Increasing Draft

[bobabuoy]

I am trying to figure out if there is any way to increase draft on my system. (The wife nixed the idea of moving the stove for cost reasons). Would any of these help:

1) Adding an extra 2 feet on chimney (total chimney now 15 or 16ft, 8ft above roof, corner room installation)
2) Adding a draft inducing cap to the top - i.e Vacu-Stack (some have told me these can be prone to water leaks)
3) Changing the stove pipe from single wall to double wall (extra heat for better chimney warmth?)

 

[BobUrban]

No experience or understanding of a draft inducing cap but the other two options could and should increase draft. Height is probably the easiest and most effective depending on the length of your stove pipe. I just do not think the stove pipe will get you that much in return other than safety. The stove pipe gets awful hot no matter how many walls as it is so close to the stove.

 

[begreen]

All the above would help. I would opt for 1 & 3 first. Is this a straight up chimney? Does it come out on the downwind slope of the roof?

 

[blades]

1. Why do you feel you need more draft
2. what kind of stove/insert
3 what are the conditions out side ( tall trees, other buildings ect)
4 does your present flue assembly meet the 10-3 rule of thumb ( 3ft higher than any thing else in a 10 ft radius)
5 what is the flue pipe attic to top ( single, double, triple) or is this running through the wall to an outside chase and then up or into a masonary unit?
An insulated triple wall flue will work better than a non insulated unit ( attic on up or all the way in the case of an outside chase.) . Double wall inside generally will not make much difference other than to let you reduce clearances a bit. better than single out.
The more detailed a description of your installation the better we can provide some guidance . Pics help also.

 

[begreen]

He has an Encore 2 n 1 on a 15ft stack. That says a lot right there. Sounds like a setup for backpuffing and smoke spillage.

bobabuoy, are you running in cat mode?

 

[bobabuoy]

this is straight chimney and I run it in cat mode 95% of the time. The chimney is on the northwest corner of the house, so I'm not sure about the wind - we get it in all directions.

This is an Encore 2n1 stove. This will be the 3rd season, I believe.

The issues are mainly smoke coming out when loading (not always, just sometimes, which is what made me think of the Vacu-Stack). The other issue is backpuffing, but this one is somewhat manageable if I sit in from of the stove for an hour before going to bed to watch it carefully and slowly turn it down. (My wife refuses to operate this stove because of this - she used be ok with running the Vigilant).

The chimney meets the 10-3 rule. It is Hart & Cooley double wall Class A. Only 12" or so is in the attic.

I have attached a picture of my monstrous external chimney. Also the pic of the trees is from west, but mostly in winter the leaves have fallen already.

One other thing I noticed yesterday when peeking in the stove is that the bypass is not fully open when the lever is fully opened. If I stop opening the bypass about 3/4 of the way the motion, the flap is the most open, but then it starts to close again slightly as you continue to "open" the lever. I wonder if this could be adjusted?

 

[begreen]

Seeing that stack I am inclined to say 2&3 now. Or option 4, replace it with a less temperamental stove that is easy for both of you to operate.

 

[Jags]

That is a bunch of pipe sticking from that roof. I don't know that I would be inclined to add more. I don't really want to pick on your stove, but the 2 in1 was known to be a finicky stove. I would bet a stove replacement (I know - not a cheap solution) would make EVERYONE happier in the household. Just imagine if you could get the other half re-involved.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I have to agree. I would not want to add more chimney. I would probably try option 2.

 

[Charles1981]

I am no chimney expert. I do know the user manuals says that it "should" be installed with a double walled insulated chimney and you are stating this is a single walled chimney. That seems like an issue right there. The minimum height of the chimney is also listed as 16 feet. So if you are 15 ft...its not long enough and if it is 16 feet (from flue collar) it is just the bare minimum in height, but man that is an ungodly tall chimney already.

I would assume draft is a problem because of at minimum or below minimum chimney height, not using double walled insulated chimney pipe, And is that 8in diameter opening or 6 inch?

I think draft is your big problem and correcting it may be a problem given your setup, but then i haven't really answered anything...just re-affirmed what you already know. sorry.

 

[bobabuoy]

This is a 6" flue opening and 6" pipe.

I've got the double walled class A chimney, but the stove pipe is single walled. This gives out more heat in the room, but my stove is well sized and only on the very coldest days of the year do I struggle to keep the house warm. I could give up a little heat if it meant the draft would be better.