Ideas on how to fix my intake air flow problem?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Old Smokey

Member
Oct 3, 2011
29
Northern Colorado
We use our pellet stove to heat our home for most of the winter, but when it gets really chilly outside we fire up our old Royall wood burning furnace that is in the basement. Although it is old it burns great and really kicks out some major heat which we have run venting for to the main level. To control the amount of air going into the stove (as well as the combustion rate and temperature) I have been adjusting the metal slide that covers the draft inducer fan. I'm not entirely sure if this is the correct way but it is the only way that I can figure out on how to regulate this. If I leave it wide open the fire gets raging hot but will burn too fast, so after I get it going good and get the stove temp high enough I usually close it halfway. Before turning in I load the stove up and turn the slide to maybe a quarter open and that way it burns slow and steady all night. So here is my problem. The screw that holds the metal cover has stripped the metal behind it enough that there is now no hold and the plate cannot be held in place anymore. I unscrewed and removed the plate and noticed that the previous owner must have had the same problem as there is another hole there which the screw won't catch on either. I could just use a thicker diameter screw but that seems would just be another temporary solution. Because of the fan inside there isn't enough room to get a bolt in there. Is there another type of slide, maybe horizontal, that I could attach? I don't use this draft inducer fan very often (it seems to blow the ash too much and increases my chimney cleaning) so I would be willing to remove it, but I would still have to attach some sort of damper to the front and there is a lot more heat there. Sorry about being so long winded and thanks in advance for any help :)
 

Attachments

  • P1280267s.jpg
    P1280267s.jpg
    95.8 KB · Views: 242
  • P1280270s.jpg
    P1280270s.jpg
    79.2 KB · Views: 245
Can ;you braze or weld the hole for the screw closed then re tap it? Since it sees temporary use it seems you could red-neck it and use some neodymium magnets to hold it in just about any position you wanted as long as it doesn't get very hot. Check ebay for the magnets. They are very powerful. A couple in the 1/2" size would probably do the trick but be careful as that large of magnet can cause blood blisters when they slam together and your skin is in between...
 
Could a dimmer switch be wired in place of the swiych? Just slow the fan down, or would that harm the motor?
 
Is there a way, and would you have room, to use a 10-24 machine screw from the inside out? I would make it long enough that I could put a washer-spring-washer-lock nut on the outside, and then tighten until you get a good tension on the spring. Let the spring tension hold the door in position, and then you won't be relying on tightening the screw to do this, and risking stripping it out again. If you need, you may be able to make access for the bolt by drilling a hole opposite just big enough for the head of the bolt to pass through, and then fill the hole in again if you feel you need to. Good Luck!
 
Wow thanks for the help guys, especially cave2k. Since it's in the back of the basement where no one but the cats usually venture I don't really care how it looks as long as it works and the magnet idea is perfect. It's funny how sometimes the simplest, least expensive, and easiest solutions work the best and I feel kind of dumb since I have some small but powerful magnets stuck on my tool chest only 8 feet away from the furnace! Took me literately 10 seconds to put one on and it works perfect. I did a quick google to see if magnets can take heat and it sounds like they can loose their magnetic attraction if they become hotter than 300 deg. F but that isn't a concern since it doesn't get anywhere near that hot on that part of the blower. Thanks again for for all your help
 
Status
Not open for further replies.