I haven't seen those units and I will certainly look at them. You would agree that most furnaces on the market today...and most that have been built in the past...do not have a way to view the fire without opening the fire door? I do understand how it might be an advantage to be able to see the flame with a wood furnace. I don't think it's as important as it would be with an oil furnace which seems to be one of Pook's favorite points. An oil furnace has a source of liquid fuel being pumped to its burner which could have truly catastrophic results if things are not set correctly. I understand that the woodburner might puff back at you but it seems to me that it'd be common sense to stand a little to the side when opening that door. I don't yank open the door to my Craft insert (no glass) and poke my face down to look in...it has never back puffed at me but it might tomorrow. I won't buy a Caddy because I don't always have dry wood to feed it. I don't really want to go with a US Stove product because I don't think they are efficient enough. I'll probably buy a Yukon because they seem to offer a good degree of efficiency coupled with longevity and they are priced about the same as units that don't seem to offer the same efficiency/longevity/warranty. The whole wood furnace debate reminds me of a couple of kindergarten kids arguing about whose daddy is the toughest. Anyway, that's my opinion...take it and $1.50 and you can buy a cup of coffee some places :act-up:
I think if you trust what a company says about the installation which by the way has had a ton of time and money spent to ensure proper operation and you install the product as detailed out in the manual youroperation should be or close to the same as when the unit was tested and listed. Having a glass door to see a flame is not there to ensure it'sdoing what the furnace is supposed to be doing.
I trust my Jack.Sure in the beginning I'd go to check on the wood often.
After all I was used to short burn times in poorlymade furnaces.
When I got my Jack I quickly learned to stay out of it.
A tell tale sign that I need more wood is that my house starts to cool down.
I know that after 15 years of operating it I typically load it when I get up in the morning,hit it with a few pieces around 5pm and top it off before I go to bed.
When I wake up again the next morning this loading process starts all over.
Do I know exactly to the decimal point what the eff. is? No, how could Ias the burn rates is all over the board and hence the efficiency # will change. Do I need to know?
For me it's not important. As long as my house runs 24/7 on wood who cares.
When it get's into the 20's and warmer I'm onlyloading it 2 times a day and when it get's to 40 I can load it once a day.
I know my Jack uses gasification.I know it holds heats for a long time with the thermal mass built in...anyone doubt that contact Mikes Mold and ask him about his Super Jack he just bought.
Wood does not burn in a fashion that support continuety of operation. There is no AFUE rating and there are so many varibles with wood moisture contents,wind effecting drafts and other weather occurences that to say what's the efficiency or CO levellike you'd be able to measure on an oil burner is purely crazy.
Although you can do controlled tests...you'd have to have the same conditions for everyone to get the same results...hence guys like Pook just show ignorance by demanding percentages and levels.