Add on wood furnace.

[Haywire Haywood]

About operating it with the power out...

They're not designed for radiant heat are they? Seems like burning a fire in it without the fan running to circulate the heat would be a waste of firewood. Kinda like running an OWB without power. No power, no fan, no heat.

Ian

 

[dwinch53]

When I was looking for a wood/cola furnace a few yrs ago I liked the yukon,harman and firechief, after great research I chose the firechief because it has lifetime warranty on all the castings, the fan had more power and the dealer which was a biggy for service is only 14 miles away...I love this furnace and have tried coal, worked well, a little harder to burn than wood and it is not free.... I believe that all three are great indoor wood and coal furnaces....Happy new Year to all, Dan

 

[sachsmo]

About operating it with the power out...

They're not designed for radiant heat are they? Seems like burning a fire in it without the fan running to circulate the heat would be a waste of firewood. Kinda like running an OWB without power. No power, no fan, no heat.

Ian

A well designed duct system would need no fan. I lived in an old house that had the coal furnace converted to gas, no blower. Gravity is your friend, hot air rises. Perhaps not as efficient, but would heat in a pinch. Take a look at Hitzer furnaces. The Amish around here use alot of them, they don't have electricity!

 

[CrappieKeith]

About operating it with the power out...

They're not designed for radiant heat are they? Seems like burning a fire in it without the fan running to circulate the heat would be a waste of firewood. Kinda like running an OWB without power. No power, no fan, no heat.

Ian

I've been using my BJ90 without power for 13 years and my house heats very nicely.
I'll admit I could heat on less wood ,but without ducting I had no other option.
Heat rises off of the top with a ceiling fan dispearsing the heat into the adjoining rooms.
My open stairwell next to the furnace also lets heat upstairs which is one big master bedroom.
Even with 32 below zero Sat. morning my house was warm when I got up.I had a bed of coals to refire my fire....as usual.
Having a warm air furnace does not require electricity like a OWB that needs a pump to operate.
I'll also point out that cheap furnaces most likely would have failed due to a warped cracked firebox without a blower to take heat from it.Not my BJ90!
There's not a wrinkle in my 7 gauge rolled top.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Well that's good, I didn't think it would be possible. I thought they came with squirrel cage fans to pump the heat out of the enclosure..

If you took the outer "skin" off, would it work better for a no power situation? Seems you'd get radiant heat off it that way.

Ian

 

[CrappieKeith]

We have the blower as an option for if you were going to install one to ducting in paralell to an exsisting furnace.
The other option is to hook one up in series using the exsisting blower on the liquid fuel furnace.

I imagine a guy could operate one with the cabinet on it.
Our customers install these furnaces in many different ways.

 

[gravely_todd]

I have been told not to burn coal, especially anthracite right on top of the cast iron grates as it can burn through them. I have a very close source for bulk anthracite coal as well as bagged, but the bagged is a bit more. Is the "burning" through the grates a legitimate issue ?? I currently heat with and 80s model Jensen furnace and am looking to upgrade to a new wood/coal furnace that is a bit more efficient for longer burn times as I am away from the home for 10hrs or so a day and would like some heat in the house when I get home...

Todd

 

[CrappieKeith]

I have been told not to burn coal, especially anthracite right on top of the cast iron grates as it can burn through them. I have a very close source for bulk anthracite coal as well as bagged, but the bagged is a bit more. Is the "burning" through the grates a legitimate issue ?? I currently heat with and 80s model Jensen furnace and am looking to upgrade to a new wood/coal furnace that is a bit more efficient for longer burn times as I am away from the home for 10hrs or so a day and would like some heat in the house when I get home...

Todd

Not if the grates are able to handle coal.The Jacks have very thick grates for a long lasting operation,but grates are a consumeable item.
You'll need to replace them a few times over the 30 years these Jacks typically last.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I rented an apartment above a small airplane hanger a few years ago, and although the apartment had propane heat, you had to run the Wood/Coal HotBlast furnace down in the hanger to keep the pipes running up to the apartment from freezing. The grates on that thing were warped and melted so badly that they wouldn't "shake" and I had to replace them. Seems like they were $125 IIRC. Granted, this isn't Keith's product and in order to keep the pipes from freezing you had to shovel that thing full of coal and run it wide open 24/7. That area needed 3 of them to really make a difference. It was probably 30x80 of uninsulated cinder block with 15' ceilings and 1/3 of one long wall a big sliding door that didn't seal worth a flip. As soon as I moved out, the pipes froze even though I drained them as well as I could. Heck, they froze once even with that stove going for all it was worth.

Ian

 

[flotek]

well anthracite burns way hotter and more clean than mine bituminous coal
it doesnt matter if your grates are 1 +inch thick ,it will melt them down if ran hard and long enough with incoming air and then proceed down through your ash pan too like butter ,i know many people who melted them down i n their indoor boilers and forced wood furnaces

 

[super3]

Go to your local foundry and have them pour a thicker grate.

 

[laynes69]

Leaving ash build-up in the ash pan is a good way to warp grates.

 

[CrappieKeith]

leaving ash build-up in the ash pan is a good way to warp grates.

good advice!

 

[ridgerunner97]

To the OP, idk if you got the furnace or not yet, but as to moving it if your looking at machines see if you could get a TORO/EXMARK DINGO machine with forks, very small, walk behind with tracks or tires all kinds of power for the size and you could probably fit the SOB right into the basement if your door was wide enough. Here in Western Pa also we have a good access to Coal, I think last time I checked I can't remember for sure but for good anthracite we were @ 40 a ton maybe?