wood furnace always smokes..UPDATE

[laynes69]

Also, your flue pipe inside has a few offsets? You need a straight run, especially with a short chimney like that. What size of ducts come off the top of the furnace? Did you cap the plenum opening, or did it come with the 2 outlets? With a 160,000 btu output, you could very easily overheat the furnace by restricting the plenum opening. Unless your heating a castle, it would seem like overkill for a garage.

 

[wiz]

Yes - get rid of that thing in the pipe NOW.

While you're doing that, clean the entire chimney NOW.

I might have missed it in the vid - do you shut the forced draft fan off before opening the door? If you don't, you need to.

And your chimney might be (is likely) too short.

I'll try it tonight without the magic heat. Yes I tried turning off the forced draft...no change. As for height....what can I do without it looking like a telephone pole out of my roof. I have 7 feet now sticking out...Thanks

 

[maple1]

Any way you can get the kinks out like laynes suggested? Should be able to move it around a little bit?

Does it have a smoke curtain inside the loading door? A small sheet of metal hanging down kinda swinging from the top just inside the door? If not, one would likely help with smoke spillage - but if it wasn't built with one I don't know how you'd retrofit. Before opening the door, you need to turn the fan off & open the bypass. I assume pulling that handle out is opening the bypass? And I couldn't tell what I was seeing on/in the pipe just below the Magic Creosote Generator & Draft Restrictor - was that just a thermometer, or is there a damper in the pipe too?

 

[laynes69]

Luckily it's a simple design. A firebox and baffle doesn't pose much restriction in the flue. I'm willing to bet once that thing is removed from the flue, your draft will increase quite a bit.

 

[wiz]

Luckily it's a simple design. A firebox and baffle doesn't pose much restriction in the flue. I'm willing to bet once that thing is removed from the flue, your draft will increase quite a bit.

Nothing below the magic heat just a thermostat. Yes it has a smoke curtain.

 

[wiz]

Outside view

 

[brenndatomu]

Yup, ditch the not so Magic Heat, a lot of wood burning appliances tell you right in the owners manual specifically to NOT install one of those.
Having one is a triple whammy.
1. It is a major flue restriction
2. They plug up with creosote and block the flue even more, AND....BONUS, now you have lots of fuel for a chimney fire!
3. It steals heat from the flue gasses, which lowers the draft even further, and you don't have ANY extra chimney to spare. I'd add at least 3 if not 6 more feet to the chimney just for extra cushion during funky weather, etc.
Just removing the MH will very likely fix your issue.

 

[Jigger]

Another thing that you might want to try. Is open up your manual draft a couple of minutes proir to opening up the door. This will allow an increase in the draft.

 

[mike van]

If there's a screen in that chimney cap, I'd take that out too.

 

[wiz]

If there's a screen in that chimney cap, I'd take that out too.

No screen in the cap. I'm removing the MH now...I will keep you all posted with the results etc. And YES there is a lot of creosote and flaking carbon in the pipes.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Yup what they all said. Get rid of mh, lose those 4 90's, and if this is to heat the house not the garage use insulated piping in the garage as well.

 

[Fred61]

Your outdoor photo shows that your house sits low in relation to the close by trees. You could get a downdraft if the prevailing winds blow from the adjacent woods. That's my thought from the one photo you posted. Can't tell what the other 280 degrees looks like. The other thing is that if the prevailing winds are blowing over the ridge of your roof, you could also be getting a downdraft even though the stack sits above the ridge cap.

 

[brenndatomu]

The other thing is that if the prevailing winds are blowing over the ridge of your roof, you could also be getting a downdraft even though the stack sits above the ridge cap.

All the more reason to do what he is doing, PLUS add more height...IMO

 

[iceguy4]

magic heat needs to go open the door a crack and let it clear then open slowly. Is it safe to assume there is enough "make up air" ?...OAK? ...edit....check that cap too

 

[jeffesonm]

I would definitely make sure the chimney and cap are clear and clean... had a similar problem recently with my wood stove and the bird screen on the cap was all gunked up.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

+1 on adding another 3 ft section of chimney

 

[greenfeet]

wiz,

listen to what others are saying.................. get rid of the magic heat & straighten out the interior pipe as much as you can....

 

[iceguy4]

+1 on adding another 3 ft section of chimney

Geez your chimney looks good outside.. I always thought the rule was 2' taller then anything within 12'. I just poked around the internet and the rule is...
Chimney Height: The 2 foot, 10 foot, 3 foot Rule...(look it up) First off its gonna be funny looking 3' taller (IMHO) Is the chimney the proper diameter? Is the building so tight as to create a vacuum? That cap looks like it could plug too...

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

his chimney is only 12 ft to begin with. See what it does without the MH first and go from there.

 

[wiz]

his chimney is only 12 ft to begin with. See what it does without the MH first and go from there.

I was not able to remove the magic heat and pipe situation last night because again it was -5 degrees here. But today there's a heat wave of 32 degrees. So I'm currently in the process of changing the setup as you all instructed me to. When I'm finished, I will fire it up and post results

 

[wiz]

I was not able to remove the magic heat and pipe situation last night because again it was -5 degrees here. But today there's a heat wave of 32 degrees. So I'm currently in the process of changing the setup as you all instructed me to. When I'm finished, I will fire it up and post results

OK....the results....removed the magic heat...pipe was shiny from creosote and full of flaking carbon. Put straight pipe in...swept it down...upper pipe is OK too. No obstructions...cap is good too....just lit it now....burning report soon...also to answer the other questions...6" exhaust pipe. Plenum has 4- 8" openings... using only 2 now.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Is the opening for your flue of the EK 6 inches? chimney needs to be the same size as opening usually.

 

[wiz]

Is the opening for your flue of the EK 6 inches? chimney needs to be the same size as opening usually.

Yes 6 inch exhaust...stack 6" also

 

[STIHLY DAN]

That's good. How is it running now with your alterations?

 

[wiz]

Well...its better...when its hot it has very little smoke puffing out...but I see one big issue. Since I have 6 feet of black pipe inside the building it cools down fast and then it smokes again. Is there an insulation I can wrap that pipe with to keep the temp up?