Near tragedy...

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dave_dj1

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So I lit my outdoor furnace the other night and came in to start some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, I was talking to my Mom on the phone when I smelled something odd! Quickly hung up and ran out to find flames coming out around parts of the stove. I ran back in, grabbed my kitchen fire extinguisher and ran back out, used that one up so I ran to the garage and grabbed a bit bigger extinguisher and commenced to use that one up too. I did pull the duct work out of the house so that danger was over even though the house had smoke and stench in it. That's when I decided I had better call 911. The firehouse and the chiefs house are about 5/8 of a mile away. Once I got through the dispatchers head what was happening and where it was happening I went back to using up my extinguisher. The chief showed up with a large one and we started unscrewing panels and yanking the insulation out.
When I put this thing together about 7 years ago I wrapped the wood furnace with a product called Reflectex, it's a metallic bubble wrap. I insulated the studs with fiberglass insulation and then wrapped the whole thing again.
I think the problem was two fold, firstly the wife had hung a heavy blanket over the ductwork inside unbeknownst to me to "keep the cat from going in there" and the electric damper controller was apparently stuck, rusted, froze up whatever! I think it just overheated and caught the Reflectex on fire, I also had some high R sheathing in different spots that burned as well. Thankfully the house was fine.
Once we got all the fire down the chief asked if I wanted them to put the wood in the fire box out. I said "why, I don't think there is any damage to the actual stove itself" and he agreed, the fire was left burning into the night until it went out on it's own. I now have it moved into the garage and stripped all the wiring off (most of fit was melted anyway) and I am going to insulate it this time with Rockwool mineral insulation, it has a fire rating of 2000 degrees.
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I'll see if I can dig up some pics of the build.
 
I wonder if you could put a temperature gauge in there somewhere and have it visible in the house? Most smoke detectors wouldn't work because of the moisture out there but maybe one inside the ductwork would work? For my OWB I have a smoke detector inside the house near the furnace but it really wouldn't go off until it was a real issue.
 
Dayum! I just stumbled on your original build thread a couple weeks ago. Thought it looked good but did question the insulations used. I lost a house to fire once don't wish that experience on anyone!
 
Another reason I like my OWB a little further from my house. Glad for you it wasn't worse.
 
How was the spaghetti & meatballs?
Your insurer is okay with that ducting set-up? Mine would cancel my policy unless there is a fire damper with thermal link installed ,and even if there were they'd still pitch a fit.

Glad you & tne house were unscathed other than some smoke.
 
How was the spaghetti & meatballs?
Your insurer is okay with that ducting set-up? Mine would cancel my policy unless there is a fire damper with thermal link installed ,and even if there were they'd still pitch a fit.

Glad you & tne house were unscathed other than some smoke.

My neighbor came over to get our dog in because she (dog) really doesn't like people and was pitching a fit, the neighbor girl shut the spaghetti and meatballs off so they were saved and we enjoyed them for dinner a couple of hours later.
My biggest concern at the time was that my wife would come driving over the hill and see all the lights and either think something happened to me (I've had one heart attack 4 years ago, doing great now) or figure I burned the place down, either way it would have upset her. This happened about 4pm and she doesn't get home from work until about 5:45, she happened to have stopped off at the store on her way home so it was about 6 when she got home.
I'm sure our insurance co. wouldn't like it but it is a UL listed unit made for indoors so I really don't see the difference. I have found over the years it is better to ask forgiveness than ask permission! LOL
I am investigating some fire dampers now, I think they would be well worth the money.
 
Glad you caught it in time!!

If you're in the market for ceramic insulation (I think that's the same as rockwool) the best price I've seen online is McGills warehouse. I used a lot of it when I put my syrup evaporator together.
 
Wow, your insurance company let you do that? I'm hoping your rebuild will last till the stove rusts out. Be safe!
 
My neighbor came over to get our dog in because she (dog) really doesn't like people and was pitching a fit, the neighbor girl shut the spaghetti and meatballs off so they were saved and we enjoyed them for dinner a couple of hours later.
My biggest concern at the time was that my wife would come driving over the hill and see all the lights and either think something happened to me (I've had one heart attack 4 years ago, doing great now) or figure I burned the place down, either way it would have upset her. This happened about 4pm and she doesn't get home from work until about 5:45, she happened to have stopped off at the store on her way home so it was about 6 when she got home.
I'm sure our insurance co. wouldn't like it but it is a UL listed unit made for indoors so I really don't see the difference. I have found over the years it is better to ask forgiveness than ask permission! LOL
I am investigating some fire dampers now, I think they would be well worth the money.

Insurance would refuse to pay if they can find ANYTHING to jusstify it. Asking forgiveness won't get it.

When I installed my stove back in earlyi 80s the insurance agent showed up with a tape measure and carefully checked everything he could reach.
 
I'm sure our insurance co. wouldn't like it but it is a UL listed unit made for indoors so I really don't see the difference.

That would be the problem they would find, right there. You are using it in a way that is different than what it is listed for. I would not be very hopeful that they would come through with any payout on a claim.

That was a close one, very glad you caught it in time. Yikes.
 
Well the furnace is officially back together :)
I had to put a new motor for the draft and a new fan limit switch on it and completely re wire it. I set it out side with the tractor and lit a small fire in it, I wanted to check for smoke in wrong places and make sure the fan was coming on when it was supposed to etc. It seemed to work flawlessly. I'll be setting it back at the house and putting it back into service tomorrow :) It's been cold here and we've missed it :(
I cleaned it all of any leftover reflectex and insulated it with rock wool insulation,.
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Looks like it's back together and ready for safe operation....glad it was originally just a close call.

As one post above mentioned, I'd never want anyone to experience what my family went through in 2013 when an early morning exterior fire took our home, 3 vehicles and our beloved pets.

I believe you got it right this time.
 
Rockwool is good stuff they used to let it pass for fire blocking in new houses but not anymore. Oddly enough we can use wood to fire block...

I guess this is y I dont heat with just wood. I only use my wood furnace when I'm home. I know how it works and hope I can tackle an emergency like you did if I'm home. It's great heat but loaded up if things went wrong it would burn fast. Before I leave the house I make sure it's at a safe burn level so that if the flue pipe were to fall off it would not burn uncontrollably.

I think the only way I would feel safe heating entirely with wood is with an OWB or an EPA stove. The OWB would be the safest option.
 
How does that handle a power outage? Usually a furnace would want some straight up duct so some heat will still be shed when the blower stops turning.
 

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