Furnace has arrived!

My Kuuma Vapor Fire 100 arrived today. I am so excited to start working on the install. It’s going to be a beast just to get off the pallet. More pictures to come as the install progresses.

 

I just installed a used VF200...not sure if it is going to be big enough or not. But its not everyday a good deal on a used Kuuma pops up in your backyard, I had to try it.

 

Any pics of your install?

 

Didn't take any yet...and wife just told me the boy got his paws on the camera and dropped it today, so not sure how that's gonna work out

 

The 200 just uses one 8" supply duct so it is simpler to install...took me all of 6 hrs to pull the Tundra and install the 200. It is just tied into the main furnaces supply plenum...so far so good. I was shocked at the temps coming off this thing, I have always heard the 100's run 110-120* duct temps so I was expecting the same...uh, no. Try closer to 200*! I talked to Daryl, he said ahhyup, totally different animal from the 100 in that respect.

 

Maybe he actually fixed it...it already had occasional focusing issues due to a previous "incident"

 

Got the Kumma installed and all the duct work insulated yesterday. Currently 19 degrees outside with the wind blowing and the house is sitting at a comfortable and even 70 degrees. I think this furnace is going to be a great addition!

Checked out the chimney and had visible smoke when the stove was first lit. After a few minutes you could not even tell we were burning wood.

 

Nice! I think you are gonna love it.

I am still running my VF200...it is a lil too small for our place when it gets much below 15-20*...but then I just fire the insert stove in the LR FP...even during the really cold 2 weeks we just came through, I was only loading each one twice per day...I thought that was pretty good!
I have a few different places in the house that could be better insulated and air sealed for sure...I'm working on that now...thinking maybe after this "low hanging fruit" is picked the VF200 may actually be about the right size for us. But it sure does suck when you have 20+ cords CSS and you are burning in a firebox that takes 16"!

Its amazing how clean these things burn...I just had my heat exchanger cleanout cover off the other night...the whole inside of the furnace has nothing but white flyash...even out into the stove pipe is just a lil brown fluffy soot! I went up and checked the chimney from the top down too...nothing in there! I expected to see some sort of buildup due to how much cold air is sent up the chimney by the barometric damper that is often wide open trying to hold draft down to -0.04" WC!

 

When the temps are 15-20 where do you have the temperature dial set? I currently have it on medium but I do think I am having some hot air going down into the electric furnace housing. I have a HVAC guy coming out on Monday to take a look and check my flaps.

I also will be extending the return air duct and eliminating the return flex pipe. Just wanted to get the beast up and running.

Must be nice sitting on 20 cords of wood! Most of my wood is cut at 16 inches. Going forward everything will be cut at 20 inches.

 

I have just left it on low...the 200 has shorter burn times than the 100 does, so I have been trying to maximize that. Each install will be a little different as far as works the best for you.
Mine is a 9-10 YO unit, and it seems the Lamppa boys have done a few updates since then that has really perfected heat output and burn times...you have yourself a real Cadillac wood gobbler there Matt!
Glad to see you hooked up the return air...that really helps maximize the air temps you see at the registers.
Yeah, get those anti-backdraft dampers working, you'd be surprised how much heat can just seem to mysteriously disappear with little "leaks" like that...you'd think any warm air lost inside the envelope of the house would just help heat the house...but unless the basement is well insulated, it doesn't seem to work that way.

 

We have almost 70 feet of a main trunk line that is totally insulated. I did not insulate the individual lines running to rooms. The thought was I would insulate those when we finish the basement. I may also need to upgrade to a bigger blower motor. Lamppa said they have a 1/2 hp vs the 1/3 hp.

I have only been using small loads. Maybe I should load her up!

 

70' wow, hope the VF is in the middle-ish! You could put some of that foil bubble wrap insulation on the individual runs pretty easily/cheaply.
Is the blower running on low most of the time? Unless the Tstat is calling for heat and the blower is running on high I don't see the benefit of a larger blower motor. I wonder if the larger motor would have a larger wheel on it too...otherwise I would think the difference in max CFMs would be minimal. My experience has been that running on as low of speed as possible works the best on a solid fuel furnace.
As far as the load size...what have you been putting in 'er? That beast will hold 70#s of wood...I can only get 50 or so in my 200...but anyways, yeah throw some wood in it and let 'er walk n talk! It will take a bit of time to learn how to load for a given weather forecast, but that does come...from what I'm told by other VF100 owners, if you load it up clear full and put it on high, it simply won't burn a load of hardwood in less than 9 hours or so...but that is a ton of BTU output too, so I doubt you need to use that setting as far south as you are, and with what appears to be a newer home (assuming insulation is pretty good?)

 

We had the house built less than two years ago and the insulation is pretty decent. The electric furnance is exactly in the center of the basement and we had a short run around 10 feet to the electric furnace.

The blower has been running intermittently when calling for heat. The thermostat came with both of the cycle rate settings turned off. That didn't seem right so I switched it to high efficiency warm air. 1 off 2 on. Hopefully that is the correct setting.

I have only put a max of 6 regular 16 inch oak and walnut splits in so far. I have seen the temperature controller read 1 but haven't seen the small c yet.

 

I'm not too familiar with how the Tstat is supposed to be setup for the 100, (the 200 doesn't use a Tstat) but call Daryl about the it...he can tell you how to set the cycle rate...although I bet it is fine where you have it...as long as the house is staying warm the way you want it, then its probably good enough...for this particular application cycle rate isn't gonna be a deal breaker IMO.
So you have put in 6, or 12 splits per load? If only 6 then try a couple more...and try kinda criss-crossing them so to stack in loosely and make the stack as tall as possible in the firebox...that seems to help with the pilot burn...which is what it is on when the computer says C...not that running on 1 is bad...its just C is the most "efficient"...with a full firebox it will cycle between 1 and C for hours...then eventually start adding in 2 and 3 toward the end.
Any idea what your chimney draft is? How was the baro set up? Proper draft is critical to making things hum along smoothly...as I'm sure you already know they call for -0.04 to -0.06" WC draft...I run mine toward the bottom of that range, per Daryl, to maximize burn times and keep the supply duct temps under control...the 200 run much higher supply temps than the 100 does due to its smaller blower.

 

I had only been putting around 6 splits in. Mainly because I am enjoying messing with it. Last night I loaded up the firebox and set the temperature below medium. I woke up 6 hours later when the heat pump kicked on and the house was 64 degrees. Still plenty of coals but
not enough heat to keep up. Currently 11 degrees with a windchill of zero at 6:30.

Did not have the chimney tested but it drafts like a freight train. I can get the fire going with a few slips of paper and a handful of kindling. The barometer is currently set at .06. Maybe I should go to .04 to increase burn time.

 

Yeah, I get that!

I suspect the draft is actually higher than you think. Those marks on the adjustment are only a rough guess. On mine I have the weight adjusted clear out, which should be less than -0.02", but because I have a tall chimney that drafts strong, it is actually -0.04".
I have a Dwyer Mark II manometer permanently mounted just to keep track of things since it is such a critical detail...I have caught the baro stuck closed before because I checked the Dwyer and seen the draft was way high (part of my checks before I leave after loading) You can find these Dwyers on Ebay for $30-$40 just FYI.
Bottom line, yeah I'd lower that draft adjustment to the -0.04" mark, see what happens, then have it checked with a meter when the HVAC guy comes tomorrow.

 

I will have to check out the Dyer Mark II! I moved the weight to .04 mark on the reload this morning. That seems to be helping. I will fill her full the next go round and she how it does on a longer burn with the adjustment.

 

Hopefully when you say you loaded it up, you mean with the same 6 split load...because if it was fully loaded and down to coals in 6 hours, that would be unheard of.
One thing that somebody I know did to help get himself used to how to load for the weather conditions was to load the wood in a plastic tote and throw it on a scales before loading it in...40 # for a warmer day, 50, 60, 70 and so forth...70# is about all you'll get in 'er normally...that would be a pretty cold day...which it sounds like last night would have qualified maybe.
Anyways, he kept track of the indoor/outdoor temps, the load weight, computer setting, and the results...just until he got used to it.
Oh, and it is a "Dwyer Mark II model 25"...I forgot the model 25 part...although most of the Mark IIs I've seen for sale were model 25s...dunno what the difference is...

 

Last night I put around 12 splits in and it was down to coals six hours later. As you suggested I think the draft is really strong. I have a 90 then around 30 feet of class A straight up through the main floor and attic.

The tote/scale suggestion is great. It's going to take some time getting everything tweaked for the temperature swings we get here.