# Indoor Wood Furnace Barometric Draft



## dwinch53 (Dec 20, 2008)

howdy all..I would like to hear from anyone using a barometric draft control on their indoor wood stove/furnace..my main concern is creosote build up..will I get longer burns and use less wood...lets hear it..Thanx, DWopcorn:


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## laynes69 (Dec 20, 2008)

I have one, and always I get some creasote at the baro. It does allow for more heat in the unit, and a cleaner burn if set properly. Tonight for the hell of it, I decided to cover it temporarily with some aluminum foil. I can run my bottom ashpan damer open 1/2 turn, and have a 450 firebox temp. Before it would be a 1 1/2 turn. If set properly, and only if you have an excess draft would they benefit.


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## dwinch53 (Dec 20, 2008)

laynes69 said:


> I have one, and always I get some creasote at the baro. It does allow for more heat in the unit, and a cleaner burn if set properly. Tonight for the hell of it, I decided to cover it temporarily with some aluminum foil. I can run my bottom ashpan damer open 1/2 turn, and have a 450 firebox temp. Before it would be a 1 1/2 turn. If set properly, and only if you have an excess draft would they benefit.



Thanx, the more heat in the unit tells me less heat is going up the chimney and you say a cleaner burn...laynes69 what type of unit is this? stove or furnace? how long have you had the baro? thanx, DW


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## laynes69 (Dec 20, 2008)

Its a USStove 1500 hotblast wood/coal furnace. The baro was here when I bought the house 4 years ago. It used to be sealed shut, when I opened it I found an increase in heat. But like I say, it all depends on your current setup. A weak draft, and it will hurt.


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## Techstuf (Dec 20, 2008)

*Limited Use*

I'm running nearly 40 feet of chimney with a healthy draft, trouble was, my stove's draft control inlets were not large enough to support it. I had to have my ash cleanout door open partially to prevent back puffing, but also lead to burning hotter than I like, and wasted heat up the chimney. The increased efficiency more than makes up for the increase in heated air going up the flue. I am not certain as to the effect the increase in dry air being inducted up the flue, has on creosote, but the deposits I do get are usually nominal, even, dry and flaky.


Regards,


TS


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## dwinch53 (Dec 20, 2008)

my current set up is no damper at all auto or manual,manufacture says a manual damper will effect the secondary burn in a neg way (cutting down on draft) but does not say anything about a baro, sometimes i feel that i go thru more wood than it should..the baro is suppose to give you a more even burn no matter what the wind is doing outside. others say that they were only for fuel oil furnaces but then again they were trying to keep heat in the fire box not up the chimney..My main concern is creosote, but if secondary burn is working then most to all gases should be burned up and lesser chim temp could be ok? anybody else using baro dampers? thanx again DW


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## KsWoodsMan (Dec 20, 2008)

The thought that struck me when I was thinking about installing one was that any extra air that gets drawn into the house has to be heated. If it is drawing more air then the stove needs for a burn this seems like heat going up the chimney needlessly. Maybe it is just wood but fewer trips outside means less times I'm letting in cold air.

Interested in hearing how it works for others and their experiences with them, too.


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## Techstuf (Dec 20, 2008)

*Time in Service*

Well I've been using one for 4 seasons now and am burning less wood than before I installed it. The increase in amount of air required to meet the increased flue uptake is met by my 'Combustion Air Duct', which is simple aluminum 4" duct pipe hooked to my dryer exhaust vent on the side of the house and routed to the top of my stove's wood feed door. It feeds the stove the oxygen it requires as well as that required by the Auto Draft Regulator, preventing needless cold air from drafting through other nooks and crannies in the house. A side benefit is that when I open the door to put wood in, the downdraft creates a 'draft curtain' which usually prevents any smoke from entering the room, it just comes to the door, enters the draft curtain and curls back down into the stove, mixing with the O2 influx.


TS


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## dwinch53 (Dec 20, 2008)

Techstuff, what are you running stove/furnace and what kind...just wondering
Thanx DW..


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## dwinch53 (Dec 20, 2008)

Interesting read this...
http://www.sandhillwholesale.com/wo....html?osCsid=125166c534c0c02e1c483ceb79035407
DW.opcorn:


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## Techstuf (Dec 21, 2008)

Hey DW, I am using a woodstove. I got my autodraft regulator, similar to the one posted in your link, at a local Menard's store for $15.00


TS


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## Nuzzy (Dec 21, 2008)

Sorry for the partial thread hijack, but this thread has popped a light on for me... 

Being new to the wood furnace scene, I never knew what this thingie was:







And now I know 



But this poses a question... How do I set it correctly? (Yes I fiddled with it when we bought the house so it's no longer "calibrated") After a quick search of archives here, it seems a lot of people don't like them on the newer furnaces. Our furnace appears to be from the 80s according to it's badges. Should I be utilizing my barometric damper or disabling it? If utilizing, how are they calibrated?

















 :arg:


*edit*

Pic of house to establish wood furnace's chimney height (small one with smoke). Furnace is in basement so height prolly 30ish... feet?


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## Suz (Dec 21, 2008)

I have a barometric draft control on my indoor Rightway boiler since I put it in over 20 years ago. (Manufacturer requirement.) 
If I don't use the control the boiler will draw air through the ash pan door and cause the stove to overheat when there is not a burn requirement to heat the water.


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## dwinch53 (Dec 21, 2008)

Nuzzy..this site might help...as you can see from the thread i am researching this option for my firechief wood furnace..http://www.fieldcontrols.com/draftcontrol.php
DW


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## bryan6301 (Dec 21, 2008)

i just recently purchased a barometric damper . today would be my third day of using it . seems to me , that the baro damper provides for a more even burn , i mean when you load the stove for the night and set your drafts for the night burn , that when during the night when more of the wood catches and begins to burn , creating more heat thus creating more draft within the chimney , this creates a vacuum in the wood furnace as it tries to pull in more air from the draft intakes . this is where the baro damper kicks in , the flap begins to open , allowing room air to even the pressure , this allows for the air entering the stove to reach a maximum level of your draft intake setting . in other words , it allows for only so much air to enter thru your draft intake , once the stove tries to pull in more air , the baro damper will begin to open and supply the extra air that the chimney draft is wanting . this all provides for a more even burn , more consistant burn that can provide longer burn time because it helps to keep a more regulated draft into the stove . i do have a question tho , my baro damper seems to get a bit of creosote build up on it . is there any way of preventing this , or is the cause only due to wood too wet and or too low fire temp ?


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## laynes69 (Dec 21, 2008)

When reloading a furnace, or stove, you get some smoke. Plus Its basically impossible to have no smoke from a wood furnace. So having a baro on a flue, I pretty much guarantee its going to happen, due to the cooler air entering the baro. Ideally if there was a perfect burn, you wouldn't get that.


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## bryan6301 (Dec 21, 2008)

i would imagine the creosote build up would then affect the weight distribution on the damper , basically throwing it out of calibration . so ... a baro damper on a wood stove , not a workable idea ? or is there a way to make it reliable ?


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## laynes69 (Dec 21, 2008)

Sure, clean it when needed.


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## Techstuf (Dec 21, 2008)

Excellent synopsis Bryan, also, the damper also provides the benefit of being able to check the general condition of the flue, a major plus in my view. When I'm burning wood with the bark on for instance, powdery creosote will accumulate on the damper which is easily cleaned off. One can shine a flishlight into the flue a bit, which, in my experience is a good indicator of the general chimney condition.

I recommend the "sooteater" sweep system for running up the cleanout door on one's chimney or flue when indications warrant a quick mid or late season sweep. I use a brush for a thorough sweep after every season.

Barometric dampers definitely have their place. When used properly, (ie. burning seasoned wood) their plusses certainly outweigh the negatives.


TS


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