KeithO
Minister of Fire
This sounds like just the problem I had.
To check it out you need the following:
11mm or 7/16" socket
Short socket extension and wrench
Instructions:
Make sure the door is closed and latched
Fully open right hand side trivet
Look carefully in the corner formed by the trivet and the stove top.
You will see the head of a hex bolt sitting there (ignore the adjacent cap screw)
Using the socket, loosen the hex bolt (just remove tension, do NOT totally unscrew it).
Now apply pressure to the top of the door using something that won't catch fire right away. I used the end of a split.
While holding the pressure on the top of the door, re-tighten the bolt you just loosened.
It may be helpful to have someone help you, but I held the socket in one hand and applied pressure with the other. Some may be less handy..
After re-tightening the bolt, make sure that the draft control is closed and compare the flame activity to before. In my case there was an unbelievable difference.
There is a second culprit that you may need to deal with, and that is the fixed air inlet directly below the ash lip on the left side. This is a hole that feeds air to the front of the firebox and is about the size of a 10c piece and has no control (open all the time)
Instructions:
Get a piece of tinfoil about 4" wide the full width of the roll.
Fold it multiple times until you get a square about 2"x2".
Now place the end of a pen or pencil in the center of the square and roll up the edges of the foil around the pencil to get a short cylinder about 1" long.
Take this cylinder and carefully (to avoid burns) insert the closed end into the opening of the hole. It is a pretty hard place to see anything, so you will need to use a mirror or feel your way (don't try this without gloves). When you get it about half way in, expand out the open end so that it will stay put. It may sound awkward, but it actually works OK.
In the attached pictures, you get an idea how I modified my primary air inlet to reduce the minimum opening. I took a thin sheet of steel and cut a rectangle with tin snips. I then folded the back over 180 degrees and squeezed it tight in a vise. Now I slipped this sheet UNDER the primary air control (between the flap and the stove bottom) until I was able to pinch the existing sheet metal control between the 2 layers at the back of the sheet. I had to force my extension plate in place with some persuasion of a small hammer and a cold chisel, but there was no welding, no stove cement and it fits as tight as can be. The rectangle is long enough to completely cover the primary air inlet when the lever is fully closed.
Of all the above, the door hinge correction was the biggest issue. After that, suppression of the extra air inlet made a significant difference to the stove control. Finally, with the change to the primary air control, if the stove gets up real hot because I didn't pay attention after reloading, I can now fully shut the air and get the stove temperature well down in about 5 minutes, whereas before, once it got hot it just ran away and only cooled when the fuel was exhausted.
To check it out you need the following:
11mm or 7/16" socket
Short socket extension and wrench
Instructions:
Make sure the door is closed and latched
Fully open right hand side trivet
Look carefully in the corner formed by the trivet and the stove top.
You will see the head of a hex bolt sitting there (ignore the adjacent cap screw)
Using the socket, loosen the hex bolt (just remove tension, do NOT totally unscrew it).
Now apply pressure to the top of the door using something that won't catch fire right away. I used the end of a split.
While holding the pressure on the top of the door, re-tighten the bolt you just loosened.
It may be helpful to have someone help you, but I held the socket in one hand and applied pressure with the other. Some may be less handy..
After re-tightening the bolt, make sure that the draft control is closed and compare the flame activity to before. In my case there was an unbelievable difference.
There is a second culprit that you may need to deal with, and that is the fixed air inlet directly below the ash lip on the left side. This is a hole that feeds air to the front of the firebox and is about the size of a 10c piece and has no control (open all the time)
Instructions:
Get a piece of tinfoil about 4" wide the full width of the roll.
Fold it multiple times until you get a square about 2"x2".
Now place the end of a pen or pencil in the center of the square and roll up the edges of the foil around the pencil to get a short cylinder about 1" long.
Take this cylinder and carefully (to avoid burns) insert the closed end into the opening of the hole. It is a pretty hard place to see anything, so you will need to use a mirror or feel your way (don't try this without gloves). When you get it about half way in, expand out the open end so that it will stay put. It may sound awkward, but it actually works OK.
In the attached pictures, you get an idea how I modified my primary air inlet to reduce the minimum opening. I took a thin sheet of steel and cut a rectangle with tin snips. I then folded the back over 180 degrees and squeezed it tight in a vise. Now I slipped this sheet UNDER the primary air control (between the flap and the stove bottom) until I was able to pinch the existing sheet metal control between the 2 layers at the back of the sheet. I had to force my extension plate in place with some persuasion of a small hammer and a cold chisel, but there was no welding, no stove cement and it fits as tight as can be. The rectangle is long enough to completely cover the primary air inlet when the lever is fully closed.
Of all the above, the door hinge correction was the biggest issue. After that, suppression of the extra air inlet made a significant difference to the stove control. Finally, with the change to the primary air control, if the stove gets up real hot because I didn't pay attention after reloading, I can now fully shut the air and get the stove temperature well down in about 5 minutes, whereas before, once it got hot it just ran away and only cooled when the fuel was exhausted.
