I put a cap on my chimney and it seems to me that it may actually slow down my draft. I have 3 sections of pipe on there now and i'm thinking of adding 2 more and taking the cap off. Any suggestions?
central boiler 6048 chimey cap
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I had two 4' sections of pipe on mine and never had a issue with draft. I never noticed any rain that collected in the chimney when I was using it either so I would remove the cap. Did it draft ok when the cap was not installed?
It's only been running about 2 weeks. I haven't run it with out the cap but I think i'm going to take it off. I was just out there and it is dripping from the cap. I think it is choking it back. My dad doesnt run a cap on his either and he has no issues with a draft either. What's happening with me is the cap rolls the smoke down and the smoke just hangs at that level, it doesn't rise. I think it's because it's cooling to quick. Does this make sense?
Ulybagger said:
The dripping cap thing is bothering me. Is the wood your burning very green? Is the chimney you have insulated stainless that CB ships with the boiler. Sounds like your wood is way to green and if that's the case remove the cap as you'll have to move allot of air through the boiler as you first have to burn and dry the wood before it will burn hot. The wood I ran through mine was at least a year old and I never had the draft issue. Even with the baffle that CB puts in the stove you should not have a problem getting draft with 3 sections of pipe. You might also check the opening on the front of the door as it may be not opening as far as the specs call for. There should be a section in the manual covering this. The solenoid may not be opening it far enough or it may be creosoted shut.
Ulybagger said:
sdrobertson is probably very correct on the draft and green wood issue. The issue with cap removal may not manifest itself in the first year or two but it will eventually and it will be very expensive. Water and creosote are VERY corrosive. I had your problem with a conventional add-on wood furnace and because of the height of my chimney I elected to forgo replacing my cap when a storm ripped it off. I figured "hey it's a stainless chimney" and the assumption cost me a good portion of the chimney which was no longer replaceable because the manufacturer had changed "models" and parts were not inter-changeable. (Annnhhh! time for a new game plan) As soon as you are done for the heating season put the cap back on and avoid the expense of repairing/replacing your boiler. I found my problem at crunch time but then isn't that usually when something like that shows up? :ahhh: ...Cave2k
The wood may be a little on the wet side but not green. It's been cut for over a year. I have the insulated pipes on there. I have a blower on a timer on the front of the door. It has a timer relay on it so when the boiler calls for heat the damper opens the blower kicks on and runs for about 8-9 minutes. My father only runs 2 sections and has no issues. He said he did with the cap on to the point the cap was so coated it was starting to close up. He said to yank it off to. I'm taking it off tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Was wondering if you added extra support for the three sections of chimney. If so, how did you do it?
Thanks
Thanks
I didn't add any supports. I bought these clamps that go around the seams where the chimney sections connect. It's flat stainless steel about a foot wide with the ends bent at a 90. You center it around the seam and wrap it around. 3 bolts hold it all together. A c-clamp makes the process easy to squeeze the 90's together to bolt it together but it can be done by hand. After you wrench these bolts down it is solid. I put all 3 sections up in one shot with a friend of mine. And it doesn't move. I'm also going to be heating my pool so I may put another section or two on so it gets the smoke up in the warmer months. I will probably brace it then some how. I'll try to take a picture and post it or I'll email it to you.
Ulybagger said:
Is the blower something that you put on or is a option from Central Boiler? It'll be interesting if the problem is the cap as I guess I didn't realize that the cap would restrict the draft that much to get a lot of build up in the chimney.
- Mar 5, 2008
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Maine requires caps be removed to improve rise of smoke -
"Removing rain-caps from the stack, if allowed by the manufacturer, will let the smoke rise better, and new installations
must be without rain-caps unless required by the manufacturer. If a spark arrestor is required, ask for one that
does not include a solid top."
This is from Best Burn Practices for OWB's in ME - (broken link removed to http://www.vtwoodsmoke.org/pdf/ME-OWB-Practices.pdf)
My experience has proved that caps cause more trouble than they prevent.
I have 3 sections of stack with no bracing. No problems. Will be adding 1-2 more sections when I build a woodshed over and around my CB. I will brace it to the roof.
Pete
"Removing rain-caps from the stack, if allowed by the manufacturer, will let the smoke rise better, and new installations
must be without rain-caps unless required by the manufacturer. If a spark arrestor is required, ask for one that
does not include a solid top."
This is from Best Burn Practices for OWB's in ME - (broken link removed to http://www.vtwoodsmoke.org/pdf/ME-OWB-Practices.pdf)
My experience has proved that caps cause more trouble than they prevent.
I have 3 sections of stack with no bracing. No problems. Will be adding 1-2 more sections when I build a woodshed over and around my CB. I will brace it to the roof.
Pete
The draft inducer is from central boiler. It's part #700, page 13 in the parts and accessorie catalog online. I think the dealer added in the timer relay. He was an electrician before he changed businesses. They also have the band clamps I put on my pipe sections on pg 16 part 4518. They work awesome. I saw there is an aerator listed inthe central boiler parts book. Does anyone know what this is for? I'm guessing pellets.
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