Pulled the trigger on a Fire Chief outdoor furnace

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Well I decided to buy a forced air outdoor wood furnace. I ended up buying a pre-owned but never used or installed fire chief fcos2200d over the weekend. I had originally planned on an indoor furnace but I figured I would give this a try. The old ashly indoor stove will remain on backup duty in the case of a power outage ect.
Now the fun part, running some ducts through my 110+ year old house 
 


Now I'll get to experience first hand what it like keeping an outdoor furnace fed through the winter  :D , I plan to build a small metal building over it for a wind break and to make it easier during rain and snow. I built one for my dad's outdoor furnace and he really likes it.

[thecfarm]

Real simple to keep it fed through the winter. Some of the ones with indoor stoves will say, I would not want to go out in the weather and feed it. Have to go out to the wood shed and get wood? You are still outside.  ;D  Only been one snow storm that I wanted a indoor stove since 2007.  ;) Good luck with it. I would keep a spare blower on hand. Seem like them things only stop working when you are using them in the winter time.  :D

[TKehl]

Feeding it is not too bad if you keep it on a schedule and feed it before it NEEDS it.  As long as there are hot coal, toss logs on and head back to the house.  The blower will kick on soon enough.  (We have a Bryan outdoor forced air unit.)

My middle of the night feedings go like this.  PJ shorts, throw on carhart, hat, gloves, headlamp, and slip on tennis shoes.  Open the box, throw in whatever it needs to get to morning, go back to the house.  I'm not outside more than two to three minutes, then I go find my wife since she always wants to snuggle.    ;D 

No cover for the stove.  The woodpile is the only windbreak.  Most of my wood is on pallets covered in sheets of tin with ugly firewood sticks on top.  Sometimes on a trailer unhooked right by the stove.  Of course, once I light the fire in November, it generally doesn't fully go out until March.   ;)

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 That don't sound too bad. I generally go to bed pretty late and get up fairly early so I shouldn't have too much problem then. I'll pick up a spare blower to have on hand and I might set up some kind of battery backup to run the blower and keep the furnace from overheating in the event of a power outage.
Can't wait to finally have some atleast somewhat even heating in the old house  ;D

[petefrom bearswamp]

Not familiar with that brand of furnace.
Good luck with it.
TKehl, Middle of the night feeding?
The plus is snuggling with your wifey
I have a 12 yr old classic and feed it morning and late evening with 10 to  12 pieces of 2 foot wood.
Only time I fill it is when we will be gone a couple of days.
I heat a well insulated 3200 sq ft house built in 1993.

[TKehl]

Pete, yes I have to feed mine more often as it's forced air not a boiler.  There's no extra thermal mass to hold the heat.  Granted, that's only on the days it gets down to about 15°. 

It would also help if I used better wood.   I burn tons of Elm, waste slabs, half rotten logs, and junk wood from timber stand improvements.  I figure people will buy Oak, Locust, and Hickory, so I burn mostly junk.  I do keep some better wood separate for when it gets real cold though.   ;)  Got real warm in the house when my wife raided my pile of Hedge.   :D  Had to open the windows a while.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

Here are a few quick shots after I got it unloaded and unboxed. I have since moved it to where it I want it and have started getting some measurements and prices on the ductwork. They are made in St. Louis. Its a fairly basic unit, it does have a grate and ash pan which I like but unfortunately no shaker or roller grate system like some of the other models. It's also has a forced draft so it will probably have an appetite  . Can't wait to get it fired up  8)

[dave_dj1]

Nice score. My advice, do away with the forced draft, use plenty of chimney, let the ash build up to cover the grate, you will get longer burn times. I have mine and I can get all day and then all night out of it. I usually load it at 5-6 am, maybe a couple of sticks when I get home from work at 4 or so then again at bed time, 9-10. If it get's way below zero I keep it going and don't mind if the inside furnace kicks on.
I have a walk out ranch and have it ducted to the basement but no other duct work, I didn't see the need to tie it into the existing hot air furnace. It keeps my floors warm and the whole house is toasty all winter. One thing I had a hard time of breaking myself from putting wood in it when it really doesn't need it, like on the weekends or days off.
I have a little electric motor that opens the draft on a thermostat, I installed a manual timer in line at the stove so when I load it I set the draft to open for a few minutes then it closes.
You will probably have to experiment with it a little.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

Nice score. My advice, do away with the forced draft, use plenty of chimney, let the ash build up to cover the grate, you will get longer burn times. I have mine and I can get all day and then all night out of it. I usually load it at 5-6 am, maybe a couple of sticks when I get home from work at 4 or so then again at bed time, 9-10. If it get's way below zero I keep it going and don't mind if the inside furnace kicks on.
I have a walk out ranch and have it ducted to the basement but no other duct work, I didn't see the need to tie it into the existing hot air furnace. It keeps my floors warm and the whole house is toasty all winter. One thing I had a hard time of breaking myself from putting wood in it when it really doesn't need it, like on the weekends or days off.
I have a little electric motor that opens the draft on a thermostat, I installed a manual timer in line at the stove so when I load it I set the draft to open for a few minutes then it closes.
You will probably have to experiment with it a little.

Thanks for the advice. I have the furnace set about 4' from the house so I'll have to run the chimney up above the peak of the roof so that should be plenty of chimney.
I believe there are other models of fire chief furnaces with an electronic draft like you described instead of the draft blower so it might be possible for me to replace the forced draft with one later on if it seems like it'll need it  . Or I could just add a second draft setup like you described and put the current blower on a manual switch to use when starting a Fire. ???

[TKehl]

You have FB insurance on your house to?  My agent said 10' from the house and it wouldn't raise rates.  Closer than that I don't know. 

Best advice, use hard wall duct.  We tried that insulated flex stuff and it's a great way to raise my blood pressure.  Ended up pulling it out and replacing it with metal duct and then wrapped with insulation and plastic to keep it dry.

The downside with a forced draft is it will extract every last bit of heat from the coals.  IE, you have to relight if you don't watch it.  I have an electric controlled damper, but no blower, which is nice.  The heat output gradually goes down so I can throw more wood on hot coals and wait a bit instead of relighting. 

Wood is cheap (free+labor+saw gas - TSI value) for me, so I don't mind burning more.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

You have FB insurance on your house to?  My agent said 10' from the house and it wouldn't raise rates.  Closer than that I don't know. 

Best advice, use hard wall duct.  We tried that insulated flex stuff and it's a great way to raise my blood pressure.  Ended up pulling it out and replacing it with metal duct and then wrapped with insulation and plastic to keep it dry.

The downside with a forced draft is it will extract every last bit of heat from the coals.  IE, you have to relight if you don't watch it.  I have an electric controlled damper, but no blower, which is nice.  The heat output gradually goes down so I can throw more wood on hot coals and wait a bit instead of relighting. 

Wood is cheap (free+labor+saw gas - TSI value) for me, so I don't mind burning more.

No at the moment I don't have insurance on it, but when I do decide to insure it I will have to move it out 10'. We've always had an indoor wood stove so couldn't get insurance on it.

The duct I've priced is the galvanized metal and the foil insulation wrap, I thought about using the flex duct on a couple short runs but that may be a bad idea then. Thanks for the advice

I will have to cut a hole in the floor for an access to the crawl space as I will be piping the duct through the current outside access.

My dad's outdoor furnace has a forced draft and like you said you do have to be careful about letting the coals go out but it does work good.

[TKehl]

Short protected lengths of flex are fine.  I have one bit in my duct, but under the house.  But I first tried doing the whole thing with flex to save time...   :  I sure didn't save any time though.   :D

[Woodcutter_Mo]

Today I picked up six 3' sections chimney pipe to get it above the roof peak but found that it doesn't fit the flange on the furnace. I believe the flange is for "SuperPro" and the chimney I bought is Selkirk. I'll just have to switch the flange or buy an adapter of some sort.
Not a big deal but just thought I'd post this up as something to keep in mind when installing a new furnace 

None of the hardware stores locally carry 10" or 12" duct work but I talked to a couple HVAC company locally that said they have or can get it for me. I plan to get all that stuff collected this week.

[dave_dj1]

what is your plan for ducting?
Are you tying it in to your existing duct work?

[Woodcutter_Mo]

what is your plan for ducting?
Are you tying it in to your existing duct work?

There is no existing ductwork in this house. My "plan" is to run the hot pipe to a central location and branch off from there. I plan to install the return in the front porch room with a filter. Was hoping having the return in the porch room would help heat it.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

Here's the adapter plate I bought for the Selkirk chimney to attach to.



Also, I ordered the duct piping and the stuff to insulate it. I should be picking it up in the morning. I should hopefully be able to start putting the stuff together this weekend  8)

[OH logger]

any updates about the quality of the furnace itself?? I'm lookin at the biggest indoor model they have for heating my shop and just wonderin about the quality

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 I havnt gotten to actually use mine yet, still in the process of getting my house setup to use the ducting.

The newer epa models are a bit different than mine but I doubt quality would be any less.
If you have any specific questions I can look at mine and give you opinions. In my opinion it's looks quite a bit better built than the "hot blast" furnaces my local hardware store was selling.
My dad is actually thinking of getting one like mine to replace his old outdoor furnace.

[OH logger]

I see  thsnks and keep us updated!!

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Just looking over the furnace today while I was messing with the chimney, the overall build quality and fit/finish seems good and not just slapped together.

Here's an example of the weld around the door, looks that good all the way around the door. I'd say the employees that put them together have pretty good work ethic for sure.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

It's not ducted yet but I fired up the furnace to test it out and burn off the oil stuff from the manufacturing process. It seems to be working good. 8)

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Last night I cut a hole in the sub floor to create a better access to the crawl space for when I run the ducting. In the process I found some issues in the floor joists and original sub floor. So I'll be tearing out my entire living room floor and replacing the joists. The up side is although the furnace install will be delayed, it will be alot easier to run the duct while the floor is out. I'm just glad I found this issue in the process before a joist broke or worse.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Well, for now I decided to run just one main central duct outlet into the house to use until I am able to run the rest of the duct work. This way I can give the furnace a good test atleast and be able to use it as it's going to be a while until I can finish the duct work. Today we are running the hot pipe and return into the house.  ;)

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Well I got the ducts piped into the house yesterday just before the cold front got here. I will be simply installing a single outlet for now until I get the floor and joists fixed in the living room. I have a return box and grill/filter housing ordered and on the way. I will add one more section of chimney, get some electricity to it, install the thermostat inside and get it fired up this weekend to give it a good real world test.

I'll give an update on how it works out.

[samandothers]

Bummer on the floor.  Glad you'll have heat soon!

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 I didn't get the rest of the chimney installed yet but I have the single 10" heat supply pipe up through the floor and the 12" return towards the other end of the house installed to use until I can finish it up properly. I have a good fire going and it's working good. The hot pipe isn't insulated for the first few feet coming out of the furnace yet but but other than that it's doing a good job. The windows are open at the moment because the furnace is still putting off some fumes from being new.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 The furnace got a good work out last night, it got down to -3F.
I loaded up the firebox with some seasoned black Oak rounds that weren't super dry as they haven't been covered. I didn't completely fill the fire box, the rounds were about 18-20" avg length so there was about a foot of space left. I loaded it up about 9:30 and at 6:00 this morning there was still a nice bed of coals so I just loaded it again and it fired right back up. The draft blower is apparently high enough up that it can keep a good bed of coals in the bottom. It got down to about 61°f in the house, which isn't too bad considering all the air gaps there are with me working on the house. And also the first few feet of the hot air pipe outside isn't insulated yet.
I think I'll be very happy with this furnace especially once I get the hang of it and get all the ducting installed properly.

[TKehl]

Sweet!

And thanks for the report on having coals remaining.  I've been leary about running a stove with a draft blower as I expected to have to relight it frequently with the blower pushing air until the coals were gone.

Sounds like it has a nice large firebox.  Sounds quite a bit bigger than mine!

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 I think as long as the draft blower is installed high enough above the grates to where it doesn't blow directly  into the coals it would probably do fine. I'll certainly be learning more about it as I use it. I was somewhat surprised honestly.
The firebox is listed as 11.00 cubic ft and will take firewood up to 34" long.

[gspren]

  Is your draft blower controlled by a thermostat?

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Yea the thermostat in the house controls the draft blower on this furnace.

On a side note, it is still putting off a bit of a smell when the furnace gets good and hot. So if anyone else installs one, be sure to give it a good pre-burn to break it in before hooking it up or plan to keep the windows open all day the first couple times you fire it up.   ;)

[TKehl]

Have any Hedge?   ;) ;D ;D

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Dont got any hedge around here, but I though about tossing a few pine knots in the firebox and opening the draft a bit and letting it rip for a while  :D

[dave_dj1]

As you get used to burning it you will learn what and what not to do depending on the weather and temps. I do not believe in the forced draft, I think it burns too much wood. I don't even have a thermostat hooked to the draft of mine. I have a wind up timer on the stove, I know how long to set the timer for after i fill it depending on the weather and temps. I have some half inch holes in the door that I plug with 1/2" bolts, I take a bolt or two out depending on how cold it is. I just installed a new door gasket and I can get 12-14 hr burn times on about 5 pieces of wood and a ton of coals. I am heating about 1800-1900 sf in a ranch home with finished basement.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Just an quick update, so far I'm still very pleased with the furnace especially since I'm getting more familiar with it. I've only had to light the fire a couple times, it holds coals very well. The times I had to re-light it we're after warm days where I didn't add wood for a day or 2. I've been leaving the thermostat at 67°F and the draft blower runs very little, but the house will still stay in the 70's at near 0°. 

 I will be installing a proper size draft blower on it as I have an oversized blower with the intake dampened down pretty low on it at the moment. 

 It's easy to clean the ashes out, I just let it burn down to coals and rake the ashes with a garden hoe, which the grate is the same width as. The ash pan holds exactly what fills a standard ash bucket. 

 I'm still in the learning curve, so as mentioned i can probably get better burn times and efficiency as time goes on. But so far I'm very happy with the purchase.  8)

[dave_dj1]

Nice, thanks for the update. Like I said, there is a learning curve and once you find what works just keep doing it. I think you're on the right track keeping the blower use to a minimum.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

 Season 2 with the Fire Chief furnace. A few days ago I plugged it in and fired it up, still looks and works like new. I'm still very happy with it and impressed with it vs my old indoor wood stove. 

 Last winter I only had to light the fire a few times, of which a couple times I let it go completely out so I could clean it ect. It held coals very well, I assume because the blower is up fairly high.

[hedgerow]

Good to hear the furnace is working out. Its nice to keep the mess that wood makes outside. Looks like the weather is going to warm back up. Its always nice to get these cool dip's early so we check wood supplies and wood burning equipment before the cool sets in. 

[Pine Ridge]

I installed a fire chief 2200 in our doublewide this summer woodcutter. I fired it up a week ago, it puts out the heat, i've got it too warm in the house a couple of times already. I think it will do great when it gets really cold this winter. I'm still learning what to do and what not to do with it, so far i'm satisfied with it.

[Woodcutter_Mo]

I installed a fire chief 2200 in our doublewide this summer woodcutter. I fired it up a week ago, it puts out the heat, i've got it too warm in the house a couple of times already. I think it will do great when it gets really cold this winter. I'm still learning what to do and what not to do with it, so far i'm satisfied with it.

Glad to hear you like yours so far. Do you have it ducted into the central heating ducts?
 
One thing I've found with mine is I only open the spin draft on the ash drawer when it's prety cold. I keep it closed when it's somewhat mild or it will run me out of the house. And it don't have to be open much. You will get used to it though. 
 

On a side note, one thing I would like to add to my furnace is a shield that goes over the draft blower to keep wood chips from getting in the fan and motor when loading wood into the door. I believe the newer models that were being sold at Menards had these shields on them. I've only had trouble with it once, but I can see it potentially giving trouble again.
 

[Pine Ridge]

Woodcutter I didn't hook it up to our existing ductwork, I ran new ductwork just for the wood furnace, one 10" hot pipe run through the wall on the back of the house, and 12" cold air return run under the house and T'd to run to each end of the house. Warm air comes in the middle of the house and is pulled to each end by the returns. On the hot pipe I encased the 10" inside 12" and then wrapped it with reflectix insulation , I also wrapped the entire cold air return pipe with reflectix. Cold air returns I installed flat in the floor with 14x14 filters. Furnace sits 12 feet from the house, i have an 8 foot chimney pipe on it, double walled Selkirk brand. Forecasting a low of 28 here tonight in southwest mo, I've got it fired up.

[Pine Ridge]

Woodcutter I didn't hook it up to our existing ductwork, I ran new ductwork just for the wood furnace, one 10" hot pipe run through the wall on the back of the house, and 12" cold air return run under the house and T'd to run to each end of the house. Warm air comes in the middle of the house and is pulled to each end by the returns. On the hot pipe I encased the 10" inside 12" and then wrapped it with reflectix insulation , I also wrapped the entire cold air return pipe with reflectix. Cold air returns I installed flat in the floor with 14x14 filters. Furnace sits 12 feet from the house, i have an 8 foot chimney pipe on it, double walled Selkirk brand. Forecasting a low of 28 here tonight in southwest mo, I've got it fired up.