JUCA Hi-Efficiency Wood Burning

[ericjeeper]

I technically own a Junka. Have not seen it in years. I loaned it to a buddy to put in his shop. I bought it and drug it up out of a guys basement,.
Another buddy of mine had one too. He tried to heat a well insulated 900 square foot shop with his. Barely did the job.He replaced it with a used woodfired furnace of conventional build.. It heats it very easily.
To me, I know this is only my opinion. These stoves were and are severely overrated. Not to mention ugly and look like a grade school class fabbed em up.

 

[Ductape]

So, the expenses of the JUCA keep mounting. We are into this fireplace about $10,000 now. It's going to take a lot of seasons to make up for the cost of this fireplace.

Would I order from JUCA again??? Probably not.

So......... you are out ten grand at this point, but 'probably' wouldn't buy from them again ????? :monkey:


This is why companies with service this poor get to stay in business.

 

[Techstuf]

10 Grand?! Ouch. I built mine for less than 200 and it has kept our 2650sq ft. home at 80 deg. all winter here in NE Nebraska on 4.5 to 5.5 cords a season for the last 4 years.

wow. The kind of wood burner one could build for 10 Grand......


TS

 

[046]

please post pictures.... as they say ... no pic's... it didn't happen
especially for a first post... oopss... forgot my manners... welcome to AS

seems I'm the only one that's actually posted a picture of a JUCA.
no where on my insert is any kind of label, marking, tag, etc.

welds/fabrication on my JUCA is totally professional in appearance and function.
door hinges are welded and not removable, highly unlikely JUCA would ship a fireplace without doors.

a team of engineers to figure out how it works.... come on...
put wood in and light it up....

I technically own a Junka. Have not seen it in years. I loaned it to a buddy to put in his shop. I bought it and drug it up out of a guys basement,.
Another buddy of mine had one too. He tried to heat a well insulated 900 square foot shop with his. Barely did the job.He replaced it with a used woodfired furnace of conventional build.. It heats it very easily.
To me, I know this is only my opinion. These stoves were and are severely overrated. Not to mention ugly and look like a grade school class fabbed em up.

I went into this with my eyes wide open. We really wanted a 2 sided fireplace in our living room and we also wanted it to be energy efficient. If you are reading this post you probably realize how difficult it is to find an efficient two sided fireplace. So we took the plunge and ordered JUCA Model F-9AX fireplace from the JUCA company in Indiana in May/June of 2009.

Well, if you are looking for an effortless process or a seamless experience, do not read any further. Stop thinking about JUCA and contact your local fireplace store. JUCA is not effortless. It is probably not the least expensive option once you consider the required accessories, vent piping, fireplace doors and your lost time and energy. It probably has some of the worst customer service in the industry. I am tempted to report them to the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports.

I really can't tell you if JUCA lives up to all of the hype on the website. It has been 6 months since I ordered the fireplace and I haven't received all of the parts yet. The fireplace did show up which honestly I was a little surprised that we received it. However we haven't received the $800+ dollars in fireplace doors yet. We keep contacting JUCA (Tim) with the one method we have for JUCA, (an e-mail address), Tim assures us that he is on top of things, yet we still wait for doors.

I am at the point now of ordering doors from another company because we cannot wait any longer. So, the expenses of the JUCA keep mounting. We are into this fireplace about $10,000 now. It's going to take a lot of seasons to make up for the cost of this fireplace.

Would I order from JUCA again??? Probably not. The fireplace cannot compensate for the company shortfalls and failed customer service. I knew it was a gamble and that I may lose my original investment. Even after receiving the fireplace, there is probably a 50:50 chance that it will work as advertized.

Installation required consulting a team of engineers, hiring a local fireplace company to analyze the product and the lacking documentation and come up with a plan for installation. We were able to track down some double wall 10 inch vent piping and other accessories to install it (budget about $3000-$4000 for venting.) After a couple trips out by the local FP Company, we now have this thing installed in our new house, awaiting FP doors.

I just sent an angry e-mail to Tim at JUCA, asking for a refund for the fireplace doors I never received. And I am searching for new doors on-line. If anyone has a door suggestion that will fit a JUCA fireplace, I would be grateful. My new home has already been delayed 30 days and counting because if this fireplace. If you are still considering a JUCA, be prepared for a tough road.

 

[barton174]

It reminds me of the old way they used to meet emissions on pre-1982 cars by just injecting more air into the exhaust to dilute tailpipe emissions.

I know this is an old post, but ran across it searching insert installation, and had to correct this...

Air injection is used to supply oxygen to the catalyst (which have been widely used since '75 or so), so that the catalyst can work without having to run the engine lean and create NOx just for the purpose of getting oxygen to the catalyst... I guess I don't know about today (2010), but I know several cars still used them 2000+, and I know at least the Trailblazers/envoys used them until 2005 or so...

Mike

 

[GlennG]

you've obviously don't understand how JUCA achieves it's efficiency.

blue fame is the secondary burn with green wood

I call BS. Who burns when green leaves are still on the trees? Thats a pic of your chimney in July.

 

[Ductape]

I Pulled Out The Ole Meter..............

Looks like Glenn was right.................

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w306/IMASAP/BSDetector.gif

 

[046]

ha..ha..ha... FYI.... don't know where you are from... but here in Tulsa... weather starts getting nippy when oak leaves are still turning.

my oaks gradually drop their leaves and will not all drop until deep into winter.

call BS all you want... but my JUCA burns green wood HOT and clean.
don't get me wrong... you've got to get the fire good and hot before adding any green. but once the green wood gets going ... it burns hotter than seasoned wood.

please keep in mind ... JUCA is an open burn system.... NO choking down air of any kind... it's fed all the air it wants... the green wood slows the burn down, while delivering heat nicely.

if you have a normal wood stove... which chokes down air to slow burn down... NO way will green wood work. but JUCA doesn't function like a normal wood stove.... more like a traditional fireplace with a MONDO size heat exchanger and blower.

I call BS. Who burns when green leaves are still on the trees? Thats a pic of your chimney in July.

Looks like Glenn was right.................

 

[logbutcher]

Some of you negativos online have to get a life---chill some.

The JUCA guy obviously loves his heater, is willing to share the experience; live and learn. You want to put taste and experience down, do it WITH some understanding and real time on-site knowledge of how this JUCA stove operates. Get out and look. Forget your seat-of-the-underpants theory. If it works for him, take it.

From their site, 046's posts, and my willing brain with NO real visit to a JUCA here's how I see it: The JUCA burns like a Russian Fireplace, Kacheloffen, Masonry Heater. Full air with no damping, large firebox, a big mass to store heat, and devices to move the heat around. Get a big enough bed of coals, you can burn anything---Not what I'd use, but for some it works. Hey, I don't even like OWB's, but the friends who have them, it's what they use and want.

It's all the Stihl/Husky, blonde/brunnette, Glock/Sig, Ford/Chevy thing ( if I hear another anti Glock : "it's 'plastic" rant....I'll.... :censored: ).

How about we all do a GTG at 046's JUCA ????:monkey: Some of you need to drop the "BS" BS. What's this "green leaves" accusation ? :monkey: BS BS.

JMNSHO

 

[046]

thanks ... logbutcher!!!

updated pic's taken a few minutes ago in Tulsa, OK
it's 32f degree with freezing rain... incoming winter storm

it's an involved process burning green wood... it needs to burn HOT using seasoned wood to get up to normal operating temps. Will not work with wood stoves that chokes down air.

again... in no way am I promoting the burning of green wood.
seasoned wood is preferred everytime. but there are times one gets caught short on wood.

hate to admit it but lost aprox. 50% of my seasoned wood due to rot. this is the first time I've lost this much wood due to rot. combine with coldest winter weather on record for Jan in Tulsa.

sure is nice to be able to burn green wood cleanly.

chimney with stove burning at normal operating temps. lack of visible smoke = clean burn

output duct air temp shows 164f degree at 360 cfm

burning logs pic, showing mixture of green and seasoned

burning logs pic with flash, showing mixture of green and seasoned

 

[Cerran]

but once the green wood gets going ... it burns hotter than seasoned wood.

You do realize that thermodynamically that's not possible. Moisture always drives down flue and adiabatic flame temperatures. This is 10+ years of combustion engineering talking.

 

[046]

of course you are technically correct... but all I'm doing is relating cause ... effect.

purely speculative... here's what I'm thinking is happening... when I toss on a few pieces of green wood, after reaching normal operating temps.

the green wood when heated puts off all sorts of wood gas. it's the extra wood gas burning that raises final output duct temps. very similar to burn achieved by secondary burn chambers.

You do realize that thermodynamically that's not possible. Moisture always drives down flue and adiabatic flame temperatures. This is 10+ years of combustion engineering talking.

 

[ericjeeper]

of course you are technically correct... but all I'm doing is relating cause ... effect.

purely speculative... here's what I'm thinking is happening... when I toss on a few pieces of green wood, after reaching normal operating temps.

the green wood when heated puts off all sorts of wood gas. it's the extra wood gas burning that raises final output duct temps. very similar to burn achieved by secondary burn chambers.

wood gas is basically steam coming from green wood..

 

[laynes69]

Green wood when burned releases a ton of moisture. Which in effect robs the combustion of wood. When wood is properly seasoned it will throw off wood gas much quicker resulting in a hotter fire, faster. Probably with your unit, between the fast draft, and the amount of air running through the unit thats what allows for it to happen. Secondary burn chambers are 100% different.

 

[wkpoor]

In that one pic of the chimney looks like you need to cut back that overhanging tree (more green firewood) and clean the gutters out.

 

[046]

guilty as charged

sure hate cleaning out gutters... with all the oak leaving dropping for seems like most of the winter. not much chance of keeping em clean.

just got back from buying 10 gallon of gas and groceries. freezing rain is coming down hard... they've been prediction power outages ... Honda EU2000i is ready

In that one pic of the chimney looks like you need to cut back that overhanging tree (more green firewood) and clean the gutters out.

 

[Mr. Obvious]

Think I'll stick with my defiant.

Right now the temp in the cat chamber is 1500 F. Got up to 1700 once that I saw. My house is same size as yours 046 and not sealed well since it is a log Cabin but I only use 1/2 the wood of the Juca.

Cold here in KY too.

 

[046]

when I purchased my JUCA over 5 years ago, there wasn't near the number of EPA rated (clean burning) wood stoves on the market as today.

JUCA's burn-time claims are inflated. but based upon wood usage threads JUCA wood usage are inline with other wood stoves with similar sized houses. but others are in much colder climates than Tulsa. mine is single level, others are split levels, etc, etc.

newer EPA stoves are more efficient than JUCA. by how much, not really sure. if I had to purchase new stove today... I'd probably go with a current EPA rated stove to pick up efficiency gains.

Think I'll stick with my defiant.

Right now the temp in the cat chamber is 1500 F. Got up to 1700 once that I saw. My house is same size as yours 046 and not sealed well since it is a log Cabin but I only use 1/2 the wood of the Juca.

Cold here in KY too.

 

[iowagold]

is juca still in biz?
or are they gone??
does any one still have a good phone number for them?