Photo’s of my newly installed Big Jack Furnace

[jimmiller2]

Just finished final touches on my installation. I made all the ducting by welding up angle iron and covering with 22ga
sheet using pop rivets. The return box lifts off the unit so the filter can be changed without tools. The fresh air inlet is
a 10 foot piece of 6" PVC pipe that extends into attic. The output is into living room and the return pulls thru finished/unfinished basement.

 

[Tarbot]

What type of plane is sitting there?

 

[lexybird]

I would remove the plastic covers off those lamp shades

 

[stee6043]

I can't believe the wife let you put those vents in the wall like that!

Must be quite a "blow your hair back" kind of event when that thing is running.

 

[jimmiller2]

Good idea about the lamp shade covers. The airplane is a home-built exp clipped- wing supercub. I own a Piper Colt I restored
two years ago and in the process bought a second Colt airframe. The Colt wings will bolt up to a supercub fuselage giving the exact wing span of a clipped -wing cub. I bought a tack-welded supercub fuselage from a guy in Florida who was making them
for retirement income. I made all the other stuff with some help gas welded it together. The fuselage is done, on gear and ready to install the systems. I am going to license it in the light sport category and being built by me I can do all my own maintenance and being in the light Sport Category won't need to keep up my FAA medical. If you are into airplanes and want
to know more PM me.

Jim Miller

 

[CrappieKeith]

True....the blower on this if bought from us is a 1460 cfm blower. You are going to have a bunch of air blowing out those vents.
Are there any other runs?
A ceiling fan in the main room might help mix air in this room......

 

[jimmiller2]

I did buy from Yukon in Minn last spring. I have the 4 speed blower and used a terminal block to wire up.
I can change the speed by moving the power wire to different position on the terminal strip. I have it set on second lowest speed and it seems to output sufficently without overpowering. I do plan to use the room ceiling fan to help distribute the
air. Also the two vents direct the air upwards and not straight ahead. The room has cathedral ceilings and the ceiling fan is not far from the output vents.

Jim Miller

 

[freeburn]

You are allowed to put your furnace in your garage? Lucky.

 

[jimmiller2]

I called both my insurance company and the local codes people before starting the installation. Both said no problem, but during the heating season no vehicles, or any flamable liquids of any kind will be stored there.

 

[freeburn]

That's nice that you can do that. We can't or it won't be covered. Wise thing to do not putting flammable liquids in the garage. It's gotta be really nice to be able to keep your mess/possible smoke out of the house. Looks like a good setup, hope you enjoy it!

 

[mike1234]

Jim,
2 things,
1, Nice set up, I bet you will stay nice and warm, and it will be a big hit with the family. My superjack is in the garage, and like you no problems doing so. And my insurance and county have no problems with cars in there, just flammables like gas. Also, I smoked up the place a few times when I was learning, so it's nice to be able to open the garage doors and have it aired out in 3 minutes.
I think it takes more than 1 season to get really good at operating it, I kept asking question here and on the phone to yukon, and kept getting better results (9 hour burn now, 5 when I started for example). I'm sure I have lots to learn still, but learning is part of the enjoyment.
Right now, as I set in the basement and it's 40's with a cold wind outside, it's 74 in here. Makes me ready for a nap.

2nd, you might want to edit your phone number off here. You can write in longhand (like I did below), or tell someone to pm (private message) you. Maybe it's just me, but too much personal info on the internets (I love that word) is not a great idea, anyone can read this stuff, not just members.

Good idea about the lamp shade covers. The airplane is a home-built exp clipped- wing supercub. I own a Piper Colt I restored
two years ago and in the process bought a second Colt airframe. The Colt wings will bolt up to a supercub fuselage giving the exact wing span of a clipped -wing cub. I bought a tack-welded supercub fuselage from a guy in Florida who was making them
for retirement income. I made all the other stuff with some help gas welded it together. The fuselage is done, on gear and ready to install the systems. I am going to license it in the light sport category and being built by me I can do all my own maintenance and being in the light Sport Category won't need to keep up my FAA medical. If you are into airplanes and want
to know more give me a call.

Jim Miller (nine three one)xxx-xxxx

 

[jimmiller2]

Mike
Thanks for the post and advice on phone. I haven't fired it up yet due to our warm Nov here in Tenn. I am unsure
how to set the damper weight on the pipe. Did you buy one of those gauges from Yukon or set yours by trail and error?

Jim

 

[mike1234]

I think it's important to have one, called a manometer. It helped me to get longer burns. But don't buy it from Yukon, way to pricey. If you do a search for manometer or barometric damper on this site, you will probably find some referenced to much cheaper ones.

Mike
Thanks for the post and advice on phone. I haven't fired it up yet due to our warm Nov here in Tenn. I am unsure
how to set the damper weight on the pipe. Did you buy one of those gauges from Yukon or set yours by trail and error?

Jim

 

[Bspring]

Very nice setup! It is much cleaner looking than mine. I will have to post a picture of my Big Jack. This will be my first full season to use it and I am not anywhere near a 9 hour burn time but I am getting better and learning more and more. I just got a manometer and plan to use it this weekend. That should help some.

 

[jimmiller2]

I fired up my Big Jack furnace for the first time. It was not the best of days as outside temp reached into the fifties
but I had arranged for a friend of mine to come over and help get it started as he had a lot of experience burning
wood. We got it going and the air flow out the ducts was quiet and quickly sucked up by ceiling fan and spread around.
The chimmney drew nicely and with a moderate size fire inside the house became warm very fast. At around 100F I opened front, back and garage doors. Should work great when it gets colder. The air was pulled nicely downstairs and warmed the house fairly evenly.

 

[Bspring]

Hummmm. How big is your house and how long did it take to go from 50 to 100? I am not getting performance anywhere near that.

 

[jimmiller2]

My house is 60 by 30 with a full basement. Four hundred square feet of the upstairs is garage which is where the furnace is
located. (See photo's at the begining of this post) It outputs into upper living area but has to draw return thru daylight basement (1/2 finished and 1/2 unfinished shop). It was a warm day which accounts for the very high temps but I feel the set-up is going to work very well no matter how cold.