taylors 079d smoke problem

[spilt-my-tea]

Hi All
I've got a problematic taylors 079d, it lights perfectly well with methy spirits and the gravity fed diesel drips nicely, it warms up quick enough and sits there glowing a dull cherry red around the base.
Then out of nowhere, after being alight and working perfectly for an hour or two it seems like the flue is blocked because smoke starts streaming out of each connection of the flue fast enough to fill the boats interior in seconds (fire alarm kicks off, hatches and doors opened, shut down heater and wait 20mins for it to burn out) so how the hell is that happening when its been alight for hours and nothing has changed.
flue is 3m tall and well exposed outside.
Anyone else had this problem or knows why?
Any and all answers much appreciated
M

 

[RolyGate]

Any chance the flue is part-blocked? Did you run a stiff wire down to see what happens?

 

[spilt-my-tea]

I thought that too, checked the flue and it's a clear line of sight all the way through, but what gets me is it can run quite happily for a couple of hours then just goes mental....maybe time for an upgrade

 

[Hadenough]

Is your drip valve faulty, maybe failing as it gets hot and dumping excess fuel onto the burner pot?

 

[elenya]

Hi
You may be suffering the effects of differing air pressure inside the boat to that outside. May sound odd but this is quite common where a flue outlet is at deck level and a wind is creating areas of higher air pressure at deck level. A longer flue pip on deck will normally solve this problem. You may find a neighbour who will lend you a section to try out.

Cheers

 

[dovekie]

Hi
You may be suffering the effects of differing air pressure inside the boat to that outside. May sound odd but this is quite common where a flue outlet is at deck level and a wind is creating areas of higher air pressure at deck level. A longer flue pip on deck will normally solve this problem. You may find a neighbour who will lend you a section to try out.

Cheers

I would echo this possibility. We had a Taylors 079D for many years and it would do this occasionally, even hours after being lit. I always suspected - but could never prove to myself - that it happened when the combination of outside wind, outside pressure, and inside cabin pressure changed the flow in the chimney. It often coincided with gusts, or altering hatches, or swinging at anchor.

So longer chimney (more momentum in the column of air?), or a chimney fan, or open a forward facing hatch a bit to raise the cabin pressure.
Good luck