Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
One thing to keep in mind is some of the older hand fired stoves are very "leaky" and may require manual damper. If you're in a very windy area it might be advisable too. Never use one a stoker stove though.
This topic is like the PC vs. Mac debates you see.
I know in my burning 'tenure' I really never had a problem with drafting and the Dutchwest wood stoves I used. If there was an unusually low pressure system I would get some backpuffing until the flue heated up. Just had to build smaller, hotter fires, that's all.
Also if you have wood and are reading this no baro on wood stoves, that will create perfect draft in the event of a chimney fire and greatly increase the fire.
I've had one chimney fire with a wood stove. Actually the flue was pretty clean, but there was accumulated loose creosote on the smoke shelf that touched off. And when it touched off- it WENT. Flames shot out the chimney 6ft.+ like a Roman candle on steroids I doubt a baro would have stopped it.
The stove was a freestanding vented into the fireplace via a stainless steel 'flexiliner' that went past the shelf into the first course of tile. I installed a blockoff plate where the steel damper normally rested, so after cleaning the flue the crap would fall down on the shelf, and if you didn't take the time to remove the block-off plate (like my dumb-a*s) it gathered up quickly.
Anyway to make a long story short- I opened the wood stove all the way and shot dry extinguisher up the flue which put it out quickly, then got up on the roof and shot down onto the smoke shelf.
Sorry if there was misunderstanding but a Baro on a wood stove is a huge safety issue, if you have a chimney fire it will increase the effects because you have the perfect source for oxygen greatly increasing the intensity of the fire.
You can use one on a coal stove because there is no chance of chimney fire. Matter of fact and not that I'm suggesting it but it will clean the creosote out of a chimney. Actually have to be careful if you have a chimney that previosuly used wood because the creosote will dry out and flake off.
I've never used a baro but I thought it would shut down the inside air feed if the draft was induced too strong, as in the case with a chimney fire.there is no chance of a fire with coal? Maybe with anthracite when burned correctly but my buddy in PA melted a metal chimney from a coal soot buildup fire, lol. He burned nut coal, and not too well at that. Very, very messy in the old WonderCoal stove he had.
I look at them as just another method to draft more inside air out.
Our stovepipes are sheetmetal, and there is no combustible material within a reasonible distance from either of them. So I really have not been concerned about chimney fires.
as in the case with a chimney fire.there is no chance of a fire with coal?
There's nothing to burn. The only thing coal produces is fly ash. You have to clean it out usually once a year because it eventually block the chimney but it's not combustible.
Quote:
my buddy in PA melted a metal chimney from a coal soot buildup fire,
If you're firing it that hot you're going to damage the stove. As far as anthracite goes there is no soot, I guess the possibility exists with soft coal but I'm not all that familiar with it. I'm pretty sure it's not that much of concern.
The one concern with anthracite and fire is any combustibles near the stove or flue pipe. Even the flue pipe isn't a big concern becsue it has much lower stack temperatures than wood. When my stoker has been idkling for a while I can touch the flue pipe.
He stopped using nut coal and switched to wood. It was too messy in that stove. Every spring he had to wash the walls down. Very, very messy.
Well then it was definitely soft coal (nut or chestnut FYI is a size), anthracite is quite clean to use. You'll get some light dust from moving the ashes and the coal but that's it and you'll have that problem with any solid fuel appliance. .
This says all that needs to be said about the way it burns, there's no smoke and that is whether it's idling or full throttle:
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
