Question for the safety committee

[IHATEPROPANE]

My stove only burns on well on low when I have a little caked ash in the bottom of the burn pot. This usually appears after shut down but not always the case.
Would it be dangerous if I put something in my burnpot to block the air flow through the middle? I think normally I have too much air going through it with no way to adjust it. I was thinking a metal square would do or even a thin square brick??
My burn pot has slats for the air to go through so plenty of air would still get through. I would maybe be blocking a quarter to a third of the total pot.

 

[Crane Stoves]

whats the stove out of curiosity? a brick is fine by the way and i dont see any safety concerns with your idea what so ever.... but i would want to try to discover why the burn is requiring this.

is this a stoker stove were you dont have any adjustment to the air induction? either way blocking 50% of the air holes in the middle wouldent really do anything in terms of safety but id still want to discover why its having trouble? did it ever work OK?

 

[smwilliamson]

My stove only burns on well on low when I have a little caked ash in the bottom of the burn pot. This usually appears after shut down but not always the case.
Would it be dangerous if I put something in my burnpot to block the air flow through the middle? I think normally I have too much air going through it with no way to adjust it. I was thinking a metal square would do or even a thin square brick??
My burn pot has slats for the air to go through so plenty of air would still get through. I would maybe be blocking a quarter to a third of the total pot.

Bad idea. You could try, but I think you would create hot spots around the perimeter and possibly burn through the steel. If anything, I would create a diverter under the pot

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Doug,

There is no air flow adjustment on a Hudson River West Point at all.

IHATEPROPANE,

Is this build up at the front middle of the pot (in front of the igniter)?

Scott,

Are you proposing a fuel deflector in an attempt to even out the pellets in the burn pot?

 

[Crane Stoves]

Doug,

There is no air flow adjustment on a Hudson River West Point at all.

IHATEPROPANE,

Is this build up at the front middle of the pot (in front of the igniter)?

Scott,

Are you proposing a fuel deflector in an attempt to even out the pellets in the burn pot?

yea, i did not know what kind of stove he was talking about but thanks, i think he is having airflow problem (not fuel feed problem) so he wants to block some of the air holes in the middle of the grate to allow for more air towards the edges. I do not see a problem doing this from a safety standpoint (the drawback could he may be risking is life expectancy of the grate itself), i personally dont like the life expectancy of these either way no matter if he does nothing. Im not sure about testing of this product or if this is a common issue but i would want to try and investigate why the burn is not uniform (is it a product defect or simply needs a good cleaning?) , if its a defect then id spot weld for a more proper airflow (but id have a better understanding of how if i could see the grate). Id first look for where the air intakes from and make sure this path is clear and clean (its sucking air from someplace to feed that grate so track its path back...)

I will differ to smoke bear for his thoughts on whats causing your air issues, you can see in this thread he is well atuned to all the intricacies of a stoker stove https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/hudson-river-stove-westpoint.46952/ .... one reason i simply cant deal with them, its manual for me (tried N true for hundreds of years and fixed with $3.oo gasket and maybe some brick every couple decades LOL

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Thanks for the responses.

Smokey, there is not a build up while burning, sometimes a one inch to one and a half inch squared little ash cake after shutdown. But yes, in front of the igniter.

Scott, thanks for the tip...hot spots were not even a consideration on my part.

Doug, the stove run fine, just a lack of air adjustment The burn is uniform on every setting except for low. There is too much air and too little pellets feeding for the size of the burn pot. The reason to block the air flow throught the middle would be to encourage the pellets that are there to hang around a little longer to ignite the incoming ones. Normally large embers get thrown out as new ones arrive.

I hope this answeredthe questions

 

[Crane Stoves]

Thanks for the responses.

Smokey, there is not a build up while burning, sometimes a one inch to one and a half inch squared little ash cake after shutdown. But yes, in front of the igniter.

Scott, thanks for the tip...hot spots were not even a consideration on my part.

Doug, the stove run fine, just a lack of air adjustment The burn is uniform on every setting except for low. There is too much air and too little pellets feeding for the size of the burn pot. The reason to block the air flow throught the middle would be to encourage the pellets that are there to hang around a little longer to ignite the incoming ones. Normally large embers get thrown out as new ones arrive.

I hope this answeredthe questions

yep... this is sounding more like the finite balance and engineering required to obtain a perfected stoker (i spent years of my youth trying to find this balance because the line between perfection and inefficiency is so thin). I myself would have no problem trying to obtain the optimum burn (but i know this is something alot of people might fear getting into).... it comes down to how hands on you wish to be. I would however read that whole thread smoky posted https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/hudson-river-stove-westpoint.46952/ as it gives some good insight that may help you learn more from. "Keeping fingers crossed for you!"

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Here is a pic of the pot

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Scott might have the answer for you if he is talking a fuel (spreader) deflector.

In front of the igniter against the front portion of the burn pot is the spot that most of the fuel first lands, this causes the pellets to pile up there a bit which can prevent ash from being ejected. Over time this will cause an ash build up. This build up is actually occurring all of the time at all firing rates, the difference is in the rate of build up.

There needs to be less fuel or more air pressure at the point.

On my list is a new floor plate that uses a different hole pattern, Scott's spreader idea should also help. Snowy Rivers had to do this on her Whitfield's to allow hazelnut shell burning.

The pellets burned will also contribute to this.

ETA: See the Envrio thread that jtakeman and others had talking about their buildup issues and even stirrer squeaking and grinding noises.

ETA2: I went looking for things and came up with this example of what the Enviro M55 folks were doing: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-days-after-good-cleaning.81860/#post-1047993 note the drilled hole. Your burn pot isn't the same and your build up isn't in the same spot.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Thanks Smokey, I will check those links out.

 

[smwilliamson]

Doug,

There is no air flow adjustment on a Hudson River West Point at all.

IHATEPROPANE,

Is this build up at the front middle of the pot (in front of the igniter)?

Scott,

Are you proposing a fuel deflector in an attempt to even out the pellets in the burn pot?

No, Proposing an air baffle to distribute the air where he think he needs it away from where it is.

 

[smwilliamson]

View attachment 66489
Here is a pic of the pot

something like this

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Scott, I like that idea....hopefully I can find the time to put something together...Will let everyone know how it works out....thanks again!!