Carbon Monoxide Troubleshooting Checklist?

I am still relatively new to coal stoves. This will be my 3rd winter using my Alaska Channing III coal stove. I did not have many problems the first 2 winters. I had to replace the feed control box last year and had a couple of occasions where my CO detectors went off. When this happened in the past it was fixed by vacuuming out the inside of the stove and the horizontal section of the flue. This year however I am again having CO issues and cannot resolve it by vacuuming as I had done in the past. Before I started the stove this year I completely vacuumed the inside of the stove and the horizontal section of the flue. When I initially started the stove in October and was getting CO alarms I thought it was because the weather was too warm (in the 50's during the day) and was affecting the draft. I decided to wait to re-start until last week (temps now 20-45 F) and it was working OK for a few days but then my CO alarms stared going off again. I am getting low levels of CO (50 ppm or lower) but obviously this needs to be resolved before I can safely re-start and run this stove.

Can anyone give me a checklist of items to inspect to solve this problem?

My first plan is to have a chimney sweep come out and clean the flue. I suspect there could be an ash buildup in the vertical section of the flue going through the ceiling and onto the roof that I can't see or get to with the vacuum. My other thought is that maybe the ceramic fiber gaskets on the doors need to be replaced?

Any help is appreciated!

do you have one of these to measure draft?
http://www.amazon.com/Dwyer-Series-Molded-Plastic ... =manometer

michaelanthony wrote:do you have one of these to measure draft?
http://www.amazon.com/Dwyer-Series-Molded-Plastic ... =manometer

I do not have a manometer although I did plan on getting one to help troubleshoot. Any idea which size would be suitable? I know there are threads on here about manometers so I will have to do some reading because I don't know how they work or what to do with the results. If you determine that you have insufficient draft using the manometer how do you increase draft?

The manometer in the link I sent is the most common one used. I am not a stoker expert but once you see where the draft is lost then the answers will come. Use the search box in the upper right corner, type in your issues and your appliance and read. You will most likely find someone that has corrected the same problem.

Have you done the dollar bill test for your door gasket?

Get the manometer, the $28 one. It will tell you your chimney draft , and allow you to monitor it to see trouble before it gets serious.

There must be access to all parts of the chimney to inspect and brush down and clean. The base where the smoke pipe connects is the critical spot.

Inspect any clean out door on the chimney for good fit and that it is closed.

Your house also acts as a chimney as the warm air rises up within it and escapes. That air has to be replaced and could effect your stoker draft as well as things such as exhaust fans and clothes dryers if there is no other source of outside air. Once the manometer is hooked up you have definite numbers to go by and should be able to track down a draft problem. As an example it becomes easy to see the effect on draft by just opening a window.

michaelanthony wrote:The manometer in the link I sent is the most common one used. I am not a stoker expert but once you see where the draft is lost then the answers will come. Use the search box in the upper right corner, type in your issues and your appliance and read. You will most likely find someone that has corrected the same problem.

Have you done the dollar bill test for your door gasket?

What is the dollar bill test?

franco b wrote:Get the manometer, the $28 one. It will tell you your chimney draft , and allow you to monitor it to see trouble before it gets serious.

There must be access to all parts of the chimney to inspect and brush down and clean. The base where the smoke pipe connects is the critical spot.

Inspect any clean out door on the chimney for good fit and that it is closed.

Your house also acts as a chimney as the warm air rises up within it and escapes. That air has to be replaced and could effect your stoker draft as well as things such as exhaust fans and clothes dryers if there is no other source of outside air. Once the manometer is hooked up you have definite numbers to go by and should be able to track down a draft problem. As an example it becomes easy to see the effect on draft by just opening a window.

I will buy that manometer. What is the proper draft range? I'm assuming if the draft is outside of the acceptable range I correct this by adjusting the barometric damper?

I have not had the flue professionally cleaned since I moved into this house 2 years ago but I think it might be a good time to have it done. I could post pics of my setup to show more clearly if it helps. It looks to be a standard metal flue in multiple pieces held together with screws and bolts. The only part of the flue I ever tried vacuuming is where the horizontal bend and barometric damper are located. Perhaps I could try removing the flue from the base where it attaches to the stove? I don't think I will have the tools to clean the flue from the roof which is why I wanted to have a chimney sweep come out.

Yes, the more details or pictures the better. It is standard practice to remove the smoke pipe from the stove to get at that chimney base. Often a brush can be inserted from below, sometimes using a plumbers snake to hold the brush, rather than fiberglass rods.

The manometer you will buy is a U tube with the bottom inclined to give a more sensitive reading. Each line is the equivalent of .01 inches of water. Your stoker probably wants .04 when running, but check the manual. You can then accurately adjust your baro so draft does not exceed the recommendation. The baro can only adjust for too much draft, it can't add draft. Once the flap is closed that is all you will get.

Testing and replacing door gaskets is nice but not a solution to the problem. Even with perfect door gaskets the hopper would be the next exit point for the CO

You may need to turn the combustion air down a little. Sounds like you are over supplying the air and making the firebox go slightly positive, instead of negative.

The mentioned recommended manometer will reveal this mystery.

So I went to inspect the exhaust outlet where the flue connects to the stove and I think I found my problem.........................

Uhhhhh that'll do it!!! An old medical axiom....when you hear hoof beats don't look for zebras.

Holy crap!! it's lucky you are alive to take a picture. I've got T's instead of elbows on mine to allow cleaning on the fly without shutting down. That's at the top and bottom of this vent. I clean them at least 4-5 times per season and am always amazed how much fly ash is there. I bet your stove is burning a lot better now too!

coalkirk wrote:Holy crap!! it's lucky you are alive to take a picture. I've got T's instead of elbows on mine to allow cleaning on the fly without shutting down. That's at the top and bottom of this vent. I clean them at least 4-5 times per season and am always amazed how much fly ash is there. I bet your stove is burning a lot better now too!

taped joints.jpg

They make 45 degree branch tee's also. I would recommend them instead of conventional straight and branch tee's for installations.