Power venting a wood stove/furnace

[tahleel]

I've read in some places that a power vent system can be installed in the exhaust for a wood stove/furnace, for chimney's that have a poor draft. Is that true? Will one from a natural gas furnace be able to withstand the heat of burning wood? I have my wood furnace exactly where I want it to be, but the chimney set-up is wrong, and it would be incredibly hard, and expensive to do a conventional chimney, and if a full metal chimney DOES work, then it would be blocking two of my windows.

Please let me know.

Thanks a lot.

-Tahleel

 

[begreen]

Moved to boiler room for better response. Seems to me if it failed due to power outage, motor failure, etc. and couldn't draft, it could be fatal.

What is the flue setup and why is it not naturally drafting?

 

[Redox]

No, a gas draft inducer will not hold up to the extreme heat of the wood stove. The only thing I have ever found for wood fired appliances is the Exhausto fan that sits on top of the chimney. They work well, but aren't cheap. Tell us more about the chimney.

Chris

 

[razzorm]

I just recently installed a used Tjernlund draft inducer on my Crane wood boiler for quicker heat recovery and it works fine.
Prior to my installation it was used on a forced hot air wood furnace for many years.
I see these advertised on line for around $125.00
As far as power outage goes only you know what problems that my create.

 

[stee6043]

You should avoid confusing a "draft inducer" and a "power vent". A draft inducer is a device intended to improve draft on a standard chimney that drafts on it's own, but may not draft well enough under all conditions. A power vent is a unit that can be used to vent/exhaust an appliance that does not draft without the power vent unit (ie. horizontal venting). It is my understanding that power vents are a no-no on any solid fuel burning appliance.

Sounds like you might have to get creative with your chimney. Per code you cannot "block" windows with your chimney. For that matter you can't have power vents exit within "x" number of inches of windows either. And I believe "x" is something like 30+ inches??

Of course there is that one exception to all of this.....the Garn.....but let's just pretend it doesn't exist.....

 

[tahleel]

The reason why my original chimney did not work was due to a long horizontal run. I cut the horizontal run, and put in more acute angles. Before I turn it on (and risk my housing smoking up again), I would like to make sure it would work. I know that the stack height is short, it is 10 ft vertically, but I will have to do and plan on compensating it with a draft inducer. I am looking to buy the Tjernlund AD-1 (Auto draft inducer). It is rated for the high temperature of the wood, and has a continous duty cycle motor. It's also a lot cheaper than the Exhausto fan. Here are some links:

http://www.tjernlund.com/retail/auto-draft.htm
www.tjernlund.com/Tjernlund_8504012.pdf

From the reviews I've read, it works great. As far as power outages, I am not too worried. We hardly ever get power outages, infact, I cannot remember the last time we've had one. In the event of a power outage, I would stop feeding the fire and simply put the fire out.

Any thoughts? Ideas?

Also, should I put coals in my firebox? The floor of the firebox is metal. This is my first wood furnace, and I do not know.

-Tahleel

 

[tahleel]

Bump..

-Tahleel

 

[Redox]

Yes, that should help a lot. Put it as close to the chimney as possible.

What kind of coal? The furnace needs to be designed for coal if you are going to burn coal.

Chris