Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers with NON EPA-Certified Models Only => Empyre => Topic started by: d-man on March 18, 2014, 09:13:17 PM
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Hey guy, I bought a pro series 200 about a year and a half ago. Since I have first started using it I have had problems with the flapper on the back of the unit clanging when the blower is running. If I crack the door while it is happening it stop banging but as soon as I close it again it starts up again. I have called pro fab but can't seem to get a solution. I have changed the blower, cleaned it out many times, removed 2 lengths of chimney pipe, (still have 4 4' lengths on the unit) rearranged the brick patten as pro fab suggested and still nothing worked. Anyone else having a similar problem? I'm kind of at a loss for what to do next.
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Provide the back of the stove with more available air, u can remove a seal around a door on one side or perhaps open up on of the line cut outs in the bottom your not using
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I have tried running it with the rear door open and it still bangs. I ordered a new flapper from pro fab to see if that helps. The only other thing I can think of is that the stack being so high(16') the exhaust is cooling and not rising out of the chimney fast enough and backing up into the fire box. I am not sure if the chimney height is a issue but I know the exhaust temperature is low sometimes there are ice sickles on the chimney cap.
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Scott, not trying to but in here but it sure sounds to me that somewhere in the air flow there is some restriction that the blower has a hard time overcoming, I'm not a big fan of extended chimney but if it is necessary then perhaps a barometric damper would help to stabilize the draft, the icicles on the chimney cap are just condensation forming when the warm moist air mixes with the cold ambient air, I would remove the cap as it may be causing a portion of the problem with air flow.
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You ain't butting in slim
My thoughts were the same. However in his initial post I assumed he meant when the backdoor opened it quit clanging, he obviously meant load doors.
Also to be honest I quickly read it and just assumed it wasn't getting enough air but the fact he still has 16th of stack never dawned on me, wow
Why so much stack?? U had 24 ft at one time?
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I would not be a bit surprised that the whole issue would stop if most of the smoke pipe and chimney cap were to disappear, Scott do you have any local guys down there that could make a stainless barometric damper to put into the chimney tee? Somebody should start a business manufacturing them for OWB's as they can help regulate the draft on all our stoves.
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The town I live in treats outdoor furnaces like they are the biggest polluting, cancer causing thing imaginable. The code says the unit has to be within 15' of the residence it serves and the stack must be 2' higher then the ridge. So once I got my certificate of compliance i removed 2 sections of chimney to try and help with the problem. If i remove anymore the exhaust will blow into my eave soffit because it is so close to the house. I might be able to take one more off but that would still leave me with 3, 4ft sections.
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Do you have a tee in the pipe that a barometric damper could be installed into and can you remove the cap?
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There is no "T" in the pipe. I could remove the cap.
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None at the back of the stove either? Sorry I'm not familiar with the stove, Can we install one at the bottom of the stack right as the stack comes out of the boiler?
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The stack exits the top of the boiler, I think one could design something to make it work but I know no one that does it
I think the boiler would be fine if u could get exhaust Lowe
If the draft on that pro 200 was working correct you'd see very little in the way of exhaust smoke
This is a classic case of someone "your town" causing you to increase ur emissions due to the stove not working properly, what a joke...
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Scott, what size pipe is it and is it insulated, I can check with my supply house on pricing a tee and damper, the Barometric damper will not last more than a couple of years as it is cheap tin but if it works then I'm sure one of us could come up with a piece of stainless and make him one.
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Its not just the town. I live in New York and anything they can't tax is a bad thing. Hard to tax firewood so lets just make it so no one can heat there house with it. I am going to take as much chimney down as I can and see how it works. Thanks guys for all the help. I will let you know how it goes. The pipe is 6" insulated.
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Hate it when my flapper clangs.
Maybe hard to believe but you can tax firewood. Local hay auction has started charging sales tax to people who buy firewood. The state has labeled firewood a fuel therefore its taxable. A**holes.
I think slim and scott are dead on with your problem. Exhaust has to cool a lot before getting out of that much stack, cool exhaust equals no natural draw.
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Hey fellas. I took off another section of chimney pipe and it stop the flapper from banging. So i guess it was all about the draft. Is there something I can install so i can put the section of chimney back on and have the unit run right? The reason I ask is because the stack is now only about a foot above my soffit and I am worried about exhaust entering the house.
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Yes it is called a barometric damper
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d-man, Your problem may have been already solved by slim and Scott but don't get upset if it starts unexpectedly again.I had that problem on my new Pro Series 200 too but with a slightly different cause.In my case,the two slots in the bottom of the fire box where the hot gasses are blown up under the wood in the firebox would get plugged.The reason the slots would get plugged is the fact that I seldom burn round logs.My wood man is a tree surgeon and at least 95% of the logs he brings me must be split because they are so big.Most trees he takes down are old and huge.I have pictures of a 46" diameter Pecan tree that I had to split.What happens with such fire wood is it makes a perfect cover for the two gas slots and stops the flow of air from the fan.To avoid this problem,I use my garden hoe to first loosen all the ashes in the fire box.Then I pull 1/2 of the ashes to the front of the fire box and push the other 1/2 to the rear.I make a "bridge" of fire wood over the slots and then pile wood to the top of the firebox.By the time the "bridge"burns the fire is so hot it burns the slot plugs as fast as they occur and they can't plug the slots.-------Above where I said "ashes," hot coals is a more accurate description.-------Almost forgot to tell you this important tip.Take a 1/4" mild steel rod two feet long and bend it at a 90 degree angle so that you have 12" of rod on each side of the bend.Connect this to a 4 foot long 3/4" diameter pipe and you have a nice slot cleaner.I call it my Dingle Dangle.If you have a clogged slot and cover it with firewood it won't be long before you see your boiler temp. dropping and realize that you have got to pull all that hot wood out and clean the slots.That is real "outdoors sport".---------Hope someone benefits from this.A flapping clapper is an ominous sound when you don't know what is happening and why.----------shorman
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So I could get a 6" metalbest stainless tee and put a barometric damper on it and put it at the bottom of my chimney? Would the damper fit into the side of the tee? What is the theory behind pulling in cold air?
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It breaks the increased draft that was created with an extended chimney!
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It breaks the increased draft that was created with an extended chimney!
Okay, here I thought a extended chimney would reduce draft from the exhaust cooling too much. Makes sense the other way as well.
Now that it's been brought up, the old oil furnace used to have a barometric damper on it. Always had a great draft on the old chimney in this house. I seem to remember seeing it half open or better sometimes depending on weather conditions.