Pellet stove reaction to power outage

[RAVinMetrowest]

I have a new Enviro milan insert.

What happens if you are using your insert and the power goes out? I understand the combustion fan, feed auger, and convection fans will stop but do you get smoke buildup in the house until the fire subsides?

It's possible that the heat is the system/liner is enough to cause draft enough until the fire stops below.

BTW - my insert is vented thru a 3"liner to the top of my approximately 20' run. Masonry chimney, fully internal to my house with 4' exposed above the roof line.

 

[DneprDave]

My stove doesn't get smoke in the house when the power goes out. I have eight feet of 3" vent piping going through a cleanout tee and straight out the roof.

Dave

 

[TimfromMA]

I have a free standing stove with no vertical rise in my vent and my house fills up with smoke fast in a power failure when there's a fire going. It was this problem that pushed me to put in a battery backup.

 

[johneh]

I have a free standing stove there is no smoke in house during power failure
but I have a vertical rise gives some natural draft

 

[Tim Linden]

If you have an oak there is less smoke probability. If you have an insert going directly up the chimney even less. Still theoretically possible though if wind conditions are right.

 

[steamguy]

I have an Enviro Mini and the power where we are is known for being fluky in the winter. If the power goes off, (there isn't enough draft in the chimney) so the stove will overheat to the point that it will trip the high limit snap switch. This means you have to partially pull the stove to reach the switch to reset it. We have made a habit of opening the firebox as soon as we can anytime the power quits. Yes, that gets a little smoke in the house, but not enough to even trip the smoke detector; and the fire dies in a minute or two anyway.

 

[Bridgeman]

I'm vented up a flue and convection pulls the smoke up and out. It's happened several times over the last few years. I would think an insert would vent the same way.

 

[bbfarm]

We get a little bit of smoke smell. When the power comes back on it stars on level 1 instead of 3

Just a horizontal pipe with oak

 

[Wilbur Feral]

First stove (freestanding MVAE): About 3 ft of 3" horizontal only initially, and much smoke if power out. After first time that happened, had dealer install 4' vertical rise and that solved it about 90% or better.

Second stove (old Whitfield Quest insert): 32.5 ft straight up a 4" liner. Almost impossible to Force it to smoke. Goes straight up that massive rise like a vacuum cleaner.

Lesson: Have some vertical rise in your vent if at all possible.