Power vent question

i went to Dwyer web site and checked out the installation manual. they show i pilot tube to put into the flue pipe. it does not say if it comes with the unit. does it or do i have to order that sepeartly? thank you , ken

Use a piece of automotive brake line, the tube is not part of the set. Get one a couple of feet long.

The only reason is to get the rubber tubing away from the heat of the pipe so it doesn't melt. You can use a small peice of Copper/brass tubing (maybe 1-2' Long) with a compression fitting (attached) in the pipe and then just hook the end of the rubber tubing to the peice of copper tubing.

I drilled my hole just a bit smaller and then just threaded it into the pipe.

Some Tygon or silicone tubing would also work well. Tygon can withstand 200 degrees or so for a few minutes. Usually a hobby or RC store will carry it.

I have a Magic Heat exchanger and the plastic tubing has lasted for almost a year. My flue temps never get over 250*F at the center of the flue. My brass 1/8" pipe fitting that came with the manometer is threaded into the pipe just after the heat exchanger The plastic tubing attaches directly to this fitting), this location works great and allows me to adjust the PV rheostat for proper draft and no wasted heat going out the vent.

Just another perspective.

so you just put the fitting in the flue pipe? no brake line going in the flue and bent 90 degres? how far from the DV unit do you put it? lot of questions huh lol

Yes, you put the fitting into the flue pipe as close to the stove (10-12"), BEFORE the DV and Baro Damper, if you can't you may have to drill a hole on the side of the stove to attached the fitting.

Once you have the fitting (Depending on which one) then hook the piece of copper and/or metal tubing to the fitting, and then hook your rubber tubing (cut to length) and to the manometer. See attached if that helps.

thank you , WNY

A picture always helps! I figured I would repost it with some details.

I don't remember filling the 55 gallon drum hopper and emptying the ashes being that much work.

it isn't.

Hello, I just finished placing an Alaska Channing Stove in my home yesterday, with an Alaska Power vent system and Baro Dampener. My only complant is that the power vent is very load, and seems to be pulling to much air. How do I quiet the system down. It is going to drive me crazy if I have to listen to that all winter. Thanks for the Help

Hi Marshall, welcome to the forum.

Since you have a baro damper I assume (and you know what that gets you! ) you have the SWG. If so do you have a way to measure the draft? If not you can still adjust the power vent using a rheostat such as the one here:

http://www.electricmotorwarehouse.com/kbwc.htm

Make sure you have the weight set correctly for the orientation (vertical mounting the weight should be on the right) also if it is mounted on a T or too close to a change in direction it will not be accurate. Set the weight to achieve a .04 draft and adjust the PV to keep the baro damper door from opening, should be just fluttering.

If you do not have a way to measure the draft you can PM me with your address to participate in the manometer loaner program. I highly recommend that you measure the draft and not rely on the weight position to set the rheostat on the PV.

The other thing that is important for quiet operation is maintenance on the PV, purchase some of the synthetic special oil for it from SWG and make sure you clean and lube the unit once every couple of months. They will growl at you if you don't.

Thanks for the quick response, I made an extension cord with a rheostat in line. I adjusted the SWG with the rheostat until the dampener open about a 1/4" and the weight at it lowest level. All seems to be working fine. The carbon monoxide sensor (digital) still reads Zero. The noise from the SWG in gone. What does the manometer do for me??? Thanks again for the help.

(abbreviations: PV = Power Vent, DV =Direct Vent)

If you go and read the posts about MANOMETER INSTALL (at the top of this subforum) or the "Manometer Loaner Program", That is ONLY way to measure your draft out of your stove correctly and accurately.

The Baro is only a close setting and just because it is open on the settings of the weight, it doesn't mean you have the correct draft on your stove. Should be close. Mine was way off even on the .04 setting, I had mine at .02 and it was still drawing over .05 with the gauge, I had to re-adjust the weights. You need to check it at the basically at the stove or as close to the stove as possible in the pipe, you will be surprised how off the settings can be.

Did you set the DV Speed when the stove was fully running hot?

If you don't have enough draft from your PV, since now you have turned it down, then when the stove is really cranking, you "COULD" get gases escaping thru the baro.

Greetings...with oil prices tipping the scales at $3+/gal. I decided to jump into the solid fuel burning camp. Forgive me for a rather long first posting, but I’ve got a few boogey men in my system.

My investment was in a second hand Alaska Channing 2 vented with an SWG power vent, which is also 2nd hand, but the motor was replaced last heating season by the previous owner with the appropriate Dayton motor model...so far it has definitely been a learning experience with much more learning to do.

My immediate concern is (as mentioned by another poster) the noise level of the SWG unit that I am running. I took the motor out to check and noticed that the vent flywheel blades that move the air were covered in fly ash and that one of the blades was missing. I cleaned the blades, but it still has a healthy hum (drone)…it actually seems worse upstairs from where the stove is located in the basement. The Alaska Customer Service guys said the motor is out of balance due to the missing blade. I have ordered a replacement wheel from Alaska and am expecting this next week. Hopefully this will help out because this thing is driving us crazy. I have also ordered a new barometric damper since the one that came with the setup is a bit crusty as well as an older style and it doesn’t look as though it could be adjusted with any amount of coercion. It is also located immediately after the first elbow of stove pipe leaving this rear vented stove, so I may move this up a bit as well as recommended elsewhere in this forum.

After putting the motor back into its housing, as a test I did run it without it being hooked up to the stove flew, and it didn’t seem noisy at all…even at full blast, however as soon as I hooked it up to the stove the drones were back.

I do have the SWG on a rheostat and have adjusted the SWG damper as specified by Alaska…about 2/3 shut. For the time being, I am probably over compensating on the exhaust end just to make sure that the CO is being vented to the outside, but I would also like to get myself one of the manometers also mentioned elsewhere in this forum. I have a couple of CO alarms installed as well.

Lastly, I was also wondering if 3M oil can be used as lubricating oil for the SWG motors. Thanks for all the help...

Regards,
Matthew