Englander Madison flue, how much is too much?

[Marauder]

My new Englander Madison is giving me fits and was wondering how much chimney is too much ? Right now I have 10’ above the roof, ( 16’ over all ) you can see it from all over town with the cap. If I put up more pipe, I’ll have to guy wire it like a cell tower.

 

[1kzwoman]

Please describe your experiences and post photos if you can. Lack of draft? Others will need information about your set up. What is the temperature outside when you are try to burn as I see AZ

 

[begreen]

Also, what is the altitude?
Describe the issue(s) with the Madison.

With 10' of chimney pipe above the roof, it will need a roof brace at the 5 and 10 ft. levels.

 

[Marauder]

Smoke entering the room. No noticeable difference with air control in or out. No secondary burn whatsoever. I’ve placed the ceramic fire boards to the back and to the front. They suggest pushing them back, this seems to smoke more so than having them up front. I inspected the Ash plug yesterday and it looked good and smooth where it marries up with the box below.

 

[begreen]

The baffle boards need to be set to the back of the firebox.

Have you tried opening a nearby window an inch before lighting the stove?

What altitude is this at?

 

[Marauder]

We are at an elevation of 3547’. And yes, we crack the front door every time we load wood. It burns real thorough and clean. Mainly burning Aspen right now just because it burns clean and fast. It’s probably a draft issue but I don’t want to add more chimney if it’s not necessary. My wife wants me to take off the last 3’ section just because it presents more of a problem when cleaning begins.

 

[begreen]

The Madison needs at least 15-16' of flue, at sea level. There have been a couple of past reports for this stove where adding just 2 ft made a difference. The altitude chart shows that at 3,547' another 3 ft may be needed.



Another alternative is to sell and switch to an easy-breathing stove that will work on a shorter chimney. The Madison is a good heater, but it does need enough draft to pull the air through the passages that feed the secondary tubes. In general, most stoves from Regency, Drolet, and Pacific Energy will work on a shorter chimney with less draft.

 

[Marauder]

Thanks for all of the advice, it’s much appreciated! Looks like we’re going shopping.

 

[begreen]

Good luck. Look at stoves that have 12 or 13 ft as the minimum flue height.

 

[strategy400]

I have this same stove with 5 feet of stove pipe and 10 feet of double wall, for a total of 15 feet. I'm at 3300 feet elevation. It has great draft.

 

[Marauder]

I’m glad it working for you, my setup is just the opposite with 10’ of the Chimney pipe. Great little Heater.Ours just struggles when loading wood with the smoke and I’ve never got to see the secondary tubes do their burn.

 

[strategy400]

Maybe try twisting another 2 or 3 feet of double wall on the top. I should mention about 3 or 4 feet of my double wall runs through the attic. Not sure if that makes any difference. I have no damper in the flue. If anything I have to keep an eye on it so it doesn't' run away. Pulling the knob out does shut it right down though. I have messed around adjusting the door hinges to get rid of the leaks. Dry wood also helps.

 

[begreen]

Maybe try twisting another 2 or 3 feet of double wall on the top. I should mention about 3 or 4 feet of my double wall runs through the attic. Not sure if that makes any difference.

Double-wall in this case is referring to Chimney pipe, correct?

 

[strategy400]

Double-wall in this case is referring to Chimney pipe, correct?

Yes. Stainless insulated.

 

[begreen]

I’m glad it working for you, my setup is just the opposite with 10’ of the Chimney pipe. Great little Heater.Ours just struggles when loading wood with the smoke and I’ve never got to see the secondary tubes do their burn.

If you want to see if additional chimney will help, you could remove the cap on a calm day and insert a 3 or 4' section of 6" warm air duct in the chimney to see how well the added pipe length improves the burn.