Downdraft Problems This Fixes A Lot Problem Chimneys!!!

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daryl

Feeling the Heat
Jul 19, 2009
348
Western WI
http://www.drawcollar.com/

This is a really simple and clever approach too establish draft in a chimney.A electrical coil inside heats around the pipe warming the pipe and establishing the draft.No more breaking out the torch.The women that do not like that nice hint of smoke in the air should love this.
 
Todd said:
Great idea! Don't know if I like the look tho.

Only cost ya $400 to see if you like how it works. I don't need a torch to heat the flue but if I did I could buy a lifetimes worth of little propane bottles for that.

That said, it might be a good answer for some folks. If they get that price down some. And fire their web site designer.
 
BrotherBart said:
Todd said:
Great idea! Don't know if I like the look tho.

Only cost ya $400 to see if you like how it works. I don't need a torch to heat the flue but if I did I could buy a lifetimes worth of little propane bottles for that.

That said, it might be a good answer for some folks. If they get that price down some. And fire their web site designer.

Whoops, didn't even look at the price. Thats crazy high!
 
AND it burns 500 watts of power when running - I don't know if it is supposed to be left powered on the whole time you burn or just at startup... if you were to leave it running 24/7 that would be noticed on most folks electric bill I would think. If you only use it at startup then those torches or a hair drier seem to be just as good for far less money.
 
If you are in the area and are a 24/7 burner, I will come over every time you need to relight your stove and do it for you smoke free, top down, for $400 a season. :lol:

That is the neat thing about top down, the paper on top heats the flue fast and the rest is just sit back and watch until the next reload. I swear that fast flue heating is why my two flues are so damned clean all the time.
 
$400 hair dryer, hmm. Let me talk to you about a bridge for sale...
 
They say it will rectify downdrafts through the night which means having it powered up during the burn. At 500 continuous watts going up the chimney you might as well put in an electric oil space heater. :lol:
 
north of 60 said:
They say it will rectify downdrafts through the night which means having it powered up during the burn. At 500 continuous watts going up the chimney you might as well put in an electric oil space heater. :lol:

Seems like it would be better/cheaper in the long run to simply fix the chimney setup and learn how to operate the stove properly. $400 could buy a relatively inexpensive PC, cost of that electricity would pay for the internet connection to get to hearth.com for the advice on how to fix the problem, then who knows what else you would gain from the experience eh?
 
It's spendy...but it's cleaner looking than a draft inducer and a heckofa lot cheaper than a chimney top fan.

For someone with a a weekend house...who will have to start a new fire in a cold stove (that may be a bit draft sensative..and hooked up to an outside chimney) it could be good solution. I imagine $400 would seem like a bargain if one doesn't have to sit in front of the stove for 30 minutes, trying to heat it up to get a draft going.
 
Yea, it will be great for those cabins on the side of Aspen.

I mean gosh, when I am there in my 4000 sq ft cabin with a million dollar view the last thing I want to do is sit there with a blow torch to heat up the flue, I have to leave the wife in the Bentley with the heated seats until I can get a fire going, this way I can call my butler ahead of time to plug in the draw collar and all my problems will be solved!! ;)
 
I wish I had a 4000 sq/ft house at Aspen...and Bentley... :wow:

I did send them an e-mail. I don't have a 12" section of pipe. We'll see if it can be installed on a smaller run.
 
OK OK OK
Not for everybody.But there are situations where this works well. Downstairs chimney with slight negative air problems,outside chimneys that need warming up.You do not have to leave it on the whole while you are burning. Just need to establish a draft so you can get burning faster and easier. Even if you leave it on for a half hour that's a whole 1/2 KWH of juice. In my area that's a whole .05 cents.
The chimney will stay cleaner also all that smoke doesn't have heat up the chimney as much so less condensing on the inside of flue.
 
Daryl - Do you have any experience with this device?
 
Slow1 said:
Daryl - Do you have any experience with this device?


Other then at a showroom, No. But have heard reports from others that it works well.
Fall is coming and I am sure that somebody is going to need one. If theres any Jotul fans out there Jotul has been testing them also from what I hear.
 
Daryl said:
OK OK OK
Not for everybody.But there are situations where this works well. Downstairs chimney with slight negative air problems,outside chimneys that need warming up.You do not have to leave it on the whole while you are burning. Just need to establish a draft so you can get burning faster and easier. Even if you leave it on for a half hour that's a whole 1/2 KWH of juice. In my area that's a whole .05 cents.
The chimney will stay cleaner also all that smoke doesn't have heat up the chimney as much so less condensing on the inside of flue.

Everybody has got there angle Daryl. Thanks for sharing. Im pretty sure it will help out someone. It gave us a reason to blab. :lol:
Cheers
N of 60

P.S. Looks like you got the stove sold in your article's for sale post. Thats Awesome.
 
I've traded a few e-mails with one of the guys from the company. Really nice and really helpful. My question was basically if the unit could be trimmed to fit in a smaller than 12" section. He said yes, it can be trimmed, but more often than not, it will work in less than 12" without any trimming.

And Daryl, he did mention Jotul as well.

I still have to wait and see how our set up work once the weather turns cold. While $399 is a good chunk of change: We don't have enough interior pipe for a draft inducer fan; and $399 is a helluva lot cheaper than one of those chimney top fans that are about $1200....then you have to install and hardwire the thing.

I'm just doing a pre-emptive CYA here. I've received some great advice here from some folks with a lot more experience than I have. There's a chance my setup may be a bit "temperamental" on start up. Only time will tell.
 
I'm curious why they mentioned Jotul. Is Jotul interested in this? I'm rather curious since my Jotul Oslo drafts very well . . . even with an outside chimney.
 
firefighterjake said:
I'm curious why they mentioned Jotul. Is Jotul interested in this? I'm rather curious since my Jotul Oslo drafts very well . . . even with an outside chimney.

Eric Cannon is a long time rep with Jotul, Erics father was a rep for Jotul before eric was. Erics good buddy in salt lake is the one making these things. Eric is also a rep this product as well...
 
north of 60 said:
They say it will rectify downdrafts through the night which means having it powered up during the burn. At 500 continuous watts going up the chimney you might as well put in an electric oil space heater. :lol:

I wonder if the heater is thermally controlled so it would shutoff while the fire was burning hot enough.

Kevin.
 
KevinM said:
north of 60 said:
They say it will rectify downdrafts through the night which means having it powered up during the burn. At 500 continuous watts going up the chimney you might as well put in an electric oil space heater. :lol:

I wonder if the heater is thermally controlled so it would shutoff while the fire was burning hot enough.

Kevin.

Better yet - how about build in a draft gauge of some sort and simply have it throttle the heat in the draft inducer to maintain desired level of draft, then while we're at it it could have another sensor on the stove to know when the fire is out to turn off. Now THAT would be slick design :)
 
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