Can’t get coal fire hot - draft and chimney problems? - # 2197
Question:I’m burning coal to heat my home and i keep having this problem with chiminey draft. I have a city lot so icannot burn wood, the smoke and smell would infiltrate other homes close to me.Anyway i do burn wood to lite off the coal and the draft is good 350 to 400 degrees or more from the stove pipe. then i add the coal and that beautifull blue flame arises and intrigues. I keep the ash pan door cracked until the stove reaches 350 degrees then i close the ash pan door not less than an hour later tempeture has dropped to 200 degrees or less and no matter what i do tempeture will not rise until i crack the ashpan door, and the situation repeats itself. any solutions? by the way i saw on the northern tool site about an inline draft inducer that attaches to the stove pipe and supposibly creates a draft. could you please investigate this product and send me your comments on it?
Scroll down for Answer.....
Answer:
You definitely have a draft problem. The possible solutions include:
1. Making certain all your stove pipe joints are well sealed with furnace cement.
2. Making certain that your chimney is not oversized - if so, you may want to line it with stainless steel.
3. Inceasing height of chimney (see http://www.extendaflue.com)
4. Install draft fan
The draft fan that you mention will surely work. However, you should be familiar with the potential danger of a "puch" fan such as this. If your chimney becomes blocked, the fan will continue to force gases up the flue - which could cause leakage into the home. A CO detector would be one good investement. As you may know, coal gases can be odorless but are deadly.
I have personally used draft fans and they did work to my satisfaction.
Craig—
Link: Extend-A-Flue chimney extensions
Please rate this Question and Answer by clicking once on the Like or Dislike box!: