Mojappa's Drolet Heatpack Adventure

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This is 11hrs 10min. High temp outside was 36° but windy.
 

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And just like that she’s going again. Lol. Let’s see how long this load takes, that’s another benefit of me taking pics when I load. I primarily do it to have a record of the time I started it but it’s also handy in figuring out how long the loads are burning for since I usually take an end of burn pic too.
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Neither, it’s 100% stock right now. Still need to get the manometer installed so I can watch the draft, pretty sure it’s weak as it is now but wanna verify then correct it. Excess coals is only an issue when I have to leave for work and loaded too much, or too late. Still have a lot to learn about this thing, my only other burning experience was two winters ago with the Fisher that came with the house and that was not a very pleasant experience, hence the furnace. Lol

What temperature does your house sit at mid burn?
 
What temperature does your house sit at mid burn?

still trying to determine that. I have a few fairly cheap temp/humidity things, right now they’re averaging about 69°, unfortunately the house also cools off fairly quickly after the middle of the burn but I still haven’t run it continuously since installing the ducts so once the house heats up more it might improve?
 
Well, not to my surprise the inefficiencies of the upstairs were illuminated this morning. 27° out this morning and the house had cooled off enough that the heat pump had kicked on. Still gotta cover the windows and run more ducts. Also don’t have a return air setup for it yet, lots of things to address but at least it’s burning well and I’ve got backup heat til it’s all sorted out. Definitely gotta start re-researching the speed control upgrade too.

when I’m home is it better to have a bunch of faster fires since I can feed it to keep the heat supply higher for longer? Threw 3 pieces in this morning to knock the chill off the house and burn up the some of the coals. Also, I’ve got a whole slew of gnarly twisted uglies and such, if I have a good coal bed could I just pitch those in there through out the day rather than pack it? Not sure if that jives with how the furnaces operate but it seems like it should burn as long as it’s not really thick..?
 
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As long as you add enough wood to get the firebox up to temp and burning properly, you can do small loads...might have coals buildup if you do it too often. Modern fireboxes are meant to be batch burners more so...
 
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You can rake all the coals to the front, place the wood right on top. Leave the draft switch on the open position (keep it open) and watch the coals melt. That will give you some quick heat right before a full reload.
 
Work on buttoning up your home. Whether its airsealing or insulation....anything you do will make a world of difference. Yesterday for example it was in the mid 30's and windy. I was working on electrical and drywall so I wasn't paying attention to the furnace. The blower was kicking on every 30 to 45 minutes or so and our house was still 74 degrees. After an hour or two of no heat it was 72 and I went ahead and loaded the furnace. We have a 150+ year old victorian home. I purchased a sleek thermal camera for my smartphone... and it was the best purchase I've ever made.
 
So my fan control has 2 attachments on side is for a thermostat is marked t. The other side is I assume a timer? Any advice on products? Or if I'm even correct on second side being for that..
 
So my fan control has 2 attachments on side is for a thermostat is marked t. The other side is I assume a timer? Any advice on products? Or if I'm even correct on second side being for that..
The "T" is used for an individual thermostat assigned to the wood furnace... while the "I" is a damper override if you have the wood furnace connected to existing household ducting. The override will force the furnace damper shut when another heat source is turned on to avoid overload of two heat sources combating for air/heat displacement.
 
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The "T" is used for an individual thermostat assigned to the wood furnace... while the "I" is a damper override if you have the wood furnace connected to existing household ducting. The override will force the furnace damper shut when another heat source is turned on to avoid overload of two heat sources combating for air/heat displacement.
Gotchya how do people generally hook up a timer then? With a programmable thermostat?