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Magic Heat™ Reclaimer for Wood, Oil or Coal Stove — 6 in., Model# MH-6-R

Item# 17278
1 Included
Magic Heat™ Reclaimer for Wood, Oil or Coal Stove — 6 in., Model# MH-6-R

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Magic Heat™ Reclaimer for Wood, Oil or Coal Stove — 6 in., Model# MH-6-R

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  • 120 V Blower Fan has 6 ft. cord, 3 prong plug
  • Note: Allow 18in. clearance between stove and heat reclaimer
  • Crimp on the bottom

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  • Description

  • Key Specs

  • Reviews

  • Q & A

  • Warranty

  • Compare

Product Summary

Installs into flue of your wood, oil or coal furnace or heater (except Item# 172781 which is only for use with gas stoves). Magic Heat™ Reclaimer consists of 10 heat-exchanger tubes and a thermostatically controlled fan to blow warmed air into the room. Turns on at 150° and off at 110°F. 115 Volts. Produces 225 CFM and 8000 to 30,000 BTU. Peak performance is maintained by the use of Flue Stove Pipe cleaner (our Item# 172801). 18 1/4in.H x 10 5/8in.W x 14 1/4in.D. Please measure flue before ordering. U.S.A.

What's Included

    (1) Reclaimer

Downloads

Product Manual

Features + Benefits

  • 120 V Blower Fan has 6 ft. cord, 3 prong plug
  • Note: Allow 18in. clearance between stove and heat reclaimer
  • Crimp on the bottom

Key Specs

AttributeSpecification

item#

17278

Brand

Magic Heat

Manufacturer's Warranty

12 months parts / 12 months labor

Ship Weight

25.8 LB

Included (qty.)

1
AttributeSpecification

Compatible With

Wood, Oil or Coal Stoves

Height

18.25 in

CFM

225 cfm

Volts

120

Dimensions L x W x H (in.)

18.25 x 10.625 x 14.25 in

Reviews

Questions & Answers

Questions

1–10 of 29 Questions  
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  1. Exactly how do you install this?

    Comments say its easy but I am not a handyman at all

    1. you need some knowledge of measuring and cutting stove pipe this would require tin snips, a measuring tape and possibly a crimping tool. You will also need a drill, and self tapping screws and possibly some wire (like used to hang ceiling tile track to secure the magic heat reclaimer to the joists). you need a power supply near the reclaimer so you may need to install an outlet or at the very least run a heavy duty extension cord plugged into an outlet that has constant power, (not one that can be shut off by a switch) and run it over near the reclaimer making sure it is secured well and not touching any part of the reclaimer or the heating unit or the flue pipe or any moving parts for that fact. you will also need your heating person to come over after you have installed the unit and perform an efficiency test to include adjusting your draft. It is helpful to have some handy man skills to install one of these or any reclaimers for that fact. Good luck.

      Helpful?

    2. one end is crimped, which accepts the straight end of one pipe, and the other end is straight, which goes into your crimped end of pipe. Just make sure of clearance between your stove.

      Helpful?

    3. Just set it where you want it along the pipe, fasten with sheet metal screws, and plug it in.

      Helpful?

    4. Basically, you remove one section of pipe and install this. Now, your section of pipe will NOT be the same length as the Magic Heat, so you will need to cut a section of pipe out to insert this unit. Secondly, make sure you know if you want to buy a unit with the crimped end down, or the crimped end on top (this all depends on your wood stove's configuration). Even if the crimped ends don't match your stove configuration, you can go to the hardware store and buy a double male or double female adapter. So it's not very hard. You will want a pair of sheet metal cutters, AND work gloves so you won't get cut on the sharp edges. Always use a file to remove any sharp edges created after cutting the metal.

      Helpful?

    5. As long as your draft, temp, and CO2 numbers are OK per installation manual, go for it. Took the heating/cooling guys 20 min to install.

      Helpful?

    6. There are some decent instructions that come with the unit. Following local codes about distance to flammable objects (around here it's 18"). Basically, cut the stove pipe so that it's between 12 and 20" off of the stove. Insert heat reclaimer. Install screws between stove pipe and heat reclaimer (per instructions). Complete chimney pipe from heat reclaimer to original chimney. Plug in unit and enjoy.

      Manufacturer's website contains instruction sheet if you want to read it before purchase.

      Helpful?

    7. This unit is installed in the stovepipe by removing a section of pipe and replacing it with this heat reclaimer. In some situations the pipe will need to be cut to achieve a proper fit. If you are unsure of your ability to install the unit please contact your local heating professional.

      Helpful?

  2. how many can you install per stove?

    1. One Magic heat Reclaimer per heating unit is more then sufficient. With more then one, it is possible that the first one closest to the heating unit will work properly and the others would never come on or more then likely the other reclaimers would short cycle, on/off- on /off- on/off .

      Helpful?

    2. One.

      Helpful?

    3. Manufacturer recommends one unit per stove. Using more causes flu gasses to reach really low temps, allowing creosote to build up very quickly.

      Helpful?

    4. I would not recommend more than one per stove. These units can substantially reduce your flue temp thusly adding to creosote buildup. I don't have any problems with mine and it really helps heat my shop. Would highly recommend.

      Helpful?

    5. I wouldn't put more than 1 myself.

      Helpful?

    6. While it may be possible to install more than one heat reclaimer per stove, it is not recommended. These units are specifically engineered to be installed one unit per stove. Installing more than one per stove will have a minimal gain in the heat that is "reclaimed". Also, installing more than one per stove will have a detrimental effect on flue temperatures and could cause drafting problems and excessive creosote buildup. Northern Tool does recommend or condone the use of more than one heat reclaimer per heating device or any installation that is in any way contrary to the specific instructions that are supplied by the manufacturer of this unit.

      Helpful?

  3. Does the heat reclaimer require power source?

    1. The Magic heat Reclaimer does require a power source. The fan on the reclaimer operates on 110/120v. You need it plugged into an outlet that has constant power to it, not on an outlet that is operated by a switch.

      Helpful?

    2. 110V power is required to operate the fan. Without the fan running, very little heat is generated and unit can overheat

      Helpful?

    3. Yes - standard outlet, not-switched. You need a constant power source as the unit turns on automatically when it heats up and off when it cools off. You do NOT want to run this without power, such as a power outage because if it gets too hot it can be damaged.

      Helpful?

    4. YES IT COMES WITH A PLUG ON IT

      Helpful?

    5. Yes, the reclaimer comes with a cord and a standard 3 prong plug that fits standard outlets.

      Helpful?

    6. Yes, it comes with a blower fan that would need to be plugged in. It is a 120 volt with 6' cord.

      Helpful?

  4. Does this only work with the blower running?

    Can you use the heat reclaimer without the blower portion of it? In other words, does it work if you don't have electricity hooked up to it? Thanks.

    1. No, it does not work without electricity. The magic heat is an air to air heat exchanger. The blower takes room air and blows it through stainless steel tubes. The tubes are heated by the Flue (exhaust) gas. As the room air passes through the tubes, it "extracts" heat from the flue gas.

      Helpful?

    2. the answer to your question is no the blower would not operate with out power. The magic heat reclaimer would be an expensive flue pipe adapter with out power to operate the fan it comes equipped with. The fan operates by a thermal disc. as the heating appliance runs and the stack pipe increases temperature, the disc closes the circuit and the fan comes on blowing the heat into the room/ usually the basement. Even after the heating unit shuts down the reclaimer fan may come on once or twice for shorter cycles. this is normal. You can run a heavy duty extension cord to the unit however make sure that it is secured well and not laying on any part of the flue pipe, the reclaimer or the heating appliance and is away from any moving parts. Also make sure it is plugged into an outlet that has constant power and not one that turns off by a switch. good luck.

      Helpful?

    3. Manual sez to remove the fan unit if power goes out. Can still run as long as tubes do not get red hot enough to break seal and kill you with CO fumes. Don't know why you would disable this feature. Air needs to flow thru the tubes to get the heat out of the unit and into the room.

      Helpful?

    4. You need the electricity to run the fan unit inside the reclaimer. Running the stove without the fan would allow the heat exchanger tubes to overheat, eventually leading to failure.

      Instructions from manufacturer give direction on how to remove electrical components should stove need to be used during a power outage, but also advise to keep stove flue temperatures low as to not damage heat exchanger.

      Helpful?

    5. Without the blower running in this unit there will not be a great amount of heat that is reclaimed.

      Helpful?

  5. can i still have a fire if the power is out?

    1. It's a problem! If you burn a low fire, WHICH IS GOING TO BUILD UP CREOSOTE, you probably won't damage the unit. But whenever the fan is not running and the stove is burning, it could overheat the unit and ruin the thermostat (which is replaceable), and possibly the fan motor and wiring if the fire is too hot.
      What I do: if the electricity goes out, I shut the stove down to a low fire. If it's going to remain out for some time, I let the fire go out, remove the reclaimer and replace it with a regular piece of vent pipe. Then I can use the stove without any damage to the reclaimer.
      Remember to install 3 sheetmetal screws in each pipe joint where the pipes join together! This will hold the pipe securely which is VERY important! There should be 3 screws where the pipe joins onto the stove, as well as to the top and bottom of the heat reclaimer, and each joint where pipe joins on to the next pipe, and where the pipe joins onto the chimney!

      Helpful?

    2. Yes. The Manual (pg 2, note 12) states you should remove the back panel of the Magic Heat to prevent damage to the electrical components. I assume they are concered the electrical componets will get to hot if the blower fan is off.

      Helpful?

    3. Yes, just keep the flue temp reasonable. You need a magnetic thermometer for the flue.

      Helpful?

    4. You can still have a fire if the power is out. It is recommended in the manual that if the power would be out for an extended amount of time then just remove the back off of the reclaimer. This allows air to get in so it doesn't over heat the fan.

      Helpful?

  6. Clearance issue w/ Magic Heat #MH-6-R

    I can only get 12 inches of clearance from stove top to bottom of reclaimer. The wood stove is a 2200 sq ft Summers Heat and I can run the blower @ the same time to remove heat from top it has a deflector shield and blows heat into room from stove top and pipe. The stove is a 70,000 btu can I install this reclaimer if I run the blower? Or do I need 18 inches?

    1. You can install the Magic Heat closer to the stove than 24". I have mine about 12" from the output of the wood stove and it works fine. BUT, in this configuration you are more likely to overheat the unit (gets red) and that is not good. It's all how you build the fire and if your wood stove is not too big (emits too much heat), if so, then you not want to install one. WHAT I have found is, with the Magic Heat re-claimer, you don't need to build as large as a fire as you have in the past, as more heat is emitted and you can build smaller fires (ultimately using less wood per season too!). Not sure on your blower configuration, however, they can work together ok, just make sure the blower on the Magic heat blows the hot air in the same direction. AND make sure you are not blowing the hot air on or into the Magic Heat. The Magic Heat needs to run by itself and not be incorporated into any other system.

      Helpful?

    2. Per instruction manual MH-76, 1/03, (from my new '11 unit) it says 12" minimum ok, the 18" is between wall and unit. Any other quex to their #, 800-826-8751. Don't know if the manual is downloadable or not.

      Helpful?

    3. Not completely sure, but all the unit is is a bunch of tubes that capture heat. In the back is a fan and the electronics to blow out the heat. You might be able to do it.

      Helpful?

    4. The required clearance is the 18 inches as stated by the manufacturer of the Magic Heat Reclaimer. The 12 inches will not be enough clearance.

      Helpful?

  7. What is the round knob on the front for?

    1. There is a flat plate inside the unit that slides back and forth around the tubes which helps to scrape creosote buildup off the tubes. The black knob on the rod is what moves the flat plate. Do it often! If you let it go to long, you may not be able to move it at all and you'd have to take the unit down and try to clean the whole thing out in order to free it up.

      Helpful?

    2. The round knob is attached to the cleaning rod. A pull and a push will clear any soot build up off the exchanger tubs.

      Helpful?

    3. The knob located in the front of the Magic Heat Reclaimer is for soot removal.

      Helpful?

  8. Any Dangers?

    Has anyone heard of chimney fires while using these units? Condensation of gasses increasing the creosote amt. esp. in cold temps ?

    1. YES, YES, YES! That is why not everyone should use them. It depends on your venting system and the way you burn! Preferably you have an inside chimney instead of one that goes up on the outside of the house. An inside chimney is already warmer since much of it is inside the house. Note: Creosote is just smoke that condenses as it cools, and builds up flammable creosote as the result. To keep from building up creosote, (and many times worse is "glaze" which looks like rock hard tar), you must keep the smoke, and therefore the venting system hot! To keep the smoke hot, you should: burn hotter fires instead of smouldering ones and burn DRY wood only! I don't usually recommend using a heat reclaimer unless the chimney is an insulated factory built metal chimney, or the chimney has been relined with an insulated stainless steel liner. If the chimney is inside the house, and it has a small flue (about 7"x7"), and you burn dry wood with hot fires, you very well may not have a problem even if it isn't lined with an insulated stainless steel liner, BUT be watchful about what builds up in the flue!! Glaze is VERY difficult to remove, and burns wicked if it catches fire!!
      Sidenote: People still believe you can not burn softwood trees such as pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, etc.
      THAT IS FALSE!! A number of years ago, 3 separate
      tests at different places (and also my own experience) showed that the amount of creosote buildup with softwood was the same, or LESS, than hardwood. The thing that matters is the wood, whether softwood or hardwood has to be DRY!!! A load of softwood won't burn as long as a load of hardwood since softwood isn't as dense as hardwood, but it's great! Also, I think you will have alot less coals building up inside the stove after the wood is burned down, so you don't have them in the way of putting in more wood like you often experience with hard wood.

      Helpful?

    2. I've not heard any increase in fire dangers related to the use of the heat reclaimer. The mfr does have recommendations to help keep it clean. It appears that if you give your chimney the attention it needs over time you'll not experience any issues.

      Helpful?

    3. The unit comes with a soot scraper plate to help remove soot which reduces the chance of fire. In cold temperatures the manufacturer recommends the fire to burn at the temperature of 280 degrees F up to 1000 degrees F, to help reduce the amount of soot.

      Helpful?

  9. what is the max height the reclaimer can go above the fire box, as in can it go into the next level up of a house

    1. manual says max 24" above heater/stove top

      Helpful?

    2. Your Magic Heat reclaimer should come with a list of recommended clearances and those should be fine however your best bet is to have your local fire chief come to your house and let him give you what he feels is a safe distance. Believe it or not your local fire chief has more jurasdiction in applications such as this then the national fire codes. In all the magic heat reclaimers I have installed, i have cut a short length of 24 guage stovepipe around five to six inches(keep the crimped side) slide the side without the crimped edge over the magic heat reclaimer and screw with self tapping screws in three places staggering the screws. the crimped end will then go into the chimney. (This short piece of 24 guage stove pipe serves two purposes, the first is for easier installation into the chimney and second, it gives you the ability to drill a small hole for the efficiency test tools to check the draft between the chimney and the magic heat reclaimer.) the next thing to remember is to install a barometric damper (should already have one installed in the flue pipe) this damper is for proper adjustment of the draft. last make proper connection into the heating appliance. (note make sure all connections (crimps are facing towards the chiney and all seams in flue pies are staggered and screwed together with atleast three screws per joint. and the last thing is to drill a small hole between the heating appliance and the barometric damper to ensure correct draft adjustment for the combustion burner. The only other thing I didnt mention is either have an electrician wire in an outlet that is not going to be shut off accidently by a light switch, needs power 24/7 to this outlet. The Magic Heat Reclaimer fan works off of a thermal disc, when the temperature rises as the heating unit is running for heat or hot water, once the operating temperature is reached the fan will turn off, when the heating unit shuts off the fan will continue to run until the differential is reached in the operating thermal disc. The fan may come on one more time because of heat rise from inside the heating appliance but most probably for a much shorter cycle the second time, this isn't a malfunction with the reclaimer it is how it is designed. With all that being said, you may have a problem if you set the magic heat reclaimer to far away from the unit as you will have alot of heat loss through the flue pipe between the heating unit and the reclaimer. As I mentioned the reclaimer operates off a thermal disc and it only turns on when the temperature reaches its operating temp. You may find it short cycles alot if you install it on a second floor. personally I wouldn't do that application with this reclaimer. If you even went to the extreme of designing ductwork from the reclaimer to the second floor you would be blocking the cleaning scraper plate/handle and that wouldn't be good either. Hope the information I have given you is helpful.

      Helpful?

    3. The heat reclaimer should be installed between 15" - 24" from the flue on the stove and maintain 18" clearance from any combustable.

      Helpful?

  10. I have an oil burner with a 4 in pipe. Can i use adapters to install this 6in as i have not been able to find any kind of 4in?

    1. If your flue pipe is 4 inch off the heating appliance you can increase your flue pipe to six inch into the reclaimer and reduce it back to four inch out to the chimney. The one thing you can't do for example is take a flue pipe of a larger size and reduce it to a smaller sized reclaimer (just an example: a nine inch flue pipe to a six inch reclaimer). Heating units are designed with specific flue sizes for different reasons. There are a few things to remember though. make sure you have a professional check the draft to ensure proper draft,your draft should be -.02 to -.04 in the flue between the barometric damper and the heating unit, and the other thing to remember is if your stack temperature is 300 degrees to 350 degrees ferenheit then you should not use any reclaimers if your oil unit is piped into a brick or block chimney. A stack temp of under 300 degrees in almost all ocassions creates condensation, I have seen in unlined chimneys, chimneys actually fall over because the condensation being created (because of the excessively low stack temp) and the chemicals in the flus gasses ate the mortar between the bricks/blocks. I have also seen a chimney get plugged up with ice from low stack temps. of 275 to 300 degrees ferenheit at the chimney. If you have a four inch stack/flue pipe it leads me to believe you have a high efficiency unit already. you might create new problems if your stack temp is around 300 to 350 dergees ferenheit with out a reclaimer installed. good luck.

      Helpful?

    2. The reclaimer will work with your oil burner. Ensure that you follow the instructions regarding adapting it to a 4 inch pipe.

      Helpful?

    3. I had a 6" unit installed on my Warm Morning gas heater which has a 4" flue and it works great! Just follow the instructions and have a guy check out the draft, temp, and CO2 and go for it. Don't expect them to know what a heat reclaimer is, I had to explain it. I'm sure they'd rather sell you a new furnace.

      Helpful?

Warranty

Manufacturer's Warranty

12 months parts / 12 months labor

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