Forgive me if this a dumb question, but I recently got rid of my old smoke dragon where I was able to preheat the flue by placing something hot (rolled newspaper, hair dryer, etc.) directly around/into the flue. My new wood stove has baffle board with fire blanket on top of the burn tubes that cover the flue. To preheat the flue, am I supposed to (1) remove these baffles, (2) place the hot object under the baffle board where the flue is, (3) place the hot object at the front of the stove near the door where I can feel the draft, or (4) something else?
How to preheat flue of a modern stove with baffles
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brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
I use the fire I just built. On my last stove, I’d load it up with crinkled paper and light that off. By the time it burnt down, the chimney was all warmed up.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
The same propane torch you use to start the fire can be used to shoot heat up the flue. Dont take anything apart.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
The same propane torch you use to start the fire can be used to shoot heat up the flue. Dont take anything apart.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
30WCF
Minister of Fire
My PE Vista also has a baffle board and burn tubes. 2 minutes with a blow dryer pointed toward the flue and easy no smoke starts. Cheaper than a MAP torch.
This will not work with a cold flue. Been there done that. If I feel cool air in the morning when placing my hand in the stove and try to do my normal top down start I get smoke city. Need to reverse the draft before I start it.
If I try loading my stove with paper in a cold flue it would smoke up my room. I tried it when I first got the stove and never again. Hairdryer has been awesome. 2 min and done.
I’ve used a heat gun up the flue, and also a propane torch. I’ve also set a chair in front of the woodstove and aimed a space heater in the door for about 5 minutes. That’s the easiest since I don’t have to stand there while it heats up.
30WCF
Minister of Fire
Well, it works handily on mine. I generally don’t have a bad reversed draft, but I do get one sometimes. Seems to work as long as I build the kindling stage appropriately. If I don’t have too bad of a down draft, I get a little sloppy and stop at small kindling chunks and have a little more smoke going up the flue. If you take a little more care and add more fine kindling and fire starters/fatwood for a cleaner start, it works better. At least in the stoves I’ve had.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
not for me
I heat it up outside as I have a cleanout. I stood in the rain for 10 min tonight to preheat
stoveliker
Minister of Fire
^^That.(No drafts are the same ). And chimney systems.
Point is that if one has occasional trouble with draft reversal, it's best to heat the flue with something that doesn't create smoke.
Fohn, propane torch, or whatever you fancy. If draft doesn't go right way up, you're still fine.
Point is that if one has occasional trouble with draft reversal, it's best to heat the flue with something that doesn't create smoke.
Fohn, propane torch, or whatever you fancy. If draft doesn't go right way up, you're still fine.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
yeah, in my panadero there really is no way to preheat the flue from inside the stove. There is a 10mm/ 3/8" slot at the front upper inside of the stove...I haven't tried, yet I doubt seriously that would work...inside of my stove is all baffle
I hooked my EPA stove with a baffle up in December so I don't have a ton of experience with it but a propane torch seems to work well. There's an open spot in front of the baffle and I point the torch up in there. It's in the basement which I think makes things worse with the down draft. It's a walkout basement and if the down draft is very strong I crack the basement door a little. It seems to help but I can't swear to it.
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