Advice using mini pot belly temporarily on deck

[JustMeMissB]

Hi all, this is the situation. I live in Australia, it is only cold enough here approx 3 months of the year to use this pot belly. Its in a partially enclosed deck as seen in pics, for 9 months of the year it stays back against the fence line out of the way ( also rusting to chit),on a mobile platform. I want to be able to use it but am not sure the best way to go about the flue/ venting smoke without it needing to be permanently fixed in said position. What are my options here? A flue cap through the iron roof, that i can connect and disconnect to with sometime of flexible flue? Remove the windows screen and go out that way? I had it going last year, as is no external venting, the first time worked a treat, I used really old lumps of red head charcoal Id had for years which worked great. Long burn, excellent heating, NO SMOKE!
However trying to replicate that with new store bought charcoal lumps, brickettes, and wood have resulted in huge amounts of smoke to the point where I had to dump water on it before it was out of control. So need a solution. The Reddit crew recommended you fine people as the ppl with the expertise to ask soo..... help.

 

[begreen]

The briquettes may have not gotten hot enough to create a draft in the flue.

Not sure about down under, but here in the states, If there is a fire or damage caused due to this installation, insurance would not cover it. The rolling platform and lack of chimney pipe are two big issues.

 

[EbS-P]

safety concerns aside the question is how to best light charcoal with little smoke. I use a weed burner hooked up to a 20 pound propane tank. A small butane or propane torch works well too. But it still smokes some. The idea is to get it hot fast. It may have been a bad batch of charcoal.

 

[coaly]

The reason you were getting smoke and a smoldering burn is because the pipe that allows exhaust gases to rise up and out is what causes air to move in to feed the fire oxygen.

Hotter and lighter exhaust gases from the fire need to rise up the pipe. This creates a low pressure area in pipe and stove. This slight vacuum allows atmospheric air pressure which is higher than inside the stove to PUSH into the air intake, or anywhere it can feeding the fire oxygen. This is measured as draft.

Every stove has a required draft needed measured at the stove outlet. Normally a chimney is connected, which stays hotter inside, either masonry or insulated pipe. The differential temperature between inside and outside of the chimney is what creates the draft, the hotter inside flue and colder outside, the stronger the draft. So atmospheric conditions and chimney height all affects the draft strength.

To answer your Reddit questions about a damper, a flue damper is the flat plate that goes inside the pipe with a control handle to open and close it. A flue damper is a chimney control that affects the stove. It controls the velocity of the rising gases. By slowing them down, this slows the incoming air as well. In technical terms it reduces NET draft. (less vacuum allowing less air to rush in)

Newer stoves are sealed well around the door with no air leaks like you have. Closing the air intake controls the fire. When a stove leaks like yours, the only way to slow it down is reducing the draw the chimney has on the stove, preventing so much air from leaking in where it can, over feeding the fire. So much of my responses are wasted on Reddit, I couldn’t bring myself to answer there.

 

[JustMeMissB]

The reason you were getting smoke and a smoldering burn is because the pipe that allows exhaust gases to rise up and out is what causes air to move in to feed the fire oxygen.

Hotter and lighter exhaust gases from the fire need to rise up the pipe. This creates a low pressure area in pipe and stove. This slight vacuum allows atmospheric air pressure which is higher than inside the stove to PUSH into the air intake, or anywhere it can feeding the fire oxygen. This is measured as draft.

Every stove has a required draft needed measured at the stove outlet. Normally a chimney is connected, which stays hotter inside, either masonry or insulated pipe. The differential temperature between inside and outside of the chimney is what creates the draft, the hotter inside flue and colder outside, the stronger the draft. So atmospheric conditions and chimney height all affects the draft strength.

To answer your Reddit questions about a damper, a flue damper is the flat plate that goes inside the pipe with a control handle to open and close it. A flue damper is a chimney control that affects the stove. It controls the velocity of the rising gases. By slowing them down, this slows the incoming air as well. In technical terms it reduces NET draft. (less vacuum allowing less air to rush in)

Newer stoves are sealed well around the door with no air leaks like you have. Closing the air intake controls the fire. When a stove leaks like yours, the only way to slow it down is reducing the draw the chimney has on the stove, preventing so much air from leaking in where it can, over feeding the fire. So much of my responses are wasted on Reddit, I couldn’t bring myself to answer there.

I understand. Thankyou for your very concise answer. It seems by peoples responses that I must not have made the type of info I need properly clear.
The stove wasn't leaking smoke. The issue with the smoke was because it was going up the flue as it should. However for some reason the first time I used it there was almost zero smoke, and as its in a partially enclosed deck that was awesome. Next time , when there was alot of smoke I realised that I would need to find a way to vent it out of the space if I still wanted to use it. This is my issue, what is the most suitable way to provide a vent, wether fixed or otherwise, through the roof or windows, while still being able to disconnect it so the stove can be moved out of the way during the majority of the year.

 

[coaly]

A chimney uses a support box at ceiling. The chimney pipe starts at the box and should be at least 3 feet above roof. This provides the draft needed to get air into the stove. The black pipe is called connector pipe. The black pipe is easily removable from stove to support box. There is also telescopic pipe that shortens to remove. You could cut pipe to fit just short of going into support box and raise stove on bricks to connect. Lowering stove drops it out of support box for removal.

Temperature and fuel could have played a big part in why the stove didn’t smoke. The colder it gets outside, the faster the rising gases move up the flue. This allows more air into stove burning properly and cleaner. It’s all about the draft causing a good oxygen mix with the fuel in the stove. That’s why I explained what makes air go into the stove to get it to burn with less smoke. The chimney makes the stove go. You don’t have a chimney. So conditions have to be just right to get hot gases rising up the pipe for the fuel being used.

High atmospheric air pressure makes the stove work well. Low pressure areas moving over slows air going into stove resulting in a poor smokey fire. Moisture content in wood is also a large factor. Chimney height can make up for low pressure. Too much chimney height in taller buildings requires the flue damper to slow it down.

The issue without proper venting is even with no smoke, just glowing coals at the end of the burn, there is carbon monoxide being generated that needs to be vented up and out, clear of the porch area. It is clear, no smell, and makes you drowsy putting you to sleep. Inside buildings breathing it, you don’t wake up.