A Possibly Stupid Question About Installing a Baro Damper

 
bsilver
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Post by bsilver » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:05 pm

Ever have one of those moments where you have a thoughts that begins with "I bet I could..." or "I wonder if...", followed by something that at the time sounds perfectly reasonable but to other people like spouses it seems like you're bat@#$ crazy for even thinking of attempting it?

I found a place that sells baro dampers, and I'm anxious to get it in (not the best price but it's convenient and I can get it by the weekend). The thing is that I don't have a lot of time to get it in and tested due to family obligations with the holidays, but it's driving me nuts thinking that I'm burning extra coal (and not getting as much heat into the room as well, since I'm still not adequately heating even the basement with this stove putting off 250 to 300 degrees) and the situation could be helped with a baro damper.

So, that said, I have one elbow coming out of the stove, one straight piece, then an elbow into the chimney. The middle is held in with four screws. Looking at it, I think I can get the middle straight out fairly quickly, and hopefully get the T-joint baro damper in without letting the fire go out.

If I let the fire die out, it'll take a day or two, plus cleaning out the stove after it cools, sifting ashes and remnants for usable coal from ash, then another day to refire and get to temp. Or I could risk keeping the fire burning and having a period where the heat is pouring into the room instead of the chimney; I have a door not four feet from the stove that leads directly outside.

If the switch would take less than 15 to 20 minutes, I'm thinking it wouldn't be hard to do this without having the hassle of killing and relighting the fire. If there's trouble, abort it and put the straight piece back in as it was.

I'm told I need to verify that this is insane with the message board. The biggest risk I saw was with CO buildup, but like I said, there's a door four feet away that can be opened, and the temps of the pipe as it is can be easily handled with workgloves. How crazy is this idea vs. the extra work and lost time in letting the fire die and be relit again? I really suspect I know the answer and the wise choice. I'm just anxious about getting it done quickly and it keeps nagging me that this is feasible even if it's mind numbingly stupid to try.


 
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009to090
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Post by 009to090 » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:19 pm

bsilver wrote:If the switch would take less than 15 to 20 minutes, I'm thinking it wouldn't be hard to do this without having the hassle of killing and relighting the fire.
Don't do it. :shock: YOU will be the one that'll be killed in 15-20 minutes. :sick: :sick: :sick: Let the fire go out first.

 
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Don_t_Say
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Post by Don_t_Say » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:20 pm

I'd have the nerve to do it, but I wouldn't have the nerve to tell anyone else. Especially my wife, she'd be in a panic. Just make the piece with the new baro in it ahead of time. get three or four pair of gloves (in case your gloves get hot), maybe get a buddy to standby and help. Then go for it!

Since you have already told half the world about it, let us know how it went. :)

 
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wlape3
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Post by wlape3 » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:22 pm

If you put the stove on low fire AND make sure you have a source of fresh air very near by, preferably blowing in your direction with another fan exhausting out a in the opposite direction of fresh air flow out a window you might be able to safely do it. What I don't know is how much fumes will come out of the stove and how bad they will be. I would also not do this alone. I would make sure someone else is nearby and aware that you may need help.

Given that there are a lot of unknowns involved I don't think I would take the risk.

 
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CoalHeat
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Post by CoalHeat » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:33 pm

Not a good idea:
You start on your baro project anyway and then...
Something doesn't fit right and you start trying to make it fit, time goes by but you don't notice because you are concentrating on getting this thing to fit right, but things seem to be getting fuzzy, then you pass out from CO and drop to the floor, as you keel over you knock the pipe to the stove off and the house goes on fire shortly after the CO has killed you. How's that idea sound now?
I can shut down my Alaska and once the fire is out do what I need to do and have the stoker relit 15 minutes later, the handfed takes longer to die out, but I can start that fairly quickly as well.
Try starting your car up for a few minutes in the garage with the door closed and see how you fair.

 
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Cap
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Post by Cap » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:33 pm

Stop thinking about it. You will end up on your butt. It's much harder than you think. The exhaust will take your breath away and not in a good way.

 
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Post by bsilver » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:34 pm

Don_t_Say wrote:I'd have the nerve to do it, but I wouldn't have the nerve to tell anyone else. Especially my wife, she'd be in a panic. Just make the piece with the new baro in it ahead of time. get three or four pair of gloves (in case your gloves get hot), maybe get a buddy to standby and help. Then go for it!

Since you have already told half the world about it, let us know how it went. :)
I'm told the piece is preassembled...a T joint with the baro in it. Ready to install...the only unknown to me is if it needs screw holes drilled, which would take more time to get it in.


 
bsilver
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Post by bsilver » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:36 pm

It's good to know that there are two camps here...the sane giving the answer I suspected but didn't like, and the adventurous that would consider doing it too, even though they like me know it's a bad idea. Those are what college adventures are made of :)

 
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Post by CoalHeat » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:42 pm

Make sure you read this before you attempt this idea of yours so you will know what to expect:

http://www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm

 
bsilver
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Post by bsilver » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 7:56 pm

Can someone at least confirm that if I can get this to output the heat that it's supposed to, that all the effort being put into learning how to use it, get things installed, maintain, etc. are worth it?

 
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Post by coalkirk » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 9:18 pm

Do not even think about doing this with the fire burning. Really foolish....NO STUPID! Secondly, no sense putting in a baro if you don't have a manometer to set it. A baro isn't some magical device that will suddenly make your coal last longer simply by being installed. Wait till after the holidays and have the fire out. Sign up for the manometer loaner program and have the manometer in hand before you install the baro. An improperly installed baro can be a big problem.

 
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Post by Pete69 » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 9:40 pm

I like the idea of building up your immunity by sucking in your car exhaust for a while first. then when you do the stove it wont even phase you. :lol: :lol:

 
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Post by jim d » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 10:26 pm

you've got two elbows which have the same centers as a tee ,just pop one off and replace it with a tee and then install the baro in the tee use self tapping speed screws ,if the job takes more than 5 mins there is some thing wrong!!!

 
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Post by GeorgiePorgie » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 10:38 pm

I thought we cover all about dampers couple of chapters ago.

You don't need a damper in a coal stove situation. Here are the reasons again, just scroll down till you see the picture of the damper and read the explanation.

http://www.videointerchange.com/coal_stoves.shtml

But if you still insist on stimulating the economy, why not !

 
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Post by rockwood » Thu. Dec. 17, 2009 11:20 pm

I would do it IF the stove could dump the entire coal bed into the ash pan so I could quickly carry and dump the hot coals outside (use good welding gloves to carry ash pan), then open the loading door and ash door and let the stove cool for a while til the pipe was cool enough to handle so baro damper could be put in.
You really should have a manometer on hand to adjust the baro as was mentioned.
I would NOT do it with a live coal bed in the stove.


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