draft and CO ?'s

my power went out overnite (no generator) and i awoke to my CO alarm going off, go check the stove and its fine, i check my CO dector that has a readout on it and its 0, i deiced to move the one with the read out next to the stove and its flipping between 0 and 30. Is it normal to have a low number next to the stove? non of my 3 other CO dectors went off. my stove has been running at idle most of the time due to the above normal temps here lately, i dont have a draft gauge yet (its supposed to be on its way) i decided to cover my baro with foil untill i get a gauge installed, figure its better to waste some heat/coal than have a draft problem and kill me.

if it not working correctly, SHUT IT DOWN!!!. The alarms on the CO detectors typically alarm at 50-70PPM, so you could still be getting CO and NOT know it. Sometimes if you have the ash door open or something, you will get a small amount of CO leaking out,
The CO should read 0 (ZERO) all the time unless you have a problem somewhere.

Always check the HI LEVEL on the ones with displays, they usually record the highest level, but sometimes you have to hit the button to see what was recorded. It may display 0, but have recorded a high value at some point.

No its not normal. If the stove is closed the draft should be pulling the fumes out. You manometer will answer all




Eric

You should not have a reading at all on the CO display. As mentioned hit the button to see highest recorded level, then clear that display back to 0 so that you can watch for it to register again.

I also put foil over the baro at temps of 45* and above since it is only running in pilot mode then and the draft reads only .02 at those temps.

update (kinda) while at work i had my wife check the detector an dshe said it was reading 37, i had her shut the stove off, it was 55 out today. i wait till i get the manometer installed to start it up again

as the outdoor temp. goes up, I see my draft goes down. less temp difference between inside and outside, less firing rate needed so lower stack temp, along with 15 ft. chimney does not help. Installed a draft assist fan, with a paddle wheel blade in the exhaust. motor is not in exhaust. speed control switch and a temperature limiting switch on exhaust outlet to shut fan off at 175f. took some experimenting to find right location on smoke pipe, but now have fan cycle on as the fire starts to die down due to low draft, but shuts down when pipe temp. goes above 175. comes on at 150f. still use baro damper as speed of motor will vary due to line voltage changes. works beautiful.

BeerMonley wrote:update (kinda) while at work i had my wife check the detector an dshe said it was reading 37, i had her shut the stove off, it was 55 out today. i wait till i get the manometer installed to start it up again

How tight is your house? in addition to warmer temps depleting the draft, if you don't have make up air then the draft will also suffer. The bathroom exhaust fan, kitchen exhaust fan, dryer venting to outside...in a tight house these will have an effect. No way to measure it without a manometer, though. After you get it installed, see if the draft is different if you crack a window near the stove, turn on bath and/or kitchen exhaust fan, etc.

Also, I am assuming you have checked for fly ash blockage in the horizontals?

i just cleaned out the fly ash about a month ago when i installed a spot to connect a draft gauge. ill pull it apart again to see if its built up. i doubt the house is that tight that other things are stopping the draft. im not starting it up again till i get a draft gauge in.

A candle or cigarette will tell you if you have a draft. Does the chimney have a clean out at the bottom? If so, take a small mirror and peek to see if there is sunlight. People have found broken tiles, basketballs, animals and even an occasional chimney cap blocking them.

i know the chimney was clean in fall, i have no cap on it, and if someone threw something in it there a damn good thrower. i do have a clean out and ill check it just to make sure. is a long chimney better or worse? mine starts in basement goes thru main floor then attic (full size attic that i can stand up in) and then out the peak about 3' above my roof .

If you lost power for any length of time chances are the battery is dead.

A 9v battery will only last a few hours. I've list power and where my one Co detector is plugged in is not on the generator. If I don't have power for a few hours the detector starts going crazy because the battery is dead.