KA6 With Too Much Draft.

BennyLumpkin · Post by **BennyLumpkin** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 1:37 pm

I'm wasting heat....I have a manometer and my ka6 runs around +8 for draft. It should be -.02. I literally screwed my barometric damper shut. Before that I was over 12. Its 8" from the boiler but necks to 7" through into the chimney and is a brick flue through the middle of the house....from the basement out through the center peak of the attic....probably near 30'. Any way to lower my draft aside from installing a damper in the pipe to wean it back?

Carbon12 · Post by **Carbon12** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 1:48 pm

Whoa Big Fella! PLUS .8 or Minus .8???

Carbon12 · Post by **Carbon12** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 1:49 pm

Damper reduces draft, not increases it. Where are you measuring the draft???

Carbon12 · Post by **Carbon12** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 1:51 pm

What manometer are you using, what scale are you reading and which port is the hose plugged into??? Things MAY not be as bad as they seem!

BennyLumpkin · Post by **BennyLumpkin** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 1:57 pm

Its a Bacarat (sp?) And I'm using it through the door hole like the manual says. And its on the positive side of the scale. Never had a CO problem or anything. I'll take a pic when I get home.

Flyer5 · Post by **Flyer5** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 2:03 pm

BennyLumpkin wrote:Its a Bacarat (sp?) And I'm using it through the door hole like the manual says. And its on the positive side of the scale. Never had a CO problem or anything. I'll take a pic when I get home.

If it is truly positive you have a CO problem and a very dangerous situation. If it is running I would suggest going home right now and shutting it down. Serious!

Post by **Rob R.** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 2:03 pm

So you are saying the firebox is pressurized? Have you tried closing the air shutter on the main combustion blower?

Please list how many tees and elbows are in the flue pipe.

BennyLumpkin · Post by **BennyLumpkin** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 2:14 pm

I'm smart enough to know there is an CO problem for several reasons. first one is there is a CO detector about 10 feet away from it and the other is this is the second winter I've had in there.there is a possibility I'm not reading the manometer correctly.

BennyLumpkin · Post by **BennyLumpkin** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 2:23 pm

Like I said, I'll post pics when I get home to make sure I'm reading it correctly.

Carbon12 · Post by **Carbon12** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 2:35 pm

Roger that. We'll all be waiting!

if this is your second season and it did the same thing last year and the CO detector works and never has gone off, things may not be great but they probably aren't horrible with your KA6.

coalkirk · Post by **coalkirk** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 2:40 pm

BennyLumpkin wrote:I'm wasting heat....I have a manometer and my ka6 runs around +8 for draft. It should be -.02. I literally screwed my barometric damper shut. Before that I was over 12. Its 8" from the boiler but necks to 7" through into the chimney and is a brick flue through the middle of the house....from the basement out through the center peak of the attic....probably near 30'. Any way to lower my draft aside from installing a damper in the pipe to wean it back?

OK, you have your manometer hooked up backwards. Since you say you have too much draft, then it's .-08. you also are misunderstanding what a barometric damper does. It does not increase draft. (you've got it screwed shut) It reduces draft. Unscrew that pupppy and adjust it, once you correctly hookup your manometer, to .02. It sucks air in and reduces the draft in your firebox.

BennyLumpkin · Post by **BennyLumpkin** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 2:46 pm

I understand how the damper works. I'm more familiar with oil boilers and forced air. The type of manometer I'm using can't be backward. Its a one tube test unit. I'll post a pic. More than likely I'm reading it wrong

BennyLumpkin · Post by **BennyLumpkin** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 4:43 pm

Ok here is the unit I'm using.

I looked closer and now see I was reading it backward but I'm still around -.6. Adjusting the flapper changes it none and If I unscrew the damper it gets much higher or I guess you'd say lower....almost maxes the negative side. Here is a pic with the air flap about half and the damper screwed shut

Give me a few minutes and I'll post a pic with the damper unscrewed

BennyLumpkin · Post by **BennyLumpkin** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 4:51 pm

Well I just did some fiddling and now I realized I was reading it wrong its now reading here

Well now I feel silly lol.

BennyLumpkin · Post by **BennyLumpkin** » Wed. Dec. 11, 2013 5:01 pm

My flame looks much better also. I'm sure I'll have some readjusting to do. As has been said before, the manual sucks. Since I'm good with my draft should I let my air shutter alone and just adjust my coal feed as needed? I haven't counted lately but its somewhere between 10 and 15 turns. I keep it at 2-3 inches of dead ash on the end of the grates.