Not a stupid question. My secondaries are still getting enough air to fire properly as seen in the video below.So pardon me if this is/are stupid question(s)...
Where are the volatiles combusting that would have been firing from the secondary air? If those volatiles are still combusting, how does it make it more controlled?
Right. Which was why I installed my damper. I went over 1000 flue and 800 stt once before the damper and that scared the bejesus out of me. Solved the problem except for the length of time it took to be able to get to my overnight settings.Not a stupid question. My secondaries are still getting enough air to fire properly as seen in the video below.
With the secondary air being more restricted it can’t pull as hard and as much volume with the primary air shut all the way down. When run unrestricted on some installs it will pull too hard causing an increase in temps which increases draft which increases flow which increases firing and temps in a spiral out of control
Is that single wall pipe? If so, I'm curious if you are loosing a bit of heat through the pipe before it hits the probe?Not sure why I’m able to get my flue temps lower and STT higher than you guys, just goes to show that every install comes with different running and burning characteristics
Yes it is single wall. The probe is only 20” above the stove top I doubt I’m losing over 100* in that short of a runIs that single wall pipe? If so, I'm curious if you are loosing a bit of heat through the pipe before it hits the probe?
Looked a lil taller.Yes it is single wall. The probe is only 20” above the stove top I doubt I’m losing over 100* in that short of a run
Yes I only shut the damper when necessary. Which last night it was actually necessary to shut it all the way unfortunately.Sweet! So still firing from the tubes, just not so robustly. So you shut primary air first, then the damper if necessary?
How’d it go last night?Right. Which was why I installed my damper. I went over 1000 flue and 800 stt once before the damper and that scared the bejesus out of me. Solved the problem except for the length of time it took to be able to get to my overnight settings.
I am at my overnight settings now 10 minutes after loading and hoping to not close up any more. We'll see if I have a takeoff in an hour and what my coals are like in the morning. I wonder if decreasing the secondary air, which will increase the doghouse and air wash percentage, might allow me to close the air control more...? So far things are looking good!
Yea pics don’t always give the best view. I do have a magnetic gauge on the stove pipe elbow at 18” off the top of the stove which corresponds with what I see on the probe adjusted for the angle. When I took those measurements room was about 73Looked a lil taller.
I was guessing 24''....not that far off but, yea100* is a lot. Maybe if the room was stone cold.....
It was good! I am going to leave the magnet where it is for now and see how it goes for a few day before considering covering any more.How’d it go last night?
Didn’t have to make anymore adjustments after reaching overnight settings?It was good! I am going to leave the magnet where it is for now and see how it goes for a few day before considering covering any more.
Heaters were kicking in this morning, but the house was pretty chilly last night already when I went to bed. All the experiments and trying to burn down coals put me behind. I had both the air and damper a little more closed than normal, good coals but a little more charcoal than normal, just a little bit of buildup on the lower corners.
Today is supposed to be up to 20, tonight 5, tomorrow 16, tomorrow night -1; so not quite as cold but still pretty danged cold. Will be good weather to continue the experiment, then when (if?) it gets a little warmer I can see how much that affects it.
If you close the key damper until your draft is more in the 0.05 to 0.06" WC range, you will find yet another level of efficiency, and probably be able to open that secondary air back up a little (50% closed?) as I bet you are not burning quite as clean as it was in stock form.The manometer needle is no longer bouncing off .15 plus and hangs around .09-.1. I did my first full load with it covered at 60% without using the damper and got over a 9 hour burn and woke up to this left in the stove
Amen brother, preach truth to the masses!! 👍The wood furnace guys have taught us that you want to limit the flow through the stove to slow down the gasses and allow heat to exchange to the skin. This is done by regulating the draft to within spec. Overdraft can also damage the stove by creating a blast furnace! Without regulating draft, and with the way modern noncats are designed, adjusting the air control simply switches where the air comes from. Be it the primary or secondary system. One of those will satisfy the draft.
We all should be using manometers to measure the draft strength, especially when using key dampers.
Well... I didn't know what my new overnight settings would need to be... I ended with air at 1/8 open instead of 1/4 open and damper a little more closed than typical (15-20% open instead of 25% open). It worked pretty well.Didn’t have to make anymore adjustments after reaching overnight settings?
Funny enough sitting on lunch I’m actually reading a thread on FHC from a few years back with you and highbeam talking about this very subject.If you close the key damper until your draft is more in the 0.05 to 0.06" WC range, you will find yet another level of efficiency, and probably be able to open that secondary air back up a little (50% closed?) as I bet you are not burning quite as clean as it was in stock form.
Amen brother, preach truth to the masses!! 👍
I was just reading some of the same stuff in the same place this morning!🤣Funny enough sitting on lunch I’m actually reading a thread on FHC from a few years back with you and highbeam talking about this very subject.
I did actually have to dial my damper all the way down to .05-.06 last night as even with it being closed 75% they were absolutely screaming hot. I didn’t want to open up the primary air any to relieve some of the air flow through the secondaries as I was afraid it could potentially make the situation far worse.
Piss poor!! That's just wham bam get paid sloppy dont give any F's right there...Local stove shop said they don't even check draft for installs, which sounds crazy...
All us furnace guys use the Dwyer Mark II model 25...can buy on ebay for $30ish usually ($40?)Is there no such thing as a simple analog manometer like the analog flue probes that you just stick in a hole in the stovepipe? Everything I'm finding is a copper tube and fittings and mounted unit...
A manometer works by sticking a tube in an area that is either positive or negative pressure and having the opposite fitting outside of said area. It then measures the pressure differential. So there will always be a tube setup with a manometerSo I'm getting frustrated by manometer research...
Local stove shop said they don't even check draft for installs, which sounds crazy...
Is there no such thing as a simple analog manometer like the analog flue probes that you just stick in a hole in the stovepipe? Everything I'm finding is a copper tube and fittings and mounted unit...
Also to add on to my previous post, even with my modifications I can tell you last night it was burning clean as a whistle. There’s no way everything wasnt being combusted with how hot it was at the secondaries.If you close the key damper until your draft is more in the 0.05 to 0.06" WC range, you will find yet another level of efficiency, and probably be able to open that secondary air back up a little (50% closed?) as I bet you are not burning quite as clean as it was in stock form.
Amen brother, preach truth to the masses!! 👍
It is...well, its a magnahelic, (SP?) and available in many different ranges, and while you can find them reasonably priced sometimes. I've personally never found one in the right range for wood stove chimney draft, and still anywhere near as cheap as the Dwyer Mark II model 25. So yeah, you could use that...
I guess my main point was you are still running very high pipe temps, compared to if you got your draft reading down to/under -0.06"Also to add on to my previous post, even with my modifications I can tell you last night it was burning clean as a whistle. There’s no way everything wasnt being combusted with how hot it was at the secondaries.
So in my experience with running the secondaries less covered (or not at all) on this nc32, it tends to run away. As in once it’s closed down, even with key damper being shut, it gets really really hot and doesn’t slow down until it gets into the coaling stage.
To me, this is a potential dangerous situation as it turns into a self feeding blast furnace that I can’t stop. This is the whole issue with why I am modifying the stove in the ways that I am. I need to be able to control the fire burning in my home because in it’s stock form it is not an enjoyable experience.
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