What to do during a power outage

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rideboard147

rideboard147

Member
Feb 2, 2011
138
Weatherford Texas (DFW)
This morning I woke up the power going off and on then off for good. The stove fired up then as soon it lost power smoke starting pouring all into the house from the heat exchangers. I had no idea what to do to stop it. When I opened the door the fire lit back up and burned the pellets off. I have a vent out the side of the house then goes vertical about 4 ft. My vent pipes are clean because I just cleaned them last week. What should you do in this situation to stop the smoke pouring in?
 
I don't know enough about your setup to even hazard a guess.

It is possible that when your power went out the wind was blowing towards your outside vent preventing it from exhausting the smoke.

It is also possible that your termination cap was partially blocked thus not allowing the smoke to exit fast enough.

Your particular stove as I understand it is a pain to connect an OAK to which can aid in expelling smoke during a power outage.

You can also install an UPS that would allow the stove to ride out momentary fluctuations in power and provide at least enough run time to shut the stove down.

You could also go higher on the outside vertical.

Post a picture of the outside portion of your vent system.
 
Do you have an Outside air kit? This is a common problem that occurs with no natural draft in pellet stoves.
 
Rideaboard:
A longer (verticle) pipe would definately help. Hot air (smoke) rises due to its lower density. A longer verticle pipe keeps the exhaust gases together longer which results in more 'suction' if you like on the pellet stove and keeps drawing (pulling) the air (smoek) up the chimney even when the electric fan is not there to help it. Ever notice the very tall brick smoke stacks on industrial plants? These serve two functions - (1) to increase the 'draw' or 'pull' on the fire source- which is proportional to stack height and (2) to release the nasty stuff from th burn process high enough above the city so it doesn't come back to the local ground area and cause the neighbours to complain!

Another thing you might look at is how air-tight is your home? Newer homes tend to be more 'air tight' which means exhaust draw on smoke stacks must be made better (stronger - longer or have a bigger fan to create more draw). If your home is very air tight, you could try cracking a window open just an inch or so inthe room with the pellet stove to allow replacement air into the house so the smoke can be drawn out of the house. An OAK basically serves this function - so that's not a bad idea either.

Take care.
RonB
 
Thanks for the tips I have never heard of a OAK before I will check it out. I currently do not have a outside air kit which I might look into now. My house is about 3 years old so it is very possible being air tight. I will post pics up tonight when I get home. This really makes me not trust my stove now. The whole house was super smoky.
 
If you install an OAK, make sure that the inlet is placed physically lower than the exhaust vent or you could end up with a reverse exhaust situation when your power goes out. My OAK inlet is just a few inches below my exhaust in terms of height location (the OAK inlet is over 10' away from the exhaust, so the OAK does not draw in exhaust air from the PL vent pipe), and I have no issues with smoke backups when the power is pulled from my furnace.
 
Quadrafires OAK is not a perfect system. It basically goes into the bottom portion of the stove. The channel in which the air goes to the burn pot had not been sealed at all. Used 900 degree sealant. The other problem is the bottom of the stove where it meets your hearth. There are gaps because of grout, uneven base, hearth and so on. Had to use the flat style door or cover gasket material and sealed off the bottom of stove. Cold air was coming in from around the base. Unlike other models that have an actual intake pipe sticking out of the back of the stove. Quadrafire's system does work, its better than pulling the cold air from elsewhere in your house (bedrooms, outlets, doors). Did I HAVE to do all that extra stuff? NO. But I was not happy with the cold air I could feel coming from around the base of my stove. It being 100% sealed now, you cant feel anything cold around the base and i know i am pulling 100% outside air. In the event of an outage the smoke will have a much harder time now, trying to enter my house. Smoke the Bear said it best above.. The OAK's for Quad's are a PITA. Good luck
 
rideboard147 said:
Thanks for the tips I have never heard of a OAK before I will check it out. I currently do not have a outside air kit which I might look into now. My house is about 3 years old so it is very possible being air tight. I will post pics up tonight when I get home. This really makes me not trust my stove now. The whole house was super smoky.
Click to expand...

I am a idiot about not knowing OAK stood for outside air kit, lol the lingo I am learning on here!
 
outside venting kit i got from Dura Vent
 

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If I assume there is a 45 degree and a 18" piece of horizontal behind that stove and all of the vent is 3" would I be close?
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
I don't know enough about your setup to even hazard a guess.

It is possible that when your power went out the wind was blowing towards your outside vent preventing it from exhausting the smoke.

It is also possible that your termination cap was partially blocked thus not allowing the smoke to exit fast enough.

Your particular stove as I understand it is a pain to connect an OAK to which can aid in expelling smoke during a power outage.

You can also install an UPS that would allow the stove to ride out momentary fluctuations in power and provide at least enough run time to shut the stove down.

You could also go higher on the outside vertical.

Post a picture of the outside portion of your vent system.
Click to expand...

The wind was coming out of the north and this is on the south end of the house. What happen was the power went off and came back on 3 seconds later, and it did that about 4 times in a row. The final time the power was on for about 3 min before going out for good. I guess my stove did a complete start up cycle each time the power would return because it would start feeding pellets and trying to ignite during that short time. Well when I looked in the burn pot it was half full and could not get a good burn. I think it clogged the exhaust. Note the first 3 times it did not smoke in the house. Being a new pellet stove owner it did not occur to me to go over there and kick the thermostat off. So my question is why would it try to go into a new burn cycle it it is still hot in the burn pot and has pellets>?
 
"So my question is why would it try to go into a new burn cycle it it is still hot in the burn pot and has pellets?"

That is a question for Quadrafire. Somewhere in the manual it should explain the power outage action the stove takes.

The answer to the smoke in the house is to make certain the vent system has enough natural draft to remove the smoke in the firebox or in the alternative to provide power to keep the stove running long enough to shut the stove down.

I vote for enough natural draft to remove the smoke.
 
I vote for enough natural draft to remove the smoke.[/quote]

I think I am gonna go higher with the venting like you are saying. I only got 4 ft and want to go up to 6 or 7' The backup power deal looks like a lot of extra money and confusing. Thanks for the help!
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
If I assume there is a 45 degree and a 18" piece of horizontal behind that stove and all of the vent is 3" would I be close?
Click to expand...

ya you pretty much nailed it. It has a small piece on the stove then a 45 then a 12" piece then the T outside to go up
 
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