Expert: Bart Ogden - 1/17/2007

Question
Hi Bart, my name is Todd Brown and this past fall I bought a new quadrafire wood burning insert. I had a previous insert that was old and wanted to update. Anyway my old insert had and 8" stainless chimney liner on it so I used the same liner to hook up to this new quadrafire. I'm not getting any help from them on the related question of why I can't keep my glass clean on the door. On a windy day it burns pretty hot with my air shut almost all the way off. When its calm out I add little more air to burn, either way my glass darkens to where I have to use a razor blade to clean it about every three days just to view my fire. I've had some tell me the flue size form 6 to 8" shouldn't matter but I've seen some stats on 6 to 8 and its almost twice the volume. The stove was made to be on 6" but like I said I already had 8" there so I used it.  Could this be part of my problem of my glass staying clean? I would think that 8" would have more draft and pull out the smoke faster. please let me know what you think. I'm pulling my hair out trying to get the glass to stay cleaner. Thanks Todd

Answer
Hi Todd,

Retaining the 8" liner shouldn't hurt anything.  It would increase the flow capacity, but not the draft in inches of water column.  Wood-burning inserts operate on high draft and low flow.

Something you might want to try to keep the glass cleaner is to not shut the air down all the way.  This should help the airwash system be more effective.

Another thing to check is to make sure the connection between the insert and the liner is in good condition and is secured.  Many times if there is an improper connection at this area you will lose draft pressure and the insert will not work correctly.

Some stoves have a problem keeping the glass clean due to their engineering.

Don't forget to use a local CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep to do your chimney cleaning!

You can find a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep at www.csia.org.

Thanks for using AllExperts.Com and good luck with your project.

Sincerely,
A. Bart Ogden, President
Home Safe Hearth & Chimney
Wichita, KS
Voice: 316-265-9828
Fax: 316-265-9890
www.homesafeks.com