Yup. We are fine with it being a roof vent. It is metal and seems like ok construction. But you would think they would have taken the damper out.I don't mind roof vents on the side of my home; generally better construction than the (often plastic) vents on walls.
But that damper shows that when you use a part for something it wasn't meant for, you need to think carefully.
I hope that's it!
Well at least no wasps could get into the OAK pipe. I thought to myself from your first pic that your outlet looked a lot like my bathroom fan outlets. Didn't think a damper would be in the way for an inlet. I do still put a slightly finer mesh over the screen to keep the wasps out still, on the bath fan vents and the OAK. They are all on the backside of the house. They will try to build nests anywhere. It could come off in the winter.Yup. We are fine with it being a roof vent. It is metal and seems like ok construction. But you would think they would have taken the damper out.
I hope that's it too. If not then we will have to look into extending the chimney which I would really rather not do.
Thanks for the help. I will report back after we have another fire.
It is funny because when we got the exhaust vent off and the pipe was clear I was surprised there wasn’t much in the pipe other than dust. It wasn’t until we saw the damper that I realized why. We are going to put something over the screen that is there when winter is over. I do not want to be dealing with wasps and god knows what else getting into the stove. I go around every spring and summer removing the beginnings of wasp nests.Well at least no wasps could get into the OAK pipe. I thought to myself from your first pic that your outlet looked a lot like my bathroom fan outlets. Didn't think a damper would be in the way for an inlet. I do still put a slightly finer mesh over the screen to keep the wasps out still, on the bath fan vents and the OAK. They are all on the backside of the house. They will try to build nests anywhere. It could come off in the winter.
We are the only owners. We had the cabin built 7 years ago. We did not know anything about wood stoves. Everything I know now I learned from this website of course after the fact. I wish I would have been more knowledgable before the stove wasMaybe the previous owner failed to mention, Hey you need to prop that damper open in winter if you want to use the stove.
The original Idea could have been that it's used to seal off the oak from bees, bugs etc. in summer?
I know! I'm very curious to hear if the issue is better.Did u guys have a fire tonight?
Thank you for that chart. I think we are close to the minimum but who knows if the Jotul F500 requires more height than the Blaze King. I am trying to rule everything else out first before going the add more height to the chimney route.This may not be necessary if you've indeed already solved your problem, but I had been looking earlier for information regarding chimney height at various elevations, and I located it this morning. This is from my Blaze King manual, so not specific to Jotul, but I figure physics is physics, so it probably applies to your stove as well. Since you're at 1700 feet elevation on the side of a mountain with probably at least two thirty degree elbows, it looks like 18.5 feet would be your minimum height. Your initial description made it sound like you were around nineteen feet, so you might be on the border of good draft anyway, and a restriction on incoming air would certainly hamstring the stove. I'm hopeful that you have already taken care of the issue with the removal of that damper, but I thought I'd put this chart in anyway just so that you can verify that you've got the height you need while you're already in troubleshooting mode.
View attachment 335097
Thank you for the suggestion but I think the item you show would restrict air flow with all those fins and the really small mesh screen.Instead of using a damper to keep insects out of the OAK, use something like this:
It was about 40 when I first started the fire but then it went down into the 30's later on and didn't seem to improve with the lower temps. But the previous days it was in the 30's and down into the 20's.Dang! I was really hoping you had it...
Do you have a flue probe thermometer? I was quite pleased with how much one helped me run and shut down better at home when I added it. I wish I could have one in the zc up north.
I don't know what your outside temperature is like right now or what it typically is when you are burning, but even with the easy breathing NC30 at home without the OAK there's a huge difference in draft comparing 35 degrees and 25 degrees.
I wonder if you just haven't been able to get the flue hot enough to pull enough air through the OAK?
If the house isn't tight like you've said... How difficult would it be to remove a section of stovepipe, jack up the stove, remove that crimped connection between the duct coming out of the floor and the stove, set the stove down, and reconnect the stovepipe? Having that gap in there would allow the stove to pull room air and not be fighting the friction of pulling air through the OAK. Might be an option rather than extending the chimney.
I see three pieces. The stove conector, a short stub piece and then what goes down through the hearth.I am talking about closing up the hole in the hearth where the pipe comes up through to connect to the stove not closing up the hole in the actual stove.
View attachment 335011
Yes I am sure that would work but if it turns out that isn't the issue I see it being an issue getting it back together and what exactly would we use metal wise?I see three pieces. The stove conector, a short stub piece and then what goes down through the hearth.
To remove I would take a small dremel cutoff tool and slice vertically down the middle stub piece.
The attack with pliers and tin snips. The stove connector can be pulled out as it’s just held in by bent over tabs.
A short piece of 4” metal duct split length wise two hose clamps and piece of metal tape I was MacGyver in a previous life!Yes I am sure that would work but if it turns out that isn't the issue I see it being an issue getting it back together and what exactly would we use metal wise?
I have both a stove top thermometer and IR gun. I use both. I use the stove top thermometer for a quick glance and then use the IR gun when the stove gets hotter.I'm sorry that you didn't have more success, though it does sound as though you had plenty of heat getting into the house. Is it possible that your stovetop thermometer is off? Do you have an infrared temperature gun you could use to measure surface temperatures? I find mine useful for the stovetop but also for double checking my oven or the refrigerator or even air coming out of ceiling vents.
I also noticed that you're using biobricks in your test load. I remember when we bought a load of bricks a number of years ago when I had torn rotator cuffs. They burned fine, but I did not use them to start off in a cold stove. I only loaded them on top of coals, and I mixed them in with cordwood because they weren't as high in BTU's as my oak and beech. I'm not sure how large the firebox of your stove is, but I wonder if you're not getting good secondaries because you're just not filling it full enough to generate the heat at the top that you need.
Since you're also saying that your house is not a tight house by any means, I think you are safe being destructive to the pipe below the stove. You could take a hacksaw and cut through the middle or a drill and drill some holes into it without needing to jack up the stove. I found a thread in the Jotul subforum from November where an owner installed an OAK, had trouble, removed it, and things improved. I'm afraid the thread didn't conclude with any explanation of the restriction, but I thought it might be worth a read for you and for others who are giving advice on this thread to see what they think.
I would increase the F/A to 4"
Area of 3" pipe is 7.06sq"
4" is 12.56sq" (nearly double)
Since you like research and the 3" isn't really working for you, and is likely trash, try drilling some holes in the flex pipe close to the stove, you'll get some outside and inside air.
I work in HVAC, we don't use 3" for anything other than some sawdust collection connections to equipment. 3" with some bends is getting quite restrictive. The smallest we will even use for bath fans is 6". You have 4x the area of 3" pipe in a 6" pipe.
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.