Tale of Woe

[Joe684]

Have a seat as I spin my tale of woe for you, I have a Vermont Castings Radiance LP stove that just won't behave. The problem: the flames get very tall and stringy lapping the top of the stove on it's lowest setting.
They are sooting, they rise and fall. Also, this stove is on the south side of our home. And the stove always goes crazy when the wind is out of the south. When the wind comes in from the north, it's fine. Now, understand we have had 6 visits from techs trying to figure it out. Here's there fixes to date:
The restrictor plate has been removed.
Pressure in the lines tested.
flue sealed with mil pac
burner plate replaced
and a wind shield installed on the outside termination cap.
Nothing is working, and they have all but given up on what else to do.
I'm no tech but I can't get my head around something that appears a contradiction to me. The restrictor plate was removed which gives the stove more air ( It helped a little ) But, when the wind blows from the south into the termination cap the flames act as if the restrictor plate is there cutting off air, but isn't it getting more air from outside ? So, if more air is the problem, why restrict the air from the outside when you can restrict it from within? I guess I don't get it. But my hope is one of you do. What do you suggest? I'm all ears.

 

[DAKSY]

Sounds to me like the air shutter needs to be opened up. The MAIN reason for sooting
is incorrect ATF mixture...

 

[Joe684]

There's no shutter on this flue, but one of the guys said he did not think it was cross contamination.

 

[DAKSY]

The air shutter is on the burner, NOT on the flue.
There HAS to be one in order to adjust the Air-to-fuel (ATF) ratio.

 

[Joe684]

Thank you for the correction, I am sure the tech here said it was ok, but could you tell me if I am off on my opinion, I have a sconce type termination cap, and they put a shield on it that looks like a grate.(broken image removed) I dont think it does anything. Would a termination cap like this be better or no?(broken image removed)The sconce has two big openings in the bottom and top, letting wind go directly into the flue, this one seems more closed, Am I correct? or am I missing something?

 

[DAKSY]

As I thnk about this, if the wind is blowing the exhaust back into the intake side of the system,
that could also cause a sooting issue. If the intake sucks in exhaust fumes, there isn't enough
oxygen left to mix with the LP so it can burn correctly...
That wind screen can also be used with the Trapezoidal cap pictured.
In fact, it's also made by the same company - Simpson Dura Vent.
Whether or not it'll work better than the sconce cap, is unkonown.
All you can do is try it.

 

[Fsappo]

If you look under the stove, you will probably see what is obvious as a shutter. It may look like a piece of sheetmetal with a screw thru it, just loose enough that it can slide. Moving it back and forth will show an immediate reaction in the flame. It is not impossible that it is part of the problem. I don't have time to google the owners manual, but it should be pretty clear on the location.

Get it fixed before using the stove more. That soot can crap up a lot of stuff in the stove.

 

[Joe684]

Thanks for all the feed back, do you think I ( I meaning novice ) could install the termination cap myself? or is it something I should hire a tech to do? Also, if you think I could do it easy enough, how can I tell if I need a 4" or 5" size as the exhaust pipe is not visible, being surrounded by the larger intake flue pipe?

 

[DAKSY]

The 4" vent has a 6-5/8' OD. The 5" vent has an 8" OD.
Installation of the cap requires a professional,
or it should be done by someone who knows
how it needs to be attached to the existing vent.
It may also require cutting of your siding & a vinyl siding shield...

 

[Joe684]

Thank you, I'll make a call to the tech and ask him to install it, and to double check the shutter. You all are great, thanks again.

 

[Heatsource]

still sounds like a venting issue,
yes definitely use the hi-wind cap supplied by the venting maker (is it simpson dura vent?)
the flue collar needs a special adapter on that model IIRC, was it used? (what model of radiance?)
(you can fakey it with other parts, but you have a much harder time making the proper seal)

 

[Heatsource]

iirc (if i recall correctly- interwebs slang sorry)

I've never been a VC dealer, but think those stoves needed a 6dva-adp