Heatreclaimers

[Rich L]

Has anyone had any experience with a flue pipe heat reclaimer? Are they worth the experience?

 

[STOVEGUY11]

Never personally used one, but I hear they work well if you keep them clean.

 

[stoveguy13]

they work alot better on the older stoves may cause some issues with newer stoves pulling to much heat from the flue and cloud cause some draft issues.

 

[thechimneysweep]

We call those things "stack robbers", and they caused problems in the older models too, especially when the stove was smoldered down for the all-night burn. The already-cool exhaust would be cooled even more as it passed through the stack robber, resulting in vastly accelerated creosote formation.

Back in my sweeping days, I learned that stack robbers were often associated with excessive creosote formation, and once personally witnessed a case where a stack robber was causing such severe condensation that liquid creosote was actually leaking out of a seam in the bottom of the stack robber and dripping onto the hot stove! Pretty messy, really smelly, and not very safe.

My observation wasn't unique. Chimney fires resulting from the use of stack robbers reached such epidemic proportions in our area that our local Code Authority outlawed their use.

I suppose an argument can be made that stack robbers could be advantageous when used with cone fireplaces, or the non-airtight franklin-type stoves that were popular in the '60's and 70's, but thermal design engineering has come a long way since those days, and heat loss out the flue is no longer such a big problem. In fact, I'm told that new models often have to be "de-tuned" during the design process to ensure enough heat spillage to maintain the minimum exhaust temperature needed for adequate updraft.

You might want to monitor your flue gas temperature over a few burns to determine if you have any degrees to spare. Once my EPA approved stove has settled into its normal low-draft burn, the flue gas temperature hovers around 300-350 degrees for the duration, so there isn't much heat loss up the flue for a stack robber to extract. Lowering the exhaust temperature even a few degrees with a stack robber would drop it into the creosote formation zone.

 

[begreen]

Here's a shot of a failed heat reclaimer installation from an old post. That should cure any thoughts of using one.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gilphone/FIREINVERMONT12807/photo#5142155114097802418

 

[stoveguy2esw]

check out the flue pipe on this shot of a furnace , personally i think reclaimers should be banned, and should definately never be used on an epa stove due to already reduced stack temps from higher efficiency burning.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj307/stoveguy2esw/majicheat1.jpg

note the drip starting just above the reclaimer and below

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj307/stoveguy2esw/creosote1.jpg

p.s. the customer in question stated the smell alone was enough to drive him from his home. me, im relying on the stove to do what its advertised to do , if that aint enough , get a bigger stove , but stay away from stack robbers, they aint worth the baggage.

 

[Todd]

Been there and done that. Those things are creosote factories!