Stuffing Wire wool up yer secondary intake!?

[FionaD]

...not everyday I get to post a topic title like that without getting arrested!

So, I noticed someone mentioning in a recent post that his stove dealers recommended putting some wire wool in the secondary intake to reduce excessive draft on a stove.

Given the advice given on the 'Florida Bungalow' article (a search on this site will locate it) that modifying the secondary intake might be advisable when there is too strong a draft due to flue set up, etc, what are people's thoughts about the wire wool idea?

I admit it's tickled my curiosity. I do have a pretty strong draft on my flue all the time and am considering getting a damper. Now I wonder if a wee experiment with a little wire wool might be worth considering first. What do y'all think.. Am I mad? Be kind....

 

[BrotherBart]

not everyday I get to post a topic title like that without getting arrested!

I used magnets to cover a portion of the secondary intake on my Englander stove to make it proportionate to the chimney height the stove was tested at. With good results for the last six or seven seasons.

 

[Babaganoosh]

I'm surprised anyone would do that. Steel wool is very flammable.

 

[Hogwildz]

Wire wool... hmm sounds sparkifying

 

[FionaD]

I'm surprised anyone would do that. Steel wool is very flammable.

Wire wool... hmm sounds sparkifying

Oops.. Ok then. I should know by now not to listen much to what dealers say. Guess I thought if stoves are made of steel maybe steel wool would be a OK. Or maybe I should just trying knitting a stove !

I used magnets to cover a portion of the secondary intake on my Englander stove to make it proportionate to the chimney height the stove was tested at. With good results for the last six or seven seasons.

...sounds like a better bet then. I'll see about getting a magnet or two.

Would that have essentially the same effect as a damper?

 

[BrotherBart]

Like the Florida Bungalow Syndrome article says, controlling combustion is best done from the intake rather than the exhaust side. The reason the accelerator on your car controls the air intake rather than the tailpipe.

 

[Hogwildz]

Just for shitsngiggles...hehe
Light a match to a pc of steel wool and then let us know if you think the dealer knows what he is talking about.
Might want to wear some gloves while doing so, and do it outside.

 

[FionaD]

Just for shitsngiggles...hehe
Light a match to a pc of steel wool and then let us know if you think the dealer knows what he is talking about.
Might want to wear some gloves while doing so, and do it outside.

Think I'll just take your word for it, Hogwildz...

Like the Florida Bungalow Syndrome article says, controlling combustion is best done from the intake rather than the exhaust side. The reason the accelerator on your car controls the air intake rather than the tailpipe.

One more wee question then... Where would I get a suitable magnet. I googled and saw lots on Amazon, but one of them said 'operating temp up to 80deg C'. Others don't specify... but it looks like I might need a specific magnet?

 

[BrotherBart]

I used rectangular ones from the hardware store. There is constant cool airflow at the secondary inlet so they don't get hot enough to demagnetize. And mine are flat on the bottom of the stove. If they had weakened in all these years gravity would have let me know about it.

 

[BrotherBart]

Think I'll just take your word for it, Hogwildz...

There is nothing that hasn't been done on youtube.

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[FionaD]

Awww.... That's really pretty to watch! Might not want to do it near my stove though. Gosh, I hope the person whose post I read somewhere else on the forum reads this.

Thanks all for some good advice. I'll try my local hardware store. Sounds like there's no kind of magnet I could get that would melt or harm my stove in any way...

I'll start by just blocking off around 1/4 of the intake and see how it goes...

 

[FionaD]

Sorry - one last question... I have found some magnets, but info says they are triple-plated (nickel-copper-nickel) would that be ok or could something there melt, even in that relatively less hot area?

Sorry if that's a really daft question...

 

[Plow Boy]

Nickel melting point is around 2600
Copper melting point is around 1900

If your intake reaches those temps call fire dept. Asap

 

[Fsappo]

Not to poop on the overthinkers but I covered about 3/4 of the secondary intake hole on an enerzone 3.4 with metal tape. Never had an issue.

 

[FionaD]

Nickel melting point is around 2600
Copper melting point is around 1900

If your intake reaches those temps call fire dept. Asap

Guess I'll be OK then. Thanks for that reassurance.... As someone who knows nothing about these kind of things I feel I should always err on the side of caution rather than just jump in from a point of sheer ignorance... (Steel wool sounded good to me, for example!!) it's good others have got my back with this kind of info.

Not to poop on the overthinkers but I covered about 3/4 of the secondary intake hole on an enerzone 3.4 with metal tape. Never had an issue.

I recall someone mentioning metal tape for this purpose before.. Maybe it was you, Fsappo. Funnily enough, I tried to ask for it today in a local DIY store, but they hadn't heard of it - maybe it's called something different over here.

They didn't have magnets either However, I scored some small steel plates that I bolted together to form a simple and easily removable or adjustable partial block to the opening at the bottom of the secondary intake cover. It seems to pretty effectively block off almost half of the space. So I'm watching the burn this evening and I think I see a difference... It's a very windless evening though, so the real test will be when the winds return - I live on top of a hill, so I'm sure I won't have long to wait

 

[clark77]

would the 2" x 3" magents with advertisements on them for different companies work for blocking off the secondary air inlets or are they not strong enough with the heat? i've got a ton of them on my fridge at work that i could possibly use.
i have a overdraft issue with my current insert but will be installing a jotul f55 hopefully by weeks end. that stove will have a rear exit to a T connector. i was toying with the idea of installing a key damper in the horizontal section of the T connector even before the install but i think blocking off the secondary air may be a easier and better option. i'm hoping that my draft will get reduced a little by the rear exit to the T connector but if that doens't do it, i guess i can limit the secondaries. and if that still is not enough, maybe a key damper will be the final try.
i won't know until the stove gets put in and gets fired up. just spending my time thinking about what the best install will be.

 

[thedriver]

Not to poop on the overthinkers but I covered about 3/4 of the secondary intake hole on an enerzone 3.4 with metal tape. Never had an issue.

I did the same thing on my Drolet 1.9 with great results. however, I am going to get some magnets . it would be easier to adjust if I wanted to do so.

 

[BobUrban]

x2 on magnets working very well to tame the 30 at my house. Also, just touch battery to that pad of steel wool and see what happens!! Some of the best fire starter available for a survival kit. Stuff a little in a old school film can. Many ways to ignite steel wool.

 

[tarzan]

I would definitely give the magnet a try before installing a damper. You can easily move it around until you get the results you are looking for.

Along the lines of what has already been mentioned, if you ever here the clunk of the magnet falling off, calmly and orderly evacuate the premises.

 

[branchburner]

So, I noticed someone mentioning in a recent post that his stove dealers recommended putting some wire wool in the secondary intake to reduce excessive draft on a stove.

You could try aluminium foil... pretty sure it won't burst into flames.

 

[kuma.jason]

Just curious, are y'all talking about partially blocking just the secondary intake or secondary and primary?

I've always suggested a damper for overdraft solution. I agree that regulating at the intake is preferable. As a manufacturer though, it doesn't seem quite right to tell customers to modify their stove.

Jason

 

[clark77]

How is placing a piece of aluminum tape or a magnet over a opening in the stove any more of a modification than adding a pipe damper? It's not like guys are cutting and welding anything and really modifying the stove. Takes a few seconds to add a magnet, adjust or remove and the stove will show no ill effects from it. Just seems like the easiest route to fix a possible overdraft issue to me.

 

[kuma.jason]

I agree that adding a damper is essentially modifying the stove too.

However, a damper in the pipe is still widely accepted as normal by most stove users. In fact, a very common question that we get from prospective buyers is "do I need a damper in the pipe".

On the other hand, no one has ever asked if they will need to add some foil tape to their new stove.

The damper is familiar to most, while asking a user to slap foil tape on an intake seems a bit like saying that we made the stove wrong.

Jason

 

[Fsappo]

You are modifying the pipe in one instance, the stove in another..that is being specific. When it comes to this litigious society, specifics matter. I wonder what the down side would be to having adjustable secondary air, without the consumer having the ability to close it off more than X%. Or, why wouldn't, during testing of a new product, a manufacturer throw a stove like my old 3.4 Enerzone on a 20' thru the roof class A chimney, load it with seasoned splits and see how it does? Gas fireplaces have adjustments to account for vent configurations. What about with the adjustable secondary air, you had three positions. you test your draft with a meter. Your draft registers x-x set secondary to x, etc. Just thinking with my keyboard here.

 

[Fsappo]

I agree that adding a damper is essentially modifying the stove too.

However, a damper in the pipe is still widely accepted as normal by most stove users. In fact, a very common question that we get from prospective buyers is "do I need a damper in the pipe".

On the other hand, no one has ever asked if they will need to add some foil tape to their new stove.

The damper is familiar to most, while asking a user to slap foil tape on an intake seems a bit like saying that we made the stove wrong.

Jason

If in any more than a handful of cases a customer needs to install a damper or tape off an air supply, those cases also being instances where the stove is installed and vented according to the manufacturers specs, then in my opinion, a stove is made wrong.