manometer install

mina678 · By: **mina678** On: Tue Oct 16, 2007 5:13 pm

I got my Dwyer manometer in the mail today and it has a low side and a high side port what do I do put one tube into the tee below the baro and leave the other one open to the room??

As always Thanks for your knowledge

Tim

coaledsweat · By: **coaledsweat** On: Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:17 pm

That's it. Zero the unit, then stick the tube in and take your reading.

mina678 · By: **mina678** On: Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:18 pm

Also how about the manual damper mine is below the Baro is this right ?
The manual damper is about 5 inches above the stove then the tee with the baro

Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Tue Oct 16, 2007 7:44 pm

I'd leave the manual damper open all the way. Take your reading with a full fire burning, then adjust the baro.

mina678 · By: **mina678** On: Tue Oct 16, 2007 8:49 pm

Well I got it hooked up and calibrated Ineed to get a longer metal tube tomorrow the hose doesn't like the heat that much.

I set it at .04/.05 with a wood fire and a couple shovels of coal I cant get it going to much we will roast.
The weather is about 52 and not a drop of wind and the Baro is open alot(is it supposed to be) and the stove temp is 450 .It seems like it will be sucking the warm air out of the room ?
I think if it's windy it might even be open more right?
I might put in another port just above the stove and below the manual damper just to see what it read for comparison.

Once I ask all my questions there will be nothing to do but burn coal

Tim

Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Tue Oct 16, 2007 8:57 pm

I didn't find this forum until several months after I switched to coal, everyone's helped me out a lot esp. guys like Coaledsweat and LS, so don't be afraid to ask questions.

The hose with the baro (gray w/red stripe?) doesn't like heat at all and melts fast.

The weather is exactly the same here...52 and calm right now.

Sounds like you have a good draft in that chimney. The baro will flap around a lot on windy days, the draft fluctuates with the wind (venturi effect).

Yes, the baro seems to be open a lot, but the amount of heat you loose thru it is nothing compared to the heat that would go up the chimney because of overdrafting the coal fire without it.

mina678 · By: **mina678** On: Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:13 am

White kinda with red strip and it's hooked to the low side port and the stack and the other is open to the room I hope that is right. I will get some metal tube today.

I'm going to call keystoker and see what they say about draft setting for my specific stove.It was said on here .04 t0 .08.

When the fire was cranking along if I held the baro closed it would go up way past 1.0 and the fire would be blazing,I can see that it would burn a lot more coal that way.
Holding it closed for a few minutes when staring up the stove should be helpful for rapid combustion if needed

Tim

Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:41 am

That's correct, you only connect one side of the mano. 1.0 is a lot of draft. Great for wood not so great for coal. I found out that coal burning is something you learn, unlike wood. If you go back and look at my posts from earlier this year, you can read all my questions. You can click on posts on the profile and all my posts will show up.

LsFarm · By: **LsFarm** On: Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:12 pm

I'm going to move this thread to the 'Maintenance, venting, chimneys, controls forum. There is a similar thread running there on the same subject.

Greg

LsFarm · By: **LsFarm** On: Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:07 pm

As far as zeroing the gauge, I can't see any need for getting too carried away with this. The greatest 'error' or change from zero that I've seen is about.01". That requires me to squint to see on the gauge. It's about 1/16" of the red fluid.

If you have a manometer on a stove in a tight house, watch it while you have someone turn on the exhaust fans in the bathroom [s] or the exhaust vent fans over the stove. I bet you'll see a change in the reading. Or when the gas or oil hot water heater kicks on and pulls a draft on the house. Or The clothes dryer. I think a person could 'turn grey' trying to chase the minor fluctuations.

OK, I admit, I'm not very 'anal' about these things, maybe this is from spending 35 years looking at about 30-50 gauges on an airplane panel. Most of which never change, and if they do you can't do much about it.

Unless the manometer is showing some really way-off reading, it is just a general 'health-check' on the chimney or powerventing device.

The difference between .03" and .05" I just can't see as significant day to day, unless a continuing downward trend is noticed.

When I walk into my boiler room, I take a look at the manometer, if it is reading .03", I can be assured the boiler hasn't fed fresh fuel into the stoker recently, the chimney is cool and not drafting as strong. If it is reading .07", there is a lot of heat in the boiler and chimney, creating a lot of draft.

I have a temp probe in the chimney too, and have confirmed these observations. My temp probe is a dual reading wireless sender. The reciever is in the house, where I can look out the kitchen window, see if the light that comes on with the stoker motor is on, then watch the flue temps and water temps.

The manometer is probably a good tool for monitoring the cleanliness of a motorized draft inducer, power vent, or other device. Allowing you to monitor it's performance with out having to disassemble it to inspect for ash. Once the performance drops, it's time to clean it. But this should happen over several weeks or months, ot days

Just my take on the manometer. Greg L

mina678 · By: **mina678** On: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:12 am

Ok I called keystone and either I don't have a clue or don't explain good enough .
The guy said I would want the meter to read in the negative side of the gauge.
I have one line hooked to the LOW side of the meter and the other end in the stove that is where I got it set to .04 .They had know set # but he said negative is where you want to be .

If It is set to 0 or even .02 how much difference would there be do you think?

Tim

Matthaus · By: **Matthaus** On: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:33 am

Hi Tim, when you are hooked to the low side and leave the high side open, the manometer is reading negative pressure. So you are OK with how you have it set up. You definitely want more than .02!

As Greg said the zeroing is no big deal and can be done once a month or so, it really doesn't change once the room temp stabilizes during the burn season.

If your white hose melts, just stop by the auto parts store and pick up some vacuum tubing the right size (it is rated for 250*F). Also it wasn't mentioned in the previous posts but let me state the obvious, make sure it is level. :lol:

Enjoy the science project.

Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:37 am

The Dwyer manometer is actually used to measure changes in air flow. Example: On a forced hot air heating system you would install the unit with a probe on either side of the air filter, the meter would give you a basis to determine when the filter needs to be replaced. The readings on the meter would change as the filter becomes dirty and air cannot pass through it as easily. In this case you are only using one probe the measure the drop in air pressure causes by the draft in the chimney. The other end of the sight tube is left open to atmospheric pressure. It's going to show you the difference between atmospheric pressure and the air pressure in your chimney, refered to here as "draft". The difference is expressed in Inches of Water Column. So you have the gauge disconnected and level, then set it a zero, connect the low side hose to the stovepipe and take the reading. Adjust the baro damper to give you a reading of around .04 to .06 Inches of WC and you are set. The higher the draft from the chimney the higher the reading on the gauge. The baro damper will respond to changed in the draft to keep the draft to the stove constant (at the draft you have set). Hope this clears things up, I'm not a morning person so excuse any mistakes!

Wood'nCoal · By: **Wood'nCoal** On: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:38 am

Matt, you beat me to it. Not a morning person.

Matthaus · By: **Matthaus** On: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:41 am

Is OK Wood'nCoal you actually made perfect sense! :lol: