I have one of these beauties in my rental house basement. It's frigid here in Missouri with a North wind and I split some hackberry and locust yesterday with Dad. Fired it up and it actually got our house HOT-something the propane was struggling to do. The firewood is 'free' from our farm, so more power to wood burners!!! (Thanks for answering the question of what that rod was on the reclaimer...I thought it was some draft control.)
@nebraska8379 Just dropped a video for you. I've only got 4 wires - the power and the fan, I assume the extra two you have are the switch. Hope this helps: th-cam.com/users/shortsxWkMXeF4DvA?feature=share
I think you are asking where can one purchase new door gaskets. Longwood has been out of business for quite a while, so it's just not possible to get OEM gaskets as far as I know. Assuming your draw issue is too much, the first thing I recommend is you check the adjustment of your door gaskets. See page 22 of the manual (link in the description) for how to do that. Note that the adjustment procedure, if needed, is different for each door. Also, if you have the model with the automatic damper on the ash door, you'll need to check it's operation. If you have too little draw, clean the chimney and make sure your reclaimer is clean. Hope this helps!
Longwoods aren't known for their efficiency, but mine does heat plenty well. You could have a restricted flow in your chimney or your barometric damper isn't adjusted correctly (the metal round flap on the side near the bottom). Check the flow of your chimney. If you don't clean it regularly it will have creosote buildup and your fire just won't burn well. A good indicator of that is if the output has reduced over time. If it worked great a few years ago but doesn't now, you probably need a chimney cleaning. I clean mine every year. If it has never worked well, you need to insulate your building. I have 24" of fiberglass in the attic - that is the best and cheapest investment you can make. My walls are R38 (10" fiberglass) and my floor is R20 (4" sheet foam board). Those of course are hard to change after the building is up. Hope this helps you.
We have one of these in our house we just bought. Ours is hooked up to natural gas. I’m not sure how to tell if the reclaimer is getting too hot or not but the inside of it was glowing red today. Maybe that is normal? We are burning ash and it wasn’t overloaded.
I've only seen mine glowing once, and it was because I left the door open while lighting and got distracted - the reclaimer and the whole stack up to the ceiling was cherry red before I noticed it! So, that isn't normal. A few things to check - does the reclaimer fan run? If it doesn't run: 1) disconnect the fan leads, an connect them to an extension cord (twist the wires and you can fit them into the end of a cord, or sacrifice a cord and cut off the end). The fan motor is 110 v, so it should run. If it does not the fan motor is burned out or just needs lubricated, you'll have to take it apart to oil the bearings as it is a sealed motor. 2) if the motor runs it might be the switch (inside the junction box on top of the reclaimer). This is a thermal switch, test for continuity with a meter, it should be open when cold, and when the furnace is hot it should close. I don't know the temperature it should close at, but glowing is definitely enough. My reclaimer reads 400 degrees on the face when running, but I bet the switch is set for something like 250. 3) The wiring might not be right to the reclaimer & switch assembly. There should be power coming directly to them, and it shouldn't be switched. It could be someone connected it to the same place as the blower motor, which would mean the reclaimer would only run when it does. That is incorrect, it should operate independently. If the reclaimer fan does run - my guess is and air leak - maybe you have a bad or poorly adjusted gasket on one of the doors. See the manual for proper adjustment - it says something about using a strip of paper. The gaskets are made of asbestos (which is safe as long as you aren't shredding it) so you can't get replacements. If you need to replace it I think getting a stove door gasket (the round kind) would work. It glues on, I suspect one would need to take the door off and lie it face up, so the gasket could stay in place while the glue dries. There is also a possibility that your chimney has too much draw - basically pulling a vacuum all the time, which would pull fresh air into the furnace and fuel the fire even when not needed. You can test for that by propping open the damper control on the side rear of the unit. All of that being said - if the reclaimer is running properly and independently of the blower, the blower works, the burner only runs when the thermostat calls for heat, and the door gaskets are good, and a load of wood lasts 12 hours, I wouldn't worry about it. Hope this helps. Follow up questions are welcome!
@ it does run on and off. It doesn’t sound very good but it runs. I don’t feel like my load of wood is lasting 12 hours though. Is this the junction box? Trying to add a pic.. there are some frayed wires in there.
It won’t let me add pics. Sorry! I see that the side damper at the rear is kind of held slightly open with a piece of metal. Once I turned the thermostat off upstairs the red went away. So I think there is too much air getting into the box when it’s calling for heat. I would love to send you all these pics if you have a way!
@annapeterson3334 I really think your best bet at this point is to make a video. Upload it to youtube and post a link here. Then post the link to it here in a comment and I'll take a look. You can always delete the video later. If you want to only do pictures, you can post them on your own community page in youtube, or use imgur or flickr those are good too. The rear damper being propped open doesn't surprise me, that would reduce the draw on the firebox. I guess a basic question is - is it heating fine? I can't say for sure if it's bad or not that the tubes are red, just mine haven't done that. That being said - I don't have any gas set up on mine. I can imagine that with the gas blower and wood inside, the flue would get much hotter. I would like to inside with the door open when you have the thermostat calling for heat - seeing what kind of flame the burner is putting out might tell us something. You also said the reclaimer fan was not sounding good, that is where a video would be good so I can hear it.
Nice idea I may try it. Honestly it rakes stuff from the back very well (4 or 5 pulls is all it takes). Most of the raking you see in the video is just moving the ashes back and forth over the grate to get the fines to fall through. Thanks for the idea!
Any clue how much these sold for in 1978? . I'm using one this year and it's way better than what the EPA wants you to use . The new shelter stoves are terrible. Thanks EPA ..if you use it right it doesn't waste wood .
Going off nearly 50 year old memory here... We think my dad got his first Longwood in 1975. The dealer was from Waterloo and claimed to be the first dealer in Iowa to carry them. Dad doesn't think it cost much different than a regular furnace, which he thinks is around $1000.
Nice, I hope they were good to work for! Do you have any idea what these sold for back then (and what year(s) you were there)? One of the other viewers wanted to know what these cost when they were new - and I'd like to know too!
I have one of these beauties in my rental house basement. It's frigid here in Missouri with a North wind and I split some hackberry and locust yesterday with Dad. Fired it up and it actually got our house HOT-something the propane was struggling to do. The firewood is 'free' from our farm, so more power to wood burners!!! (Thanks for answering the question of what that rod was on the reclaimer...I thought it was some draft control.)
Glad this video helped you!
Neat old beast. Thanks for posting.
thanks for the manual.
Could u take a picture of how your heat reclaimer is wired. There are 4 wires plus the 2 that come from the fan. Thanks
@nebraska8379 Just dropped a video for you. I've only got 4 wires - the power and the fan, I assume the extra two you have are the switch. Hope this helps:
th-cam.com/users/shortsxWkMXeF4DvA?feature=share
Do you have an outlet for the door gaskets? My stove has started not to draw correctly. Im wondering if it could be the doors.
I think you are asking where can one purchase new door gaskets. Longwood has been out of business for quite a while, so it's just not possible to get OEM gaskets as far as I know.
Assuming your draw issue is too much, the first thing I recommend is you check the adjustment of your door gaskets. See page 22 of the manual (link in the description) for how to do that. Note that the adjustment procedure, if needed, is different for each door. Also, if you have the model with the automatic damper on the ash door, you'll need to check it's operation.
If you have too little draw, clean the chimney and make sure your reclaimer is clean. Hope this helps!
I have a longwood and I can get heat out of the reclaimed but it doesn't seem like a lot of heat out of the blower and we put a lot of wood in it
Longwoods aren't known for their efficiency, but mine does heat plenty well. You could have a restricted flow in your chimney or your barometric damper isn't adjusted correctly (the metal round flap on the side near the bottom). Check the flow of your chimney. If you don't clean it regularly it will have creosote buildup and your fire just won't burn well. A good indicator of that is if the output has reduced over time. If it worked great a few years ago but doesn't now, you probably need a chimney cleaning. I clean mine every year.
If it has never worked well, you need to insulate your building. I have 24" of fiberglass in the attic - that is the best and cheapest investment you can make. My walls are R38 (10" fiberglass) and my floor is R20 (4" sheet foam board). Those of course are hard to change after the building is up.
Hope this helps you.
How do u adjust the barometric damper correctly? Thanks
We have one of these in our house we just bought. Ours is hooked up to natural gas. I’m not sure how to tell if the reclaimer is getting too hot or not but the inside of it was glowing red today. Maybe that is normal? We are burning ash and it wasn’t overloaded.
I've only seen mine glowing once, and it was because I left the door open while lighting and got distracted - the reclaimer and the whole stack up to the ceiling was cherry red before I noticed it!
So, that isn't normal. A few things to check - does the reclaimer fan run? If it doesn't run: 1) disconnect the fan leads, an connect them to an extension cord (twist the wires and you can fit them into the end of a cord, or sacrifice a cord and cut off the end). The fan motor is 110 v, so it should run. If it does not the fan motor is burned out or just needs lubricated, you'll have to take it apart to oil the bearings as it is a sealed motor. 2) if the motor runs it might be the switch (inside the junction box on top of the reclaimer). This is a thermal switch, test for continuity with a meter, it should be open when cold, and when the furnace is hot it should close. I don't know the temperature it should close at, but glowing is definitely enough. My reclaimer reads 400 degrees on the face when running, but I bet the switch is set for something like 250. 3) The wiring might not be right to the reclaimer & switch assembly. There should be power coming directly to them, and it shouldn't be switched. It could be someone connected it to the same place as the blower motor, which would mean the reclaimer would only run when it does. That is incorrect, it should operate independently.
If the reclaimer fan does run - my guess is and air leak - maybe you have a bad or poorly adjusted gasket on one of the doors. See the manual for proper adjustment - it says something about using a strip of paper. The gaskets are made of asbestos (which is safe as long as you aren't shredding it) so you can't get replacements. If you need to replace it I think getting a stove door gasket (the round kind) would work. It glues on, I suspect one would need to take the door off and lie it face up, so the gasket could stay in place while the glue dries.
There is also a possibility that your chimney has too much draw - basically pulling a vacuum all the time, which would pull fresh air into the furnace and fuel the fire even when not needed. You can test for that by propping open the damper control on the side rear of the unit.
All of that being said - if the reclaimer is running properly and independently of the blower, the blower works, the burner only runs when the thermostat calls for heat, and the door gaskets are good, and a load of wood lasts 12 hours, I wouldn't worry about it.
Hope this helps. Follow up questions are welcome!
@ it does run on and off. It doesn’t sound very good but it runs. I don’t feel like my load of wood is lasting 12 hours though. Is this the junction box? Trying to add a pic.. there are some frayed wires in there.
It won’t let me add pics. Sorry! I see that the side damper at the rear is kind of held slightly open with a piece of metal. Once I turned the thermostat off upstairs the red went away. So I think there is too much air getting into the box when it’s calling for heat. I would love to send you all these pics if you have a way!
@annapeterson3334 I really think your best bet at this point is to make a video. Upload it to youtube and post a link here. Then post the link to it here in a comment and I'll take a look. You can always delete the video later. If you want to only do pictures, you can post them on your own community page in youtube, or use imgur or flickr those are good too.
The rear damper being propped open doesn't surprise me, that would reduce the draw on the firebox.
I guess a basic question is - is it heating fine? I can't say for sure if it's bad or not that the tubes are red, just mine haven't done that. That being said - I don't have any gas set up on mine. I can imagine that with the gas blower and wood inside, the flue would get much hotter. I would like to inside with the door open when you have the thermostat calling for heat - seeing what kind of flame the burner is putting out might tell us something. You also said the reclaimer fan was not sounding good, that is where a video would be good so I can hear it.
@ I’ve posted my Flickr album here a few times and it keeps getting deleted. Sorry. I’m trying!
I'm sixteen seconds in and here you are threatening me with a book. LOL.
Why don't you curve the bottom of the ash rake to match the tube (make it a D shape), would make it easier to get the ash forward
Nice idea I may try it. Honestly it rakes stuff from the back very well (4 or 5 pulls is all it takes). Most of the raking you see in the video is just moving the ashes back and forth over the grate to get the fines to fall through. Thanks for the idea!
Any clue how much these sold for in 1978? . I'm using one this year and it's way better than what the EPA wants you to use . The new shelter stoves are terrible. Thanks EPA ..if you use it right it doesn't waste wood .
Going off nearly 50 year old memory here... We think my dad got his first Longwood in 1975. The dealer was from Waterloo and claimed to be the first dealer in Iowa to carry them. Dad doesn't think it cost much different than a regular furnace, which he thinks is around $1000.
I worked at the factory
Nice, I hope they were good to work for! Do you have any idea what these sold for back then (and what year(s) you were there)? One of the other viewers wanted to know what these cost when they were new - and I'd like to know too!