any one use a draw collar?

[bkdft]

just wondering if anyone used a draw collar...it looks like it would work good. thats coming from a newbie anyway

http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/4940/561201/Stove-Pipe-Black/Draw-Collar.html

 

[xjcamaro89]

That thing is almost as much as i paid for my stove. Some free newspaper from relatives does the same job. Im sure it works fine, but it seems like an awful lot for a $10 peice of stove pipe with a couple $ heating elements in it. Just my opinion. I get a little bit of smoke come into the roof from my stove when lighting but i like the hint of burning wood. And if you have that big of a problem on a regular basis, there is probable something else in your setup that needs looked at. And the fix for that problem probably costs a little less then that unit. Again, my opinion.

 

[dougand3]

Agree with camaro. Before you spend $400 on that...try something simpler. Propane torch aimed up flue for 30-60 secs, then light fire with it.

 

[bkdft]

yeah they are proud of that thing for sure. the propane trick is cool. i have alot to learn. thanks for the tips

 

[Dave_1]

bkdft,

fwiw, save your hard earned dough.

Get a large cardboard box, a leaf rake & gather up brown pine needles (pine straw) & open pine cones.

(Georgia folks will probably let you have all you want fur free. :lol: )

Use a license plate, small sheet tin, whatever to make a 6†trough from front to back through the ash in your stove.

Get some dry 1-1/2’ v 1-1/2†x 12†kindling & lay it in the ash trough front to back.

(Each year I fine split hardwood splits that have dried out 4 or more years.)

Take @ 6 open pine cones & lay them atop the kindling front to back.

Take a couple fists full of pine straw & lay it atop the pine cones front to back.

Next install three - 4†to 6†quarter round splits from left to right.

One split must be atop the seam between the bottom two splits.

Lite it off & follow your stove's instructions as to air adjustments.

I used cardboard for @ 25 years until someone on this forum mentioned pine straw & cones.

Been doing it for @ 5 years & it works better than cardboard.

If your firewood is truly dried out, & you have a good draft, you will find this procedure works nicely. ;-)

 

[PapaDave]

I really dislike gadgets.

 

[Jimbob]

While a flaming piece of newspaper held high in the firebox will get the draft started, it won't prevent the draft from reversing once the fire has gone out and the stove has cooled down.
A house my brother used to have, had the stove in a lower part of the house, and other parts of the house were higher than the chimney cap. Anytime the stove WASN'T going, you could smell soot and ash, and feel cool air coming from the air inlet. A stove shouldn't be installed that way, but it was already there when they bought it.
This device would likely have helped him, that being said, the thing is about $250 overpriced. Also, it uses about $20 of electricy per month.

 

[Jotulover]

We have had one for a while now and love it. My fire starting is simple but the piece of mind knowing that my children who sleep downstairs with it don't need to worry about the reverse draft and carbon monoxide problems that we had. A lot of money? Sure, but sleeping at night and not having to wonder what if is worth it to us.

 

[begreen]

Look up previous threads on this topic. If it is at all possible to address the problem passively with more pipe, 45s off the stove, or an OAK, by all means try to go with the non-powered solution.

 

[Fsappo]

To answer the question simply, I know a few people that have bought them, used them and they all love them. All of them were for basement installs with outside masonry chimneys.

Now, if you were looking for an alternative to that instead of an opinion..the torch and newspaper ideas work great.

 

[grommal]

If the problems are just startup (like mine once in a while) and the propane torch or newspaper trick doesn't work well (like it doesn't in my case), here's another idea that works for me.

If there's a breeze, open an upwind door or window just enough for the breeze to blow in. This will push air into the house and, in my case, up the chimney. Light the stove with the door/window open, and after a minute of burning the draft is well established and you can close it.

 

[woodchip]

bkdft,

fwiw, save your hard earned dough.

Get a large cardboard box, a leaf rake & gather up brown pine needles (pine straw) & open pine cones.

(Georgia folks will probably let you have all you want fur free. :lol: )

Use a license plate, small sheet tin, whatever to make a 6†trough from front to back through the ash in your stove.

Get some dry 1-1/2’ v 1-1/2†x 12†kindling & lay it in the ash trough front to back.

(Each year I fine split hardwood splits that have dried out 4 or more years.)

Take @ 6 open pine cones & lay them atop the kindling front to back.

Take a couple fists full of pine straw & lay it atop the pine cones front to back.

Next install three - 4†to 6†quarter round splits from left to right.

One split must be atop the seam between the bottom two splits.

Lite it off & follow your stove's instructions as to air adjustments.

I used cardboard for @ 25 years until someone on this forum mentioned pine straw & cones.

Been doing it for @ 5 years & it works better than cardboard.

If your firewood is truly dried out, & you have a good draft, you will find this procedure works nicely. ;-)

Using an upwind window to assist a draught (rather than a downwind one which will create a vaccum) seems a lot easier........ ;-)

 

[FireRod]

Crack open a door or window has always worked for me.

$400 is an interesting figure, I wonder how they came up with that number!

 

[Parallax]

What about using a draw collar on an ongoing basis to deal with inadequate draft? In other words, not just at startup. We've been having back puffing issues and don't know what else to do. The chimney was raised 4 feet to 26. That helped but didn't fix the problem. We disconnected the OAK. That seemed to help too. Yet we're still having problems. I'm wondering if this might be the cure.

 

[GENECOP]

What about using a draw collar on an ongoing basis to deal with inadequate draft? In other words, not just at startup. We've been having back puffing issues and don't know what else to do. The chimney was raised 4 feet to 26. That helped but didn't fix the problem. We disconnected the OAK. That seemed to help too. Yet we're still having problems. I'm wondering if this might be the cure.

If its just a draft issue, look at a draft inducer....

 

[Parallax]

Then I'd have a noisy fan running constantly. I'm wondering if one works better than the other. Wouldn't heat do just as good a job at moving air up the chimney?

 

[GENECOP]

Then I'd have a noisy fan running constantly. I'm wondering if one works better than the other. Wouldn't heat do just as good a job at moving air up the chimney?

You are stating that you have a draft problem that continues beyond startup.....Since you went through the trouble of raising the chimney, I am assuming you used the correct piping....after your fire gets going , your chimney should be heated up, so heating it up again sound redundant.......There is some reason you don't have a good draft, a draft inducer is not recommended by many, but it might be an easy out.......Talk to your local stove/fireplace store...let us know what they say.....

 

[Plow Boy]

What about using a draw collar on an ongoing basis to deal with inadequate draft? In other words, not just at startup. We've been having back puffing issues and don't know what else to do. The chimney was raised 4 feet to 26. That helped but didn't fix the problem. We disconnected the OAK. That seemed to help too. Yet we're still having problems. I'm wondering if this might be the cure.

400.00 will buy a nice section of class A chimney. And then draft issue solved with nothing to plug in.

 

[begreen]

He already has 26ft of chimney. What has to happen now is the dealer or reputable stove company to come out with a manometer and measure draft on this chimney. This system needs to be instrumented instead of expensive guesswork.

 

[FireRod]

With all that I read here could it be possible there is an obstruction in the chimney? Have you had the chimney cleaned? With all that pipe after burning you shouldn't have a draft problem. Is your back smoke happening from maybe opening the door to your stove to quickly?

 

[begreen]

www.hearth.com/talk/threads/need-help-with-smoke-leaking-into-home.140396/

 

[Parallax]

Reviewing this thread because my draw collar malfunctioned and just want to write an update on my stove. The draft problem was fixed with a cap that prevents down drafts. I have the draw collar just for startups. The smoke in the home was due to less than ideal draft and a less than ideal door seal. (Really a combination in that my location isn't the best for a cat stove.) That none of this was spotted by the company that installed the stove was too bad. They really didn't have much experience with wood stoves. Were more of an HVAC outfit that did stoves on the side and, though they are good people, it was my bad for not choosing a dealer with experience. They gave me a good deal but it wound up being a bad deal for all of us. With all the extra work they had to do, they probably lost money and it was hell for all of us. I'm still kicking myself about exposing my newborn son to wood smoke. When I brought someone in who had experience, he immediately figured out what was wrong (like in ten minutes) and he fixed it for a few hundred dollars.

With regard to the failed draw collar, I've been trying to get hold of the manufacturer but so far no luck. They never answer the phone and have not returned my calls. The collar began tripping the breaker. It had worked just fine until a couple of days ago. Hopefully they'll replace it, as it should still be under warranty. If not, I'd be out $300 for something that didn't even last a year. Will update when I know more, one way or the other. If they replace it under warranty, I'd still recommend it. When it worked, it worked well. But if it doesn't hold up and they don't stand behind it, that's another matter entirely.

One thing I'll say for Blaze King, they really stand behind their product. They went above and beyond to work with me. BKVP did everything possible to address the problems I was having, even taking back the stove to test it thoroughly. They would have replaced it if I had wanted them to, but my preference was to keep it as long as it was alright. Other than having to clean out a bunch of crap that had accumulated because I had burned pressed logs that were not compatible with my stove and install, the stove itself was fine. It needed a heavier door gasket because my draw isn't great, but that's not really the fault of the stove.

 

[FireRod]

Agree with camaro. Before you spend $400 on that...try something simpler. Propane torch aimed up flue for 30-60 secs, then light fire with it.

I'm using this technique but only for 20-30 secs. Heat rises which creates the pull for making your stove draw. Then I light my kindling while leaving the door cracked open till all the fire starting material lights. I started this last year with a used propane canister and I'm still using the same propane cylinder. Save your money on the collar not to mention the electric you'll use.

 

[begreen]

Reviewing this thread because my draw collar malfunctioned and just want to write an update on my stove. The draft problem was fixed with a cap that prevents down drafts. I have the draw collar just for startups. The smoke in the home was due to less than ideal draft and a less than ideal door seal. (Really a combination in that my location isn't the best for a cat stove.) That none of this was spotted by the company that installed the stove was too bad. They really didn't have much experience with wood stoves. Were more of an HVAC outfit that did stoves on the side and, though they are good people, it was my bad for not choosing a dealer with experience. They gave me a good deal but it wound up being a bad deal for all of us. With all the extra work they had to do, they probably lost money and it was hell for all of us. I'm still kicking myself about exposing my newborn son to wood smoke. When I brought someone in who had experience, he immediately figured out what was wrong (like in ten minutes) and he fixed it for a few hundred dollars.

With regard to the failed draw collar, I've been trying to get hold of the manufacturer but so far no luck. They never answer the phone and have not returned my calls. The collar began tripping the breaker. It had worked just fine until a couple of days ago. Hopefully they'll replace it, as it should still be under warranty. If not, I'd be out $300 for something that didn't even last a year. Will update when I know more, one way or the other. If they replace it under warranty, I'd still recommend it. When it worked, it worked well. But if it doesn't hold up and they don't stand behind it, that's another matter entirely.

One thing I'll say for Blaze King, they really stand behind their product. They went above and beyond to work with me. BKVP did everything possible to address the problems I was having, even taking back the stove to test it thoroughly. They would have replaced it if I had wanted them to, but my preference was to keep it as long as it was alright. Other than having to clean out a bunch of crap that had accumulated because I had burned pressed logs that were not compatible with my stove and install, the stove itself was fine. It needed a heavier door gasket because my draw isn't great, but that's not really the fault of the stove.

So glad to hear that your issues have finally been solved. What brand cap did they put on? Got a pic?