thoughts on this home made wood stove?
- Thread starter ken morgan
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an unexpected development:
So this weekend went to the cabin but this time i took an extra section of double walled flue, the idea was to see what if any difference could be made if i lengthened it by one section. Installed length is 30" per section. and currently i had 6 for a total length of 15 vertical feet, all of it inside the house/overhead except the last section and a half where it protrudes from the roof.
so I added the extra section and now total length is 17.5 feet, 18' with rain cap and my draft got worse ?????
to date I have run the prior stove with the existing pipe, and only the last section of the pipe got any creosote. When I installed this stove it worked great on the existing pipe but the draft seemed a little weaker than before. Not a problem while burning, but the light off was markedly different from before and required cracking the door to get it going, (never needed before) and once burning it was fine. so I added the extra length figuring my length was marginal and low and behold it made it worse.... reburn would no longer pull work worth a squat and even the primary seemed to have difficulty keeping going. took it off Sunday and it was back to the way it was prior, a little more difficult to initially light, but once burning all is good.
so what gives? gases cooling too much due to the extra exposure to cold air? (pipe is double walled but not insulated) original pipe extended about 2' above the roof ridge and with this section added now extends 5' above the ridge. too much of a good thing?
So this weekend went to the cabin but this time i took an extra section of double walled flue, the idea was to see what if any difference could be made if i lengthened it by one section. Installed length is 30" per section. and currently i had 6 for a total length of 15 vertical feet, all of it inside the house/overhead except the last section and a half where it protrudes from the roof.
so I added the extra section and now total length is 17.5 feet, 18' with rain cap and my draft got worse ?????
to date I have run the prior stove with the existing pipe, and only the last section of the pipe got any creosote. When I installed this stove it worked great on the existing pipe but the draft seemed a little weaker than before. Not a problem while burning, but the light off was markedly different from before and required cracking the door to get it going, (never needed before) and once burning it was fine. so I added the extra length figuring my length was marginal and low and behold it made it worse.... reburn would no longer pull work worth a squat and even the primary seemed to have difficulty keeping going. took it off Sunday and it was back to the way it was prior, a little more difficult to initially light, but once burning all is good.
so what gives? gases cooling too much due to the extra exposure to cold air? (pipe is double walled but not insulated) original pipe extended about 2' above the roof ridge and with this section added now extends 5' above the ridge. too much of a good thing?
You might want to wait until a cold wind blows from the north to the south and a high pressure center moves in. That maximizes your draft. Low barometric pressure coupled with a south wind yields a lousy draft and will even produce a down draft. And, if necessary, open a window or leave the door ajar in the cabin until a draft is established.
yeah I am going to play with it and monitor it closely for the rest of this year to see how it acts when its colder. I was just like what the heck? why would the draft get worse when making the flue longer?
Because you're using non insulated stove pipe.
It seems obviously that the insulated pipe is effecting your draft. My opinion is there is more to your situation then just the insulated or not insulated. On my set up I have at least 12' of triple insulated pipe with great draft. I do have a little air adjustment in the pipe itself which has made a difference. Your adjustments for reburn might be a key factor in your draft situation or maybe as you said the pipe is just cooling down too much by the time the gases get to the top of the exhaust. Thanks
That stove is very pretty you are certainly talented great work. I ran an Old Mill for 28 years your stove looks a lot like an Old Mill.
thanks for the thoughts, all input is welcome. Mine is not insulated, just double walled. One thought that came up is thaat the baffle might be a tad bit to long for the burn levels I want to support from a stove this size. and in regards to this, I made one mistake when I made it. I welded in the baffle to offer more strength, so if the baffle is removing to much heat from the flue, then i might need to use my plasma cutter to trim its length since I cannot easily remove it to trim it.
drumbum
ArboristSite Operative
My thoughts after not studying your design are...way overbuilt. With the thick plate construction, I think I would eliminate the fire brick for more internal volume. I would also try to rig the reburn tubes with some convection; i.e. cold air from down low with single intake and made from lighter, smaller stock (to heat quicker), with support at both ends. Try to incorporate refractory boards in the design above reburn tubes to make smoke/flame have to travel toward end door and back to upper portion/flue exit. That thing has some serious heat potential.
After I make this post I will go back and look at the pics better and formulate my possible retraction.
After I make this post I will go back and look at the pics better and formulate my possible retraction.
drumbum
ArboristSite Operative
You could take the primary air intake and have it air wash both doors with the square tube if the bricks weren't in there.
All I have said is meant to be helpful and constructive. Just thinking how I would do it.
All I have said is meant to be helpful and constructive. Just thinking how I would do it.
Perhaps just to generate more discussion, the immediate horizontal exit flue from the stove may be too long. My idea would be to get the draft started by making that horizontal length shorter and thus elbowing to a vertical pipe sooner so that the exhaust gets started more easily. With your current design, the smoke does not know where to go soon enough during early ignition when the fire is not that hot and the draft is not established.
Most stoves that have long horizontal flue pipes at least have a vertical exit from the stove with an elbow that is close to the stove and thus close to the fire. The damper, if required, is thus attached to the vertical portion of the flue. The damper is always open at startup and may be choked later after the fire is hot and the draft is established.
Most stoves that have long horizontal flue pipes at least have a vertical exit from the stove with an elbow that is close to the stove and thus close to the fire. The damper, if required, is thus attached to the vertical portion of the flue. The damper is always open at startup and may be choked later after the fire is hot and the draft is established.
Sorry that photo is not a good representation of the cabin install. That's How I was running it in the shop for initial burn to bake the paint and get rid of smells. Installed in the house it only had a 18" horizontal run before it goes up.
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