Had a little issue yesterday on a re-load and thought I would share.
When I reload the firebox I usually move the existing coals over the two jets in the firebox, so that's what I did.
I put my wood load in and started the burn cycle as usual and the stack temp was not rising too much at all.
After a few minutes, smoke was leaking through the firebox door gasket and the unit shutdown because the stack temp
was not reaching the minimum I have set of 70C.
Turns out that when I raked the coals (which were not glowing, just charcoal) there was too much ash in the box as well and
the ash was obstructing the jets. This caused the smoke to build up in the firebox and leak out of the gasket.
I poked through the bottom of the jet opening and got the burn to start after that.
This morning I cleaned out the ash from the top and bottom box's and cleaned the tubes in the unit as well.
The tubes were fairly clean except for fine ash. I did notice however that one of the two dampers was not closing all the way properly.
A gap a little less than an 1/8" due to the steel arm that the flap is connected to being set back a little farther than the other.
You could visually see a ring around the other showing that it had set properly, but this one was the same color all over.
I replaced the existing washer on the set-bolt with a slightly thicker one and the problem was fixed.
My Vigas 60 has two damper bypasses like other manufacturer's models in that size. Taking a look at yours during cleaning may be a good idea.
Anyone else have similar experiences to share?
When I reload the firebox I usually move the existing coals over the two jets in the firebox, so that's what I did.
I put my wood load in and started the burn cycle as usual and the stack temp was not rising too much at all.
After a few minutes, smoke was leaking through the firebox door gasket and the unit shutdown because the stack temp
was not reaching the minimum I have set of 70C.
Turns out that when I raked the coals (which were not glowing, just charcoal) there was too much ash in the box as well and
the ash was obstructing the jets. This caused the smoke to build up in the firebox and leak out of the gasket.
I poked through the bottom of the jet opening and got the burn to start after that.
This morning I cleaned out the ash from the top and bottom box's and cleaned the tubes in the unit as well.
The tubes were fairly clean except for fine ash. I did notice however that one of the two dampers was not closing all the way properly.
A gap a little less than an 1/8" due to the steel arm that the flap is connected to being set back a little farther than the other.
You could visually see a ring around the other showing that it had set properly, but this one was the same color all over.
I replaced the existing washer on the set-bolt with a slightly thicker one and the problem was fixed.
My Vigas 60 has two damper bypasses like other manufacturer's models in that size. Taking a look at yours during cleaning may be a good idea.
Anyone else have similar experiences to share?
