How much do you value your furnace?

[lampmfg]

Let's talk values. Here's a good story for you. There was a customer in Minnesota who ordered and received a VaporFire 100. He called after he received it to tell me how impressed he was with the construction and workmanship of the furnace. He called his big, strong brother to help him move it into the basement after it was uncrated. Once it was in place in the basement his brother commented about how well built and heavy the VaporFire was. He then asked how much the furnace cost. His brother told him it was $4,350 + shipping and crating. The big brother blurted out, " Are you crazy for spending over $4,000 for a wood furnace, I don't care how good it is!" The owner then promptly asked his big, strong brother how much he had paid for his snow machine. He said, "About $10,000."

The owner said, "I spent over $4500 because it burns smokeless, prevents creosote chimney fires, gets the most out of my wood, and doesn't pollute the air. Besides, my kids, my wife, and I sleep on top of this furnace that is heating our house, with all our treasured possessions 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, all winter long. I wanted the best and safest woodburning furnace I could get." Then he in turn, told the big strong brother, "You spent $10,000 for that snow machine that you probably use less than 4 hours/week and mostly for entertainment. Who's really the crazy one here?" The light bulb suddenly went on in his brother's head.

FOLKS, IT'S ALL ABOUT WHERE YOU PLACE YOUR VALUES IN LIFE!

 

[jonyyuma]

Yes, That is still a lot of money for a wood stove/furnace.... he will still be shoving wood into it, so now maybe it will be less cutting and toating of firewood?

 

[lampmfg]

Yes, That is still a lot of money for a wood stove/furnace.... he will still be shoving wood into it, so now maybe it will be less cutting and toating of firewood?

I agree but our furnaces are built like tanks (to last for the long haul, 25+ year firebox warranty) weighing around 700#'s. We have not seen any other indoor wood furnace that matches our efficiency (proven test results) so indeed there will be less cutting and toating of Firewood.

 

[General Lee]

I'd be willing to consider one of these vaporfire furnaces, but I need a reputable installer which I don't have in my area.

 

[jonyyuma]

Lampmfg. Does your product heat water too? I might convert a portion of my ductwork to hold a hot water coil? Then I could fireup outside, We are allergic to wood smoke and ashes? Plus the advantge of dom hot water heater? I looked at your website for a bit..

 

[brokenknee]

Let's talk values. Here's a good story for you. There was a customer in Minnesota who ordered and received a . He called after he received it to tell me how impressed he was with the construction and workmanship of the furnace. He called his big, strong brother to help him move it into the basement after it was uncrated. Once it was in place in the basement his brother commented about how well built and heavy the VaporFire was. He then asked how much the furnace cost. His brother told him it was $4,350 + shipping and crating. The big brother blurted out, " Are you crazy for spending over $4,000 for a wood furnace, I don't care how good it is!" The owner then promptly asked his big, strong brother how much he had paid for his snow machine. He said, "About $10,000."

The owner said, "I spent over $4500 because it burns smokeless, prevents creosote chimney fires, gets the most out of my wood, and doesn't pollute the air. Besides, my kids, my wife, and I sleep on top of this furnace that is heating our house, with all our treasured possessions 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, all winter long. I wanted the best and safest woodburning furnace I could get." Then he in turn, told the big strong brother, "You spent $10,000 for that snow machine that you probably use less than 4 hours/week and mostly for entertainment. Who's really the crazy one here?" The light bulb suddenly went on in his brother's head.

FOLKS, IT'S ALL ABOUT WHERE YOU PLACE YOUR VALUES IN LIFE!

Welcome to the site. Glad to see you here. I have been to your website, watched your videos on U tube. The IVaporFire 100 is one I am considering when I upgrade my current wood furnace. I am also considering an outdoor boiler.

I have some questions,

1. how long of burn time can one expect with seasoned hard wood? Now I know this varies but what I am asking for is a reasonable burn time in MN cold weather.

2. how does a gasification furnace compare to a catalytic type furnace? I know there must be pluses and minuses for both so be honest.

3. I see you use a computer control, how reliable is this? if it were to fail what is the cost for the replacement part and is it user replaceable?

4. I know one "should" always burn well seasoned wood. With that said, I have also heard the newer stoves will not burn green or unseasoned wood. Is this the case? if so what maximum moisture content it will burn. I know about the loss of efficiency with green wood. I would hate to have the lack of planning on my part have a expensive piece of equipment sit idle for a year or two.

5. Do you have a show room? If so what are your hours?

6. What type of maintenance is required on your stove?

7. Other than the computer controller, what other componets may wear out or go bad?

 

[MadJack]

Another question...

Do you make a 12 volt model for us "Off-Gridders"

 

[20 20]

I love a good sales pitch, doesn't matter what the raw material cost is, sell it on fear or need. Okay the brother had a $10,000.00 snow machine but how much was the raw cost to build that compared to the heater?????????? Lets not forget without the snow machine no emergency vehicles etc... could get to the home if needed. Plus probably need the snow machine to make a path to get to the wood shed to keep the heater going?

Not knocking your heater infact I've been checking it out, I just find sales gimics amusing

 

[lampmfg]

Welcome to the site. Glad to see you here. I have been to your website, watched your videos on U tube. The IVaporFire 100 is one I am considering when I upgrade my current wood furnace. I am also considering an outdoor boiler.

I have some questions,

1. how long of burn time can one expect with seasoned hard wood? Now I know this varies but what I am asking for is a reasonable burn time in MN cold weather.

2. how does a gasification furnace compare to a catalytic type furnace? I know there must be pluses and minuses for both so be honest.

3. I see you use a computer control, how reliable is this? if it were to fail what is the cost for the replacement part and is it user replaceable?

4. I know one "should" always burn well seasoned wood. With that said, I have also heard the newer stoves will not burn green or unseasoned wood. Is this the case? if so what maximum moisture content it will burn. I know about the loss of efficiency with green wood. I would hate to have the lack of planning on my part have a expensive piece of equipment sit idle for a year or two.

5. Do you have a show room? If so what are your hours?

6. What type of maintenance is required on your stove?

7. Other than the computer controller, what other componets may wear out or go bad?

1. The burn time would be anywhere from 6-12 hrs. of useful heat depending on the type of wood and the severity of the weather. Soft wood 6 hrs. and hard wood, 8-12 hrs., followed by many hours of coals for both wood types. I've gone many times up to 15 hrs. without lighting a match to continue burning.
2. It's better if you don't need a catalytic converter because they plug up and burn out. If you can burn wood smokeless like ours does and get less than 1 gr. of emissions, there's no need for one.
3. The cost of computer replacement is about $300 and anyone can replace it. It's a solid state 24 volt circuit board. We only get a couple per year and they normally can just be repaired for under $100.
4. I suppose you could go up to 40% moisture content rather than the 18-30%. If you have wetter wood, you just mix it with dry wood because our insulated fire box drives the moisture off.
5. Yes, we have a showroom/manufacturing plant in Tower and we're open M-F from 8:30-6 p.m. and Sat. a.m. by appt. We LOVE to show people our furnace and once they see they believe...
6. Once a year you clean the heat exchanger. Take you pipes off and blow them out. Just check your chimney, you shouldn't have to brush it, because I haven't cleaned my chimney in 28 years and don't even own a brush.
7. The things that could possibly need to be replaced would be the blower and thermostats. They're made by Dayton and Honeywell.

We have a few VF 200's on hand but the VF 100 requires a $500 deposit and a couple of weeks lead time because we are currently a little behind on our most popular unit. Please feel free to call us directly 1-800-358-2049...

Thanks,

 

[lampmfg]

I'd be willing to consider one of these vaporfire furnaces, but I need a reputable installer which I don't have in my area.

Not sure where you are located but a lot of owners are able to install themselves just depending on your set-up. Otherwise we have had very few problems with any qualified HVAC professional on any installations.

Feel free to shoot me an e-mail with the location and I can look how many we have in the area and see if I can find out who installed them. lampmfg@gmail.com

Thanks,

 

[lampmfg]

Lampmfg. Does your product heat water too? I might convert a portion of my ductwork to hold a hot water coil? Then I could fireup outside, We are allergic to wood smoke and ashes? Plus the advantge of dom hot water heater? I looked at your website for a bit..

We offer an optional H2O coil $200 that works great for heating DHW. In fact my dad's electric bill actually goes down in the winter because of it even though it's also our backup heat source.

Thanks,

 

[lampmfg]

Another question...

Do you make a 12 volt model for us "Off-Gridders"

I'm sorry but we don't have a 12 volt model. We sure get that question a lot and it actually surprises me because I had no idea how many people where off the grind.

Will the furnace heat during power outages?
Yes, when the power stops the blower and computer both shut down. The computer closes to its pilot air opening, causing the fire to slowly die down. You should open all heat ducts, remove the air filters, and rely on gravity air flow then. The front lift off hood can also be removed easily to allow additional heat to escape from the air jacket during power outages. A back-up generator or a 24 volt ac source would be handy.

Thanks,

 

[lampmfg]

I love a good sales pitch, doesn't matter what the raw material cost is, sell it on fear or need. Okay the brother had a $10,000.00 snow machine but how much was the raw cost to build that compared to the heater?????????? Lets not forget without the snow machine no emergency vehicles etc... could get to the home if needed. Plus probably need the snow machine to make a path to get to the wood shed to keep the heater going?

Not knocking your heater infact I've been checking it out, I just find sales gimics amusing

I have seen my dad SLOWLY perfecting the Kuuma for the past 30 years and when we finally had it tested in 2010 the results were and are the best on the market that we are aware of.

Our biggest problem (besides my dad not ever turning on a computer) is to get the word out there so I'll try anything as you can see. We have always been known for our sauna stoves on the "Iron Range" but needed to have the furnace nearly perfect before making the big marketing push unlike a lot of our competitors.

 

[MtHam]

Are there any TBN members who have installed this stove? What has been your experience? I am considering one, but need to know how it has worked for others.

 

[lampmfg]

Search Kuuma and read some threads on arboristsite.com and hearth.com for others who have installed our Kuuma Vapor-Fire furnaces. http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/205551.htm Checkout our Facebook page and see comments from other owners. Lamppa Manufacturing Incorporated (Kuuma Furnaces & Sauna Stoves) - Tower, MN - Manufacturing | Facebook If you have any questions please contact us directly.