Draft on a Brunco Furnace
I'd like your thoughts on some changes I'd like to make to my furnace. I have a Brunco furnace in my basement I installed last year, It's a wood/coal burning unit. On this model the draft blower is located above the ash door and blows into the fire box from the front sides not underneath. I was thinking of moving the blower and mounting it to the ash pan door to get air under the fire. My thoughts are to get a more complete burn and not waste coal. I was finding coal that wasn't burnt all the way through in my ash pan when I shook down. I also will find coal that isn't burnt at all at the front of the fire box where the air blows in. Allot of times I have to crack open the door to get things burning good to keep the temperature up in the house. I want it better, it seem some days the thing isn't putting out the heat like it should. I got a good draft and it is set per the manufacturers specs pulling .05 on my meter. If you have any ideas short of buying a different furnace let me know. Thanks
Yes, my first furnace that I purchased for my house was a Brunco 190. I see that you are experiencing the same issues that I had with burning coal. I would probably still have that big heavy beast, if I found this Anthracite and Bituminous Coal Forum, because the help I would have received would have given me the knowledge to modify that furnace to perform very well.
First off, you must have a barometric draft regulator installed into your stovepipe to the chimney connector and the draft set anywhere between .05 to .08 inches of water. You'll have to experiment as to which setting is best for your fuel and chimney.
Second, leave the draft blower where it is above the ash door, under that shelf below the feed door. I found that this draft blower in this location, with the thermostat perform well together when burning wood. But, I would definitely modify the ash door with a draft spinner, just like the one that is on the feed door. This will allow you to provide the needed amount of under fire combustion air to your coal fire. Also, when burning anthracite coal, I would keep the draft spinner on the feed door closed. I only used this combustion air intake when either burning wood, to fine tune what the forced draft combustion blower would normally do, or when I would burn bituminous coal, to provide a little extra over the fire combustion air to make it a cleaner burn until the volatile gases have gone. I normally ran the draft spinner closed on the feed door during regular operation, while adjusting the forced draft combustion blower flap to the needed heat demand, when burning wood. When the ash door is modified with the new draft spinner, you then can control the fire temperature for the needed heat demand, using this new air intake. I would count the number of spins out needed for the heat demand, then you will always be able to repeat its performance. I didn't have the opportunity to try the draft spinner with the new ash door spinner, so you'll have to experiment to see how that works. All I can tell you is, from the experience that I've had with the similar set up from my U.S.Stove Clayton, which repaced my Brunco 190, with the draft air intakes in the same locations your Brunco will have after the modification, is that I don't use the forced draft combustion blower anymore when I burn coal. I just use the ash door spinner. I do use the draft fan flap adjustment to regulate the needed over fire air though. I found when using the blower, the coal would burn very fast in some locations and not at all in others. It is great for burning wood, but with anthracite coal, I had some problems.
Third, I would buy some foil backed fiberglass insulation and tack it to the inside of the red jacket. I notice that a lot of heat was radiated into the furnace room. By insulating the jacket, the jacket will stay cooler to the touch and the heat will be directed more into the duct work.
After all of that, you should have a pretty good set up. The only other issue that I had with my Brunco 190, was the fact that fly ash would collect into the V shaped secondary heat exchange baffle plate. So, regular cleaning in the location was needed. Other than that, you should be pleased with its performance.
I hope this helps you. DOUG
First off, you must have a barometric draft regulator installed into your stovepipe to the chimney connector and the draft set anywhere between .05 to .08 inches of water. You'll have to experiment as to which setting is best for your fuel and chimney.
Second, leave the draft blower where it is above the ash door, under that shelf below the feed door. I found that this draft blower in this location, with the thermostat perform well together when burning wood. But, I would definitely modify the ash door with a draft spinner, just like the one that is on the feed door. This will allow you to provide the needed amount of under fire combustion air to your coal fire. Also, when burning anthracite coal, I would keep the draft spinner on the feed door closed. I only used this combustion air intake when either burning wood, to fine tune what the forced draft combustion blower would normally do, or when I would burn bituminous coal, to provide a little extra over the fire combustion air to make it a cleaner burn until the volatile gases have gone. I normally ran the draft spinner closed on the feed door during regular operation, while adjusting the forced draft combustion blower flap to the needed heat demand, when burning wood. When the ash door is modified with the new draft spinner, you then can control the fire temperature for the needed heat demand, using this new air intake. I would count the number of spins out needed for the heat demand, then you will always be able to repeat its performance. I didn't have the opportunity to try the draft spinner with the new ash door spinner, so you'll have to experiment to see how that works. All I can tell you is, from the experience that I've had with the similar set up from my U.S.Stove Clayton, which repaced my Brunco 190, with the draft air intakes in the same locations your Brunco will have after the modification, is that I don't use the forced draft combustion blower anymore when I burn coal. I just use the ash door spinner. I do use the draft fan flap adjustment to regulate the needed over fire air though. I found when using the blower, the coal would burn very fast in some locations and not at all in others. It is great for burning wood, but with anthracite coal, I had some problems.
Third, I would buy some foil backed fiberglass insulation and tack it to the inside of the red jacket. I notice that a lot of heat was radiated into the furnace room. By insulating the jacket, the jacket will stay cooler to the touch and the heat will be directed more into the duct work.
After all of that, you should have a pretty good set up. The only other issue that I had with my Brunco 190, was the fact that fly ash would collect into the V shaped secondary heat exchange baffle plate. So, regular cleaning in the location was needed. Other than that, you should be pleased with its performance.
I hope this helps you. DOUG