Wood furnace help needed

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Steve60

New Member
Dec 2, 2016
4
Higganum CT
I installed a wood chuck 3100 wood furnace in my house. It is located in the basement with the chimney pipe connecting to a double wall pipe in the wall which goes through the foundation and goes up 19.5 feet with an exterior chimney pipe make by Selkirk. I started a fire in the furnace and the draft blower brought the temperature up and kicked on the main blower to distribute the heat. My problem is the black stove pipe which connects the furnace to double wall chimney pipe is leaking black creosote. I shut down the stove and was wondering why this could be happening. The draft blower goes off and the fire seems like it's not getting enough air. It brings air through the non running blower and through two holes located on the clean out door. The draft blower only runs when the thermostat is calling for heat. I'm new to using a wood furnace so any help is appreciated. I plan on running this around the clock and would like to not experience any problems. Just wondering what I should be doing different. I'm burning seasoned hard woods.
 
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Welcome Steve. How is the stove pipe installed? The crimped end needs to point toward the furnace at each connection.

Also, it looks like the furnace is on asphalt or linoleum tiles. It needs to be on a non-combustible surface, like a sheet of cement board. From the manual

Your unit should be place on a non-combustible floor or 3/8" thick fireproof millboard or equivalent which extends at least 8" from the sides and rear and extends 24" from the front. Leave a minimum clearance of 36" in front of your unit. This is for safe, easy loading and cleaning of your unit.
 
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Welcome Steve. How is the stove pipe installed? The crimped end needs to point toward the furnace at each connection.
Thanks. My install was inspected and passed. Then I was doing some reading and relized what you said the the male ends of the pipes have to face the furnace so I will be changing that. Is some black creosote normal for operation.
 
Inspectors often miss details. The fact that the furnace is not on a non-combustible surface is a miss.

Wood burning will create some creosote, especially when the flue gases are cool and also if the wood being burned is not fully seasoned. By having the crimped ends pointing toward the furnace creosote will drip back into the furnace and get reburned.
 
Inspectors often miss details. The fact that the furnace is not on a non-combustible surface is a miss.

Wood burning will create some creosote, especially when the flue gases are cool and also if the wood being burned is not fully seasoned. By having the crimped ends pointing toward the furnace creosote will drip back into the furnace and get reburned.

I appreciate your reply. I will be changing direction of pipe and removing linoleum floor from around stove.
 
To help with the creosote issues - Try to keep a good coal bed in the unit. Only load the firebox with what wood you need to keep a coal bed until the next reload. Add frequent small loads of wood if possible. Keeping it stuffed full 24/7 and smoldering most of the time will make a LOT of creosote.
 
I'm burning seasoned hard woods.

That is a very broad statement. Many people come on here and what they think is seasoned is actually wet. That is the #1 issue of all issues. So what kind of wood is it? How long has it been split and stacked?
 
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Inspectors often miss details. The fact that the furnace is not on a non-combustible surface is a miss.

Wood burning will create some creosote, especially when the flue gases are cool and also if the wood being burned is not fully seasoned. By having the crimped ends pointing toward the furnace creosote will drip back into the furnace and get reburned.
Well I'm an inspector and I don't miss much buddy.
 
Yes, I don't mean to knock inspectors. They have their work cut out for them and sometimes with low budgets. There are many good inspectors too. Your work is appreciated.

In our rural area inspectors have to be jack of all trades so to speak. They are usually pretty sharp on building and structure details, but can be woefully out of their element on other parts of the inspection. Our wood stove installation merely got a casual glance before it was signed off on. Same thing for the heating system and that was the mechanical inspector. The job looked professionally installed and that seemed satisfactory. No clearances were measured, etc.. To be fair these guys often have a packed schedule covering a lot of miles and they try to cover as many permits possible in their community visit.
 
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Well I'm an inspector and I don't miss much buddy.

How do you know? Doe's someone else follow you in? Do you get notifications from the home owner of things you missed or got right? Or do some of us that come in to do repairs on things that are given the go ahead or fail from you, the judge. Do you get a report from us (the professional) that you did well or poor. Just with the tone of that comment, I bet YOU miss more than you get.
 
Someone bashes an inspector in a broad statement, your right I get my back up. The op never said who the inspector was. What do you do that makes you any more of a "professional"in your field than I am in mine, stihly dan?
I don't know where you live or where the op lives what certifications are required, but here in Canada, we are required to be certified to inspect wood burning appliances.
 
Someone bashes an inspector in a broad statement, your right I get my back up. The op never said who the inspector was. What do you do that makes you any more of a "professional"in your field than I am in mine, stihly dan?
I don't know where you live or where the op lives what certifications are required, but here in Canada, we are required to be certified to inspect wood burning appliances.

Hvac. I also freely admit I would/do miss things. A simple furnace has a million things that could be incorrect, even if one could see every inch of the system which is generally not possible, there can be oversight.
Take a condensing furnaces flue pipe alone.
1. is it long enough
2.is it to long
3. is it the right size
4. does it have to many elbows
5. are all the elbows long radius or short
6. is it made out of the correct material
7. has that material been recalled
8. is that material still code
9. are there enough hangers per ft
10. is the pitch correct the entire length
11. does it have or need a drain
12. is the drain legal
13 is there an acid neutralizer in the drain
14 is the termination within code of, windows, doors, sidewalks, exhausts, intakes, equipment, meters, alcoves, snow level, wind direction.
15. does it have a screen

Thats the easy part. not even getting into ductwork, insulation, gas piping, or the inner workings of the unit. Then have to be able to know how to do this to every part of a house, electrical, plumbing, roofing, framing, foundation, mildew, insects, etc,etc,etc, I would say that any human being doing this has a VERY high chance of missing something. I will even venture to say that every inspection ever given in the history of the world has missed a few things.
 
I just purchased a moisture meter to check my wood supply. I have about 10 split cords that have been drying for about a year. The wood is checked on the ends but possibly still wet with certain types of wood.

My question is if my thermostat is not calling for heat. Then the draft blower is not running of course. So air flow comes from natural flow through blower and two little holes on ash clean or door? It seems to me that the fire is not getting enough air and then resulting in creosote collections. The wood I had in the first few days of use was split for over two years.

The draft seems fine. No smoke comes
Out the door when opened and chimney is 19.5 high
 
I just purchased a moisture meter to check my wood supply.
Don't forget to re-split the wood and then check the MC on the fresh face...
It seems to me that the fire is not getting enough air and then resulting in creosote collections
That is one of the problems with running the old school wood furnaces on a tstat. I gave up and ran my old Big Jack more like a wood stove, I just adjusted the air for a constant natural draft setting...
 
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