Riteway 37 and the Rite Heat Regulator

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ramagazzu
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Post by ramagazzu » Tue. Jul. 05, 2011 4:11 pm

Well after 20 years, I'm going to get brave (thanks to the high cost of oil and impossibility of being retired) and try the Riteway 37 wood burning furnace that came with the house I bought in 1990. It was installed to utilize the hot air system of my oil furnace. A sheet metal casing was built around the wood furnace which houses a blower; the blower sucks in the old air from the RETURNS in the house and then it passes back out through the vent pipe in the roof of the sheet metal encasing to the ductwork of the house.

I'm not sure if I will be using both blowers; that is, the much smaller blower in the wood furnace and the blower in the oil-fired unit. Note that the wood furnace has it's two ducts coming from and going to the encasement of the oil-fired furnace.

Attached to the side of the Riteway 37 is a RITE HEAT REGULATOR. Its purpose is to open and close a little trap door which leads to the ashpit of the furnace. I can reach in there with my hand and lift and lower a chain that opens and closes the trap door. There is a knob on the outside of this REGULATOR where you can set this dial to a warmer or cooler number. The knob does nothing when I turn it; it just goes around in a complete circle. I see two screws in the area of this knob and I'm thinking that those screews provided some form of power. Before I try this furnace out and smoke out my family, I'd like to get this part of the furnace figured out. If I can't get the knob to control the door, I can probably rig it so I can adjust it manually, eh? Would closed be cool and open be hot?

One other question. The damper on the side of the fire pit leading to the flu pipe and chimney, I would think open it to start the fire, but how else should I use it?

Any help would be greatfully appreciated.

Thanks,
Ron

 
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VigIIPeaBurner
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Location: Pequest River Valley, Warren Co NJ
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Other Heating: #2 Oil Furnace

Post by VigIIPeaBurner » Tue. Jul. 05, 2011 10:05 pm

Welcome to the forum ramagazzu. Where are you located in NJ?

I've known two people who have run this unit and I have seen them in action. It's been a long time so I'll have to ask around to see if I can get an answer for you. Have you considered coal as a fuel source? My neighbor used coal in his but I'm not sure if it was a model 37. Does yours have shaker grates?

It's a quite time of year around here so it might be a while until other Riteway owners see you post. If no one else answers in a reasonable amount of time, I'll move this to the Hand fed forum where it might draw more attention.


 
bja105
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Location: New Kensington, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: Bit

Post by bja105 » Tue. Jul. 05, 2011 10:15 pm

I just bought a Riteway 37 this spring. I have not installed it yet, and have hardly played with it, so I'm not much help. I'll PM you a link to some helpful information on your stove.
What kind of blower on the stove?
If the stove has a return (unconditioned air) connected to the oil furnace return, and the stove supply (conditioned air) connected to the furnace supply, I would run only the stove's blower. The furnace blower most likely produces much more static pressure than the stove's blower, and might end up pushing air backward against the stove fan, and back into the furnace return. Is there any interlocking wiring existing?

 
ramagazzu
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Post by ramagazzu » Wed. Jul. 06, 2011 10:52 am

Good point to not run the blower of the oil burner. I put a tissue on a vent in the parlor and the oil blower pushes the tissue out 3/4 of horizontal whereas the blower of the wood furnace pushes the tissue out only 1/4. Perhaps before I try to use the Riteway I should try only the oil blower and see if it is pushing air into the Riteway's conditioned air duct.

If I have to keep the damper of the ashpit open all the time (the motor to lift or lower the gate doesn't work), should I just keep it open all the way? My guess is that this is where oxygen is supplied for the fire. There are two screews on the side of this RITE HEAT REGULATOR that are probably for a power source to run this damper. Would anyone know if I can attach a battery to these terminals to make it work? The knob on this part of the unit has labeling of WARMER -- COOLER with numbers around the circle. The selection by a user probably will lift or lower the damper to the ashpit when it is working.

There is nothing I could see that would shake the grates. I know the previous owner of the house used coal and wood. If I were to use both (I have a huge supply of wood on my property and no coal), how would you suggest I use coal, or should I not bother?

Thanks,
Ron

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