Woodchuck stove/furnace

[ultimate buzz]

Does anyone out there own a Woodchuck woodstove/furnace made in Eau Claire, Wisconsin by Danart Industries? If so, what are your likes/dislikes concerning the stove? I have a chance to pick a used one up for a very reasonable price that needs a little minor welding fix. It will be used as a radiant heater out in a workshop. Thanks for any info, ken

 

[Beefie]

My neighbor has one and heats his 2 story house with it. He is very happy with his. If I were to replace the one I have in the basement it would either be a Yukon or a woodchuck.

beefie

 

[MN Ripper]

Friend of mine bought one new a little over 2 years ago and picked it up at the factory himself. Can't remember the model but I think there were only 3 and took the middle one if I remember right.

Loves the thing, heats his good size home hot and is easy to use. From what he's told me it sounded very well built.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Woodchuck is part of Meyer Mfg. They're in Dorchester, WI. I don't know anything about Danart, a search didn't bring up much of anything. Meyer makes mostly farm machinery, snit spreaders, forage wagons, etc.

I have an old Woodchuck in the basement. It was well used when I got it a few years ago, I'd guess it to be 25+ years old. I had to weld up a couple of cracks coming off the door corners (probably from overfiring, my bad), new door gaskets, and replaced the fire bricks, but other than that, it's a good stove.

I'd probably consider another one, but I like the Yukon secondary burn system better than the catalyst system on the Woodchucks, so that's the direction I'm leaning.

Here's a link to Woodchuck

 

[ultimate buzz]

how much wood would a woodchuck chuck...

Steve, you might be about the best person to ask. The model I'm looking at is a #2800 , built/tested on Nov 12/13 1979.There is no catalytic converter on this stove. The manufacturer's tag says wood/coal. There also is a notation that the stove needs .5 static pressure. Any idea what that means?
This particular stove has the older 2" standard fire brick going up halfway on each of the sides, but nothing on either the front or back. The back is burned through and needs to be torched clean and the hole welded shut, with probably a backup plate welded over that.There also is a 3/8" diameter hole about 3" above the door, centrally located. I am going to assume that this for some type of sliding rod that at one time somehow was connected to something that restricted the exhaust flow.
As far as Meyers owning the company, after further research, it turns out that Danart Inc., sold out to Meyers in 1985. I'm having trouble finding any info as far as a manual or a pdf file. Any ideas?

 

[Steve NW WI]

The .5 static pressure is a measure of draft, checked using a manometer. I'm not real familiar with it, but others here can help more on that.

If the back is burned through, I'd likely keep looking for another one. Unless you really trust yourself with a welder, or know a very good one, you can just end up with a possible leak of smoke/CO, not real good. Also, at least on my Woodchuck, the back is double walled, so there's no room to weld from the outside.

Besides, by the time a chunk of steel that thick is rotted out, chances are good other parts of the firebox are in bad shape as well.

I can't help with the hole in the front, mine doesn't have anything like that.

If you're still interested, the manuals for the current models are here: http://www.meyermfg.com/manuals/Woodchuck.pdf I can't imagine they have changed much over the years.

 

[ultimate buzz]

526

Steve, Thank you for the link.The model 2800 is very simular to the current 526. I will consider what you said and have a buddy who is way more skilled at welding than I am take a look at this unit and see if it really is worth messing with.-ken

 

[joe wagner]

Woodchuck #2800 wood or coal Furnace

I too have an older Woodchuck #2800 by Danart industries (before Meyer INC) It must be late 1970's or early 1980's . Serial #1436 (or close to it) Twin blowers that need to be replaced are Original Dayton 4C264 Blowers. These have oiling ports that are impossible to get oil into unless you take the motors out from the housing.
Replacement Dayton 4C264 blower with Real ball bearings is Dayton 1TDR9

I do not have the optional front blower. Rather just a hand adjustment.

Beautifully constructed from heavy duty insides, but has weird sizes of Fire bricks. They are marked DANDO on one side of the bricks, and the 'Larger' are 8-1/4 long, 4-1/8 wide and 1-7/8 inch thick

the back bricks 'Smaller'are only 1-1/4 thick, with 2 bricks having a side cut on them at an angle.

There is little or NO information about this older stove on the net, and I am looking for some other parts too. I expect this stove to last 10 additional years at its current location in Batavia, Ohio. I don't think much coal will go into it, but wood will. Nov 27, 2011

I would like to hear from other Older Wodchuck owners who stil have these stoves going.

Thanks,, Joe Wagner :msp_rolleyes:

 

[joe wagner]

After a serious cleaning, I need some New fire bricks on the Woodchuck #2800, because some of mine are cracked. 6 of the large, and 5 of the small sized.
At worst, I may have to buy and cut some other bricks to fit properly.

Also having a front blower for the hot coals would be nice.
Rope seals do not seal like they used to do.

I do not have the Optional Shaker grate, But one was listed in the original advertisement that came with the furnace at purchase in the booklet marked $1.25 and shows parts-specifications for the older models of #2300, #2600,#2800, and #3100

Manufacture was: Danart INC, 119 South Dewey St. Eau Claire, Wi 54701

Let me know if you have one of these older stoves thanks, Joe Wagner, Batavia Ohio

 

[gravely_todd]

Well, since this thread was started almost 18 months ago, I don't know what use my response is, but I will give it anyway.. :msp_tongue: I bought a new 2900 last year and I am very happy with it, I heat a 2 story farm house built in the 30s with very little insulation in the walls. It is about 2200 sq ft give or take, and the furnace does an excellent job of heating the house. This year I opted to spend the money on the catalytic combustor and started using it about a month ago. I have no complaints with the unit at all. :smile2: I burn only hardwood....maple, black locust, cherry, and oak.

Todd

 

[wood burner man]

Does anyone out there own a Woodchuck woodstove/furnace made in Eau Claire, Wisconsin by Danart Industries? If so, what are your likes/dislikes concerning the stove? I have a chance to pick a used one up for a very reasonable price that needs a little minor welding fix. It will be used as a radiant heater out in a workshop. Thanks for any info, ken

We've had a WoodChuck model 2800 furnace since about 1980.

It needed extra welding on the outside door frame when it was delivered...which the factory covered 100%.

Its been bullet proof ever since. It still has the original fire bricks on the inside.

I just saw a new one for sale at Charlies Hardware store Mosinee Wisconsin.

My father had a Yukon in the 70's, but it had been known to burn out the inside fire chamber parts. It was the "mother of all wood furnaces", but I would not own one. His was a natural gas/wood combination unit.

I am not overly impressed with the catalytic converter in the new WoodChuck furnaces. Yes, it will burn up the smoke (how much I don't know) and create extra heat from your wood, but I understand you will need a new catalytic converter ($200-300) in 3 to 4 years. This does not impress me.

I do agree it is well built, and what can I say? We are still using it after 30+ years! The door latch system has been improved on the new models, but I have seen better on other brands.

If only dry seasoned wood is being burned, I would consider a new EPA rated: Kuuma or PSG (AN Caddy) furnace. If you are burning a mixture of dry and non-seasoned wood, the WoodChuck will handle this chore very well.

Our WoodChuck came with 2 fans. I replaced these with a bigger single fan and a Space Guard air filter system.

About 2 years ago, I called Meyer Manufacturing and asked whether they would build an EPA rated wood furnace in the future.

Their answer was a big NO! Because it costs too much to get them EPA rated (other wood furnace manufacturers have paid $25,000 to have this done).

Also, their market are the bigger farm houses where burning efficiency is not as important as heating the home. Hence they are not interested in building a true EPA rated furnace.

To me, if I am going to spend $2500-$3500 on a new wood furnace, it will be an EPA unit that burns up all the smoke, and burns less wood to heat your home. The new WoodChuck's are just too "old school", and if/when the EPA clamps down on wood smoke in the future, I seriously doubt WoodChuck furnaces will still be manufactured!

They would have to be re-engineered to be more efficient, and I understand Meyer Manufacturing is not interested in spending the money to compete in this market. The catalytic converter in my opinion is a band-aid to make them more efficient. But the best efficiency is gained by re-engineering the furnace to eliminate the catalytic converter (as the competition does).

At this point, we will keep the WoodChuck until it dies, and then replace it with a Kuuma or PSG AN Caddy. The AN Caddy ($2800) has a glass front (a waste, and a reducer of efficiency) but the more expensive and smaller BTU Kuuma ($3450) has a regular solid door.

Best wishes.

 

[doug4k]

i have a woodchuck model 530 that i heat my garage with. the hole above the door in the center is for a sliding blockoff plate. open position the exhaust goes stright out the flue. closed sends the exhaust to the front and out a sheetmetal channel. it burns a lot less wood than my old atlanta homesteader i replaced it with. i also added a draft blower controlled by thermostat. best money i ever spent. load it up and set the stat and it keeps the garage warm all night. insulated the ceiling recently and now its probably to many btus for the area. 26x32x10. i know this is an older post but i came accross it searching for some info on woodchucks on the web. seems like a well built unit to me. later doug

 

[KyleOh]

Woodchuck 2300! Love it, heats my 40x50 garage as hot as you want.

Cracks on lower corners of door welded also here :msp_biggrin:

 

[camr]

I have a 2900 in the basement that's been there since October of '85. Still works great. The house is at 72 degrees as I type this.