ok, I am back to the well. and I am really deep down the wood stove rabbit hole and may never be seen again. 
I am trying to find a decent USED stove to heat a 1400sqft old stone house and replace the 30 gal redneck barrel which initially worked great but the flue pipe clogged lickety split after 1.5-2 cord of well seasoned, dry ash. clogged may be an understatement, hmmm, completely occluded? it is a 30ft flue through a large stone chimney with about a 10x14 opening as the old, broken, misaligned 1956 terra cotta flue tiles were removed.
before starting the burning man season in november, I had a new 6" Homesaver Roundflex stainless 304 installed in the old chimney flue but the bloke didn't insulate it. do ya think that was part of the clogging issue? I did throttle down the barrel at night and in the beginning got a 12 hour burn from it being stuffed. the draft began to diminish and two days ago there wasn't enough draft to light kindling and not smoke out the room.
I am getting it cleaned and scoped wednesday. why scoped? because the bloke forgot to initially install a damper, returned for "warranty work" and had his beefy 210 pound son who presses 400 pounds on the bench put a two by four at the collar and push it back up into the chimney 9" to create a spot for the damper. I know, I know. seems to be the way of the world these days, no common sense.
I wonder if it kinked and the scope will show that and further explain why the clogging. the bloke is not in the clean/scope phase for obvious reasons!
he is, however, willing to come back and fill the chimney with vermiculite next week.
and on a side note I will be getting a thermometer for the flue pipe just before it heads into unseen territory to aid in correct temp to avoid buildup of creosote.
ok, lots of meat at this table so let me slice off a couple questions:
~ do y'all think the hearthstone heritage 8021 is adequate and long lived? it sure as hell is real purty!
~ what is a used one in matte finish worth? (assuming components all good. used about 7 years it appears, in storage last 3)
~ is vermiculite or perlite better for insulating around the 6" stainless flue insert?
~ which is best
1) vermic/perl poured loose with a bottom plate and top plug? or
2) mixed 6 to 1 with portland? (I've seen 6 to 1 mentioned several times which I hope is correct ratio. I also understand the difficulty if removal required. ugh-ly)
~ will two elbows vs. one cause a serious impact on the draft?
~ what should the flue gas temp be just before it exits the hearth and heads up the chimney?
~ also considering a VC Vigilant or Defiant. do will they size well btu wise for the house?
~ anything else I am missing besides my brain which is lost in the rabbit hole?
thanks for the help! right now I am sucking propane at a pricey rate. 🥴
burn on!
peace, steve
I am trying to find a decent USED stove to heat a 1400sqft old stone house and replace the 30 gal redneck barrel which initially worked great but the flue pipe clogged lickety split after 1.5-2 cord of well seasoned, dry ash. clogged may be an understatement, hmmm, completely occluded? it is a 30ft flue through a large stone chimney with about a 10x14 opening as the old, broken, misaligned 1956 terra cotta flue tiles were removed.
before starting the burning man season in november, I had a new 6" Homesaver Roundflex stainless 304 installed in the old chimney flue but the bloke didn't insulate it. do ya think that was part of the clogging issue? I did throttle down the barrel at night and in the beginning got a 12 hour burn from it being stuffed. the draft began to diminish and two days ago there wasn't enough draft to light kindling and not smoke out the room.
I am getting it cleaned and scoped wednesday. why scoped? because the bloke forgot to initially install a damper, returned for "warranty work" and had his beefy 210 pound son who presses 400 pounds on the bench put a two by four at the collar and push it back up into the chimney 9" to create a spot for the damper. I know, I know. seems to be the way of the world these days, no common sense.
I wonder if it kinked and the scope will show that and further explain why the clogging. the bloke is not in the clean/scope phase for obvious reasons!
he is, however, willing to come back and fill the chimney with vermiculite next week.
and on a side note I will be getting a thermometer for the flue pipe just before it heads into unseen territory to aid in correct temp to avoid buildup of creosote.
ok, lots of meat at this table so let me slice off a couple questions:
~ do y'all think the hearthstone heritage 8021 is adequate and long lived? it sure as hell is real purty!
~ what is a used one in matte finish worth? (assuming components all good. used about 7 years it appears, in storage last 3)
~ is vermiculite or perlite better for insulating around the 6" stainless flue insert?
~ which is best
1) vermic/perl poured loose with a bottom plate and top plug? or
2) mixed 6 to 1 with portland? (I've seen 6 to 1 mentioned several times which I hope is correct ratio. I also understand the difficulty if removal required. ugh-ly)
~ will two elbows vs. one cause a serious impact on the draft?
~ what should the flue gas temp be just before it exits the hearth and heads up the chimney?
~ also considering a VC Vigilant or Defiant. do will they size well btu wise for the house?
~ anything else I am missing besides my brain which is lost in the rabbit hole?
thanks for the help! right now I am sucking propane at a pricey rate. 🥴
burn on!
peace, steve
