Kuuma worth it?

[tjcole50]

Scratching the owb off the list. Any boiler for the matter is off the list right now. Any kumma vaporfire 100 users out there that love/hate the furnace? Looking for something to burn 10-12 hours is this possible? 70s built cathedral ceilings A frame or chalet. Dont have a walk out basement but windows are large and will make a great chute. Is the price worth it over the drolet tundra??

 

[Wisneaky]

I don't own a Kuuma, but everything I have read about them is good. I have not seen one negative thing about them except maybe the cost. There are people on here that own them so I'm sure they will chime in soon. @JRHAWK9 @DaveH

 

[brenndatomu]

Ditto this ^ ^ ^.
Don't forget about @STIHLY DAN

 

[tjcole50]

Just wonder if the price really offeres that much more over the tundra. A 10 hour burn that can manage 70 degrees in the house at 10 degrees f outside and im sold haha is that to much to ask for?

 

[brenndatomu]

Just wonder if the price really offeres that much more over the tundra. A 10 hour burn that can manage 70 degrees in the house at 10 degrees f outside and im sold haha is that to much to ask for?

Well, you are comparing a Chevy Cavalier against a Cadillac. The Tundra is probably a 10 year (maybe more, dunno?) lifespan furnace if installed and run correctly. The Kuuma is a 30 year (+) furnace unless you absolutely abuse the crud outta it.
Both should do a 10-12 hour burn, but that has more to do with the heat load of your house than anything. The Tundra, is fairly efficient, but the Kuuma will squeeze every last BTU out of your wood, and the Kuuma is almost idiot proof, load and go! The Tundra requires just a bit more attention, not much, but definitely more prone to operator error.
Drolet has good customer service, I'll let the guys that have the Kuumas speak for themselves but from everything I have ever heard, Kuumas CS is unparalleled. The owner will talk you through any problem at almost (I did say almost) any hour.
You will need to do the normal chimney cleaning with the Tundra...the owner of Kuuma says he has NEVER "cleaned" his chimney (inspection only) in something like 35 years. The pics I have seen of the chimney and heat exchanger of a Kuuma when pulled apart for inspection had nothing more than a little white/tan dust...impressive!
So bottom line, once again, it's your party, and you're buying, whadaya want?
.

 

[JRHAWK9]

I really like my Kuuma! I would buy it all over again and wouldn't change a thing from how things are currently setup. Although this is my first and only wood furnace, so I have nothing to compare it to. It's sooo easy to operate, even a caveman could do it. The computer takes ALL the guesswork out of maintaining the optimum fire. There is no visible smoke (pretty much only water vapor over under 32°) and my chimney only had a very thin layer of white powder after the first year of burning. Do a search on here for photos I posted of my chimney. The place who installed my chimney even told me there was no reason to clean it.......and they are in the business of installing/maintaining/cleaning them. The very top of my chimney still looks like new and doesn't have that black stained look most have after burning a year.

As far as your heating requirement, this will depend on your heat load. Our house has a very high heat load when it's very cold out (talking frost buildup on INTERIOR bathroom wall corner) and at times I wish it was capable of burning through wood a bit faster! lol We do have a lot of VOLUME to heat though. We don't care for it too warm, so we maintain 66°-68° in the house when it's very cold out. I weigh all my wood and keep a spreadsheet in order to track wood usage, BTU output and other things. Also keep a minute timer on my LP furnace to track it's usage. Last winter, when burning wood, 98% of the BTU's came from wood, 2% from LP. In a typical mid-western winter it would be pretty much impossible to burn through more than 6 cord a heating season with the Kuuma. I compared our heating requirement of our log cabin style house to that of my parents split level 2,800SF ranch by comparing our fossil fuel bills from previous years and similar HDD's (heating degree days). Theirs is very well insulated and ours, umm, not so much. Based on their heating requirement, our Kuuma would pretty much heat them out of their house on low!! Bottom line is, a lot depends on your heating requirement.

As far as burn times, one thing to keep in mind....wood only has so many BTU's per pound. If you burn 50lbs of wood in 10 hours vs 5 hours you will have half the heat output per hour during those 10 hours as you would in 5 hours....assuming constant furnace efficiency. Everybody wants to talk about burn times. That's great, but if you can't keep your house warm burning 60lbs a wood in 10 hours, that 10 hour burn time doesn't mean much anymore, does it?

Oh, customer service. How many times have you called a CS line and spoke directly to the owner?? This is what happens when you call Lamppa. It doesn't matter if you call or email, you WILL get a response within 24 hours. There is no "press 1 for english" or no CS center to call into with under-trained monkeys answering the phones reading off of a canned sheet of how to answer questions. It's a small family ran business in N. MN and they truly do care.

As far as is it worth it...? That's for you to decide. Just remember, you get what you pay for.

 

[tjcole50]

Nice review! We have a 70s insulated A frame and high volume heating ceilings. How about the basement ? Does the unit radiate heat and keep the basement up? Do you have a walkout basement or windows to get wood to? Thanks im going to call them soon and get their opinion as well

 

[Wisneaky]

Nice review! We have a 70s insulated A frame and high volume heating ceilings. How about the basement ? Does the unit radiate heat and keep the basement up? Do you have a walkout basement or windows to get wood to? Thanks im going to call them soon and get their opinion as well

The owner is a really nice person to talk to. I think he is on here @lampmfg

 

[Buzz Saw]

If I go away from hydronic heat Kuuma is where I'm heading. Is it really that much more?

 

[Wisneaky]

If I go away from hydronic heat Kuuma is where I'm heading. Is it really that much more?

$5,295 plus shipping

 

[Buzz Saw]

About 5k plus shipping I believe.

5k more or 5k total? For me since I'm now in my forever home paying an extra $3500 to do it once would be well worth it to me.

Does the Kuuma and the Tundra require the same size chimney or are they different. That could be a hidden cost worth considering as well.

 

[tjcole50]

Both 6" i believe. I like what im reading about the kuuma being a feed it and leave it system. No gojng back down to thr basement and farting around with air controls. Just feed and let it do what it does very slick.

 

[Wisneaky]

That is the total price. Both use 6" Flue. If you can afford it do the Kuuma over the Tundra.

 

[brenndatomu]

$5,295 plus shipping

Looks like they had a price increase recently...'bout 7% ish. They were $4950 +shipping...steel prices I'm sure

 

[JRHAWK9]

Nice review! We have a 70s insulated A frame and high volume heating ceilings. How about the basement ? Does the unit radiate heat and keep the basement up? Do you have a walkout basement or windows to get wood to? Thanks im going to call them soon and get their opinion as well

It heats the basement just fine with the radiant heat. I close all the supply vents down there and just let the radiant heat keep it warm. Temps between the basement, main floor and loft don't differ more than a few degrees normally. We have a walkout, see attached. Old photo but you get the idea.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Looks like they had a price increase recently...'bout 7% ish. They were $4950 +shipping...steel prices I'm sure

Could also be supply/demand. If they have a hard time keeping up with demand (which I know they have in the past) simple economics state to raise prices.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

I think the increase is do to the epa paper work and fee's. You will not regret getting a Kuuma. I have had mine for 3 or 4 winters now, (sorry but old age is getting to my memory) I have had 0 issues with it and it still looks like new. I had a woodstove in the basement before the Kuuma and I hated it, Always having to run down and change air adjustments. The Kuuma will burn exactly even for the whole load until the fuel runs out. I would/will never have any other unit than this. Life has been much better with this unit. I also have a review write up on here. Kuuma review? I should make a follow up one now that its been a few years. Maybe when the snow flies and daylight is limited.

P.S made in America, with American steel, by Americans.

 

[tjcole50]

What kind of burn times on a full load in a vf100 you get stihly? Say under 10 F. They really have that even of a heat clear down to coals? I have a couple friends with furnaces and they always drop 5-10 degrees over night at the end of a cycle

 

[laynes69]

What kind of burn times on a full load in a vf100 you get stihly? Say under 10 F. They really have that even of a heat clear down to coals? I have a couple friends with furnaces and they always drop 5-10 degrees over night at the end of a cycle

5 to 10 degree drop, that's crazy! Either they are losing the fire early, or their house isn't too tight. We don't have a kuuma, but we are usually on the mark or within a degree. We did however have that temperature swing problem with our old furnace.

 

[maple1]

Keep in mind that I think there is a line-up to get one if you decide to get one. Or there used to be. So don't expect to be able to get one the day after you decide to get one - so don't leave to the last minute. But a call to them would tell that one for sure.

 

[brenndatomu]

We don't have a kuuma, but we are usually on the mark or within a degree

Same here. 1 or 2 degrees. Something is really wrong if we dropped 5 degrees overnight, I'd be ripping stuff out to re-do things if I had 10 degree drop, and Mrs brenn would be firin up the oil!

 

[JRHAWK9]

They really have that even of a heat clear down to coals?

All wood burning furnaces will have a bell shaped heat output cycle. The Kuuma's will be more flat because of the computer control. The max BTU's won't be quite as high because there is never a "raging fire". This means the BTU's released during the beginning and the ends of the burn cycle will be a bit more though resulting in a more even heat throughout the burn cycle.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

What kind of burn times on a full load in a vf100 you get stihly? Say under 10 F. They really have that even of a heat clear down to coals? I have a couple friends with furnaces and they always drop 5-10 degrees over night at the end of a cycle

there are many factors to deal with on that question. Wood, house insulation ,windows, wind, make up air, chimney. and so on. But for me 10* is the magic number, at that temp it is still set on low and a full load will cruise for at least 12 hours. As I need to increase output and turn up the furnace to run hotter the burn times will decrease. No matter what though, on any temp you absolutely will get an 8 hr burn under any condition. My man room is in the basement next to the unit, I just love watching the computer open up the air a bit then close keeping the unit gasifying at an optimal rate. It will do this mostly the 1st hour, then gasify for the next 6, then go back to modulating till the fuel is gone. That is on a 10 hr load. I almost never fill it up, I only fill on a wicked cold Friday or sat night when I know I want to sleep in. My burn times I aim for are 10 hr-6hr then 8hr. That works best for my schedule.

 

[Monaco]

I ordered mine in May, it's going to be delivered next week or so. Super excited about it... And going to attempt to install it myself, but might have to hire a guy to build a plenum. We're in a 2000 sq ft cabin style home with iffy insulation and old windows. I got the bigger model for this reason.

I researched everything, weighed the pros and cons and decided to buy once, cry once. I don't always buy the very best but in this case I feel like I have. Since I'm sitting on 20 acres of oak and maple, wood is going to be very cheap, and I don't think I'll regret this furnace.

 

[brenndatomu]

I don't always buy the very best but in this case I feel like I have

Yup