Tjernlund AD-1 Draft Adjustments

Dennis,

I have my copper tubing for the manometer about 2" from the collar on the stove. Its about 1" in front of the MPD and 28" from the draft inducer. So, its after the flue exit on the stove, before the MPD and before the draft inducer. I think you'd definitely see a better reading having it before/infront of the draft inducer as opposed to after/behind it.

I adjusted mine down to run at .04 on the low setting. Anyone have trouble with the motor getting hot while its running on a low speed? It's def not heat from the stove pipe because I can put my hand on the fan housing and it not as hot as the motor.

yes, I have noticed that the motor does get hot, I agree, allthough my housing does get hot as the motor housing. I've never really needed the draft inducer to pull extra draft yet. I only loose draft in the spring time when temps. get above 70 degrees.I use mine when shaking down and loading,I set it between high and medium and you can see all the dust being pulled into the chimney,including all the way down in the ash pan,On the low setting I pull .04/.05.

IOF:
did you try the fan speed controler you were talking about on another thread. And also did you notice if you consumed any more or less coal while using the draft inducer earlier in the fall. Dennis

I guess it will be ok, I only plan on using on the warm days anyway

Dennis wrote:yes, I have noticed that the motor does get hot, I agree, allthough my housing does get hot as the motor housing. I've never really needed the draft inducer to pull extra draft yet. I only loose draft in the spring time when temps. get above 70 degrees.I use mine when shaking down and loading,I set it between high and medium and you can see all the dust being pulled into the chimney,including all the way down in the ash pan,On the low setting I pull .04/.05.

IOF:
did you try the fan speed controler you were talking about on another thread. And also did you notice if you consumed any more or less coal while using the draft inducer earlier in the fall. Dennis

Man, I didn't see this post. Sorry. No, I didn't notice an increase of coal consumption using the inducer in the fall. Stack temps remained the same as before I had the inducer.


Donner,

I only use mine when needed too. Mainly in warmer weather.

I just installed the AD-1 and turned it down too. I also am noticing the motor is getting hot. Has anyone tried a different variable switch? has anyone burned up a motor? Any remedies for the motor getting hot??

Heres the plate I made to reduce that hole where the motor shaft connects to the paddle wheel. I unbolted the motor and secured it between the paddle wheel housing and the spacers for the motor mount. Then siliconed it.

Yeah, the Fields Controls version of the AD-1 doesn't have a huge hole in it. When I shut down for the summer I'm going to pull it all apart and close that hole up too. Lightening, what are the dimensions of that plate? Maybe I'll make it up now and get it ready to be installed.

I haven't really noticed the fan motor running extremely hot on the low setting; the hottest I've seen the motor housing was 140* but if I throw the laser thermometer through the cooling holes and onto the windings it's a lot cooler; around 120*. So, I'm not sure. I don't honestly think it's heat from the motor; it's probably soaking some heat off the stove. I have my AD-1 around 18" from the stove but the pipe near it averages 140* and if I check the temp of the back of the hearth that's around 97* so there is some "soak" going on. I haven't tried a different fan controller since I figured out how to adjust the switch it came with. I do plan on ordering a snap disk to make it more automatic and so I don't have to keep turning it on and off.

If anyone is interested this is the snap disk I plan on ordering: White-Rodgers 3F05-2 and White-Rodgers F6-1798 mounting plate. I haven't ordered them yet because on a $12 order Pex-Supply wants $10+ shipping so I've been waiting until I have more things to order to make it worth it.


Dennis,

I haven't noticed an increase or decrease in coal consumption. But then again, this winter has been screwy. Last winter this time I was nearing 4 tons. This year I'm at 1 3/4 thus far.

I didn't measure it, I'm sorry man. But I can tell you how to get the dimensions right. I took the motor off the paddle wheel housing, (make sure the paddle wheel goes back on the right way ) then took the housing with the screw posts and turned it upside down and pressed it against the tin to make an impression. Then I cut out the triangle just slightly bigger. Next I pounded a nail thru the tin at the post impressions. Next I lined up the holes in the tin with the holes in the "heat sheild" between the motor and the paddle wheel housing (You must unbolt the motor from the heat sheild). THen with the holes all lined up you can make a precise mark where the shaft has to pass thru the tin. Make a hole only 1/8 inch bigger than the shaft, sprinkle some good luck on it and when you put it all back together everything should line up for ya. The spacers hold the tin in place and I also siliconed it.

I also noticed the motor has "Thermally Protected" printed on the label, so if its not shutting down due to overheating then I ain't gonna worry about it

Hey I'm just wondering if anyone using this draft inducer has had it kick off automatically because it got too hot. When its warm out I have to depend on it to keep a draft and I worry about it kicking off if it gets hot. I'm even considering running a hose to it from outside so cooler air can bleed onto it and keep it running cooler. Anyone have theres kick off due to over heating??

i haven't needed to use it yet for draft purposes.Maybe turn it on low and run it 24/7 and see what happens. Keep an eye on the manometer so you don't get too much draft and over fire your furnace. Member IOF needed to use his,but don't believe he had over heating of the inducer,he will chime in soon.

Mine has shut off due to over heating and I've used it quite a bit this winter. How close to the stove do you have yours mounted? The instructions say a minimum of 12" but they recommended 24".

I'm On Fire wrote:Mine has shut off due to over heating and I've used it quite a bit this winter. How close to the stove do you have yours mounted? The instructions say a minimum of 12" but they recommended 24".

Oh man, thats not good.. Mine is plenty far from the furnace. It's about 4 feet down the pipe. Even when I do use it on warm days above 40 degrees outside, my pipe is so cool that I can lay my hand on it and it won't burn me. Its only about 125 degrees on the pipe where I have the draft motor installed. The draft motor doesn't get warm even when I refuel and rev up the furnace. It only gets hot when I run it. That sucks SO now I either find a way to cool that motor or figure out a different way to maintain a draft on warmer days. I can't have it kicking off on its own, that is unacceptable!!!! I've ran mine for a 15 hour duration and it didn't shut down but did get hot..

I also wonder if running it faster would prevent it from getting too hot to shut down.
Did you notice if it wouldn't shut down at different settings?

How long does it run before shutting off?
Would the motor restart on its own after cooling?
OR would you have to restart it manually??
How long would it take to cool enough to restart?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm afraid of CO leaking into the house if that motor shuts down on days that I need to use it.

In a meager attempt to keep this motor cool, heres what I've come up with.. Try not to laugh at my resources lol.. I I found that a family sized soup can is exactly the same diameter as the motor. SO, I made a 2 inch slice down the side so it would fit snuggly onto the bottom of the motor. I also made a one inch hole in the bottom of the can. Then, I took a piece of shop vac hose, and siliconed it to the bottom of the can thru the one inch hole. Finally, I ran the other end of the hose thru a hole (where my propane line was ha ha ha) where it could draw in cooler air from outside.

To test the draw of air thru the motor that the little squirrel cage in the motor itself draws, I used my manometer and found that with the motor running fast it drew a .02 Also, my basement has a natural tendency to draw air in it from outside which helps.

I'm hoping that by the motor drawing the cooler air from outside, it will help cool it better, as opposed to it using the warmer ambient air in the basement.

keep us posted on the results