In worrying about the air flow into my insert, I put a candle in there for a few to test the draft. With the air all the way open the flame was dancing a bit, but not as much as I expected. Opened the nearest window which is just to the left maybe 5' away and the dancing was a bit more steady. Closed the damper and it stopped. Thoughts....Does this seem about right?
Interesting findings
- Thread starter James02
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Have you had an actual fire in it yet? There are days that the downdraft coming down my chimney would put a candle out. It's tough to say until things get cold enough for a good draw (~40 and below) and you load it up well w/ good wood.
pen
pen
Your candle is like a pilot light and cannot give a representative sample of operation. You have to remember that you are pushing against a column of air that is within a few degrees of of that in the stove. As mentioned, you need some real heat to get things going. As well, depending upon the construction of your flue, it will take time to bring it up to temp so the "whole system", and it is a system, functions together. Shoulder season heating is tough for trials and almost guaranteed to frustrate the analytical
I rather sheepishly speak from experience.
I rather sheepishly speak from experience.
shawneyboy
Minister of Fire
James02 said:
This in and of itself is not unusuall especially at this time of year. It is difficult to get the flue properly heated up and the air moving properly without cracking the door open for alot, if not most people, at least at this time of year.
Shawn
In a month, you will probably be having a completely different experience. A 10 deg. drop in outside temps can make a large improvement in draft.
With a fairly tight house I find in addition to OAT the baro has alot to do chimney draft. Low pressure days the draft isn't nearly as good. We are under high pressure today and I was able to run the stove with the primary completely closed which only allows a whisper of air through and still getting 600 degree stove top temps.
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