Aspen C3 Baffle Replacement

[yote]

The stack comes off the stove and runs about 6ft to the ceiling in shop, through the attic for maybe 2ft and then up above the roof line for 6ft. I have a fairly steep roof with 6/12 pitch so to meet code it had to go that high above the roof line. I would estimate from the top of the stack outside above the roof to the stove is less than 15ft total.
I am in North Dakota so we get high winds and gusts so maybe it was a perfect storm situation that caused to blanket to get sucked up into stack like it did. It hasn't happened since though.
As far as a weight, I do have 1/4" plate steel that I could cut to 4x4, there is plenty of room for 1/4" plate.
Do you think this would affect performance of the stove in any way? I wouldn't think it would but this is first stove I have ever had and have had it only one burn season so I guess I am a rookie stove operator and repairman

 

[begreen]

15 ft is not tall at all. It's surprising the draft was that strong, but 50 mph steady winds might explain it.
The weight should have a very trivial effect on stove performance. It is standard on some stoves with insulation blankets. If you have some 1/8" or 3/16" plate, that would suffice. A 3" x 3" in 1/4" plate would suffice. Position it toward the middle rear of the blanket if possible.

 

[yote]

Thanks for the info, I will get a weight made up and installed. Will report back after a bit of time also on the stove performance after inspecting and cleaning the temp probe. Thanks again for the help!

 

[wjohn]

I'm glad it didn't get destroyed! You might still try to make sure that the probe is above the blanket and not tucked underneath it. I don't think you would be able to tell this from the backside, but you sure can from the top if you have your stovepipe pulled up, or you can probably sneak a phone through the front door and get a good enough pic with the lens above the baffle.

The probe being covered in gunk shouldn't make any difference in cold starting performance. The damper should be held wide open when everything is cold. If the probe is broken/missing, it wouldn't heat up and pull on the chain to slowly close down the damper like it is intended to. If gunked up like you noted, the gunk would be insulating it from the increasing heat level heat as the fire gets up to temp, and it would delay the response. In this case the damper would be too slow to close and your fire would be roaring away for longer than intended. I notice this delayed reaction if I have a bunch of light flaky stuff fall down my pipe and accumulate on the probe - similar to your pics, but not that extreme. If I haven't done it before that point, I'm definitely cleaning it when I notice that.

 

[yote]

Thanks for the reply wjohn, I don't think i was clear about I found with the probe on my stove. Previously I didn't even know about the probe until your posts and then your pointing it out on the parts list, but I was aware of the lower damper that the chain from the probe attaches to, I just didn't realize a temp probe assembly ran the damper via the chain. It was all a mystery to me and the stove ran fine until it plugged up because of the blanket getting sucked up into the stack.

Anyways, when my problems started I always wondered why the lower damper was always closed and the chain slack . My air intake on the stove is wide open to the shop, it just sucks up shop air when it needs it. I am able to get my hand/finger into the intake and check the damper position. Prior to cleaning the probe it seemed like the damper was always closed and I always had to crack the door open to get the stove going.

Now after I cleaned the probe, when the stove is at room temp the damper is held up and wide open and the chain is tight. I can manually push the damper closed with my finger and it is pulled back open when I release my finger, so that tells me the probe assembly is working like it should.

I think the probe assembly got so gunked up from the blanket issue that it was gunked up enough that it couldn't open/close the damper, it was just stuck closed. Once I cleaned it, now it seems to function properly for opening/closing the damper. Last night before I lit the stove off the chain was tight and the damper wide open. Once the stove was up to temp the damper was closed and the chain slack. I went out this morning and checked the stove and it was cool and at room temp, the damper was wide open and the chain tight. So I think the probe assembly was gunked up enough to prevent proper damper control. I think the temp part of the probe was fine, just the mechanical operation of it was messed up.

At least that's my theory! I am no stove expert by any means, but I am learning. Correct me if I am wrong in my understanding.

The 2 times I have lit the stove after cleaning the probe assembly the stove has just worked wonderfully. Last night I didn't even have to leave the door cracked to get it going. It came up to temp quickly and maintained the sweet spot on the stack temp indicator and the stove settled out around the 550 degree mark. I am just heating my shop with the stove so I usually only lite it off in the evenings for a few hours just to keep the shop above 50 degrees overnight and through the next day. I can quickly bring the shop up to 65-70 degrees (its only a 22x24 shop and its well insulated) unless its 40 below outside and blowing 50mph, then it takes longer of course.

So if I understand the stove operation correctly, the temp probe opens the damper wide open when the stove is at room temp and slowly closes it when as the stove comes up to temp. Once the stove is at operating temp and the damper closed, what controls how much air the stove gets? That's where I am still confused.

Again thanks for the info and help, I appreciate it!

 

[wjohn]

I think the probe assembly got so gunked up from the blanket issue that it was gunked up enough that it couldn't open/close the damper, it was just stuck closed. Once I cleaned it, now it seems to function properly for opening/closing the damper. Last night before I lit the stove off the chain was tight and the damper wide open. Once the stove was up to temp the damper was closed and the chain slack. I went out this morning and checked the stove and it was cool and at room temp, the damper was wide open and the chain tight. So I think the probe assembly was gunked up enough to prevent proper damper control. I think the temp part of the probe was fine, just the mechanical operation of it was messed up.

View attachment 317907

That must have been very gunky, maybe even back into the bimetallic thermostat somehow - that's the only thing I can figure, as that would intefere with its operation. The probe itself just transfers heat into the bimetallic thermostat which causes it to open or close. Gunk covered probe = not much heat getting to probe = not much heat getting to thermostat = little thermostat movement = no or very delayed closing of damper as the stove heats up.

Or, I have seen mention of the chain not having been set correctly from the factory, or hung up on something such that the damper stayed open or closed when it shouldn't have.

Whatever the case, I'm very glad your stove is working well now! That picture sure looks like a happy Aspen C3.

As far as your question about what controls airflow into the stove after the damper is fully closed - the air comes into two small holes in the damper itself - one round, and one weird shaped hole from the manufacturer stamping/pressing the chain attachment tang out of the damper. You can feel them or maybe snake your head/phone camera back there and see them in the damper plate. They allow a somewhat set amount of air in, which in reality varies based on draft.

 

[30WCF]

They allow a somewhat set amount of air in, which in reality varies based on draft.

Although, I have to have had known that, it is interesting to have heard that said out loud so to speak. Among the factors that make my stove run differently than your stove, is just the day to day draft. It could be the average temp, barometric pressure or chimney height and elevation. Most go with wood quality or operator error, but a leaky house or pipe damper make all the difference.

 

[wjohn]

Although, I have to have had known that, it is interesting to have heard that said out loud so to speak. Among the factors that make my stove run differently than your stove, is just the day to day draft. It could be the average temp, barometric pressure or chimney height and elevation. Most go with wood quality or operator error, but a leaky house or pipe damper make all the difference.

Yep! Just double your chimney height, as the most straightforward example... It's going to suck a lot more air through those fixed-size holes when the damper is closed than with a much shorter chimney. I think somewhere in the manual it tells you that around 16' is the designed-for chimney height.

Ultimately, I don't think this is much different than any other modern stove - as I understand from reading on here, you can't full close them off to prevent smoldering and inefficient burning, so there's always some minimal hole open when you have the air control fully closed whether manual or automatic.

 

[yote]

My stove is still working great!
A what I meant by the temp probe being gunky is I think the bi-metallic strip was gunked up (debris between the bands of the strip) and that prevented it from working properly, see attached picture, they are of a spare probe I ordered. I ordered a spare chain also.

I wish I had before and after pictures of the probe that is actually in use in the stove, didn't think to take any at the time though.
I think there was some debris caught in the bi-metallic strip and basically made it stick. I don't think the chain was hung up either. Once I cleaned up the probe I have not had any issues. And the damper is wide open now when the stove is cool and at room temp, I know it wasn't before, I just didn't understand how it worked then.

I was able to see the holes in the damper wjohn, and your explanation about stack height and air flow makes sense to me, I got lucky if 16' is the designed-for chimney height as I estimate mine at about 15 ft so I am close, so just dumb luck on that part by me.
Anyways, I think the probe and chain assembly are the heartbeat of the stove, if those are not functioning correctly you are going to have issues. That's why I ordered a spare chain and probe.
Thanks again for all the info, I've learned a lot on this thread!