Need help with an old Thermic Crossfire

[StarquestMan]

My family has an old Crossfire FS-1 made by Thermic in 1988. We got the stove maybe 3 or 4 years ago I think, and once I overhauled it, it seemed to work pretty well, with minor quirks, until now. The exhaust/chimney setup is kinda cobbled together and I am unsure how exactly it was originally configured or supposed to be setup. When I overhauled the stove, it initially came with a dual function blower that handled both the exhaust and the force-fed air for the combustion chamber. I accidentally damaged the motor when trying to disassemble it and was unable to locate a replacement so I ended up ordering some more readily available blowers so now it uses two separate ones too push air in and draw exhaust out plus the fan to move air over the heat exchanger.

It started building up a very wet condensation or creosote in the chimney which runs down into the exhaust blower which blocks airflow and causes the low vacuum alarm to sound and it also leaks out the chimney pipe joints which I believe are upside down from what I gather. this happens about once a day. I also noticed that the pipe is only luke warm and it normally is hot to the touch. Im also aware that the exhaust being routed up an existing chimney from a woodstove may be done wrong, any pointers would be appreciated.

 

[Mt Bob]

Well, this is my OMG moment of the year, for here. Looks like you are intentionally trying for a house fire.
It's kinda hard to start, but here goes-
You modified a stove without understanding how it works, and the parameters it is supposed to work. If you knew these things, you would know it is burning too cold.
The exhaust is wrong, and illegal, by any standards, insurance, home inspector, stove manufacturer,etc., and dangerous.
The wiring(facepalm).
My recommendation? Get that thing out of there and throw it away.

 

[johneh]

I agree with above
A house fire waiting to happen

 

[StarquestMan]

ok so what exactly is the housfire waiting to happen part? is it the part where i used exhaust tubing instead of thinner more expensive chimney pipe? is it the soldered and heat shrinked wiring connections that i made? or is it the creosote leak which i now beleive is just condensation build up from the stove running too cold? (thanks for the suggestion). last night while checking over the stove i found that the heat exchanger had plugged up prematurely so i cleaned it and now the stove runs much hotter out the exhaust and there are no more issues with condensation. i am not interested in junking a perfectly functional stove that i have a couple hundred of dollars into with things like all new gaskets and fire rope and the blowers etc. I am interested in finding service or owners manuals ( i do know that the odds are slim) or suggestions on a better design for the exhaust setup. The only thing i have changed on the stove is the exhaust. all of the factory safety's are still perfectly functional like the low vacuum switch and logic board that controls the blower, fan, and auger speed/duty cycle. the existing chimney pipe in the house is 7" double wall so im sure that will protect the house from the relatively lower heat radiating off of the 3 or 4 inch pipe routed through the middle, although i am curious as to what the proper way to route a pellet stove exhaust through an existing chimney would be, all i can find is new construction installs with a wall mounted chimney. all of the places i can find that mention it simply say that there are adapters and leave it at that.

 

[StarquestMan]

mayby some new pictures are needed, i put the metal computer cover back to hide the scarry mess of factory wiring and vacuumed up all the old creosote that has fallen from the existing wood stove chimney.

 

[johneh]

That is an interesting set-up but with creosote in the pipes
that is a recipe for a chimney fire. If you have ever seen one it is a scary thing .
Chimney fires can reach 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to melt some metals. This is why even prefabricated chimneys, which are designed to withstand high temperatures, are still liable to be damaged by a chimney fire. Often, the high temperatures will distort or collapse the metal liner.
Just watch it and keep it clean
Just my Nickles worth
No disrespect intended.

 

[StarquestMan]

Thanks for the kind reply! any suggestions on removing the creosote? i have heard of people removing all of the piping to use a propane weed burner out in a driveway or other similar space to burn it out, but am curious if there are better ways. i am thinking of revamping the setup to put in a cleanout for ease of maintenance. it seems like most creosote removers are geared towards wood stoves, but i may be wrong.

 

[johneh]

The only sure-fire (pun intended) method I Have found to totally remove Creosoto
is to remove the pipes that them outside away from any building, stuff them with newspaper
and light it off. You get the dirtiest black smoke and a hell of a roar as the flames consume the creosote.
Brush the pipes after they cool. If you get a good burn the pipes will look like new.
Not recommended for class A chimneys only smoke pipe

 

[StarquestMan]

Awesome, thanks!