why do i keep having explosions!!!???

[aaronmach1]

As you can see in the pics my wood burner is close to the gas furnace. the cold air return for gas furnce goes into the bottom of the gas furnance next to the freezer there. Could i just put a register vent like are in the floors upstairs in the end of that cold air ducktwork? And then just close it when i dont use the wood burner?Would that be ok for getting return air to the wood furnace blower?

 

[Chris-PA]

As you can see in the pics my wood burner is close to the gas furnace. the cold air return for gas furnce goes into the bottom of the gas furnance next to the freezer there. Could i just put a register vent like are in the floors upstairs in the end of that cold air ducktwork? And then just close it when i dont use the wood burner?Would that be ok for getting return air to the wood furnace blower?

That's actually what I would do, but I am not a pro and I don't know what the official rules are (rules don't mean a lot to me).

 

[CrappieKeith]

As you can see in the pics my wood burner is close to the gas furnace. the cold air return for gas furnce goes into the bottom of the gas furnance next to the freezer there. Could i just put a register vent like are in the floors upstairs in the end of that cold air ducktwork? And then just close it when i dont use the wood burner?Would that be ok for getting return air to the wood furnace blower?

It is against code to have a blower sucking return air from the room that the wood furnace is in.
How many cfms is it? That's how many cfm's you are taking out of the room where you are also looking at burning wood...taking air away from the wood burning....no makeup air...and your wondering about explosions.

It appears that you have a serious mis -installation. I would reccomend you hiring a pro to come in and get you squared away...your common sense just isn't what you should be relying on..this forum either for that matter.

 

[blackdogon57]

It is against code to have a blower sucking return air from the room that the wood furnace is in.
How many cfms is it? That's how many cfm's you are taking out of the room where you are also looking at burning wood...taking air away from the wood burning....no makeup air...and your wondering about explosions.

It appears that you have a serious mis -installation. I would reccomend you hiring a pro to come in and get you squared away...you common sense just isn't what you should be relying on..this forum either for that matter.

Great advice !! - Not every job is a do it yourself er.

 

[Chris-PA]

It is against code to have a blower sucking return air from the room that the wood furnace is in.
How many cfms is it? That's how many cfm's you are taking out of the room where you are also looking at burning wood...taking air away from the wood burning....no makeup air...and your wondering about explosions.

It appears that you have a serious mis -installation. I would reccomend you hiring a pro to come in and get you squared away...you common sense just isn't what you should be relying on..this forum either for that matter.

Well, the gas furnace has other return ducts so it would not be exactly the same situation he started with. But a new vent would be the closest to the blower inlet so it might still be a problem. The best thing is to add a return into the room with the stove, such as in the door to the furnace room.

This is basically what I have - I have a simple stove in a basement room, and I use the blower from the old oil furnace. I added openings to the old return ducts in the ceiling so the blower pulls hot air off the top, but there a couple of outlets in there as well, and air can also return down the stairwell. So there is no net low pressure area there to fight the flue draft.

I agree he should have pro look at it.

 

[aaronmach1]

about the makeup air... Maybe this is why there was a 3 inch round hole in the stairway wall into the garage when i moved in. They had the same wood furnace but took it with them. They must have had that open for makeup air to the furnace. so if i put a hole there again what can i use in it for vents? Like a dryer vent that closes when its not in use, but that would only work on one side, and i need it to flow in not out.

 

[olyman]

Well if that's the case can't he just put in an 'outdoor air supply' and solve the problem?

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:remember,,you HATE outside air supplys...just read the rest of your responses in this thread,,that more than a few have replied to you...................................

 

[aaronmach1]

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:remember,,you HATE outside air supplys...just read the rest of your responses in this thread,,that more than a few have replied to you...................................

it seems i NEED a coldd air supply for the fire from outside plus a cold air return for the blower motor. Im just asking how to do them now. As in my last post.

 

[Chris-PA]

it seems i NEED a coldd air supply for the fire from outside plus a cold air return for the blower motor. Im just asking how to do them now. As in my last post.

What you have is a closed room with two flues in it, and a big blower sucking the air out of that room and trying to blow it somewhere else (the rest of your house). Obviously if it can it will pull air down those flues and blow it outside through leaks in the rest of your house. The solution is to give that air somewhere to return into the room where the blower is. Whether you need an outside air inlet is unknown at this point, because your system cannot possibly work the way it is and no one can tell. Until you fix the known problem it won't be possible to figure out if there are other problems.

The suggestion has been made several times to add a vent in the door, but basically any way you allow the air to return into the room to the wood furnace blower inlet like that will work. I'm worried you do not understand the issues and may harm yourself or others. I really think you should hire a pro. Also, I doubt that the furnace was intended to have the blower inlet just hanging open in the room like that - you should get a hold of the installation instructions and follow them.

 

[aaronmach1]

this is how it came factory. even has a little screen over the blower intake.

 

[Dalmatian90]

 

[Dalmatian90]

Just me or does that wood look freshly cut to anyone else?

 

[aaronmach1]

Just me or does that wood look freshly cut to anyone else?

Its ash cut earlier last month. It has lots of cracks in it.

 

[aaronmach1]

About ready to give up! took me an hour and a half to get a fire going. it wouldnt burn worth crap unless i had the ash door open and the load door closed. Its been 2 hours running with the stairway door to the garage open as suggested and i dont see a differance, in fact the fire is burning like total garbage tonight and has done that explosion garbage 3 times! I didnt choke it down either. The last time it did it, it needed more wood so i put two logs in and closed the door. Left the ash damper where it was at 2.5 turns out and the flue damper all way open. After 2 mins of burning, Boom puff. :mad2:

 

[aaronmach1]

For now just prop the door from the first floor to the basement open about six inches as a test. I bet your smoke odor is gone.

Something else that might help your furnace run better. Place a paper clip on the lower part of the furnace input air damper that is controlled by the thermostat so it's can't close all the way. This is called a 'minimum burn setting. It keeps the thermostat from totally damping the fire down.

paper clip? are you talking about the flapper damper on the load door? even if that does close itself down there are 2 small holes in it to let some air in.

 

[aaronmach1]

Thats what I was talking about. The Riteway flapper didn't have any holes and when it closed up it was closed good hence the need for the paper clip. Is that flapper of yours closing up?

nope still open as we speek. it might be on high.

 

[aaronmach1]

It looks like your chimney exits from the top of your stove in one of the photos.

Does it?

yes it should be visible in some pics

 

[blackdogon57]

Try burning some seasoned wood. Ash "cut last month" may be a big part of the problem. Sure it will burn if you are in a jam, but it is difficult to light and takes much longer to take off than properly seasoned wood.

 

[aaronmach1]

Try burning some seasoned wood. Ash "cut last month" may be a big part of the problem. Sure it will burn if you are in a jam, but it is difficult to light and takes much longer to take off than properly seasoned wood.

im trying 2 year seasond stacked n split walnut right now.

 

[reaperman]

Its ash cut earlier last month. It has lots of cracks in it.

Ash does have the reputation for being able to burn "wet", but it doesnt always burn well wet. I have a lot of ash trees I have cut down lately. I used my cheapo moisture meter to find some in the 20-25% range. I found some 23-25% and tried to lit a fire using this wood. I didnt burn very well at all. I needed my damper almost wide open for that particular load of wood for it to stay burning. It may work in a pinch but its far from ideal. You could spend $5 on a over priced bundle of firewood at a gas station and see if that helps. If you have to use the ash, try and split it first even if its wet. Rounds are harder to burn than split pieces. I find water trapped under the bark on wet rounds making them hard to light and prone sizzling.

Your doing the correct thing in asking questions.