Flame shield design change. When did it sprout 'wings'?

[Derf Summerfreeze]

Ok, Update on 2022 T6 flame shield modification to mitigate smoke spillage into room when door opened with a hot stove and active fire. As I had surmised, the new design flame shield is quite an obstruction to flow. When i removed the baffle assembly there was 1/4" of soot behind the baffle. In one month of burning, this stove deposited as much soot on the baffle(behind the wings, reference picture) than my old Regency would deposit in 6 yearsX 18 cord= 108 cords burnt. Not a wonder considering what a choke point this new style flame shield is. My concern going into this has been the smoke spillage when the door is opened with a hot, active fire. Anyway, today I modified the flame shield and the stove is working considerably better, although with the door closed it seemed to work well before. Now however, the air wash system works better as the air flow sweeps low and rotates the flame towards the upper chamber (the area above the baffle) more consistently. Also, when the door is opened, the flames tend to be directed toward the flue more so than before. All other aspects of the stove seem to work better too including the secondary air burning off gasses (which was exemplary before but even better now). More importantly to me is that when the stove is hot with a rolling fire, almost no smoke exits through the door opening. It's not perfect and never will be as good as my old Regency, but it will be good enough. I still plan some tweaks to make it better. Update coming in about a year from now. See the pics. Derf

 

[Derf Summerfreeze]

Last modification done. I've cut the brick rails such that the flames and smoke would prefer to go up into the upper chamber of the stove rather than out the door when the door is opened, or into the glass when the door is closed. This mod accomplishes 3 things. Most importantly for me it keeps flames from 'walking the rails' right out the door when reloading with an active, flaming fire, and secondly it provides a larger opening to the upper chamber which also decreases smoke spillage with an open door. The third advantage is less creosote buildup on the glass with an active but somewhat smouldering fire. BTW, after trimming the wings on the flame shield (as in my previous posts) it became apparent that the stack temperature rose by approximately 200 degrees F for an equivalent fire than before the flame shield was modified. The stove now behaves more like my old Regency that had very little restriction on the exhaust side. Also, much less black soot and white fly ash build up on the baffle since the mod. I suspect that the LE series reduced particulate emissions by choking the exhaust flow and making the baffle into a very effective ash tray. I want all of the fly ash to be exhausted out of the chimney; not stored on the baffle. The modifications so far have been win, win, win and I don't expect to make any more. I would suggest anyone buying a Summit or Alderlea T6 post 2018 or 2020 to consider carefully the mods I have done, or buy a pre-2018 stove without the restrictive flame shield. One thing that seems to be a winner in the newer PE Summit or T6 stoves is the baffle plate that has secondary holes at the very rear of the baffle with a separate welded on manifold. It works extremely well. The secondary air burning is excellent even after my modifications. I'm quite happy with the stove now that it's tuned to my chimney and my method of operation. Derf

 

[Derf Summerfreeze]

"and with the primary air control fully closed, there will still be about 10-15% air admitted".

Not on my 2022 model. When the gate slides over the inlet hole for the primary air, it closes it completely. Perhaps 1% leakage but no more. Have a look next time you remove the ash pan on a newer T6. The boost air hole if functioning, is about 1/2 inch and not enough to cause a runaway condition either. BTW, by definition an airtight stove is one that isn't full of holes that need to be cemented up to prevent leaks. Those old stoves definitely needed a stove pipe damper. The fully enclosed (other than the door) nature of a welded steel stove makes it by definition, airtight. Air controls and whether they are controlled or uncontrolled are separate from that conversation. Derf

Edit and apology to Begreen. My stove does indeed have a minimum air flow hole stamped into it. I don't know why I didn't see it the first five times I looked but this time I used a mirror and there it was. It's about 3/4" diameter between the main air control hole (which can be shut off completely) and the boost air hole. So far this minimum flow has not been an issue as far as controlling the stove is concerned but should it be, it could be partially throttled using a magnet or a piece of high temperature tape. Derf