Chimney fire after two weeks???
- Thread starter Woodsman on the Plains
- Start date
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Can someone point me in the right direction for checking draft? I know I've seen people talk about a dwyer or something but I can't seem to find it anymore. There is a ton of stuff to sift through and thought maybe someone would be able to share a link or something.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
If you buy a used one or NOS, just make sure the red gauge oil is with it, that's a little pricey to buy by itself
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How does that little plastic tubing not melt?If you buy a used one or NOS, just make sure the red gauge oil is with it, that's a little pricey to buy by itself
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brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
You attach it to some metal tubing coming out of the stovepipe...a foot or two will do
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Kinda...sorta...not really...the scale is too high. Most stoves call for somewhere in the 0.03 to 0.08" range
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
You could use that, but it will be on the very bottom of the scale most of the time...anything over .1" would be too high for most stoves
Dwyer mark II on the way! I also ordered a condar cat thermometer to see what my cat is doing as this morning when I woke up I had a large pile of black chared chunks left with thermometer in the inactive zone...🤷. I did however plug off my fresh air pipe that comes into the mechanical room to see if that changed performance. And it definitely did something, what at this point I'm not sure.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Unless somebody else has the info for sure, shoot for 0.04 to 0.06” WC. At high burn before the stove thermostat has a chance to close. It’s a maximum draft spec.
Leftover wood, more than just the remnants of a single split, is a sign of wet fuel.
A sign of wet fuel... normally I would agree with this statement but I've checked this stuff out multiple times and it always says below 20% on a fresh split. Honestly I'm wondering if high draft fried my cat, we shall see what the dwyer says and I'll check some splits again.
Well... as much as I hate to admit this I think you might be on to something. I think I need to come up with a better system of drying my wood (maybe not stack it so deep or something) as after splitting some I had stored in the basement that I brought in last week I found a few pieces right away that where 20.2% 😬. Other pieces of a different species and same species where 16-11%. That tells me I'm not getting all the wood drying evenly. Now I'm pretty sure that those MM aren't 100% accurate and can be off a percent or two either way... so it is possible that 20.2% is actually 22.2% which would account for several of my dilemmas. I still think something else is going on with draft performance as my flue temps indicate excessive draft. And I'm pretty sure my cat thermometer is not adjusted properly as in the manual it states the little red arrow should be at the bottom of the inactive portion when at room temperature. I just checked it on a cold stove and took it out and it was well below the inactive zone. I'll attach a picture for comment and keep posted on the draft. Thank you Highbeam for a swift kick in the a$$.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Ha! No kicking, just troubleshooting. You can adjust that cat meter to read properly. Seems to be a common thing.
Crummy
Member
Blaze King flue temperatures are between 150° F and 300° F. If your keeping it up over 300° it's not really going to be burning as designed with long burn times. Earlier you stated that your burning many different species of wood. Have you checked the moisture content in all of them? I burn spruce that can be good to go in six months as where the small amount of birch I burn can take two years before it's seasoned.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Not true. A BK can run with flue temperatures that low but I keep flue temperatures above 400 and run 24 hour cycles with softwoods. The BK system is designed to run at a wide range of outputs, that’s why so many of us like them.
Oh yes that's what I was saying earlier. One species was 16-11% the other species had some less than 20% and some slightly higher
.06 WC with dying fire and not even a 100% tight seal on pipe...😬. Going to get one more part to make a better connection and see what a fresh high fire creates. I'm guessing WAY too high. And it's 45° outside!
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Heat (or differential temperature) plus height creates draft so until she’s really chooching it can only go up.
Update:
Got key damper installed. .15 WC ish on not a full load. Only 3 splits to get some coals. 47° outside. Shut down key damper all the way and best I can turn it down is .1-.12, thoughts? @Ashful , how are you keeping your WC in range with your .21 draft?
Here's some pictures that should all be in order from startup.
Got key damper installed. .15 WC ish on not a full load. Only 3 splits to get some coals. 47° outside. Shut down key damper all the way and best I can turn it down is .1-.12, thoughts? @Ashful , how are you keeping your WC in range with your .21 draft?
Here's some pictures that should all be in order from startup.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
As the damper builds up a little dust or creo on and around it, it really doesn't take much, you'll find it easier to dial down. When I first installed mine, I remember that running high on a cold day, I'd be fully closed and it might still be pulling .06"WC. That's still within the BK spec, although right on the edge of it. Within 2-3 weeks, I found it was no problem to turn it right to the .05"WC target, in fact the usual small-buildup that low in the pipe will create a sort of natural detent that you will feel and automatically go to with a quick flip of the wrist, each time.
But just to be sure we're on the same page, you can only measure draft with bypass closed and running on high. As soon as you turn down, restricting inlet air, the draft will climb. That's normal and expected. I usually check mine to make sure it's right at .05" at the end of my usual 15-20 minutes on high, right before turning down. If I'm leaving the stove run on high for the entire load, which I do a few times per week when it's real cold, I just take a glance at the manometer each time I pass the stove to be sure it's still holding near that .05"WC optimum. The stove runs fine if it drifts, but I suspect with some reduced efficiency.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
This is the one time that the BK thermostat can burn you. It will self close as the stove heats up which will throw your draft number higher. So you really need a hot flue but a cold stove which only occurs for a short time.
Then realize that draft strength will change as the burn cycle goes on but the spec is to set it at high burn.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I think this is to be measured under steady-state condition, with the stove, thermostat and flue at whatever temperature they stabilize after sufficient time. Once set, I can run my stove thru a full load on high, and it doesn't typically drift at all. I certainly don't go thru any effort to try to time it before the stove heats up.
