Bubblestove BB1 smoking out of the rear damper?

[andyberg]

Woke up this morning to alarms and a boat full of smoke from the rear of my bubble stove?

was fine last night, went bed leaving it on no2 for central heating woke at 11.00 to smoke billowing from the rear damper opening? Whats this for and any ideas on the reason for this happening?

[peterboat]

Although never had it suspect blocked flu/chimney I have had 2 bubbles srilll have a BB1 in the bedroom and both have been trouble free

 

Peter

[andyberg]

checked chimney all ok...what causes smoke to come out of the rear damper/ flap? whats this movable plate over what looks like a rear outlet for?

glass on door was all black sooted over too this morning

Edited December 4, 2014 by andyberg

[LEO]

Hi,

 

I have a Kabola 'Old Dutch' which has a damper, these require careful adjustment to ensure the flap just closes when the fire is on.

 

Control is normally made by adjustment of a round nut/balance weight,

 

Sounds as though the flue needs a good clean (and the fire probably).

 

If you have a set on instructions it is worth checking details in them.

 

The soot on the stove/glass is down to damper problems.

 

The damper can cause problems in high winds or conditions which cause a down draught.

 

Hope this helps, these oil stoves are excellent, but have to be kept clean, they will burn continuously for ages, subject to a supply of clean, filtered fuel and having a built in safety feature such an over boil cut out fitted.

 

L

[andyberg]

Ill have to investigat/give the flue a good clean at weekend..

Has an old dutch on my last liveaboard and it was fantastic, this Bubble is good when working, suppose a good cleanout is the order of the day, its never burnt with a blue flame always orange

[bottle]

 

never burnt with a blue flame always orange

 

 

 

 

suppose a good cleanout is the order of the day

 

 

[andyberg]

Given it a good vaccuum out flue n fire all clean but still smoking out the back flappy damper thing... Any ideas it's getting cold now! Brrr!

[rjasmith]

Just vacuuming it may not be good enough.

 

Have you closely inspected the walls of the burner pot to make sure ALL the little ventilation holes in it are clear and not sooted up?

 

Are you using a catalyser grid in the pot to help get a better blue flame.

 

What sort of flue do you have, ie is it the correct double walled type with the proper terminal at the top to help reduce downdraft effects?

 

Is the flue as vertical as poss with no bends in it and is it tall enough?

 

All these things will help towards better combustion in any oil vaporising burner. The burning rate of the fuel can only be increased if the flue can create enough updraft to maintain a blue flame, too much fuel with not enough updraft will give you an orange smoky flame that will rapidly soot it all up.

 

If the draft diverter flap doesn't stay closed under normal conditions it needs adjusting as others have said. It should only swing open if a gust of wind creates a temporary increase of updraft. The fact that you get smoke drifting out of it tells me that the flue is not drawing enough to maintain a sufficient small pressure drop behind it.

 

Have you got the service manual for your BB1? If not it's here.

 

Richard

[LEO]

Just vacuuming it may not be good enough.

 

Have you closely inspected the walls of the burner pot to make sure ALL the little ventilation holes in it are clear and not sooted up?

 

Are you using a catalyser grid in the pot to help get a better blue flame.

 

What sort of flue do you have, ie is it the correct double walled type with the proper terminal at the top to help reduce downdraft effects?

 

Is the flue as vertical as poss with no bends in it and is it tall enough?

 

All these things will help towards better combustion in any oil vaporising burner. The burning rate of the fuel can only be increased if the flue can create enough updraft to maintain a blue flame, too much fuel with not enough updraft will give you an orange smoky flame that will rapidly soot it all up.

 

If the draft diverter flap doesn't stay closed under normal conditions it needs adjusting as others have said. It should only swing open if a gust of wind creates a temporary increase of updraft. The fact that you get smoke drifting out of it tells me that the flue is not drawing enough to maintain a sufficient small pressure drop behind it.

 

Have you got the service manual for your BB1? If not it's here.

 

Richard

 

Agreed, I have an assortment of 'tools' to get into every 'nook and cranny' and a 15mm pipe extension to get to Hoover into the flue behind the pipework for the back boiler.

 

Take care you don't damage the thermocoupling when cleaning the inside of the burner pot and also turn the oil inlet cleaner.

 

L.

[peterboat]

You need to adjust Toby valve to get that blue flame yellow flame means lots of soft soot everywhere which does block the flue/chimney also reduces the heat output. So get out the manual and screwdrivers to set it up

 

Peter

[J R]

Ill have to investigat/give the flue a good clean at weekend..

Has an old dutch on my last liveaboard and it was fantastic, this Bubble is good when working, suppose a good cleanout is the order of the day, its never burnt with a blue flame always orange

 

Taking it that the OPs Bubble is diesel fired. Have had 2 (dry) stoves on different boats, last one worked well, but this one has got worse over the last 7 years and is now sooting too much. The blow back of fumes/smoke can occur on strt up/lighting when the stove is cold and there is no vacuum in the chimney as well as too much diesel in the burning pot. Solution is to turn of the diesel supply until it has calmed down and, as long as the stove is still let, proceed as normal. The flue does need to be swept periodically; you would be surprised at the soot build up that restricts the airflow.

 

Have had to become a bit of an expert over the last couple of months as our Bubble is smoking like a bonfire. Have seviced fully the stove, and replced the seals around the door. Had the Toby valve in pieces and serviced and played around with the settings (high & low flame screws). Have also spoken to Bubble and also the makers of the valve itself. The only consolation is that the stove still produces good heat. Intending to replace the Toby valve in the hope that it will revert to the performance of the stove when it was new. Disaapointed that there is no clear blue flame; its always had yellow bits as well. We got the stove as we did not wan't to carry the additional solid fuel. The installation is by the book in the instructions from Bubble.

 

As a suggestion, Google all of the instruction manuals on the stove; some other info will come up (Nordic Stoves?), so worth going through the whole lot.

 

Good luck and keep warm.

[andyberg]

Well after a dirty mornings work stripping and cleaning / decoking the fire bowl and vaccuuming the chimney/flue I've gone from this .....

 

Burning cool and sooty plus billowing smoke everywhere

 

 

To this.....

 

 

Burns clean and hot as hell...like a furnace now and not a whisp of smoke inside...

A job now firmly entered in the annual 'To Do' diary.... & long before minus degree weather next year !!

 

 

Thanks for all your help and advice folks...Quality Job done!

Edited December 7, 2014 by andyberg

[peterboat]

Well done still a bit yellow at the top high flame wants adjusting to get all blue

 

Peter

[andyberg]

Well done still a bit yellow at the top high flame wants adjusting to get all blue

 

Peter

yes not adjusted any screws..thats mearly thro a proper decoke!

 

Im just trying (unsuccessfully) to find the TOBY valve manual on the interweb to look into sorting it 100%

[rjasmith]

Again, have a look on Harworth Heating's website ("Technical" drop down menu tab). I don't know which of their Toby manuals are correct for your stove but here are the links to the two types they have available as .pdf files.

 

Toby DVR - here

Toby valve - here

 

Presumably the pictures in the manuals will help you identify which valve is your one.

 

Richard

[andyberg]

Thanks Richard...thats my next job sorted ....so nearly there now.. altho Im thinking of fitting a reflex diesel fire or boatmans stove in my bedroom ready for next winter so its fully toasty!!

Edited December 7, 2014 by andyberg