Daka Secondary Heat Chamber

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mopar969

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On the daka furnaces there is a secondary heat chamber that can be bypassed with a lever on the furnace. What is the heat chamber though, is it just a baffle plate or is it a heat exchanger?
 
I think that is just a smoke baffle, it opens a bypass so you don't get so much smoke in the face when you reload.
 
That is what I thought it was but I couldn't tell. However, do they have two baffle plates in the daka or is it just this that you make the smoke go around or not with a lever? The englander furnace has a baffle on top of it I am guessing this is the same thing however you can move it with a lever unlike the englander.
 
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It's just a baffle plate that forces hot combustion gasses "the long way around" so it's in contact with the firebox steel for more time... with the idea that more heat will be transferred to the forced air in the plenum.

The "bypass" is so you can open the door and load the firebox without losing your eyebrows.

Loading Door & Bypass Closed
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Loading Door & Bypass Open
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Looking at the diagram then the daka top model has a blower as the draft that would probably increase the efficiency with the baffle closed because the blower would keep pushing the smoke backwards in the stove no?
 
Having the bypass closed will increase efficiency over having it open no matter if the furnace has blower or natural draft. BUT, my experience with induced draft (a blower) was not impressive, it seemed to use a TON more wood for the same heat output, which really surprised me by the way. I just turned the blower off and went with manually controlled natural draft. Which meant no thermostatic control, and that was one of many reasons I decided to upgrade from the Yukon Big Jack to the Yukon Husky.
 
Looking at the diagram then the daka top model has a blower as the draft that would probably increase the efficiency with the baffle closed because the blower would keep pushing the smoke backwards in the stove no?

Well first, I don't have mine installed yet... haven't used it yet.

But... the only time the baffle should be open (bypass open) is when reloading a hot firebox and possibly when getting a fire started. Air coming from the draft blower is channeled under the fire, or under the cast burning grate, not forced directly onto the fire... so no the draft blower should not "keep pushing the smoke backwards in the" firebox.

The purpose of the baffle plate is simply to reduce heat loss through the flue opening... keep the hot combustion gasses inside the firebox camber(s) for a longer period of time. More time equals more of the available heat transferred to the air between the outer firebox wall and surrounding plenum... and it will, or may increase combustion efficiency during hot burns. The reason it can be opened (put into bypass) is for operator safety... because if the firebox is full of smoke, and under certain conditions, opening the door will introduce a bunch of oxygen, the smoke ignites (similar to secondary burn in the new-fangled stoves) producing a huge fireball that flows out the door and removes all the operator's exposed hair. Even if the smoke doesn't ignite, there's still the possibility of hot, toxic gasses being released into the surrounding room and operator's face. Opening the baffle (bypass open) for a few seconds before opening the loading door will clear any ignitable smoke and direct hot, toxic gasses away from the door (and operator).

Nearly every stove or furnace built during the last 100-years (probably longer) has some sort of "baffle" system... some simple and rudimentary, some highly sophisticated... depending on design they may, or may not be manually moved (or put into bypass). Heck, back-in-the-day when I built my barrel stoves I'd install baffles to reduce heat loss through the flue.
 
Having the bypass closed will increase efficiency over having it open no matter if the furnace has blower or natural draft. BUT, my experience with induced draft (a blower) was not impressive, it seemed to use a TON more wood for the same heat output, which really surprised me by the way. I just turned the blower off and went with manually controlled natural draft. Which meant no thermostatic control, and that was one of many reasons I decided to upgrade from the Yukon Big Jack to the Yukon Husky.


I also have a draft blower like a blacksmith's forge. Obviously when you see fire out the chimney there is a lot of heat loss. But, if there isn't enough draft its like trying to boil water with a low flame. If it gets there at all it takes a long time. For me it was trial and error to get it right. The draft blower certainly makes for quick hot water. I think thermal mass plays a large part in this. I have a smaller stove ( 165 gallons of water ) so the draft blower helps get the job done. Like most of us, I'd like to get increased burn time with less wood. So far I haven't found an economical " magic bullet ".
:biggrin:
 
I also have a draft blower like a blacksmith's forge. Obviously when you see fire out the chimney there is a lot of heat loss. But, if there isn't enough draft its like trying to boil water with a low flame. If it gets there at all it takes a long time. For me it was trial and error to get it right. The draft blower certainly makes for quick hot water. I think thermal mass plays a large part in this. I have a smaller stove ( 165 gallons of water ) so the draft blower helps get the job done. Like most of us, I'd like to get increased burn time with less wood. So far I haven't found an economical " magic bullet ".
:biggrin:
I load my data, have the wood pulled forward, pull the top rod and open the bottom drawer about 2 inches and start the fire, I leave it open and the top rod open to release heat because your building a big coal bed once you get your coals load it and keep the rod pulled and the drawer open, once I get the wood burning hot with alot of coals around the outer edges of the wood and then once it's goin really good I close it up tight, I have a front fan to feed the fire but I have a plate over the fans opening so I can control the air flow and I close that plate almost completely, barely an opening and with hardwood in northern MN at 40- I can get a slow smolder out of my daka that lasts all night just like you would a outside boiler. House maintains 69 to 72 all night.. gotta keep the top rod pulled while you do it and the wood needs to be up by the Door not pushed back... if you don't keep the rod pulled it'll get really hot in your house trying to get the wood burning hit enough to shut it down to a slow smolder... lmk if this helps you get more efficiency from your daka
 
I load my data, have the wood pulled forward, pull the top rod and open the bottom drawer about 2 inches and start the fire, I leave it open and the top rod open to release heat because your building a big coal bed once you get your coals load it and keep the rod pulled and the drawer open, once I get the wood burning hot with alot of coals around the outer edges of the wood and then once it's goin really good I close it up tight, I have a front fan to feed the fire but I have a plate over the fans opening so I can control the air flow and I close that plate almost completely, barely an opening and with hardwood in northern MN at 40- I can get a slow smolder out of my daka that lasts all night just like you would a outside boiler. House maintains 69 to 72 all night.. gotta keep the top rod pulled while you do it and the wood needs to be up by the Door not pushed back... if you don't keep the rod pulled it'll get really hot in your house trying to get the wood burning hit enough to shut it down to a slow smolder... lmk if this helps you get more efficiency from your daka

When did you get your DAKA?

I haven't heard that name mentioned in some time.
 
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