what do you use for a hose & probe for the mag?

[suchanewbie]

Finally spent the money and got the gauge but I'm not having much success setting it up for the M55 (and feeling a bit dumb about that).

I actually got a kit separately on fleabay that came with a nice 1/4" aluminum tubing, compression fitting, valves. Thought I'd be all set.
Unfortunately the probe is too big (thick) the for the hole on M55.
Don't feel comfortable enlarging the hole there if I can do without it.
So I'm going to have to come up with an alternative hose/probe setup.
I looked at the inflating needles but that's too small a width to mate with the compression nut on the 1/4" tube.

Looking for some ideas or solutions.

Thanks guys.

 

[suchanewbie]

The guage did come with a hose barb that fits the female ports on the gauge.
So with some type of a hose that fits this barb on this end and the inflating needle on the other end, maybe that's what I need?
Not sure what type of hose/line that would fit the job here.
Would plastic/nylon/rubber be safe to use given the high temp?

 

[suchanewbie]

Just looking to see if anyone can provide help with this. Thanks.

 

[JDenyer236]

Here's what I did with my Vista Flame when I had it. I just pressed the rubber hose tight against the hole to make a decent seal. Worked fine. You're just measuring pressure difference so the probe need not go in the hole just tightly against it. Hope this helps.

 

[suchanewbie]

Here's what I did with my Vista Flame when I had it. I just pressed the rubber hose tight against the hole to make a decent seal. Worked fine. You're just measuring pressure difference so the probe need not go in the hole just tightly against it. Hope this helps.

Could you please tell specifically what type of hose you had used? Thank you.

 

[JDenyer236]

I believe it was just a rubber 1/4" ID hose.

 

[Cleetussnow]

I got the same project going. I got my magnahelic, so I will head to Home Depot to make this happen per this thread

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-install-magnehelic-reading.91405/

 

[suchanewbie]

I got the same project going. I got my magnahelic, so I will head to Home Depot to make this happen per this thread

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-install-magnehelic-reading.91405/

Thanks for that link and let me know how you make out with some details and some pics if possible.

 

[batchman]

I used an automotive oil pressure gauge install kit per a tip here, included a bunch of small copper tubing - small enough to bend 90deg on a small radius if you're careful. I then poked the tube into the proscribed hole, was going to seal it up but doesn't seem to need it (plus I figured the JBWeld I was going to use would be messy). Routed the tube around/through various bits of my stove and made a bracket to mount it on the back cover.

I think if you search rockauto in this forum you'll find the part number but you can probably find something similar at any auto parts store.

Cheers,
- Jeff

 

[suchanewbie]

In case someone else is looking for a solution, here's what I ended up doing.
Still used the 1/4" OD aluminum tubing that came with the accessory kit I mentioned above. I just simply filed down a thin layer on the outside, and then stuck the tube in snug into the inflating needle. Felt very klugy but I gave up looking for a proper compression fitting or coupling that would match the different diameters.
Seemed to work alright in the end.
Glad I went with aluminum when I realized how hot things were getting at the stove end of the tube as I was taking my time to adjust the draft. Plan B was to use a fuel line with hose barb at the gauge end and the inflating needle on the stove end - don't believe it would've turned out well considering the high temp.

I held the "probe" as flat and snug against the surface as I could - not sure how much of a "seal" is necessary in order to get an accurate measurement.
I should probably also put a tape or something around it maybe - something that won't melt and get all gooey.
Hoping I did a good enough job - want to say better than nothing but I realize an inaccurate reading is just as bad as not using a gauge anyway.
Not sure if it's the placebo or what but I do notice that the stove is operating a lot better in terms of flame quality (consistently brisk yellow) and noticably less soot on the glass.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[Cleetussnow]

I used a gas thermocouple from Home Depot 11 bucks. I cut both ends of the copper tube, and carefully removed the inner core of the tube. Then I soldered the copper tube inside the brass coupling piece that screws into the guage. It's nearly a perfect fit. Then for the stove end, I used some aluminum duct tape, the real kind, wrapped around the copper tube, and simply made a graduated increase in the thickness of the tape by tapering it, so when you put into the hole, i can snug it right in there. I left a good 2 inches of tube to put into the stove before the tapered tape starts. It stays in by itself.

Wasn't hard to make and works real good.