Optimal draft for the flu. Do I need to have a barometric damper to get optimal performance?

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Kent Price

New Member
Aug 10, 2009
7
Hudson Valley, NY
I have had my EKO 60 for a little over a year. No water storage. My EKO is in my basement, tightly sealed, the flu exits the house through the foundation wall, two 90 degree bends, then goes up the outside wall/chaise that is 30' tall and meets chimney design codes. I am in idle mode a good portion of my day. I just checked my draft. It fluctuates between .5-.8 on a 20 degree calm winter day here in NY, mainly in the .7-.8 range. It ran a little higher when I was under gasification, ~.7-1.0 range.

Curious of the advantages and disadvantages of a barometric damper based on the above readings. Any other considerations I should be thinking about?
 
What are your stack temps, does it change much with the draft. Notice any difference in the way it operates.
 
Kent,

you should take your readings when your boiler is running in full gas mode. If your running .05 to.08 on idle and a calm day I bet your above .10 on a cold windy day. What happens is you suck the hot air past the HX tubes and you dont transfer the heat well. Because the settings for these boilers are based on moisture of wood and draft of the chimney I would set it one day and it would run great then the next day different weather and it ran like crap. I put in a BD and "fine Tuned" the boiler so now I just check the wood moisture and adjust from there.

Rob
 
I use a manual damper as Atmos recommends. Barometrics do a fine job except they feed in cold air. If you have decent temps past the baro. that should be alright. The manual damper holds settings very well, I have a magnehelic permanently hooked up to be sure, Randy
 
There shouldn't even be any debate about it. A barometric will most definitely improve efficiency on any down drafter. Their purpose is to regulate the draft at a constant level thereby ensuring a consistent burn regardless of wind or other factors.
 
There is no debate about that Heaterman. Can they cool flue gases too much? I've never checked & am not sure, Randy
 
Singed Eyebrows said:
There is no debate about that Heaterman. Can they cool flue gases too much? I've never checked & am not sure, Randy
Click to expand...

I have not seen it cause any issues if they are set up right and adjusted to the the manufacturers spec for the equipment it's installed on. You have to use a draft gauge. No guessing.........How do you guess at air flow anyhow? ;)
 
I don't run a gasification boiler, but a EPA woodfurnace. For us I ran a barometric damper last year and some of this year. They do even the draft and allow for a more efficient burn. But for us I removed it. My flue temps before the baro out of our furnace were in the 275-375 range or so. After the baro there was a 100+ degree loss in flue temps. With our 32' chimney the gasses were too cool at the top. I went with a key damper and use a manometer to verify draft. The results are much better in the flue as far as temps go. Even when our baro was closed, it allowed for air to enter the chimney.
 
laynes69 said:
I don't run a gasification boiler, but a EPA woodfurnace. For us I ran a barometric damper last year and some of this year. They do even the draft and allow for a more efficient burn. But for us I removed it. My flue temps before the baro out of our furnace were in the 275-375 range or so. After the baro there was a 100+ degree loss in flue temps. With our 32' chimney the gasses were too cool at the top. I went with a key damper and use a manometer to verify draft. The results are much better in the flue as far as temps go. Even when our baro was closed, it allowed for air to enter the chimney.
Click to expand...

Chimney located on the exterior of the house?
 
Yeah, was an 7x11 liner last year and we had buckets of water enter the basement. This summer I installed a 5.5" 22 gauge rigid liner in the chimney and insulated with a coarse vermiculite at the base and a finer at the top. Full stainless chimney top and sealed the bottom and done away with the cleanout. No more condensation, but I don't want that chance again. I might have lost a little on the burn time using a key damper but I get more heat output with flue temps still being within the norm.
 
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