Condensation ??

 
Cyrus2508
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Post by Cyrus2508 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 8:22 am

hi everyone I have Harman dvc 500 I think I figured out what is putting my fire out at night.. has anyone ever had a problem with condensation ?? My coal is dry when I load the hopper but it gets a lot of smoke that comes up thru the hopper this morning I notice a small puddle of water on the floor underneath the back corner of the hopper so I open the hopper lid and its very wet inside even the inside of the lid and foam gasket are soaked !! not 100% but I think it gets to wet and wont allow my coal to flow up into the stove. the ashes are burnt clear back to the dip in the burn pot where there are no air holes so I think it just goes out there. Why am I getting so much condensation ????


 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 8:31 am

What brand coal C?? Bagged??????????///

 
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StokerDon
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Post by StokerDon » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 8:37 am

C,

This is very bad. This means your stove is venting through the hopper and NOT the chimney. I'm guessing this is a direct vent stove? If so, you need to set the draft with a manometer to get things going in the right direction.

I sure hope you have a few good CO detectors in the house!

And a fire extinguisher!

-Don

 
Cyrus2508
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: harman dvc 500
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Other Heating: harman P-68 pellet stove, alaska kast console

Post by Cyrus2508 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 8:44 am

stove is in the garage and its Blashack bulk rice coal that's been dry since this summer ??

 
Cyrus2508
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Post by Cyrus2508 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 8:48 am

stoker I didn't realize I would need to set the draft on that stove because of the built in power venter ?? it does blow out the exhaust pipe outside with some pretty good force ?? But yes it did get a little on the smokey side in the garage lol..

 
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Rick 386
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Post by Rick 386 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 8:58 am

Cyrus2508 wrote:stoker I didn't realize I would need to set the draft on that stove because of the built in power venter ?? it does blow out the exhaust pipe outside with some pretty good force ?? But yes it did get a little on the smokey side in the garage lol..
Yep definitely the first sign of low draft is condensation on the hopper lid.

THIS MUST BE FIXED ASAP !!!!!! And yes I'm yelling at you. Please shut this unit down until you get this rectified.

Rick

 
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StokerDon
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Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 8:59 am

In that case I hope you have a good CO detector in the garage. The reason you coal is burned up back beyond the grate holes is that is where the draft is going, up through the hopper. If you do not get the draft to go up the chimney, the fire will go up into the hopper. This will cause big problems.

I'm not familiar with the DVC, or direct/power vents in general. If possible one thing you could try is turning down the combustion air. What is happening now is the combustion blower is blowing in more air than the direct vent is pulling out. This is a very delicate balance even without the direct vent, the addition of the direct vent makes it a little more complicated to get the balance right.

You need a manometer to get it exactly right BUT you can use a match or lighter to check to see if the firebox is pressurized. Find the hole for the over draft measurement, usually on or under the fire door. Put the lit match or lighter up to the hole while the stoker is running. If thing s running right, the fire will be sucked into the hole. If the firebox is pressurize, the fire will not be sucked into the hole.

-Don


 
Cyrus2508
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: harman dvc 500
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Post by Cyrus2508 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 9:12 am

Rick yes stove is shut down .. Stoker that's good info and I thank you for it.. I see what your saying and I will find a manometer and see if I can fix the problem ...

 
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SWPaDon
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Post by SWPaDon » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 10:03 am

Cyrus2508 wrote:Rick yes stove is shut down .. Stoker that's good info and I thank you for it.. I see what your saying and I will find a manometer and see if I can fix the problem ...
Others in the forum are using one of these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009PAN3C8?keywords=manometer&qid=1457708418&ref_=sr_1_8&sr=8-8

Others are using a 'magnahelic' guage. This one doesn't use fluid: http://www.amazon.com/Dwyer-Magnehelic-Differential-Pressure ... magnehelic

 
Cyrus2508
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: harman dvc 500
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Post by Cyrus2508 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 10:17 am

thanks Don.. I have a question if in fact my stove isn't drafting properly how do I go about fixing that problem ???

 
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SWPaDon
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Post by SWPaDon » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 10:39 am

Cyrus2508 wrote:thanks Don.. I have a question if in fact my stove isn't drafting properly how do I go about fixing that problem ???
Others will chime in on this, but one thing that was said previously is the combustion air ratio could be too high and pressurizing the firebox.

You said you had a 'built in' power vent. I haven't heard that term mentioned in this forum, so if you could explain that or post pics of your setup it would help. Also if you could let everyone know what you are using for chimney, that will help.

If you can spare the extra change, get the Magnahelic.

 
Cyrus2508
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: harman dvc 500
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Other Heating: harman P-68 pellet stove, alaska kast console

Post by Cyrus2508 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 10:45 am

its my understanding the dvc 500 has a power vent that blows the gasses and smoke out the rear of the stove to the vent.. the stove pipe is Harman square box type out the wall to 4in pellet stove pipe..

 
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Rick 386
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Stoker Coal Boiler: AA 260 heating both sides of twin farmhouse
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Coal Size/Type: Pea in AA 260, Rice in LL Hyfire II
Other Heating: Gas fired infared at work
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Post by Rick 386 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 10:45 am

Cyrus2508 wrote:thanks Don.. I have a question if in fact my stove isn't drafting properly how do I go about fixing that problem ???
First off, do a thorough cleaning of the stove and all its pipes. Then check the draft. You may have to cut back on the combustion air as Don already said.

In these warm up periods, you may have to run the stove hotter and then use the famous "windowstats" if you are getting too warm in the house.

Use the search bar at the top of the screen and do a search for DVC 500. There are several members on here who have used them for years.

Now there is a difference between direct vent and power vent.

A direct vent attaches to the stove and "pushes" the exhaust gasses out to the outdoors.
A power vent attaches to the outside wall and "sucks" the exhaust outside the house.

Rick

 
Cyrus2508
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Posts: 28
Joined: Tue. Mar. 08, 2016 4:30 pm
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: harman dvc 500
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Other Heating: harman P-68 pellet stove, alaska kast console

Post by Cyrus2508 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 11:11 am

ahhh yes mine pushes the air out of the stove !! I watched it burn lastnight and smoke was coming out of the ash bin door as well as the glass door although not as much as the ash door.. I will change rope gaskets tonight !! I do agree the combustion fan is a possibility now with that said in stove temp mode does the high low switch affect the combustion fan is that how you adjust it ?? I am also searching the forum for answers.. and appreciate all the help im getting its fantastic thank you !! p.s. as not to confuse anyone the smoke was also coming up thru the hopper and out the vent pipe outside .. funny I don't recall so much smoke from an anthracite burning coal stove ??

 
Cyrus2508
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Posts: 28
Joined: Tue. Mar. 08, 2016 4:30 pm
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: harman dvc 500
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: harman P-68 pellet stove, alaska kast console

Post by Cyrus2508 » Fri. Mar. 11, 2016 11:23 am

from what I gather by a member named mountain man he talks about the stove pressure switch and describes similar problems that im having.. maybe this pressure switch is the direction im heading/.. very expensive $$


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