possibly add on in my house.

 

[glacialhills]

I have absolutely no complaints... And I mean none. I thought I would have some little minor problems or complaints by now seeing it has been going non stop since mid November but nope nothing. fit and finish perfect. running right along with anywhere from 6-15 hour burns depending on outside temps and how warm I keep the thermostat set.(we get an 8 hour burn with 20+ or - degree outside temps,burning cherry/elm and stat set to 72).And we recently went away the whole day,loaded it to the gills and we turned the stat down to 62. we were gone from 11am till after 7am the next morning and still had enough coals to get a fire going and the house was still at 54! It did run pretty hard when it got to minus 6 and 30-40 mile an hour winds(actual blizzard conditions for 4 hours) could only keep the house temp at 70 running full blast, loading ever 4-6 hours but for heating 1800+ sq ft I think it was great. One thing I really liked about this furnace is the fact that if you lose power as we did last week, it can still be run as gravity feed,not overfire and keeps the house decently warm. I might check into a battery bank of 2 or 3 deep cycles and inverter to run the fan once in a while to circulate the heat a bit more but not a biggie. It has just a small bit of brown film build up inside the class a chimney, nothing that even merits cleaning.Chimney temps are so low I was kinda worried about creosote build up but none so far(class a just gets warm and black pipe right off the back can be touched quickly,under 250 I would guess. I have used about 2-2.5 cords of mostly cherry and elm with a bit of white and red oak and some hornbeam.This furnace really just runs all on its own. you just open the door...rake coals to the front...load with prolly 5-8 splits and close.Empty the ash pan every 4 or 5 days That's it. This furnace is not inexpensive but it is so easy to run I would never go back to one of the older style furnaces that I had growing up and that are still being sold at many places.Oh and one more thing. Kumma's customer service is the best I have ever dealt with. They answer the phone on the second ring usually, and will talk to you for as long as it takes to answer your questions or problems. Just be ready for that MN accent. If you have any specific questions ask away (can you tell I just love this furnace?).

 

[glacialhills]

Photo's too small to see, but looks like every air and vent connection had to be offset a little? I have thought about a wood furnace rather than a stove, and am wondering if you have central a/c in your house or if this is a stand alone system? Do you have a backup heating system, if you do, what kind?

I couldn't find anything on the internet about this Kumma furnace, are you aware of a web site for them?

Thanks for sharing the photos. That furnace should keep you warm this winter.

Sorry I didn't reply to your questions...must of missed it. Kumma recommends using 2 45 elbows off the back if possible and not 90's because of the low stack temps. the intake air and plenum were just brought back to fit joists and rafters and existing duct work.(chimney is right behind the jack post in photo) We have a train 93eff. forced air gas furnace that ate us out of house and home last winter($3400 bucks and we froze our butts off).We figure it will pay for itself in two winters and we are nice and toasty warm. This is the stand alone system because we set it at the other side of the basement from the gas furnace...near to walk out for ease of wood getting. They also make an add on model that uses your existing blower But I like the big, nice quiet fan this has.

 

[brent3556]

Just to nail down what I can expect to consume (based on my house using 800 gallons of fuel oil @ 70% eficiency) can you tell me how many gallons of what ever fossil fuel you were using in a heating season? You had a price but I don't keep up on the prices of anything other than fuel oil and corn. I also am curious what your thoughts are on heating a 30x30x11 insulated shop with a wood unit such as this? I have no duct work in my shop, but it seems like such a sweet unit that I would consider just directing the forced air downward and running a couple of ceiling fans? That is a clean lookin install, makes my sticker peck up a little.

 

[glacialhills]

Just asked the wife and we think it was about 1300-1400 gallons of propane. And like I said we froze our butts off. If we kept it as warm as we have it now I would think it would be over 1600+. It would heat that size shop great but I would give Lammpa a call at 1-800-358-2049 to make sure. If anything it might be to much furnace for that small of a space.Just the radiant heat off our furnace warms our uninsulated walkout basement that is also 1800+ quite a bit. They will know exactly what you would need.

 

[FinnFinder]

I'm looking for a High efficiency add-on furnace. One that qualifies for the Energy Tax Credit would be good.
The Kuuma Vapor Fire Model 100 looks good but I need more feedback from users of that stove. I've looked
at OWB, but high efficiency models are too expensive, unproven and still use too much wood. Wood gas
boilers look efficient but the initial cost, complex installation and hot water storage is prohibitive. I had a report
that BlazeKing has a new furnace model but there is no information?

 

[laynes69]

Have you checked on the PSG Caddy also? They do qualify and are EPA Certified. I bought one this year. I have talked with alot of people and they are happy with their wood consumption and clean burning capabilities. Here is a video.

http://www.psg-distribution.com/product.aspx?CategoId=15&Id=325&Page=video

 

[laynes69]

Have you checked on the PSG Caddy also? They do qualify and are EPA Certified. I bought one this year. I have talked with alot of people and they are happy with their wood consumption and clean burning capabilities. Here is a video. Also some specs.

http://www.psg-distribution.com/product.aspx?CategoId=15&Id=325&Page=video

http://www.psg-distribution.com/product.aspx?CategoId=15&Id=325

 

[mike1234]

I have a Yukon Super Jack add on wood furnace that I am real happy with.
Yukon
They have a sales rep that hangs around on here that might answer some questions for you.

I'm looking for a High efficiency add-on furnace. One that qualifies for the Energy Tax Credit would be good.
The Kuuma Vapor Fire Model 100 looks good but I need more feedback from users of that stove. I've looked
at OWB, but high efficiency models are too expensive, unproven and still use too much wood. Wood gas
boilers look efficient but the initial cost, complex installation and hot water storage is prohibitive. I had a report
that BlazeKing has a new furnace model but there is no information?

 

[smokinj]

Just got my furnace installed and have been burning for a day. My first impressions...I am really impressed! So easy even a caveman can do it. It is totally computer controlled and all you have to do is put in good seasoned wood.It controls the draft completely and burn times have been 8 and 8.5hrs. with cherry.Thermostat set to 70. 1840sf ranch No temp. swings mark on 70 in the living room over entire burn and super even heat.Outdoor temp low 20's. Cant wait to see what a load of hickory or white oak will do. The company answered questions when called right away and talked with me as long as it took they knew the stove, electrical connections, plenum, chimney, everything...like the back of their hand, and even called me back when my cell lost call. They tried 5 times! and ended up calling back to my land line house phone. Now that is customer service. This furnace blows no smoke, has ultra insulation( can touch its outside and is just warm). Two layers of firebrick and under that ceramic liner. also stack temps are super low. can touch class a 3 foot above the stove. but box temps are prolly way over 600. The Kumma company is a small family owned place way up in Tower MN. they build these furnaces like tanks. And they are not inexpensive but in this case you really do get what you pay for +... Extra heavy guage steel, high limit alarms, over abundant insulation and zero creosote with good seasoned wood( he told me he has yet to have to clean his chimney after running it 18 years) all these things made it worth every penny to me in peace of mind factor.

Looks like a top notch install!

 

[glacialhills]

We burned 24/7 all last winter...and since being our first full year of burning our last 2 cords of wood were "iffy" in moisture content. but we saved at least $3400.00 in propane (I say at least because last winter was much harsher than previous years and we kept the house much warmer than with propane) so it payed for itself in one winter. We used right about 6.5 cords total. This winter it will pay for the chimney and install, and after that free heat minus cutting firewood. Just for comparison this stove weighed just over 900 pounds and the psg caddy (which I was also strongly considering) weighs just over half that. also stack temps are much lower with the Kuuma than with any other conventional wood furnace so I concluded it was burning more efficiently with the added insulation and burn chamber. They claim it is a gassification furnace but as others on here have said they dont think it is a true gassifier as they know the term. Either way it seems very efficient and runs like any other appliance in the house...no more baby sitting it like most furnaces or stoves. Just put wood in and set thermostat and it does the rest.

 

[laynes69]

They are an impressive furnace. Pricey, but sounds like they are worth it. I can't wait to get my furnace fired up this year. Its the same thing, load it and forget it. There is nothing to mess with except the thermostat. I notice that they recommend 45 degree elbows, due to the lower temps of the flue. Are they draft sensative with the lower temps? Sure beats the standard wood furnace.

 

[fsumble]

Hi Glacialhills,

I just ordered a vapor fire 100 furnace from Lamppa, and I have a question about your install because it will be much like mine. I will be locating my unit at the opposite end of my basement from my heat pump. Did you tie your supply plenum in to the supply duct of your furnace, or the return?

Are you using the same thermostat for both systems, or did you add one for the Vapor Fire 100?

Thanks!

 

[glacialhills]

Hi Fsumble, You are gonna just love it.Best money I have ever spent. I tied it into the return of my gas furnace. So that I can take advantage of the filters in the upstairs returns, so as to double filter the supply air for the wood furnace.(the kumma also has a filter box on the back of the blower housing, since you got the stand alone vaper fire 100 model)I also made a flap that swings and drops across the top of the plenum of the gas furnace, keeping the hot wood furnace from backfeeding in though the top of the gas furnace so I dont blow all my nice heated air back in through the top of the forced air furnace.It opens and closes automatically depending on the which unit( direction the air flow) is blowing.I also made a turn stop at the top of the wood furnace plenum so I dont backfeed hot air to the fire box of the wood furnace if I want to run the gas furnace. You Just need to remember to turn it to open if you start running the wood furnace again.
The vapor fire 100 comes with a separate thermostat for the wood furnace. I installed it right next to my thermostat for the gas furnace in the living room.One note, I located the sensor for the thermostat in the top part of the big square part of the plenum off of the top of the wood furnace as it was not heating up and kicking on the blower if connected right on the bottom of the plenum where the instructions tell/show you to place it. If you need any clarifications let me know, but Lamppa is just a phone call away and they are the most helpful folks I have ever dealt with if you have a question while installing.Good luck.

I am just in awe of this furnace and can you believe that in less than two heating seasons My complete stove and install will be payed for, then, except for getting wood, my heat forever more will be nearly free(gotta pay for the lectric for the blower still) heheh.Love giving the propane truck the finger when he blows by my house to go fill my neighbors tanks.

 

[fsumble]

Thanks for the reply and the info! I need to make some decisions so I can get ready before the furnace comes. I have also enjoyed talking with Daryl at the plant. He really knows the product! It is too bad that they have not gotten them certified by the EPA, but Daryl says it costs $50,000.00 to do so. Your installation looks really great, you did a really nice job! I'll be sure to post after I'm up and running so there will be another good testimony on the site.

 

[glacialhills]

FSUMBLE, Have you got the furnace yet? I forgot to tell you this is one heavy mofo. at 900+ lbs. you will need some real help moving it around. I recruited my next door neighbor farmer, with forks on his tractor, and he picked it from the driveway where the delivery truck driver set it ,and placed it right inside the walkout basement door for me. then I used a few dowels and we rolled it into place.

 

[fsumble]

I'm expecting a call from Daryl any day now. He thought they would build it late this month and ship early Sept. They got an order of 250 of the smaller add-on furnaces, and they have to complete them by Jan 1st, so they were going to take a break from that order to build ten of the vapor fire 100's. When I called, he said 7 out of the 10 were spoken for already, so I was glad to have the chance to have one for the fall. I thought the web-site said 700+ lbs, I guess that is part of why it costs more than several others I checked out.

I have a garage that is located 5 steps below my basement, so I have to go up to get it in, but I removed a 12' aluminum ramp from a box truck, and I will use a pallet jack to take it up. I might brace the ramp in the middle to be sure we don't buckle! I'm really looking forward to trying this thing out, and I have been cutting wood for the winter of 2010-2011 because I will probably burn more wood since it will be so easy compared to the furnace I was using. I used to burn on weekends and evenings when it gets cold outside, but I rarely tried to hold a fire for more than 4 days. This thing will be a whole other ball game!

Thanks for the note, Perhaps I'll bug Daryl today.