Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100

Safe, Clean, Efficient, Kuuma 

Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100, In stock and ready to ship.  Save an additional $500 on our Memorial Sale through the end of June. 

Furnace The World’s #1 Gasification Wood Furnace 

The Inflation Reduction Act, now signed into law, will change the tax credit for wood furnaces as of Jan. 1, 2023.  The credit in 2023 will be 30%, with a maximum of $2,000.  The efficiency qualification remains the same at 75% or more. 

Homeowners should consult their tax advisor to determine whether they qualify for potential income tax credits.

Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 "Front"
Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 Gasification Wood Furnace

Why Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100?

Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 Specs

The EPA Phase 2 Certified Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 is our largest Vapor-Fire wood-burning furnace with a blower. The wood length is approximately 20” and requires seasoned wood with 18-28% moisture content. It has a large 2-speed blower that delivers 500 to 1500 CFM (cubic feet per minute) on-demand, controlled by a thermostat. It can stand alone as a central furnace or be used as an add-on to an existing oil, gas, or electric furnace (Commoning Two Furnaces Video).

The plenum opening is 2’x2,’ and your heat duct outlet should be 180-200 square inches to prevent excessive back pressure on the blower system (Plenum Video). It gives you a clean, safe, and automatic front-to-back burn that delivers very even heat for 10-12 hours per load, followed by many hours of coals. Even heat output results from the front-to-back burn principle in our Vapor-Fire wood-burning furnace.

A properly installed Vapor-Fire 100 will comfortably heat a home up to 3500 square feet, including your basement.  It may heat larger homes based on your geographic location and the physical design of your home. The heating capacity will also depend on the insulated premises and whether doors and windows provide good seals. A properly installed furnace will require adequate cold air returns – just like any other forced air furnace (Cold Air Return Video).

The VF-100 is best installed in a central location in the home or shop to allow for even warm air distribution via heating ducts.  For this reason, VF-100s are often installed in basements or garages.  

The Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 is built like a tank using American steel and comes with an industry-leading 10-year warranty.

Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 Component Descriptions (Video)

Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 Installation (Videos)

Firing up your Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 (Video)

Owners Manual (PDF)

Pricing: $7,895

Ordering Process (Click Here)

*****Update 1/4/21 – In the most significant news our industry has seen in recent memory, starting in 2021 (and now in 2022), purchase the Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 and receive a 26% tax credit on the furnace and installation.  This is a savings of over $2,000 on the furnace alone.  There has never been a better time to upgrade to the best-built, most efficient, and safest wood-burning furnace on the market (consumer information)(click here for details)(click here for guidance)(tax credit statement). Financing is now available! 

Dimensions:
50 inches tall
52 ½ inches long – with the blower installed (blower is 18 ¼ “long)
36 inches long (without the blower installed)
32 inches wide once the air damper box is bolted on
Combustion Chamber: 23″ L x 15.5″ W x 20″ H , 20″ wood is ideal
Weight: 675 pounds
Shipping weight: 900 pounds total and ships on 2 pallets.  The main pallet weighs 800 pounds and measures 34” wide, 44” deep, and 58” tall.  Second pallet (blower) weighs 100 pounds and measures 31” wide, 31” deep, and 47” tall.

Installation Dimensions:
27 inches wide when off the pallet.  It goes through doors and isn’t 32 inches until the air damper box is bolted on.
Also, once the fire-box is unloaded, removing all the stuff we ship in it, plus removing the fire-brick and cast iron grate – then the furnace only weighs 430 pounds and is much easier to handle than if you think it weighs 675 pounds to handle. That is a big difference if you want to get it down a stairway.

Installation Videos:

Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 Installation 2021 (Videos)

How to install the Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 Chimney (Video Link)

How to install the Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 Ducting (Video Link)

How to install the Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 Electrical Hook-up (Video Link)

Firing up your Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 (For the first time ever or the season) (Video)

Owner Installation Feedback (Forum)

Required Clearances:
Side clearance is 6 inches
Front clearance is 48 inches
Back or rear clearance between the blower and any obstruction is 12 inches.

The VF-100 will take up to 22” wood, and the fire-box can be filled to the top.

The chimney pipe takes a 6” 24 gauge black stove pipe from the furnace throat to the chimney connection. Then the chimney needs to be either masonry/tile lined or class A stainless steel pipe.

The furnace comes with adjustable height legs to level the furnace on uneven floors.

Intertek Testing Results

High Burn
1.0 Grams/Hr of Emissions
.02 Grams/MJ of Emissions
99.4% Combustion Efficiency
82.4% Overall Efficiency

Medium Burn
.45 Grams/Hr of Emissions
.01 Grams/MJ of Emissions
98.1% Combustion Efficiency
84.4% Overall Efficiency

Low Burn
.65 Grams/Hr of Emissions
.02 Grams/MJ of Emissions
98.9% Combustion Efficiency

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to know about BTU ratings?

Many people are mixed up on the BTUs required to heat a home because oil and gas furnaces do not run steady hour after hour. If they did, you’d spend $20,000/year to heat a home. As it is, some people are spending over $4000/year to heat their homes. This is because they cycle on and off. Your BTU needs are delivered intermittently. If your home is poorly insulated, or if for some reason you let it cool down, your oil and gas furnace would then run steady. Generally, a furnace rated for 100,000 BTU/hour runs from 1/4 to 1/3 of an hour on the coldest of MN days, delivering about 30 to 40,000 BTU’s/hour to maintain a comfortable heat level for your home, i.e., 70 degrees F. Most people feel cool in their homes in between the on, and off cycles of the oil and gas furnaces, therefore, many people prefer wood heat because it’s continuous.

Now, heating a home with our Kuuma Vapor-Fire furnaces is really special because they deliver very even continuous heat hour after hour. They don’t smolder the wood and blast the wood (the two extremes) like other wood furnaces. Instead, its unique automatic draft system avoids these extremes with a continuous front-to-back burn pattern that allows the user to adjust the burn rate, which in turn varies the BTU output. In mild weather, you use a low setting for 15-25,000 BTU’s/hour., in moderate weather, a medium setting for 25-45,000 BTU’s/hour., and in cold weather, a high setting for 45-60,000 BTU’s / hour. It adjusts simply by turning the knob on the computer from low to high and anywhere in between. Most people never go above the medium setting all winter long.

Keep in mind that all wood has the same # of BTU’s pound for pound. The heavier, more dense wood (oak, hickory, maple) has more available BTU’s/piece than the lighter, less dense wood, such as poplar and pine, only because each piece weighs more. Every pound of wood that is 100% dry has approximately 8,600 BTUs/pound. Say, for instance, your home needed 100,000 BTU’s/hour to heat, and it would take 11.6 pounds/hour of 100% dry wood to heat it. Now, if your wood has a 20% moisture content, each pound of wood has only 6,880 BTUs in it (it’s 8600 x .80). Then if your wood furnace is only 60% overall efficient, your BTU’s would only be 4,128 BTU’s/pound (that’s 6,880x.60). This would result in a ridiculous amount of wood, 24.2 pounds/hr., to get the needed 100,000 BTU’s/hr. In a 24 hr. period, that would mean 576 pounds of wood needed for 100,000 BTU’s/hr. after hr. This would result in probably more than 20 cords of wood to heat your home for one winter. So it makes more sense to say that most homes in the coldest of weather only use the 30-40,000 BTU’s/hour and probably use 7-10 cords of wood/season to heat their homes. With our Kuuma Vapor-Fire furnaces that are 85% overall efficient and 99% combustion efficient, most people use only 3-5 cords of wood to heat their home/season, and that’s what makes our furnace very special. We also have a clean burn of less than 1 gr. Emissions/hour to top it off.

What do I need to know about the Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100’s EPA Phase 2 Certification?

The Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 is EPA Phase 2 certified and tax credit eligible.  

What sets us apart is that we chose not to pursue the EPA NSPS Phase 1, which only certified a manufacturer from May 15th, 2017, until May 15th, of 2020.  Instead, we chose to go immediately after the 2020 EPA Phase 2 emission standard (much harder!), meaning that each certified test burn had to result in emissions below 0.15 pounds of particulate matter per million BTU of heat generated.  Our Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 came in 40% below this stringent standard.  

The road to certification was not an easy one, and we were the Guinea Pigs for forced-air furnace testing and certification.  It was a paperwork nightmare and a red tape jungle.  It took from October 2016 until October 2017 before we finally received our certificate.

The Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 currently holds two records.  It is the cleanest burning and highest efficiency cord wood furnace ever tested.     

Does the Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 have an automatic damper?

Yes, a 24-volt computer controls a 24-volt (step) motor for your primary intake air used in combustion.

Can you install it in conjunction with a backup furnace using the same ducting?

Yes, this is called commoning the two furnaces.  Today we always connect the furnaces in parallel so that one furnace can run or the other furnace can run, so both can run together.  You will need to install 2 one direction ducting flaps.  Preferably a simple gravity flap; for more information, please see the operator’s manual (Commoning Two Furnaces Video).  

Does the Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 have a secondary chamber for the wood gases to burn?

Yes, right in and around the top of the fire chamber, gasification occurs in a ceramic-lined area with secondary air present.

Does the automatic damper operate by a remote thermostat?

No, the adjustment is right on the computer itself. You turn the knob to adjust (mild weather=lower and cold weather=higher). It makes it simple to operate.

What type of blower system is used to deliver heat?

It has a two-speed blower that is controlled by a remote thermostat. The blower system is activated by the low limit button thermostat that adjusts 105-130 degrees F. for the on temperature. Once it activates, your remote thermostat will determine if it needs high speed (calling for more heat) or low speed (room temp is satisfied.) The high speed is approximately 1500 CFM, and the low speed is approximately 500 CFM, depending on the system backpressure. Therefore, the computer setting and the 2-speed blower help you to maintain your desired level of heat.

Is the firebox brick-lined?

Yes, it’s not only brick-lined right to the ceiling but ceramic-lined behind the brick. All the internal parts are stainless steel and replaceable (ceiling, back, brick holders & straps, front). It’s a lifetime furnace design.

Where should I place my Kuuma Vapor-Fire? 

I always tell people that placement is first based on a good chimney connection and second on connecting to the ducting.

Can your chimney provide the proper draft needed for all modern furnaces?

  • Don’t use a restrictive chimney cap.  We recommend a chimney hat with no screen, mesh, or restrictions.  This is the one we use, and it works great!  Famco (Wind Directional Chimney Cap)
  • At most, you should only use one 90 degrees bend, and that needs to be directly behind the furnace to go straight up the chimney.
  • Use 45 degrees bend.  Make every effort to avoid horizontal runs.  Hot air doesn’t want to run horizontally.
  • The Vapor-Fire uses a 6″ diameter stove pipe.  You can connect to a chimney equal or larger size but nothing with a smaller diameter. 
  • If your chimney is taller than 25′ in a windy area, you could need an additional barometric damper to control the chimney draft.   
  • External chimneys (especially unlined), either masonry or stainless steel, may experience draft issues with all modern furnaces.  Please ensure your chimney can provide the necessary draft. 

What size plenum is needed?

The opening for the bonnet is 2’x2′ & 2’x2′ for the return air. The bonnet height should be approximately 2 feet. Your heat output duct should be at least 180-200 square inches to prevent excessive backpressure.  (Plenum Sizing Video)

The plenum isn’t included but can be purchased locally.  For example, here is one at Menards (click here).

What size filter does it take?

It takes two 14x24x1 filters, which are included with the purchase.  When you need to replace it, we use Filtrete MPR 300 MERV 5.

How do I operate the Barometric Damper for Kuuma Vapor-Fire Furnaces?

Our owner’s manual says you should have a draft between .03 and .06.  These are generic numbers based on the average house.  In reality, the chimney of a two-story home that is 30-35 feet tall in most cases will generate substantially more draft than a chimney in a ranch-style house.  A good starting point on a two-story home would be to set your barometric damper on #3.  If you have a one-story, ranch-style house, start on #4 or #5.  If you get a high temp alert (steady tone from computer control), reduce the number on your barometric damper by 1.  On the other hand, if you consistently get a huge coal bed at the end of the burn, then increase the number on your barometric damper by 1.

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 die down slowly. You should open all heat ducts, remove the air filters, and rely on gravity airflow 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 backup generator or a 24-volt ac source would be handy.

Power outages should not be an issue with this furnace.  If you are not home – just leave it alone.  but if you are home – we suggest removing the front hood, as this will allow more heat to be released.  If you think power will be out for more than a few hours, you can simply put a standard grounded plug on the power line going to the furnace.  If the power goes out, simply unplug the cord and attach it to an extension cord. You can then run this to even a very small generator, and you will have your full heating capacity.  However, I would not do this unless you expect the power to be out for many hours or days.  This is not mandatory, just an option to have full heat.

Can the furnace be used off the grid?

Yes, you would need to have an alternative power source (solar/wind) to produce 120 volts up to 6 amps when operating at high speed. However, most of the time would be less with low speed, only running at 2.6 amps.

Can this furnace be put in an attached garage or shed?

Yes, many people do that, but it is required that you hook your cold air return to the cold air return in your house.  You can’t draw the cold air from the garage for fear of carbon monoxide.  All your ducting and plenum need to be insulated.  

What is a fresh air inlet, and do you need one?

If you have a very tightly sealed home or experience smoke getting into your home, you likely need to add a fresh air inlet into your furnace room.  It’s common that when running the laundry dryer, range hood, or bathroom exhaust fans in a very tight home, you can actually reverse the draft in your chimney.  The solution to this is adding a fresh air inlet.  When done correctly, this will allow adequate combustion air for your wood-burning appliance without flooding your furnace room full of cold air.  As you see in the diagram, we suggest putting a vent through the sill plate of your home and using a dryer vent cap on the outside; inside the furnace room, run a simple 4″ flexible duct from this dryer vent cap down to about 6″ above the floor.  Place a Sonotube (often used for concrete deck piers) around the duct tube.  Cold air does not like to rise, and the Sonotube will prevent the cold air from flooding the furnace room.  The furnace will draw only as much air as it needs to burn effectively.  In many states, a fresh air inlet is code for new homes.  It costs about $20 to make one of these.

Fresh Air Inlet (PDF)

See blog post

What length of wood is best, and how large diameter should they be before they should be split?

The best length is 20″. If they’re smaller pieces (4″ or less in diameter), can leave them round or un-split, but if they’re larger, they need to be split so they will dry better (5-8″ in diameter).

(Firewood Basics Video)

Safety Features?

It has an insulated air jacket for 6″ clearances. Low flue temperatures and complete combustion add to safety. The 24-volt computer is set to keep the fire from under burning (causing creosote) or overburning (causing fire chamber damage). The 24-volt computer has an alarm that goes off if the furnace ever overheats (ash pan or main door left ajar). It has a high limit plenum sensor that causes the blower high speed to activate regardless of your remote thermostat and will also shut the computer off if the temperature continues to rise to 250 degrees F.

What size home will it heat?

It will heat approximately 3,500 square feet if the home is properly insulated.

How does the burning of firewood compare to other fuel costs?

“I have a 3200 square foot home and usually buy 5 cords of birch and maple wood a year. The cost is $75 – $100 per logger’s cord, and I cut and split it myself. My total cost is about $500 per year or less, approximately 1/4 to 1/3 the cost of using another fuel such as gas, oil, or electricity. The heat is much more constant using wood, that’s why I like it. Our backup heat is electric baseboard.” says Lamppa Manufacturing Owner Daryl Lamppa

What is the white exhaust you see coming from your chimney?

When the temperature is 32 degrees F. or less, the exhaust you see is actually water vapor condensing to form steam. The two byproducts of complete combustion are water vapor and carbon dioxide. If the outside temperature is above 32 degrees F., no visible exhaust occurs when complete combustion occurs.

How often do I clean the furnace?

Once a year, I use a rake that comes with the furnace to scrape out the heat exchanger. Then, I proceed to vacuum through the clean-out cover. Finally, I take the pipes off the back and blow them out outside. I’ve run this furnace for 28 years and never clean out the chimney; as a matter of fact, I don’t even own a chimney brush (NO SMOKE=NO CREOSOTE).

Installation and Operation Tips:

Selling factory direct across the country, we’ve worked with pretty much every type of individual setup that you can imagine.  The original Kuuma Vapor-Fire was created 40+ years ago, so we’ve fine-tuned how to operate it optimally in the real world, not a test lab.  If this was sold through a dealer, you would easily have to pay an additional $2,000. (Installation Videos 2021) 

First Recommendation:

Call us directly and speak with Dale. It’s much easier to explain individual setups or questions over the phone or in person than via e-mail.  If desired, we can use Facetime for specifics as well. We want to get it installed optimally.     

General Recommendations:

  • Use seasoned cordwood (cut, split, and seasoned for one year.  (18-28% moisture is ideal). 
  • Recommend 20-21″ cordwood cut in larger chunks 6-8″ diameter.  6″ rounds are ok; 8″ rounds should be given a single split.
  • You can burn almost any kind of firewood, including Tamarack/Larch, Hedge, furs, Pines, etc. 
  • Normally you should be able to get a 12+ hour burn on one load of cordwood. 
  • Install your furnace on cement blocks.  It makes loading much easier as you age and want to keep burning wood.
  • It’s best to install the furnace in the basement or an attached garage.
  • If you have long, warm air duct runs, please advise us because we may want to step up to a larger blower motor to ensure adequate heat transfer.
  • Make sure your chimney can provide the proper draft
    • Don’t use a restrictive chimney cap.  We recommend a chimney hat with no screen, mesh, or restrictions.  This is the one we use, and it works great!  Famco (Wind Directional Chimney Cap)
    • At most, you should only use one 90 degrees bend, and that needs to be directly behind the furnace to go straight up the chimney.
    • Use 45 degrees bend.  Make every effort to avoid horizontal runs.  Hot air doesn’t want to run horizontally.
    • The Vapor-Fire uses a 6″ diameter stove pipe.  You can connect to a chimney equal or larger size but nothing with a smaller diameter. 
    • If your chimney is taller than 25′ in a windy area, you could need an additional barometric damper to control the chimney draft.   
    • External chimneys, either masonry or stainless steel, may experience draft issues with all modern furnaces.  It is your responsibility to ensure your chimney can provide the necessary draft.    
Older Kuuma VF 100 in our office
I would like to say how much I have enjoyed my Kuuma Vapor-Fire 100 wood stove that I bought last year (i.e., this is my second heating season). I have heated my entire house with wood heat for 30 out of the last 33 years. I have used two different stoves during that time but the Vapor-Fire 100 is vastly superior to either of these. The stove is more costly but will be well worth the money. There are three major characteristics that I really like. First, its higher efficiency requires less wood to be cut, stacked and burned. Second, it requires virtually no adjustments or stoking between loadings. I live in Tennessee and it does not get extremely cold so I load the stove in the morning when I leave for work and again when I return home. There is almost nothing to do between loadings. I am an engineer and like fiddling with the stove but there is nothing to do. Third, the furnace control system produces a very steady burn. The temperature in the house stays at a very constant temperature (with no interim adjustments) without the high and low swings that occurred with my other stoves. My wife really likes the steady temperatures. Finally (and this should have been first on my list), Daryl and Garrett are fine people and provide very good service. Last fall while I was on vacation, a squirrel fell down my chimney and, while trying to escape, did significant damage to the exposed soft high-temperature insulation at the top of the fire box. I was able to quickly get the replacement insulation and instructions on the best method to complete the repairs. Within a short period of time the stove was back in operation.
John Platfoot
Kingston, TN
12.2.22 I absolutely love my Vapor-Fire 100 wood stove and cannot recommend Dale and his business' customer service highly enough. You are dealing with a top notch business when the owner himself takes your calls and helps my installer get everything setup correctly and then spent 30 minutes on the phone with me helping to trouble shoot why I wasn't getting as long of burns as I expected. Now I get 12 hour burns that heat my 3500 sqft house on 15 degree days. Lots of my friends monkey around with older burners and don't want to pay for one of these. In the long run, I'm saving so much time and have such a better heating experience - this makes burning with wood a real pleasure.
Ryan L
Lucas, IA
Vapor 100 & 200
I've lived in Northern Minnesota for the last 30 years and have burned wood for 29 of those years.I started off with a 2000 sq ft home and heated it with the Vapor fire 200 for 20 years. Had to sell that home and the worst thing about it was that i had to leave the stove behind.That stove is 30 years old and still being used with no signs of burning out or having to replace it. I could go on and on about how great that stove is but i had better talk about my new stove,the vapor fire 100. I heat a 3500 sq ft home now and pretty much heat with nothing but wood. This has been the coldest winter that I think I've ever seen here in Northern Minn. Lots of 20 to 30 below temps and 50 to 60 blow wind chill. Propane was up to 6 dollars a gallon. Thank God i had this wood burner.Even this year i think i will have used about 5 to 5 1/2 cords of wood. I can't say enough about this stove. I forgot to mention that the guy who told me about these stoves had his in a house for 10 years before i bought mine and that stove is still heating that house. That's quality you can't find in to many places now days. There are some new bells and whistles on the new stoves that i didn't have on the first one but are all good. I remember not having to clean the chimney in the first house for 8 years. I burn lots of Birch but do try to mix it with other hard woods. I don't know how my chimney stays so clean. I don't know of any other stove out there that burns this clean. Once every couple of months i clean the stove pipe going to the chimney but i really think i could get away without doing that. I will give this stove 10 stars, it's that good. The customer service is great! If anyone has any ? about this review feel free to email me at stat1dou@hotmail.com Hands down the best wood burning stove i've ever owend Thank you all who make this possible and keep up the good work.
Douglas State
Deer River, MN

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The Kuuma customer family comes first at Lamppa Manufacturing. Phone, email or stop-in to the factory (we love to give tours) in Tower, Minnesota, and be greeted by our friendly employees. There’s a chance you will speak directly to Daryl Lamppa, the owner and inspiration behind the incredible innovations designed into every Kuuma product. We sell our products by referral and word-of-mouth, so your total satisfaction is what drives us.  Read More….