Good Morning, Jeff,
I am guessing you hale from the great state of Maine? I get my 2 weeks a year hunting snowshoes with the beagles every Oct. in your state. I would move there in a second, if I could only hit the lottery or figure out how to liquidate the homestead here in PA??
Thanks for the bit of info on the other furnace, as you could tell I'm not too familiar with it. But it sure is good to hear it is working for you. As for the air piping idea, certainly not too difficult to re-do holes and replace top pipe to maybe get a more even burn if your not happy with front burning first? You are definately onto something for a home grown repair for your problem. I'm sure you are not alone with that problem w/that particular unit.
Today, I'll find time for another thorough cleaning, as we're smokin' quite a bit, once again. These gasifiers are with out a doubt, maintenance intensive! I'll have to pull the cover off the air box and fairly sure to find creosote build-up. May try drilling a small hole in the bottom left corner and putting a coffee can under the hole, just to see if while in liquid form the stuff may drain off. The fellow who showed me the furnace when shopping around for one, had to do that to his and I think it helped some.
This mild weather is certainly compounding my problems. Simply does not matter how dry, species, of wood I use. It will all produce creosote if left to idle for long periods of time.