Hi folks - I installed a VaporFire 100 last month and it's been getting cold enough here in northern WI that I've tried it out a few times. While I love the furnace and it's a million times better than my previous 1970s blast furnace Im not getting a very long burn time on a full load of wood. I've seen people saying they get 12 hours and on a totally full load Im closer to 6-7 before it gets cool enough that it shuts off and the computer is at 3.
I did a lot of reading before ordering and installing and I realized how important draft was so I installed a Dwyer Mark 2 manometer as part of the install. The line is attached to the stove pipe before the supplied barometric dampner/draft control, the low side (left) is open to the room and the high side (right) is connected to a copper line which is then attached to the rubber line and attached to the Dwyer. I've found so far that I can get the Dwyer to show about .07 (typically somewhere around .05 and .07 on average) while I have a good fire going and the computer is on "c". Without a strong fire Im closer to .05. To achieve this the barometric dampener has to be set at 8 though which I understand to be closed. So it feels like Im doing ok on the draft side but perhaps someone can confirm?
In terms of the fire itself I watched all the videos about reloading the starting the stove. I have no issue getting it going but I'll admit that my wood that I cut in spring is not the length suggested for this furnace. My pieces are smaller - 12-16 inches so once I get the fire going I place a piece close to the coals, then another one on top of that further back, and continue until I hit the back. Then I add more on top as I am able to. They make a big deal in the videos about it being a "front to back" burner but the few times I've checked the fire it sure seems to me like all of the wood is on fire all the way back. Im very careful when reloading to scrape all the coals forward so they are only in the front but not blocking the air vents but it seems regardless of what I do all the wood eventually starts up. Now to the moisture content though - the supplied moisture gauge is showing that it's ~13%. Is that too dry? The website says they are looking for 18-28%. I'll admit Im surprised it's that low but I believe that's only the surface moisture content. Maybe I should drive a couple nails in a piece and see what it's at inside? Or how do folks normally check for the the moisture? I cut the wood (from fallen trees) in the spring, let it sit and split it over the course of the summer which is what I've always done.
So my current theory is that my low burn times are likely associated with how Im loading the furnace or the wood itself. The burns I get are great and once I get to the little c on the computer I can check the chimey outside and I see no smoke (which is great!) so I believe it is burning efficiently. Perhaps Im not loading the furnace high enough past the smoke shield?
I expected there to be a bit of a learning curve here - just trying to figure out the most efficient way to use this furnace. Thanks folks!
I did a lot of reading before ordering and installing and I realized how important draft was so I installed a Dwyer Mark 2 manometer as part of the install. The line is attached to the stove pipe before the supplied barometric dampner/draft control, the low side (left) is open to the room and the high side (right) is connected to a copper line which is then attached to the rubber line and attached to the Dwyer. I've found so far that I can get the Dwyer to show about .07 (typically somewhere around .05 and .07 on average) while I have a good fire going and the computer is on "c". Without a strong fire Im closer to .05. To achieve this the barometric dampener has to be set at 8 though which I understand to be closed. So it feels like Im doing ok on the draft side but perhaps someone can confirm?
In terms of the fire itself I watched all the videos about reloading the starting the stove. I have no issue getting it going but I'll admit that my wood that I cut in spring is not the length suggested for this furnace. My pieces are smaller - 12-16 inches so once I get the fire going I place a piece close to the coals, then another one on top of that further back, and continue until I hit the back. Then I add more on top as I am able to. They make a big deal in the videos about it being a "front to back" burner but the few times I've checked the fire it sure seems to me like all of the wood is on fire all the way back. Im very careful when reloading to scrape all the coals forward so they are only in the front but not blocking the air vents but it seems regardless of what I do all the wood eventually starts up. Now to the moisture content though - the supplied moisture gauge is showing that it's ~13%. Is that too dry? The website says they are looking for 18-28%. I'll admit Im surprised it's that low but I believe that's only the surface moisture content. Maybe I should drive a couple nails in a piece and see what it's at inside? Or how do folks normally check for the the moisture? I cut the wood (from fallen trees) in the spring, let it sit and split it over the course of the summer which is what I've always done.
So my current theory is that my low burn times are likely associated with how Im loading the furnace or the wood itself. The burns I get are great and once I get to the little c on the computer I can check the chimey outside and I see no smoke (which is great!) so I believe it is burning efficiently. Perhaps Im not loading the furnace high enough past the smoke shield?
I expected there to be a bit of a learning curve here - just trying to figure out the most efficient way to use this furnace. Thanks folks!
