I am looking to purchase an indoor wood furnace. Our home is roughly 2300 square feet ranch with a full basement. Because of the layout, I have been leaning towards a furnace for even temperature regulation and longer burn times while being very efficient. I am leaning heavily towards the Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 as an add on unit to complement our heat pump/electric furnace. We have 6 inch class A already installed in the basement. They are pricey but I envision being in this house for a long time and this looks like a great unit Furnaces - KUUMA. Does anyone have experience with Kuuma furnaces? Pros Cons vs. Drolet Heatpro or a Yukon Eagle? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Well, I currently have 2 of the 3 you mentioned (long story) and have researched the Kuumas extensively too...almost bought a barely used one for low money last year...will probably end up regretting not doing so. The Yukons are kinda dirty burners in their past design... but VERY high quality (can't beat their 30 year warranty) and top notch customer service. They are currently not for sale due to them not willing (or allowed) to sell their new design until it passes the EPA tests. And then they are getting their UL certification too...they are the only wood furnace manufacturer that has full UL cert...some others have a basic UL cert but Yukon certifys to a much higher standard than most (all?). The HeatPro should be a good unit but they have only been out less than two years...it is based on a PSG Max Caddy which is a proven workhorse. I have the Drolet Tundra which is based on the PSG Caddy...but has not enjoyed the stellar reputation that the Caddy has. They are on their second version now...the Tundra II...should be a better unit, but we will see. (FYI, Drolet and PSG are the same parent company) I'm happy enough with my Tundra for the little money I have in it, but it was an early model that had all the known issues, plus a few...I have it working well now but I have modded it quite a bit too. As I said, I have researched the Kuumas heavily, and have talked with owners, and discussed them on several other Forums until we all blue in the face. Bottom line, high quality unit, small family owned company with excellent customer service and everybody that owns one swears by 'em. I haven't talked to anyone that regretted buying one other than the one guy who's I almost bought. And he simply had a MUCH higher heat demand (leaky old large farm house) than the VF100 could keep up with...he decided to go with an outdoor boiler just due to how much heat he needed to stay ahead in the depths of January. Several people I know of have bought a second Kuuma for their shop or second home...that says a lot, huh?
Thank you brenndatomu that was an excellent reply! I watched lots of videos of various indoor furnaces in action. The thing that kept brining me back to the Vapor-fire was the clean burn. I have two chimneys in one chase and the one running to the basement will be the most difficult to access. I am not fond of heights so having a clean burn with minimal buildup it key so that I can stay off the roof as much as possible. I spoke with Daryl on the phone today and he is a wealth of knowledge. I think your reply sealed the deal for me. Did the barely used unit for low money find a good home already?
Yeah, I remember reading somewhere that Daryl, or one of the family has NEVER...in something like 20-30 yrs, had to clean his chimney...just inspected it. WOW! Yeah, that unit sold pretty quick...I was the first to respond but hesitated and then it was gone...was about $1500-$2k less than a new one with shipping cost. If I ever decided to buy a new one I would seriously consider a trip up to pick it up myself just to meet and greet them and get a factory tour.
I talked with Daryl on the phone yesterday. He is a wealth of knowledge. Don't think I could go that long without cleaning but would be nice to cut down on the brushing. A factory tour would be ideal!
I don't go on the roof anymore. Have you looked at the sooteater product for bottom up cleaning? You just shove the flexible rods in through the firebox door or the flue cleanout. Unless you have a silly filter on the chimney cap you can stay on the ground!
Well I placed an order for the Kuuma Vapor Fire 100. Should have it installed for the upcoming heating season!
My supply is looking pretty good. Should have right around a two year supply and still hoarding anytime I can.
Shouldn't matter much, the kuuma manual still wants wood from 18-28% MC according to their manual. Oh hot damm! The Kuuma company now posts grams per hour emissions ratings so I can logically install one in WA with our specific GPH rules. Matthewchopswood , what did that puppy cost you? My shop is begging for a furnace or some other wood product burner with some automation.
It was salty. They were actually running a $300 off discount through today https://www.lamppakuuma.com/kuuma-vapor-fire-100-high-efficiency-wood-gasification-furnace.html
It's been on their site for a while now...maybe since early spring? I bet it will take $6k or a lil better to get one shipped out to you...
We've had our VF100 for 4 years now. The first 2-3 years, I cleaned the chimney out. I used one of those flexible-rods-on-a-hand-drill things, that you feed in from the bottom. Works well. However, I don't think I ever got more than 2 cups of gray powder out of our 30'+ stack. As such, I've taken to cleaning it every 2 years...and I may decide to go longer than that in the future. I fired it up this year without cleaning at all.
