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Author Topic: Modification to Draft Door  (Read 8268 times)

tinfoilhat2020

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Modification to Draft Door
« on: December 09, 2014, 07:32:46 AM »

Hey All,

I am brand new to this board. I  have  a TimberWolf 5000 series OWB. it is Michigan made and very similar to the Ridgewood Stove.  It operates off natural convection via  a draft door at the front of the unit. I am wanting to install a blower fan with a draft door on the fan. That way I can run either blower fan (when i am burning more green wood, which i have a ton of this year), or the draft door (when burning dry seasoned wood). The reason I am hoping to do this is because I have notices that unless i am burning really dry seasoned wood, the fire takes 30 min or so to start sometimes after te draft door opens. My High temp is set at 170 and low at 165. And sometimes by the time the fire catches, my low temp is all the way down to 150. Just wanted some advice from some season veterans, and would love to know if anyone has every done this modification (im sure someone has)

Thanks,

Dylan
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intensedrive

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2014, 09:46:56 PM »

I would set your high temp to 180, with a 7-8 degree difference.  Not uncommon for the stove to take a bit with the natural draft damper to get kick up the fire.  Mine calls for heat at 171, and not uncommon for the water temp to drop 163 before the fire gets roaring again.  I noticed a huge difference in the amount of heat out of the registers with the water temp is 175 - 180 compared to 160's.
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Chas

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2014, 06:03:16 AM »

Definitely raise your high temp and raise your differential like Intensedrive suggested. I run 185 high with a 12 degree differential. It's hard to make coals when the stove is only burning long enough to raise the temp 5 degrees. A good coal bed will get the fire going faster when the draft door opens.
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jamesbodeis

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2014, 08:28:03 AM »

I've got my ridgewood set to 195 with a 5 degree diff. Works much better for me then it did at the factory settings. Also added 6 ft of chimney to help with draft.
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tinfoilhat2020

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2014, 03:19:41 PM »

thanks for the input. I have added 6 feet chimney to help with the draft and I will try raising my temperature's my current high temp is only at 170 and my low temp at 165. I have a water to water heat exchange and that is the only reason I am able to run at a lower temperature.
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jamesbodeis

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2014, 03:56:25 PM »

Mine is water to water also. I run 7 cast iron radiators on 1 loop/zone. When they call for heat all at the same time I can see a pretty serious drop in temperature at the stove. The whole system seems to like the higher temps better.
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automan77

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2014, 04:19:08 PM »

Was is tricky to set the temp settings on your ridgewood.
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jamesbodeis

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2014, 04:23:03 PM »

At first yes. I found the actual instructions for it which made it easier. http://www.dwyer-inst.com/PDF_files/E_90_TCS_low.pdf
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tinfoilhat2020

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2014, 05:27:15 PM »

I just changed it to 170-175, we will see how that goes. Ive been playing with it constantly to get the most efficient heat
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intensedrive

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2014, 08:23:20 PM »

Maybe its just me but the blower motor runs a lot less when the wood is at 175 - 180.  Turns on and heats for a few minutes then kicks off.  When your down around 155 - 160 your blower on the furnace will run twice as long and the home won't feel as warm.  That is just my observation, drafty farm house here.
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intensedrive

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2014, 08:35:02 PM »

So are R0, and R2 is what you change?  R0 being the differential, and R2 the Max temp before damper close?



At first yes. I found the actual instructions for it which made it easier. http://www.dwyer-inst.com/PDF_files/E_90_TCS_low.pdf
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jamesbodeis

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2014, 08:52:07 PM »

yes
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intensedrive

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2014, 10:27:59 PM »

Perfect,

Got it changed.. Thanks for the information.



yes
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tinfoilhat2020

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #13 on: December 11, 2014, 02:18:42 AM »

changed min to 175 high with a 7 degree differential. seems to be burning about the same. My only issue is the amount of time that the fir takes to ignite when the after the draft door opens back up. The stove itself works great other than this, im very happy. very simple design and i luv it. Im also not using this near its capacity. When my damper door shuts, sometimes it will stay close and the fire smoldering for 45mins-1hr. It is very very well insulated and takes a long time for the water temp to go down. This, combined with the fact that i am throwing about 50% green wood in there makes me think that having a blower fan mounted on the door would come in handy. These are just my observations so far.
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golffanman

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Re: Modification to Draft Door
« Reply #14 on: December 11, 2014, 11:08:47 AM »

The aqua-stat instructions are also in the Ridgewood Owners manual on their website. You can look at it, or print it out.
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