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HillsideMaple
02-26-2020, 08:18 AM
I notice smoke coming out of my arch sides between the stainless and steel frame. I insulted the arch with ceramic and then firebrick which is mortared. It’s a Smokey Lake arch with forced draft. Not sure if anyone has had this issue with the same arch or other brands. Any advice would be great.

ecolbeck
02-26-2020, 08:33 AM
I would check to make sure that there are no draft restrictions (damper etc). How many CFM is your fan? Perhaps it is overpowered and is pressurizing the arch.

Sugarmaker
02-26-2020, 08:36 AM
How long is your arch?
How tall is your stack?
Is your stack open on the top, no cap during boiling?
Is the power draft controllable?
If you have good draft in your stack generally this should not be a issue.
Is this only on start up or after a hour of hard boiling?
Regards,
Chris

18mile
02-26-2020, 08:47 AM
Did you leave enough room under the pan and for a draft space by the Plenum that attaches to the chimney?

HillsideMaple
02-26-2020, 11:25 AM
The arch is 8 feet long. I have 15’ of stack with a flip top lid. There’s no damper and the fan is only a single speed. Not sure the CFM. It smoked on and off during the whole boil session. The arch is only 1 year old. Maybe paint burning?

GramaCindy
02-26-2020, 12:30 PM
Just a ? Do you have pan gasket between the pan and arch?

maple flats
02-26-2020, 03:12 PM
You generally need 2x the pan length for the stack. If it's acting up I'd try adding 2 more feet to the stack rather than just 1.

Pdiamond
02-26-2020, 07:34 PM
If I am understanding you correctly you are talking about the area below the railing where the stainless and frame meet. If that is what is happening get some pictures of it as best you can and contact Smoky Lake, because this sounds like something that should not occur.

MapleMark753
02-27-2020, 01:57 AM
I think that if its an airtight issue, or a draft issue, that everyone above is on the right track as far as solving it. But, if you have painted the arch rails and frame recently, or if its new and was painted before you got it, thats a different issue. I have had the high temp black paint smoke a bit, and for quite some time, on the first and even second boil as its being cured. But the smoke is not coming from a crack in the arch, you can see it coming right from the rails and frame.

HillsideMaple
02-27-2020, 05:51 AM
I do have another 2’ section of pipe I can add on. It is between the steel rail and stainless sides. I do have gasket between the pans and rail. Thanks for replies all.

Jeff E
02-27-2020, 10:06 AM
I recently looked at the Smokey Lake web site. This is a high pressure arch, duel blowers on the back? Supposed to be air tight, meaning you are not reliant on adequate draft to 'suck' the smoke out of the arch.
You should contact Smokey Lake and let them make or suggest the fix.

High pressure arches will push smoke or debris out of every spot possible, so a true air tight build is critical. I tried retrofitting an old arch once to high pressure. Big mistake, big mess.

HillsideMaple
02-27-2020, 10:40 AM
Ok. It’s a single motor blower with a dual squirrel cage. It does really move a lot of air which is why the wood burns completely and it boils so hard. I suppose with even the slightest little gap it would force air out anywhere. Thanks