A BURNING ISSUE I NEED ADVISE ON PLEASE

[scooter_nate]

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum here, I have a late 80's Heritage downdraft woodstove that I purchased used 3 years ago. I have been having problems burning it *note I just found out it is a downdraft stove* Whenever I close the doors it snuffs the fire out. Over the weekend I went to the local fireplace store and the gentleman informed me that it was a downdraft from my discription. He said it sounds like a chiminey issue Now It looks like i am a little under 2ft from the peak of the roof so I may have to add on a piece insul. pipe also he said to filp the stove upside down using an air gun to try to clean the "veins" in the back as they may be clogged with crap from over the years. Also I cleaned the inside of the stove out today and I have a piece of 1/4" steel angled over top of the left hand throat from the back to about 1-2" from the front. Is this stock?

Regards,
Nate

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Bump to the top. Can someone help this fellow?

 

[fespo]

I can't but will bump

 

[ckarotka]

After reading the Title all I thought was Penicillin :ahhh: Bump

 

[jtp10181]

OK... here we go...

Chimney needs to be 2 ft taller then the peak of the roof.
Why did you use a steep roof flashing on that 4-6 pitch roof?
When you have the door open does it seem to draft out the flue, or do you get smoke back in the house?
Have you found the air inlet controls on the stove? Make sure they are wide open for a new fire.
How is the wood? Do you have a hard time getting a fire going? Do you get bubbles or vapor coming out of the ends?

 

[scooter_nate]

The roof kit only came in two different pitches, The air inlet control is on the right hand backside, it is open until the wood is black, and I have a good bed of cools, woods good a little moist. It just does not seem to get hot after burning for 6-8 hrs it can hold my hand an inch above the griddle for a long period of time. Smoke will enter room if I open the door while downdraft is engaged.

 

[AlexNY]

... Chimney needs to be 2 ft taller then the peak of the roof ...

You can get optimal performance if the stack effect of your chimney is larger than the stack effect of your house (that is to say, if your chimney extends above the roof top). Having said that, there are many work arounds and many wood burners live comfortably with chimneys that are far from ideal (including me).

1) You can instantly eliminate negative draft by cracking open a window or outside door near the woodstove.
2) Once your stove is no longer inverting, you can very quickly generate draft by starting a small fire. I use chopped up pieces of artificial fireplace logs, because they are cheaper than the fire starting bricks (and they work better too).
3) You can remove the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning by having a CO monitor near the floor, right next to the wood stove. This device costs about $50. It is a good investment for any wood burner, but if your stove tends to invert, it is absolutely needed. I recommend buying a digital CO monitor because a constant digital readout of the current CO concentration in your house creates a confidence that I find necessary to fully enjoy the winter months.

It is very suspicious to me that you report difficulty maintaining a fire based on an inverting chimney. Once there is hot air going up a chimney, there is zero chance that it will invert because the stack effect of a short "hot" chimney is many times stronger than the stack effect of a tall "warm" house. It can be tough to start a fire with an inverting chimney, but once you touch the flue and it is hot, you can close the nearby window and there should never be inversion of cold air into the room. You may have more of a "split too big, seasoned to short" problem with your firewood than you do a stack problem with your flue.

Good luck.

 

[scooter_nate]

I cleaned out a considerable amount of ash from the exhaust compartment, I bought an extrat 12" piece of insulated pipe for the chimney also I am throwing the idea of drawing air directly from outside.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The roof kit only came in two different pitches, The air inlet control is on the right hand backside, it is open until the wood is black, and I have a good bed of cools, woods good a little moist. It just does not seem to get hot after burning for 6-8 hrs it can hold my hand an inch above the griddle for a long period of time. Smoke will enter room if I open the door while downdraft is engaged.

That highlight in red says what the big problem is.

99% of the time when a stove won't work right it is because of the fuel. To burn wood and do it right you need dry wood. We recommend 2-3 years after cutting and splitting the wood. That will get you some good fuel and it will burn as intended.

 

[Jotulf3cb]

www.drawcollar.com .......... it solved my problem!

 

[jtp10181]

The roof kit only came in two different pitches, The air inlet control is on the right hand backside, it is open until the wood is black, and I have a good bed of cools, woods good a little moist. It just does not seem to get hot after burning for 6-8 hrs it can hold my hand an inch above the griddle for a long period of time. Smoke will enter room if I open the door while downdraft is engaged.

Sounds like bad quality wood to me.

And yes the flashings usually come in two pitches, 0-6 and 6-12 pitch. Looks like you have the "steep" flashing on a shallow roof. No danger I guess as long as clearances are met as it passes through the roof, just looks silly.

 

[begreen]

I'm not familiar with the stove at all, but it almost looks like there should be a matching angled plate on the lower right side of the firebox, possibly with firebrick behind it?

A bit of extra pipe on top is an easy thing to test. Pull off the cap and put a 2-3' section of galvanized into the flue, crimped edge down to temporarily extend it. If that makes a big difference in draft and overall operation, make it permanent with class A pipe.