Smoke shelf? what gives???

[mustangwagz]

ok so whats the deal with a smoke shelf guys? i got a good idea of WHAT its purpose is and What its intended to do. my wood burner i been using for 2 years now has one in it and i've been seein alotta add on furnaces with them.. (New Englander add on, 3000+ sq ft capable..)

So before i open my mouth and say what i think it does, what do yinz say?

 

[garmar]

It's supposed to prevent downdraft if designed properly.

 

[mustangwagz]

Ahh ok, Does it also play part in keeping more heat in the firebox (allowing the outter shell to warm up and produce higher heat?)

Looking to keep my wood burner from making so much heat here in the house, without making the flue cooler.. In short, i'd rather pipe some of the heat outta the chimney than keepin it in the firebox and makin my house 90 every day!! lol

 

[blades]

The one in my hot blast is only good for slicing up the top of my thumbs when I add splits. Don't do squat for down drafts either.

 

[Tesen]

The one in my hot blast is only good for slicing up the top of my thumbs when I add splits. Don't do squat for down drafts either.

:agree2:

 

[mustangwagz]

The one in my hot blast is only good for slicing up the top of my thumbs when I add splits. Don't do squat for down drafts either.

lol..well mine aint sharp so thats outta the question..lol and its like 18 inches from where my logs is! lol although, i do stack it UPTO it..maybe thats the retard guard for how high i should pack it?!?! lol..

i think imma just have to move this fire breathing dragon to the garage and getta smaller one for in the house...CRAP!!! lol

 

[taylor6400]

The one in my hot blast is only good for slicing up the top of my thumbs when I add splits. Don't do squat for down drafts either.

Why are you putting your bare hands so far into the firebox? I have a hotblast and the smoke shelf is in about half way...and up pretty high. I do fill her up to the smoke shelf though...now that stupid door flapper is a freaking PIA...been burned on that darn thing multiple times.

 

[thundercloud47]

ok so whats the deal with a smoke shelf guys? i got a good idea of WHAT its purpose is and What its intended to do. my wood burner i been using for 2 years now has one in it and i've been seein alotta add on furnaces with them.. (New Englander add on, 3000+ sq ft capable..)

So before i open my mouth and say what i think it does, what do yinz say?

The purpose of a smoke shelf in a fireplace is to catch bits of creosote that fall down from the chimney and to help with the draft.
There are older fireplaces that were designed to work without them. A fellow with the last name of Rumford back about 1776 came up with the idea and it's called the Rumford design. Most people did not like building them because they were more difficult to build. If i go to describe it I'm gonna get some of my facts wrong so all I am gonna say is that instead of the square firebox opening his was far bigger and had a dome at the top. I THINK it also stood out in the room further than a normal fireplace. They said his design worked far better and even did a better job than a wood stove. They still build them today and bricklayers still don't like building them because they require a higher degree of skill.

 

[blades]

you kinda missed that this a 2 year old thread.

 

[Mac88]

you kinda missed that this a 2 year old thread.

Is that a problem?

 

[allstihl]

+1

 

[jerrycmorrow]

still answered a question i been pondering, but was to lazy or forgetful to dig out, for about 35 years. thanks for the answer. rumford huh? now i gotta google that. thanks. really. rep

 

[Mac88]

still answered a question i been pondering, but was to lazy or forgetful to dig out, for about 35 years. thanks for the answer. rumford huh? now i gotta google that. thanks. really. rep

:msp_thumbup:

Just because the information is old doesn't mean it's out of date. :msp_smile:

 

[aadoublea]

I've got one of these smoke shelf's in my Kalamazoo wood stoves and I don't care for it. I want to be able to stack my wood higher(more) and this shelf impedes this. I just cleaned my chimney out for the first time since I put the stove in 3 years ago. About 75 face cords through it. I was expecting quite a bit of build up and I only had maybe half a coffee can from my 16 foot chimney(6 inch round). I've been leaving this shelf in because I though maybe it kept heat in the stove and also maybe kept the flames from climbing up the stack so high. Anybody takes theres out so they can cram more wood in the stove? Any negative effects to doing this. I assume they put it there for a reason and that's why I've left it there thus far.

Live alone and work 13 hour days, sucks coming home and having to build a fire and wait for the house to heat up. Another layer of logs would help this I think.

AA

 

[aadoublea]

I've got one of these smoke shelf's in my Kalamazoo wood stoves and I don't care for it. I want to be able to stack my wood higher(more) and this shelf impedes this. I just cleaned my chimney out for the first time since I put the stove in 3 years ago. About 75 face cords through it. I was expecting quite a bit of build up and I only had maybe half a coffee can from my 16 foot chimney(6 inch round). I've been leaving this shelf in because I though maybe it kept heat in the stove and also maybe kept the flames from climbing up the stack so high. Anybody takes theres out so they can cram more wood in the stove? Any negative effects to doing this. I assume they put it there for a reason and that's why I've left it there thus far.

Live alone and work 13 hour days, sucks coming home and having to build a fire and wait for the house to heat up. Another layer of logs would help this I think.

AA

Well I took my shelf out of my stove and I haven't noticed any negative effects thus far(three days burning). I love it, I can put another layer of splits in now. I like to leave the doors open when I'm trying to get a fire going and I don't smell smoke in my house as much anymore. Leads me to believe the stove is drafting better without that shelf in the way. Might just be my imagination though.

Anybody else take theirs out. I'm sure they put these in for a reason.

I was worried to take it for for fear of flames climbing up the pipe and igniting the creosote build up but when I cleaned my chimney there was hardly any so.......guess I don't have to worry about that.