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Flue Damper - Multi-fuel Stove


tom1983

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I've recently moved into a boat for the first time, renting my mate's spare boat and am considering buying it from him when my house is sold. I'm really struggling to keep it warm the last few days though.

 

I have an Aarrow Acorn 4 multifuel stove and it isn't putting out anywhere near as much heat as the similar size stove on my mate's other boat. The main difference we can see is that there's a flue damper on the good stove.

 

The manufacturer doesn't supply a combined flue spigot and damper for my stove as they say it's not really required on those with a 4" flue, only when you have a larger flue. I have found a generic flue damper that seems like it can be fitted to any 4" flue.

 

Has anyone experience with these and are they likely to improve the heat output? The installation manual also suggests using a draught stabiliser but these seem to do pretty much the same job except they're automatically controlled with a counterweight and move when there is a change in pressure, as opposed to the damper which is adjusted manually.

 

 

Any advice and suggestions would be appreciated, please bear in mind you're talking to a complete newbie who has used radiators in a house up until the last few weeks!

 

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Tell us:-

 

1.What you are burning on it.If wood, is it dry?

2.How you are lighting and loading it

3.Whether flue pipe and chimney and baffle plate/backboiler is clear from debris

4.How you have air controls set

5.If radiators are connected......

 

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3 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Tell us:-

 

1.What you are burning on it.If wood, is it dry?

2.How you are lighting and loading it

3.Whether flue pipe and chimney and baffle plate/backboiler is clear from debris

4.How you have air controls set

5.If radiators are connected......

 

All of this, plus be aware flue dampers can get blocked by falling soot/crud, I know some use them but I personally wouldn't 

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Thanks for the ever so quick reply rusty. In answer to your questions:

 

1.  Burning wood (fence posts and smallish seasoned logs) and smokeless coal from Aldi. 90% of the wood is dry, if I have a wet log I bung it on when the fires going well.

2. Lighting with firelighters and kindling, always start with dry wood and add coal after

3. Fairly sure the chimney is clear, unless I have the door open I never get any smoke coming back into the boat and all the smoke and heat seems to be escaping through the chimney. I not sure what you mean by baffle plate. No boiler attached. 

4. When lighting/getting the fire going, I have the door open or all airwash/vents open. Once going, I have the top vents open if it's mostly wood at the start of the night, then switch to opening the bottom vents when it's mostly coal. Unfortunately, I also have a gap at the top of the glass which I'm in the process of fixing with new brackets.

5. No radiators etc, it's just for ambient heat

 

 

Edit to add: no.4, meant say I keep the bottom vent open when burning mostly coal, not mostly cold!

Edited by tom1983
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Use bottom vent generally when burning coal. Top vent when burning wood.

 

The gap at the top of the glass sounds a bit worrying, got a pic?.Hope you have a CO alarm.

 

The baffle plate fits in the stove if you have one fitted, and looks like this. Debris can fall on the plate and block the flue pipe, but it doesn't sound like you have this problem.

 

 

afs1086_4.jpg

Edited by rusty69
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20 minutes ago, tom1983 said:

3. Fairly sure the chimney is clear, unless I have the door open I never get any smoke coming back into the boat and all the smoke and heat seems to be escaping through the chimney. I not sure what you mean by baffle plate. No boiler attached. 

That bit doesn't sound good either. What temperature does the inside of the boat reach when the stove is going well?

Edited by rusty69
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6 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

What temperature does the inside of the boat reach when the stove is going well?

I've not got a thermometer, but it's cold. My friend used to live here, and in the depths of winter he used to struggle to get it above 14-15C even when burning lots of coal/wood. 

 

Edit to add: Yes, I do have an alarm but the problem with the glass should be sorted soon, the catches that hold the glass in place are broken so it can be sorted with a couple of small metal plates I'm waiting to be made.  

Edited by tom1983
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7 minutes ago, tom1983 said:

I've not got a thermometer, but it's cold. My friend used to live here, and in the depths of winter he used to struggle to get it above 14-15C even when burning lots of coal/wood. 

What kind of insulation does the boat have and are you fully loading the stove once its going?

 

ETA.What kind of boat and length? Being a 4" flu, its probably even more important to confirm it is clear.

Edited by rusty69
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2 minutes ago, tom1983 said:

I've not got a thermometer, but it's cold. My friend used to live here, and in the depths of winter he used to struggle to get it above 14-15C even when burning lots of coal/wood. 

 

Edit to add: Yes, I do have an alarm but the problem with the glass should be sorted soon, the catches that hold the glass in place are broken so it can be sorted with a couple of small metal plates I'm waiting to be made.  

Personally I think there's a bigger issue with the boat, fix the glass as a priority but I think there's insulation problems, as a stop gap measure fit the plastic film double glazing and hang decent curtains. 

 

All stop gap measures but they might help

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4 hours ago, tom1983 said:

I've recently moved into a boat for the first time, renting my mate's spare boat and am considering buying it from him when my house is sold

I would seriously look at the boat insulation before handing over any money to your mate. If it is an insulation problem as opposed to a simple "learning to drive the stove" problem, then it will be much more costly to put right.

 

 

If you think you are having problems now, wait til it gets really cold.

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Just now, rusty69 said:

I would seriously look at the boat insulation before handing over any money to your mate. If it is an insulation problem as opposed to a simple "learning to drive the stove" problem, then it will be much more costly to put right.

I agree.  My boat was refitted by the previous owner,and I found even with the stove going full blast, the boat was still cold.

It was obviously a cheap and cheerful refit,because on removing some of the interior ply panels,I found a few bits of polystyrene here and there but the majority of the interior was not insulated.

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Those flue dampers are dangerous and you shouldn't need one. Closing down the vents on a decent stove should be quite sufficient to damp it down.

 

Try sweeping the flue and cleaning out the stove including the baffle plate inside at the top of the stove if it has one.

Edited by blackrose
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On 31/10/2018 at 16:00, tom1983 said:

Has anyone experience with these and are they likely to improve the heat output? The installation manual also suggests using a draught stabiliser but these seem to do pretty much the same job except they're automatically controlled with a counterweight and move when there is a change in pressure, as opposed to the damper which is adjusted manually.

A draft stabiliser lets more air into the flue when the stove is set low to keep the draw up.  A flue damper cuts down the draw.   They are not the same thing.   I dont think a flue damper won’t help you here as if the stove isn’t getting hot enough cutting the air flow isn’t gaining to make it hotter!

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4 hours ago, blackrose said:

Those flue dampers are dangerous and you shouldn't need one. Closing down the vents on a decent stove should be quite sufficient to damp it down.

 

Try sweeping the flue and cleaning out the stove including the baffle plate inside at the top of the stove if it has one.

 

Absolutely.  I removed the flue damper from my stove.  Are any stoves sold with them now?

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