Do they make a left handed smoke bender? seriously I could use help

[NE WOOD BURNER]

My chimney is about 35' high and has a very good draft

so your chimney volume is 27-28 cubic feet? very close to my approximation of 30 cubic feet earlier. interesting!

 

[avc8130]

Theoretically speaking. the smoke would exit the door(chimney) and oxygen would be introduced and the fire could spontainously ignite.
We know that the smoke escapes as the you tube video of the 180 has an exhaust hood.
Sorry to hijack this thread I have been curious of this model since I first saw and read advertisement. All out burning for this unit seems very satisfactory from what I have read. The idling"hybernation" is what has me curious.
I am very curious to hear any feedback for recommended chimney system for this unit.

Correct, the smoke exits the door because the unit's fan does not have enough power to suck ALL of the exhaust gases from a raging fire down through the coals when the door is opened and all of that excess oxygen is presented.

The door is higher than the intake, so it becomes the "chimney".

AHS provides a "smoke flap". All this does is attempt to get the intake above the door and provide more volume for the smoke to build up into before billowing out.

All of this is only an issue during "hot" reloads. If reloads are timed properly, and just coals remain, this is not an issue.

ac

 

[Fred61]

HADOUKEN!

ac

How do you like NE WOOD'S answer on that question?

What happens if you open the door and introduce oxygen...

Eyebrows actually grow back quite rapidly

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

"Like "Street Fighter" itself, the current hadouken trend seems to have originated in Japan, and (broken link removed to http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&key=018425f9d5d8a3aabc061c3829398deb&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2013%2F03%2F29%2Fhadouken-meme_n_2979482.html&v=1&libid=1365177962068&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gameinformer.com%2Fb%2Fnews%2Farchive%2F2013%2F03%2F28%2Fforget-planking-and-tebowing-hadoukening-is-the-latest-rage.aspx&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mysearchresults.com%2Fsearch%3Fc%3D2652%26t%3D01%26ei%3Dutf-8%26q%3DHADOUKEN&title=Prepare%20For%20The%20Hadouken%20Meme%20To%20Take%20Over%20The%20Internet&txt=some%20predict&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13651780381622) it will be the next Tebowing. You can be an early adopter! Make sure you do before it goes stale."

 

[avc8130]

What I think is happening when the unit DOESN'T explode on re-ignition, is that the gasses have actually cooled down to below their auto-ignition temp. So adding oxygen doesn't result in an instantaneous explosion because there isn't enough heat energy left. Remember, the wood gas can be approximated by "air". Air has a very low specific heat and cools very quickly.

ac

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

"Spontaneous re-ignition of the wood will occur after an off period of 2-4 hours
Re-ignition is dependent on the refractory temperatures." from wood gun literature

yes I agree. The gas turns to solid on the cool surfaces. the ignition source that is being provided by this system is the refractory heat retention.

My experience with higher moisture content wood is that when you sufficate it to get longer burn times it creates a full (firebox to damper) volume of smoke/gas. still possible for a severe blow back in my mind. Could blow in a horizontal pipe as shown in prevoius threads could just happen anywhere once a source of oxygen is found.
maybe a flue out of the main chamber with a damper control bypass would eliminate the need for a smoke hood.

 

[infinitymike]

There has been a lot of good stuff said here. Some of it has gone to the usual "bash the Wood Gun banter" but hey we Wood Gun guys can handle the haters. But all in all there has been a lot of good info shared here. I mean maybe I live under a wood pile but I never heard of hadoukening before and now I have one more useful tidbit to share with others!

 

[infinitymike]

NE WOOD,

Do you run a gasifier?

 

[infinitymike]

Like I said before, ALL gasifiers cause some smell, and No I haven't smelled all units but listen we are burning wood and there has to be some level of odor, fume, smoke, release of particulants.... To what level that is is a huge variable based on many different factors.

It was said earlier that this guy may just be super sensitive and just one of those people who need to make a stink (no pun intended)

Some of the ideas will take a good amount of money and may have no effect. Leaving me with less money and no benefit ie: added more SS pipe.
Some will take a good amount of money and may have no effect yet have a benefit to me ie: storage.

Unfortunately I have to be the lab rat here and report back my findings.

Lets keep thinking this through.

I think that the cheapest solution would be one of those wind turbine caps. Maybe that will cause a vortex and the smoke/smell will just spin away like a tornado.

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

Mike,
I do not. I am researching and saving$ for one in the future. I have burned wood solely for heat since 1976. Have rebuilt and delivered many wood/coal furnaces and stoves in the past. I have filled many OWB for nieghbors when they vacation.
I am not in any way bashing the woodgun I am intrigued by the method of trying to control the fuel source. which has always been the dilema in wood burning.

The wood gasification furnace to me is much like an internal combustion engine. computers can control all of the elements now. But when something goes wrong its usually the basics that are an issue spark/fuel/compression/clogged cat

The woodgun you have appears to be running as designed. with the neighbor's complaint It has brought to light is it running 100%. I question the draft of your 10'chimney only because I believe the added natural draft may reduce the huge puff on reignition. A warm chimney may reduce the amount of initial smoke coming out also.

 

[avc8130]

maybe a flue out of the main chamber with a damper control bypass would eliminate the need for a smoke hood.

Yup...that's how most other designs do it...

 

[arngnick]

Like I said before, ALL gasifiers cause some smell, and No I haven't smelled all units but listen we are burning wood and there has to be some level of odor, fume, smoke, release of particulants.... To what level that is is a huge variable based on many different factors.

It was said earlier that this guy may just be super sensitive and just one of those people who need to make a stink (no pun intended)

Some of the ideas will take a good amount of money and may have no effect. Leaving me with less money and no benefit ie: added more SS pipe.
Some will take a good amount of money and may have no effect yet have a benefit to me ie: storage.

Unfortunately I have to be the lab rat here and report back my findings.

Lets keep thinking this through.

I think that the cheapest solution would be one of those wind turbine caps. Maybe that will cause a vortex and the smoke/smell will just spin away like a tornado.

I think the cheapest thing to try that has been suggested is to take the cap off. I run mine without a chimney cap.

I never see anything but water vapor with my boiler unless I have bridging going on which is rare. I will climb up on my roof at the different stages if the burn to smell my exhaust directly as I cannot smell anything on the ground. I will report back...

 

[Fred61]

There has been a lot of good stuff said here. Some of it has gone to the usual "bash the Wood Gun banter" but hey we Wood Gun guys can handle the haters. But all in all there has been a lot of good info shared here. I mean maybe I live under a wood pile but I never heard of hadoukening before and now I have one more useful tidbit to share with others!

I was only trying to help but my sympathy for your plight seems to have come to an abrupt halt. Your Wood Gun is doing the talking for me now.

 

[711mhw]

What happens if you open the door and introduce oxygen...

There is a manual "purge cycle" timer/switch & a green light that indicates the "ok to open" All this does is to turn the boiler back on, ie; turns the fan on & opens the air door. Multiple warnings and stickers are provided along with the green "go" light to avoid the need to re-grow your eyebrows.

 

[infinitymike]

I was only trying to help but my sympathy for your plight seems to have come to an abrupt halt. Your Wood Gun is doing the talking for me now.

Fred. I appreciate your help and I never said you were the one who has been bashing the WG. (At least not on this thread)
I said some of the stuff said was the typical bashing banter. Your 8 years of WG experience sounds a hellava lot worse then anyone else has ever expressed. This smelly thing is only a bad experience for my neighbor. It doesn't bother me in the least.
What bothers me is that he is bothered by it. I'm not one who likes to annoy people, especially people I need to live near.

All the other things that you may have considered to be a bad experience don't effect me either.
My house is warm and water is hot. But with that said I am openminded enough to believe that if I switched to another unit I may find that I was having a bad experience. So until then I will hope that this is the least of my bad experience.

 

[mikefrommaine]

Some of it has gone to the usual "bash the Wood Gun banter"

Are you familiar with godwin's law?

Probably could add a corollary law about the woodgun:

Any thread about a woodgun, if long enough, will involve gremlins; and will question whether fire can be turned on and off by a large mass of cement.

 

[mikefrommaine]

I cant get any tanks into the basement nor do I want to take up the room. Since the WG is in the garage, My solution for storage is to cut the slab open and dig a mechanics pit and lower a 1000 gallon tank. The pit would be insulated and would have removable decking to inspect or work on the tank.

Sounds like a cover story to me. Like any of us believe this mysterious 'smell' is real and you aren't building a hidden lair for the woodgun underground.

 

[maple1]

I'll echo arngnick - the only things I see coming out my chimney are some steam in colder weather, and some smoke if I get bridging which has not happened very often.

I did go through a few episodes where I got some smoke on startup for a while but that has gone away with refinement of my firelighting & startup procedures - it was mainly due to loading right up with too many small splits when I made a new fire, which released too much wood gas & whatever else gets released when wood burns for the amount of air that could get into the fire and the lack of coal bed. Now I only load half full max on startup and reload full after an hour or so - happy happy happy purple/blue flame pretty well all the way through. The natural draft likely plays a part in all that (letting the fire build right) - and also, once the fire gets started, it burns wide open until it is all burned out. No chance of any stop/start smoke emissions there - which I think is where most of the Gun emissions are coming from.

 

[avc8130]

Smell is real. Mine does it. It also heats my house.

Sounds like a cover story to me. Like any of us believe this mysterious 'smell' is real and you aren't building a hidden lair for the woodgun underground.

If this "underground" existed, why would Mike continue to feed the outsiders WG issues? Just so a guy 1k miles away, with a completely different boiler and NO 1sthand WG experience could bust his chops?

He is from LI...so this might actually be the case.

ac

 

[mikefrommaine]

Smell is real. Mine does it. It also heats my house.

If this "underground" existed, why would Mike continue to feed the outsiders WG issues? Just so a guy 1k miles away, with a completely different boiler and NO 1sthand WG experience could bust his chops?

He is from LI...so this might actually be the case.

ac

I just observe I don't try to understand.

 

[infinitymike]

Are you familiar with godwin's law?

Probably could add a corollary law about the woodgun:

Any thread about a woodgun, if long enough, will involve gremlins; and will question whether fire can be turned on and off by a large mass of cement.

Interesting that you referenced Godwin's law. You mean Mike Godwin. And your are mike from Maine.
Sounds like a cover up. You must be the real Mike Godwin.

 

[infinitymike]

I think the cheapest thing to try that has been suggested is to take the cap off. I run mine without a chimney cap.

I never see anything but water vapor with my boiler unless I have bridging going on which is rare. I will climb up on my roof at the different stages if the burn to smell my exhaust directly as I cannot smell anything on the ground. I will report back...

How much rain water do you get in the pipe without a cap?

 

[infinitymike]

Smell is real. Mine does it. It also heats my house.

If this "underground" existed, why would Mike continue to feed the outsiders WG issues? Just so a guy 1k miles away, with a completely different boiler and NO 1sthand WG experience could bust his chops?

He is from LI...so this might actually be the case.

ac

Yeah! What he said!

 

[infinitymike]

Sounds like a cover story to me. Like any of us believe this mysterious 'smell' is real and you aren't building a hidden lair for the woodgun underground.

If there really was an underground this would be the official T-shirt

 

[arngnick]

How much rain water do you get in the pipe without a cap?

Not sure...I do not have any issues with it though. It is a masonry chimney so the water that does get in will just fall to the bottom and drain through the cleanout.

If I were you I would give it a try...what do you have to lose? If it works and water becomes an issue you know you need a cap with better upward flow.