smoke and burn back on new build

I just put together a Erica Ernie Day bed RMH and I'm getting smoke and burnback when I fit the barrel. Works fine with out the barrel.

I've tried lifting the barrel and shortening the burn tunnel with no effect.

Any body got any ideas?

Paul Carter : Stop trying to run your stove with the barrel in place you are not ready for that step ! You need to go to The permies.com sister site richsoil.com and find and
click on the Rocket Mass Heaters link on the left side of the page This will take you to a series of videos of Rocket Mass Heaters R.M.H.s made by professionals or under the
direction of professionals, you need to watch the whole series, and deal with burning the paint off of the Barrel., this not a step to be skipped, in a hurry to build your rocket
It is one of a set of steps with a beginning and an end ! I will pm you now ! Big AL.

Paul Carter : Sent you a PM

Thanks Allen for your PM but as I said I have built the heater with the help of Erica and Ernies plans which they sell, so it would not be fair to give to much detail.

The heater is a 6" system with steel riser insulated with cob sawdust mix in a 10" tube. The riser, burn tunnel and feed tube are the correct length. The top of the riser is 2" below the top of the barrel. The change from barrel to pipe is as plans. The barrel as not had its outside paint removed because another barrel will be used in the final set up.

I can not see how the paint on the outside can effect draw of the system , the in side is clean.

It could just be because of all the wet mortar and so forth in the system.

Not much mortar in the system as the bricks are dry staked with cob on the outside to seal and the riser draws fine with out the barrel and there is no longer steam coming from the exhaust.

Paul, if your barrel gap is good, then check your flue transition. And , one advice Peter van den Berg gave me once. For testing purposes, use a vertical pipe as a flue.

Satamax Antone : Thanks for pointing out that a vertical chimney at the very start of the test will eliminate a whole bunch of Variables. Once again I saw
the same thing you did and tried to filter it through a whole lot of bias and pre conceived notions, and missed the simple importance of this step !

So, if Your Rocket Mass Heater Worked Well Out-of-Doors before you put on the barrel, and you had an elbow or a 'T' and Cap, and 6' or more of vertical
chimney, then any problems that show up would have to be in the Gaps between the Barrel and the Heat Riser or in the Transitional Area. Right ?

Once again I missed a super efficient little trick of Peters and miss-filed the information. This proves what I have always said about Adult Education, Kids
minds are a sponge, with Adults you have to tell them why they need to learn and understand a piece of Information ! Here I am a Good/Bad Example !

You and I should both make sure that we 'spread the good Word ', especially with the 1st-time builders who come to these pages !

Thank you Max and Peter ! Big AL

Thanks for that advice it was going to be the next thing I tried. Will report back late with results.

Paul

Vertical flue solved the problem got the top of the barrel to 550F and the flue 5 foot up was cold.

Next job is to rebuild it in my workshop and look forward to a warm winter.

Thanks every body.

Paul