Draft

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drekick1

Member
Jan 10, 2010
47
Long Island
How can I tell if I have enough of a draft?
 
Get a magnehelic and check the reading against what is in the technical or service manual for your stove.

If you don't use that you do it by flame action, pellet action, and what gets deposited on your glass or fire box rear wall.

Flame active, blue flame just above the burning pellets, the flames should be white with a yellow tinge, no black tips, deposit on glass should be gray, ash should be gray or light tan fire box rear wall as well). The pellets should be moving in the pot (the dance, which is really a good wiggle).

If the deposit is brown you have too much air if black to little, make all draft adjustments in small increments and allow the fire to run for at least 30 minutes before checking and making further adjustments.

You need to understand that your draft will actually undergo continuous change as things build up in the venting and heat exchanger. This is one of the reasons why the stoves have to be kept clean.
 
I'm not a stove expert or even knowlegable on their construction. What I'm seeing with my old Whitfield Advantage 2 is the draft is a very course adjustment. It's a pull handle gate that slide across the opening and it sticks and when it does move it's too much either way. I was considering a modification with somekind of screw adjuster. Now having said that the heat or flame varies constantly with the deposits of pellets being intermittent. Trying to find a happy medium seems to be the goal. I get all the of said conditions and never seemed to get the desired combustion air just right. Any one else see this with there older stoves and have you done anything in the way of a modification? Heat transfer or heat exchangers are interesting components, it's the KIS (Keep It Simple) part that's hard. It needs to be durable and needs to be kept clean. bjr23
 
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