Fire Chief FC1000E Wood Burning Furnace: An Honest Review

A wood burning furnace is not a small purchase. They’re large, heavy machines that are tough to install and cost thousands of dollars. Like any other big purchase, it’s imperative to study up, understand your options, and buy the model that makes the most sense for you.

At HY-C, we manufacture a couple of EPA-certified forced-air wood burning furnaces. And in this guide, we’re going to take a close look at our Fire Chief FC1000E model.

We’ll cover several specifications of the furnace, a general overview of the installation process, the manufacturer warranties that we offer for it, and even some accessories that can enhance the experience of owning a Fire Chief furnace.

By the time you’re finished here, you’ll have all the information you need to determine whether or not a Fire Chief FC1000E wood burning furnace is the right choice for you.

Table of contents (click to jump to a section):

• Specifications
• Installation
• Warranties
• Accessories

Discover the Fire Chief FC1000E

Fire Chief FC1000E Wood Burning Furnace Specifications

Some of the driving factors that inform and affect the purchase of a wood furnace are its specifications. Homeowners want to know how many square feet the furnace can heat, how much heat it puts out, its emissions, its efficiency level, and much more.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the FC1000E’s core specifications:

Let’s take a closer look at some of these numbers and what they mean.

Firebox Capacity

The capacity of a wood burning furnace’s firebox is an important metric. It determines how much wood the furnace can hold, which can have an effect on the speed at which the wood burns (i.e., how often you’ll need to add more).

The FC1000E’s firebox capacity is 3.4 cubic feet. On average, you can expect about 9 hours of burn time before you have to add more firewood to the firebox. The furnace is also lined with firebrick that helps to protect the firebox and transfer heat more efficiently.

Heating Area

Part of finding the right wood burning furnace is knowing the size of the area it’s able to heat. The last thing you want to do is purchase and install a furnace in your 4,000-square-foot home and find out that it can only effectively heat 3,000 square feet.

The Fire Chief FC1000E can comfortably heat 2,500 square feet of space.

Peak Output

If it’s 20 degrees outside and your furnace’s thermostat is set to 72 F, the furnace will have to work harder than if it were 45 degrees outside. Temperature fluctuations like this determine the furnace’s output; the lower the outside temperatures, the greater peak output you’ll need.

The Fire Chief FC1000E has a peak output of 143,500 BTUs (British thermal units). This output can provide plenty of heat to keep your home warm during even the coldest winter months.

Efficiency

Just like a gas furnace, not all of the heat from a wood burning furnace actually makes it into the home. Some of it is lost up the chimney pipe. Some of it is lost in the plenum of the furnace. No matter how well-designed the furnace, heat loss is inevitable.

The Fire Chief FC1000E has an efficiency rating of 79%. This means that 79% of the heat energy produced by the furnace actually ends up warming the home — a figure on par with other leading wood burning furnace models on the market today.

Clearances to Combustibles

Clearance to combustibles is a safety measurement. It determines how far away to keep flammable materials from the furnace to ensure they don’t accidentally combust.

The FC1000E requires 12 inches of space behind the unit and 6 inches of space on the sides to avoid accidental fires. These figures are fairly low compared to other models, allowing for installation in more confined spaces, providing homeowners with plenty of flexibility.

Fire Chief FC1000E Wood Burning Furnace Installation

Installing a wood furnace is perhaps the most difficult part of buying and owning one. We’ve covered how to install a Fire Chief FC1000E before, but we’ll offer a recap here.

It’s helpful to break the installation process down into three sections:

1. Connecting the furnace to ductwork
2. Connecting the furnace to a chimney
3. Installing the furnace’s electrical components

Connecting the Furnace to Ductwork

A wood burning furnace heats a home just like a gas furnace. The firebox warms the heat exchanger, and the hot air around the heat exchanger is blown through the ductwork, out of the vent registers, and into the rest of the home. As such, you’ll need to connect the furnace to your HVAC ducts.

The FC1000E has a built-in plenum at the top to make this process much easier. All you’ll have to do is run 8-inch-diameter duct pipes from the two connection points on top of the furnace into the HVAC trunk line.

Connecting the Furnace to a Chimney

Many gas furnaces can simply vent out of the side of a home. A wood burning furnace, on the other hand, needs to be connected to a properly functioning chimney. The FC1000E comes with a 6-inch opening on the back to accommodate chimney pipe.

Be sure that you use at least 24-gauge black chimney pipe (or thicker) when connecting the furnace to the chimney. Also, never use galvanized pipe to connect to the chimney. This can result in the formation of toxic gases that can be harmful or even fatal.

Installing the Furnace’s Electrical Components

Most wood burning furnace models require relatively complex electrical work which often needs to be done by a professional electrician. The Fire Chief FC1000E, on the other hand, comes with pre-wired electrical components that are easy to install. All you have to do is attach them to the unit, plug them into each other, and plug the system into a wall outlet.

There are four main components to the FC1000E’s electrical system:

1. The distribution blower
2. The draft blower
3. The thermostat
4. The electrical control center

The Distribution Blower

The distribution blower is the large fan on the back of the unit. It blows warm air created by the furnace into the HVAC ducts and out into the rest of the home. 

During the installation process, you’ll have to attach this fan to the furnace. You’ll also have to assemble and install the filter box that houses the distribution blower.

The Draft Blower

The draft blower is installed on the front of the unit. When you turn the thermostat up, the draft blower is what allows the furnace to deliver more heat to your home.

It does so by blowing air directly into the firebox. Adding air to a fire increases its intensity. As the fire grows, it burns hotter, and the distribution blower (aided by the draft blower) pushes this hotter air into the home.

The Thermostat

The thermostat is what controls the draft blower and distribution blower. It works just like the thermostat of a gas furnace. When you turn it up and call for more heat, the thermostat tells the draft blower to kick on, increasing the intensity of the fire.

The Electrical Control Center

The electrical control center acts as a “bridge” between the thermostat, the distribution blower, and the draft blower. All three components plug into the electrical control center, and the electrical control center plugs into a wall outlet, giving power to the other components.

Fire Chief FC1000E Wood Burning Furnace Warranties

All Fire Chief FC1000E furnaces are made right here in the USA. This means that craftsmanship and quality standards are high, resulting in a solid product that will last for years.

That said, we understand that manufacturing imperfections happen. As such, we provide warranties for different parts of the FC1000E. Here’s what’s covered:

• Firebox and grate: 5 years
• Distribution blower: 2 years
• Electrical components: 1 year

Be sure to note that the firebrick and the door gasket are excluded from the warranty. Note also that all warranty claims must include:

• The date of purchase
• Model and serial number
• Proof of purchase
• The name and address of the store from which you purchased the furnace

The following will disqualify any potential warranty claims:

• If the furnace is not installed, maintained, and operated in accordance with the owner’s manual and local codes
• If the furnace is used to burn non-EPA-certified materials
• Intentional misuse or abuse causing burn through of the cast iron components
• Over-firing the furnace causing the front face to crack

Finally, in order to exercise a warranty claim, a certified professional must determine the appliance or part to be defective.

Fire Chief FC1000E Wood Burning Furnace Accessories

While we manufacture the furnace itself, we also manufacture a few accessories that can help to enhance your ownership experience. These include the EmberGuard Steel Stove Board, the Wood Burning Furnace Stand, and the Wood Furnace Tool Set.

EmberGuard Steel Stove Board

A stove board is essential for owning a wood stove. Wood furnaces are no exception, though, as burning materials can certainly fall out of the furnace door while loading more wood.

The EmberGuard Steel Stove Board is designed to be placed right in front of a Fire Chief FC1000E unit. It shields combustible floors from any sparks or embers that may accidentally find their way outside the furnace’s firebox, ensuring your safety and the safety of your home.

Discover the EmberGuard Steel Stove Board

Wood Burning Furnace Stand

For some people, bending down to load a wood burning furnace with more wood can be a chore. The Wood Burning Furnace Stand is designed to elevate the furnace by 9-½”, allowing for easier access to the firebox and air filter.

Discover the Wood Burning Furnace Stand

Wood Burning Furnace Tool Set

Tools make tending to any fire much simpler. The Wood Burning Furnace Tool Set comes with a fire poker, a fire rake, and an ash pan holder to help keep flame going in the firebox. Each tool is forged from heavy-duty plate steel to help ensure longevity.

Discover the Wood Burning Tool Set

Should You Get a Fire Chief FC1000E?

This has been a deep, deep dive into the Fire Chief FC1000E Wood Burning Furnace. Wood furnaces run on a simple premise, but they’re complex machines that require some technical knowledge and plenty of care to operate.

So — should you get one?

Before even considering which model to buy, one of the fundamental questions is whether or not a wood burning furnace is right for you at all. These furnaces make sense if you have limited access to natural gas and easy access to wood. For others, though, natural gas is a better option.

If you’re committed to wood burning, the FC1000E is a great model to get. Its price point is one of the lowest available for an EPA-certified wood burning furnace, it’s relatively lightweight and easy to install, its clearances to combustibles are low, and it’s made right here in the USA.

If you’re still on the fence, be sure to read our piece on whether or not you should purchase a wood burning furnace. It will help you to determine the pros and the cons, easing you into the world of wood heating appliances.