Buck 28000 retrofits?

[rdeis]

Evening, all. I have a Buck 27000 in my old farmhouse on the main floor that's been very handy in the sub-zero for the last week. Last year frequent use of this stove had my winter utility bills MUCH lower than in previous years.

I've also got a Buck 28000 in the finished basement that needs a new fan- I'm working on that now. While I'm working on it, are there other things I could do while it's out (or after I put it back in) to improve the performance of this stove?

Being in Colorado, we're mostly stuck using evergreen wood, which is unfortunate, but trucking in good hardwood isn't much cheaper than using propane so that's that. What can you guys tell me about using this stove better?

 

[bsruther]

Make sure your gaskets are in good shape. It's not an airtight stove, but the more you can seal it up, the more efficient it will burn, especially with dry wood.

 

[rdeis]

Easy enough.

It seems like it would be easy to put in baffles to set up an S-draft instead of the original updraft. Worth the trouble?

 

[bsruther]

How would you attach the baffle? If you bolt it on, you'll be drilling into the air chamber that supplies hot air to the house.

 

[rdeis]

For a test I'd think I could put a plate on top of a couple of fire bricks. There's lots of room inside a Big Buck?

 

[rwhite]

Evening, all. I have a Buck 27000 in my old farmhouse on the main floor that's been very handy in the sub-zero for the last week. Last year frequent use of this stove had my winter utility bills MUCH lower than in previous years.

I've also got a Buck 28000 in the finished basement that needs a new fan- I'm working on that now. While I'm working on it, are there other things I could do while it's out (or after I put it back in) to improve the performance of this stove?

Being in Colorado, we're mostly stuck using evergreen wood, which is unfortunate, but trucking in good hardwood isn't much cheaper than using propane so that's that. What can you guys tell me about using this stove better?

Look at the bright side...it will cure a lot faster than hardwood. I burn 95% lodgepole, juniper and fir and do just fine. There are some that burn 100% lodgepole. As long as its dry it good in my book. You ought to be far enough south to get shrub oak. It's only 4-6 diameter but once dry it will burn all night. I have a friend that usually brings me 1/2 cord a year from Utah. I use aout 1-2 pieces a night and it will last me the winter.

 

[rdeis]

Still looking about and learning.. Both stoves use the old style installation with a fascia that surrounds the stove and uses fiberglass insulation as a sort of gasket between the fireplace and the fascia. There is no ducting/piping of any sort between the stove and the chimney.

If I understand right, the current proper installation would be a blockoff plate with a pipe that extends up to the flue and that bolts to the top of the stove with a glass gasket?

 

[rdeis]

So I'm looking at the ARDEN Smoke Geenie retrofit that's pictured in the manual (download here, drawing is on page 29 http://www.buckstove.com/manuals/rmanuals/260027002800.pdf)

I've found catalyst for these in several places, but not the complete system. It seems that it's a symple piece of metal that converts the stove to a cross-draft type with a bypass door, and the catalyst is set in the cross-draft stack. SInce the assembly is all inside the stove the heat is contained down where the blowers can push it to the living space.

Somebody here said flame impingement is a major problem on retrofit cats- is that true of this design as well? Can I mitigate that problem?

 

[mellow]

Check with servicesales.com, they might have some of the Nu-tec add-on cat retrofit kits for your buck. Impingement is a problem with any retrofit design, really need to design the stove around the cat.

 

[rdeis]

No dice- Jason says they're all gone from everywhere. They've got replacement catalyst but no installation.

So who can teach me about the things to consider when I build one of these? Maybe somebody had one can tell me about the problems they experienced?

 

[mellow]

You could take some design cues from Appalachian and High Valley, basically they built a box that houses the cat in it with a damper on the back side.

Feel free to check out the pics from my bay 52 to get some ideas.

Appalachian 52 BAY Wood Stove Insert

 

[mellow]

You might be able to buy the whole damper assembly from Appalachian and make it work on the Buck? Not sure if the damper rod would line up correctly.

 

[rdeis]

Nice! I'll have to take some measurements... Looks like the cat sits up against the top in a chamber, and the damper allows air to pass out the top around the cat in the back, or forces it to go through the cat from the front?

The smoke genie was a similar thing, but the cat was in a chamber that sat up against the back and the draft would enter it from the bottom.

 

[mellow]

Correct.

 

[rdeis]

So does the change in draft path (bottom-front to top back for bypass, bottom front to top front through the cat) matter?

Do I need to consider anything special because of the hotter temps?

 

[mellow]

The Appalachian "shell" is pretty close to the Buck, take a look at the pics I posted in my thread to get an idea. Hotter temps from the cats will be wicked off by the top vent, you will need to make sure your fan works good. The top plate on those stoves is pretty thick so it should handle the higher temps, but I am not certified to say this is a legit project

 

[rdeis]

Sounds good. I'd rather have the high temps of the cat up on top than in the back next to the fan motor anyway.