Hotblast 1400

shivering · Post by **shivering** » Sat. Dec. 10, 2011 8:45 am

Can anyone advise me what I am doing wrong? Have the hotblast 1400 hooked up, but not getting much heat. We hooked both blowers into 8in duct and ran that to our furnace. Should we seperate blowers to different vents? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

WNY · Post by **WNY** » Sat. Dec. 10, 2011 9:15 am

First, give us details about your setup and burning procedure.

Are you burning wood or coal? If coal, how are you regulating the air? How far are you filling it? Is your draft set correctly? How tall is your chimney? Is your house insulated? etc....

Do some Searching & Reading on here in the HAND FIRED section on how to burn coal.

Maybe post a pic of your setup, then we can get a better idea if there is anything wrong with your setup. THere is some other threads on here on hooking it up into your ductwork and what you need.

Ductwork and Cold Air Return Questions

shivering · Post by **shivering** » Sat. Dec. 10, 2011 1:23 pm

We have a ranch style house. 2400 square ft. We are out in the middle of a field, no wind blocks. I have tried to upload some photo. Hope they work. Thanks

packard bill · Post by **packard bill** » Sun. Dec. 11, 2011 4:17 pm

Well, don't see a manual pipe damper if you're burning wood and I don't see a barometric damper if you're burning coal.
Are you leaving the basement door open so you can have air to convect through the "hotblast" since your primary furnace return isn't connected to the "hotblast".

The "hotblast" wants to heat the air in the plenum (which is basement air) so it can be moved through the 8" ducts to your primary ductwork then to your living area. However, if there isn't any way for the air upstairs to return to the basement , you won't get any air movement through the plenum of the "hotblast". So, either make sure you have the basement door open or you connect your primary furnace return to the "hotblast".

If you're burning coal, I would have went with a DS Machine (or another appliance designed to burn only coal) and not the "hotblast". Good luck to you.

Packard Bill

WNY · Post by **WNY** » Sun. Dec. 11, 2011 5:32 pm

Also, are you using your furnace blower at all? Do you have any backdraft dampers so the heat goes the correct direction in your plenum? it could be just flowing both ways in your furnace and not pushing it correctly into your vents.

echos67 · Post by **echos67** » Sun. Dec. 11, 2011 5:55 pm

A damper in the duct from the hot blast will keep your a/c from cooling the stove in the summer as well, unless you remove the duct and seal around the a-coil.

shivering · Post by **shivering** » Mon. Dec. 12, 2011 9:26 am

We moved duct work over and hooked in into the cold air return. We now have heat. Would I still need to install a damper?

jim d · Post by **jim d** » Mon. Dec. 12, 2011 9:36 am

shivering · Post by **shivering** » Mon. Dec. 12, 2011 10:35 am

We are leaving door open to basement. I think not having the damper was allowing the air into the furnace and not out the vents. Couldn't figure out where it was going. Friend told us to try cold air duct and then run the auto fan on furnace. Wasn't sure about that but gave it a try , we have heat still doesn't get as warm as I expected. I'm sure I have to learn to regulate the fire..........still trying. Thank you to everyone for your advice.. very much appreciate your time and experience.

coalkirk · Post by **coalkirk** » Mon. Dec. 12, 2011 10:43 am

The damper he is referring to is in the vent pipe to the chimney. Without a damper there you are losing too much heat out of the chimney. A damper whether it's a barometric damper or manual damper is a draft limiting device. Without it your draft is unregulated and likley much greater than wise for your hotblast. Installing a damper in the vent and using a manometer (draft gauge) to check and set it is a must. I know that may all sound complicated but it is really very simple and could make a huge difference in the amount of heat you get and the amount of coal you burn.

Hotblast 1400

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