If the stove is loaded and lit so flames lick up at the cat during a cold start, you might find a much lower flue temp point to shut the bypass. Softwood splits at the top near the cat help a lot. 1,000F is very, very high but some setups might require it. Experiment.
2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK) Part 2
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I am thinking that I should have our roof rafters modified so the flue can go straight up through the peak. I am also going to purchase the soot eater kit. I did not realize one could clean from below!
Here is the chimney with the two 45s
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Your flue is plenty tall enough to handle a set of 45's, what problem are you having?
We had a chimney fire this season. We always have smoke come into the house when loading.
Do you have a spark screen on your cap? When the flue is swept, does the pipe get lifted up so the debris behind the cat gets swept out?
When cleaning the chimney, I place a rag behind the open bypass to keep debris out. Then vacuum with a small nozzle behind the bypass door by lifting it slightly. Our cat has never been stalled during a burn, always lights off when temp gets hot enough.
No screen, using a vacustack cap to help with the winds here.
black smoke signals
Feeling the Heat
Try this on the smoke.When opening the loading door first close the t-stat then slowly open the loading door. Vacu-stack also could be some of your problem this cap is good for preventing down draft but I question the horizontal exit of flu gas.Thinking this setup would increase draft on a tall chimney thus decrease burn time.I have this same cap and going to try a different style cap because most of the creosote ends up in the horizontal pipe of the cap soot-eater will not clean this part of the cap. 
No screen, using a vacustack cap to help with the winds here.[/QUOTE]
No screen, using a vacustack cap to help with the winds here.[/QUOTE]
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jetsam
Minister of Fire
Depending how much pipe you have up top, you may not even meet the minimum flue height requirement. While you're thinking of modifying the flue, think about making it taller. I would go for at least 15' plus maybe a 3-5' penalty for those elbows if they will still be there.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I also drive by flue, but engage at 250F on outside of single wall. That's probably well below 1000F, but can't guess how far due to time constants.
Have you tried it without the vacustack? I've seen those cause more problems than they resolve.
The vacustack is a recent addition to fix occasional downdraft issues from gusts. It was really loaded with crust after the chimney fire. It seemed to help the downdraft situation, but when we were running a plain cap we never had a fire.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
An 8" flue can be shimmed down to 6" by dropping a 6" single walled stainless steel pipe down the middle. Inside the house use 6" double-walled pipe with appropriate adapters to make things work. This is the arrangement I have and it works great. No need to replace all that expensive "hard packed" pipe and roof jack.
I've ran several 6" stoves including my BKs on my 8" flue and had great results. In fact, the 8" chimney out performed my 6" in my opinion. If the flue is a reasonable height, I think it's fine. That vacustack is what caused the problem, not the 8" flue.
black smoke signals
Feeling the Heat
At 22 ft of 6inch liner I have no problem with draw or down draft are you telling us vacu-stack creates more draft by design affecting performance. Which cap do you recommend?
The vacustack stack is extremely restrictive,
on a stove that requires optimal draft it's a problem. I can't speak for the OP's particular situation, but the ones I've seen cause more issues than they resolve. Most request the vacustack because of the issues they had in the past with an old turd stove.
This winter, I got a lot of rain down the stack due to high winds. Does anybody have a comment on these?
http://www.chimneycapdesign.com
Or does anybody have recommendations based on experience? My current cap is, with the exception of the spark screen, of open design with a domed hat.
http://www.chimneycapdesign.com
Or does anybody have recommendations based on experience? My current cap is, with the exception of the spark screen, of open design with a domed hat.
I converted by 8" to 6" to eliminate the "smoke-smell" problem. My exterior pipe is now super insulated from the elements. The magnehelic indicated a stronger draw too.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
twd000
Feeling the Heat
New Princess Insert owner here, trying to figure out my technique. Background info here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/princess-insert-install-quote.160967/page-2#post-2166277
I am burning a 50/50 mix of red oak and maple. It has been seasoned at least two years as the previous owner left it in the side yard. Splits average 16" by 6" square on the ends.
A few questions:
When I reload onto hot coals with an active cat, do I still need to run in bypass mode for some period of time? Yesterday I packed the box with splits, cat probe was 2/3 of the way into "active" and I closed the door, left the stat on High, re-engaged the cat, which was already glowing orange. However, when I walked outside to check the chimney, there was thick white smoke belching out. Is it possible to overwhelm the cat with too much smoke volume?
When I am running low and slow to extend burn times, how low can I cut back the thermostat? Yesterday I had it running fine on the 3rd dot and I wanted to cut it back to the 2nd dot. When I did so, I could hear the knob click, and it looked like the fire was extinguished. I didn't wait long to confirm, but bumped it back up to the third dot, and I could hear the intake air whistling like crazy. Like it was sucking the tiniest amount of air through the port.
I need some ember protection in front of the hearth. The installers recommended a steel plate, covered by an ember rug. I am looking at the fiberglass rugs which apparently offer the best burn protection. I want to secure it in place to prevent it from slipping, while being able to easily lift it and take it outside to knock off the bark chips, etc. What rug should I buy, and how to I secure it while making it removable?
I am burning a 50/50 mix of red oak and maple. It has been seasoned at least two years as the previous owner left it in the side yard. Splits average 16" by 6" square on the ends.
A few questions:
When I reload onto hot coals with an active cat, do I still need to run in bypass mode for some period of time? Yesterday I packed the box with splits, cat probe was 2/3 of the way into "active" and I closed the door, left the stat on High, re-engaged the cat, which was already glowing orange. However, when I walked outside to check the chimney, there was thick white smoke belching out. Is it possible to overwhelm the cat with too much smoke volume?
When I am running low and slow to extend burn times, how low can I cut back the thermostat? Yesterday I had it running fine on the 3rd dot and I wanted to cut it back to the 2nd dot. When I did so, I could hear the knob click, and it looked like the fire was extinguished. I didn't wait long to confirm, but bumped it back up to the third dot, and I could hear the intake air whistling like crazy. Like it was sucking the tiniest amount of air through the port.
I need some ember protection in front of the hearth. The installers recommended a steel plate, covered by an ember rug. I am looking at the fiberglass rugs which apparently offer the best burn protection. I want to secure it in place to prevent it from slipping, while being able to easily lift it and take it outside to knock off the bark chips, etc. What rug should I buy, and how to I secure it while making it removable?
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Yes and yes. Run it on bypass for at least a couple minutes before opening the door. Some smoke getting past the cat at first is possible; water vapor emissions are always normal and can be hard to tell from smoke.
Depends on your draft and wood. You will have to experiment and find out. Don't worry if it appears to 'go out'- the thermostat will open the air back up when it cools enough. On high settings there will always be flames. On low settings flames are less common. You can watch it for fun, but don't worry about it unless the cat goes below the active mark.
twd000
Feeling the Heat
So is the thermostat "smart" enough to prevent me from accidently stalling the cat? I read the warnings in the manual not to lower it too quickly. What I want to avoid is lowering the stat, then coming back an hour later to find out that I killed the fire.
lsucet
Minister of Fire
When I reload onto hot coals with an active cat, do I still need to run in bypass mode for some period of time?
No, if the cat is into active zone closed door, bypass and run it on high for awhile to charr the load and dial it to low or whatever make you comfortable.
No, if the cat is into active zone closed door, bypass and run it on high for awhile to charr the load and dial it to low or whatever make you comfortable.
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