In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Fehrenheit endurance

Discussion in 'Pellet Stoves, Pellet Fireplaces, Pellet Furnaces' started by Ward8512, Feb 22, 2014.

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  1. Ward8512

    Ward8512

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    Oh... Outside air kit...

    I just looked in the manual and I see that. It says in the manual outside air is required. I am going to ask about that as well! I get the feeling I could have done a better job installing this thing than they have...
     
    Ward8512, Feb 23, 2014
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  2. 343amc

    343amc

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    OAK stands for outside air kit. Just below the exhaust air outlet is the combustion air inlet. It's a smaller opening, maybe 2.5 inches or so. The recommendation is to hook that up so the combustion air is pulled from outside, otherwise you're using heated room air for combustion and sending it outside.

    That is all secondary to your main issue of not getting enough hot air through the ductwork.

    Edit - glad you found it in the manual. I started typing then made a pot of coffee. :)
     
    343amc, Feb 23, 2014
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  3. Ward8512

    Ward8512

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    So when they come back tomorrow I need to find out about

    Dampers on the furnace
    OAK
    Clean out T (I am assuming this is for the vent pipe that goes outside)
    Surge protection

    Does this pretty much cover it or is there more that should be done? I just hope they don't charge us more for all this...
     
    Ward8512, Feb 23, 2014
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  4. slvrblkk

    slvrblkk

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    slvrblkk, Feb 23, 2014
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  5. Ward8512

    Ward8512

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    Thank you! I will be ordering that today
     
    Ward8512, Feb 23, 2014
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  6. slvrblkk

    slvrblkk

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    Amazon has them for $24 shipped if you have Prime......
     
    slvrblkk, Feb 23, 2014
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  7. will711

    will711

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    Welcome to the forum, your in good hands here, these guys know what they're talking about:)
     
    will711, Feb 23, 2014
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  8. Ward8512

    Ward8512

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    Thanks! My Husband and I were not doing to well until I found this forum. Without it I am pretty sure we would have wasted our money with a furnace that doesn't work.
     
    Ward8512, Feb 23, 2014
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  9. will711

    will711

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    Now you are more educated so when they come back tomorrow you know what to ask :)
     
    will711, Feb 23, 2014
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  10. DexterDay

    DexterDay Administrator

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    OAK stands for outside air kit. The furnace doesn't need one, but it will help with overall efficiency.

    And yes, I have a surge protector on mine as well. I suggest the OP gets one. If you have a brown out or the power blips a few times, you can fry the control board quite easily..

    There may be an easy way to try amd get your furnace to work right now. Can you get a piece of ply wood? Or sheet steel? Take the steel.or ply wood and cut it to the size of the furnace filter. If you can plug that hole (thats where you are losing g all your air)? Then the furnace will have a "plug" in it and will be able to force air throughout the duct work.

    And as for what 343amc said above, some older boards had a setting to switch from 600 CFM (use as a freestanding stove) or 800 CFM (use as furnace). My original board had that option, but my dealer notified me of an update and got me a new one, free of charge. The new board does not have the 600 and 800 option. In my opinion, it wasn't needed in the 1st place.

    So if you have some spare time and a piece of ply wood? Remove the furnace filter and cut a piece of plywood to fit in the filter channel. Thnn try and wedge it in there nice and tight (use shims if possible or blocking).
     
    DexterDay, Feb 23, 2014
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  11. DexterDay

    DexterDay Administrator

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    Of course I had to type an entire Encyclopedia, so you knew what OAK stood for 15 minutes ago ;)


    Surge protection is the cheapest and easiest of those problems. The link provided above is a good one. Tripp - Lite makes a good product.

    The clean out T is needed because of the numerous bends in the vent. The horizontal section inside your basement is gonna build up with ash and you will need a way inside of there.

    Most installers don't have a clue. I would venture to say over half don't run a stove themselves and could benefit from a lesson or two from people on our forum here. They just know it has to be installed and make sure they follow a couple rules in the manual.

    I prob would have installed the furnace with the door facing out as 343amc asked earlier. Side cleave is only 24" for maintenance and I t would have reduced the extra 90° and the extra horizontal section that now needs a clean out T. It will likely run without issues, but every section of vent, adds more restrictions to the stoves exhaust blower. Every 90° angle is equal to 5' of regular vent. The stove exhaust is calculated in EVL.

    A 90° or Clean out T = 5'
    45° = 2 5'
    Every ft of Horizontal = 1'
    Every ft of Vertical = 1/2'

    So based on your system, it looks like you have An EVL of 24' but that's guessing the vent length sections? If you eliminated the 90° and extra horizontal, you drop about 9 feet off that 24'.

    Also, last thing I noticed is the exhaust end cap. Is that just a 45° piece of pipe? Should have a Termination cap with proper rodent screen? If they charged you for a termination cap or whatever they would call it on your receipt, then they took more of your money. A cap is more expensive than a 45° turn and that will allows little pesky animals to come down that vent if they get curious enough :)

    Welcome to FHC! We will do our best to make sure you burn pellets instead of burning time trying to heat your house.

    Glad you found us :)

    Dex

    1390444688981.jpg
     
    DexterDay, Feb 23, 2014
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  12. 343amc

    343amc

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    Here's another damper idea. I'll try to describe it as best I can as I can't take a pic of what I did without tearing the cold air return off my oil furnace.

    I have central air. The way the plenum is on the oil furnace, and the way the A coil sits in that plenum ruled out a 'normal' backdraft damper. I took off the access cover where you'd gain access the A coil and installed some sheet metal that I bent in an L shape on three side of the plenum. On one end I cut a slit in the plenum where I slide a sheet metal plate which sits on top of the L shaped 'shelves'. This acts as my backdraft damper. When heating season is done, I pull the plate out and put some foil tape over the opening. If the pellet furnace goes out and the oil furnace comes on, my damper plate lifts upward allowing air from the oil furnace to go through the ducts. I've never had that happen yet, but I wanted to make sure that the oil furnace would work in an emergency.

    My other option would have been to get a HVAC company to fab up a custom damper, and I'm not sure that would have worked out without redoing the plenum on top of the oil furnace. What I have now works well for me, butdoes require that I install and remove that plate at beginning and end of the heating seasons.

    On top of my Fahrenheit is a 10" round butterfly damper that keeps the oil furnace from blowing through the Fahrenheit when the AC is going or if I am (heaven forbid) burning oil to heat the house. Those are very easy to find.
     
    343amc, Feb 23, 2014
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  13. brokenwing

    brokenwing

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    Dex the only other thing I was looking at with the install, is the termination of the pipe. What is the minimum height on the Fahrenheit furnace. I would worry about any significant snow load covering the exhaust?

    Never mind I looked at the manual, minimum of 1foot!
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2014
    brokenwing, Feb 23, 2014
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  14. Ward8512

    Ward8512

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    You guys are so helpful, that damper with the A/C is exactly what my Hubby and I were looking at. We aren't sure how they are going to do it. They didn't include that in the estimate but this isn't working without it so they are going to have to figure something out.
     
    Ward8512, Feb 23, 2014
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  15. DexterDay

    DexterDay Administrator

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    For $6k. I would hope that they just forgot it . Because any add on furnace needs one. Either they forgot it, or they never installed one and didn't RTFM (Read The Fu$#!&@ Manual).

    You could try to block it yourself in the short term. Otherwise, I hope you get it straightened out and stick around here. Once you get it running, we will still assist you with any questions and concerns.
     
    DexterDay, Feb 23, 2014
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  16. Ward8512

    Ward8512

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    I will certainly be sticking around! I cannot believe the help and time you guys gave us! I'm sure we will have a lot more questions about cleaning it etc. thanks again everyone and I will let you know how it goes tomorrow. :)
     
    Ward8512, Feb 23, 2014
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  17. Ward8512

    Ward8512

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    If they tick me off tomorrow that might be my response "RTFM!" ;)
     
    Ward8512, Feb 23, 2014
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  18. will711

    will711

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    Ward I told you were in good hands between Dex &343amc they got your back :) and that's what this place is about good folks helping other good folks and having a lot of fun doing it :thumbs:
     
    will711, Feb 23, 2014
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  19. Ward8512

    Ward8512

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    Well it certainly made me laugh when I read that! Exactly what I needed after this stress! Now I need a strong drink and I will be all set :)
     
    Ward8512, Feb 23, 2014
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  20. will711

    will711

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    What is your drink of choice ? Mine is obvious :D see avatar:drunk:
     
    will711, Feb 23, 2014
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