Description
The Auto-Draft can be installed on any wood or coal burning stove pipe 5″ to 8″ in diameter. It is designed to solve draft problems without increasing the height or diameter of the chimney. With the Auto-Draft your hard starting stove draws immediately. No smoky back up–even with moist or hard to ignite types of wood. Once the fire is burning, adjust the variable speed control knob on the electrical box to achieve the maximum efficiency of your stove. The Auto-Draft provides for total utilization of your wood, leaving only a fine ash residue in most cases.
From the manufacturer
Tjernlund
Tjernlund Products inception dates back to 1938 when Emil Tjernlund and his son Robert started designing and manufacturing oil fired forced air furnaces. From this start their product offering evolved into gas fired furnaces and custom packaged roof top heating & cooling equipment. In the mid 1950’s our Auto Draft Inducers were developed to eliminate draft problems associated with short stacks on roof top units. Other people within the heating industry soon saw the advantages of our draft inducers and wholesale distribution of the Auto Draft Inducers began in 1957.
Auto-Draft Model Ad-1 Inducer Fan For Wood Or Coal Stoves
Fits Most Wood or Coal Burning Stoves
The Auto-Draft can be installed on any wood or coal burning stove pipe 5″ to 8″ in diameter. It is designed to solve draft problems without increasing the height or diameter of the chimney. Increase draft of wood & coal stoves to end hard starts, smoky back-ups and lazy fires. Install in single wall pipe from 5”- 8” in diameter between the stove outlet and the chimney. High temp flat black powder coat finish, permanently lubricated motor and material handling aluminized steel impeller. Includes speed control and mounting hardware. 120 Volt, 74 Watts.
- Eliminates Smoke
- Starts Fires Fast
- Utilizes Fuel Efficiently
- Broadens Ranges of Usable Fuels
- Operates on Standard 115 VAC
Tjernlund Aids Wood Burning Stoves with Auto-Draft
Fast Fires Without Smoke
With the Auto-Draft your hard starting stove draws immediately. No smoky back up–even with moist or hard to ignite types of wood. Once the fire is burning, adjust the variable speed control knob on the electrical box to achieve the maximum efficiency of your stove. The Auto-Draft provides for total utilization of your wood, leaving only a fine ash residue in most cases.
Fits Most Wood Or Coal Burning Stoves
Auto-Draft can be installed on any wood or coal burning stove pipe from 5″ to 8″ in diameter. Designed to solve draft problems without increasing height or diameter of the chimney.
Specifications
- Height: 9 1/2″
- Width: 9″
- Depth: 7″
- Fits: 5-8″ Pipes
- Voltage: 115 VAC
- Motor RPM: 1200-1600
- Motor HP: 1/14 (open)
- Motor Amps: 1 (max.)
Wood Selection
Caution:
- Green or resinous woods must not be burned
- Any domestic wood burning stove because of the potential hazard of chimney fires
Simple Installation And Mounting
The Auto-Draft may be mounted on horizontal, vertical or inclined vent pipes. Installation on horizontal vent pipes must be made on the underside of the pipe to prevent excessive heat build up within the fan housing. Using the enclosed template, drill (4) 7/32” holes for speed nuts and cut a rectangular hole for the Auto-Draft, (See Diagram A). Insert curved edge of the fan housing into the pipe in direction of airflow and secure to pipe with screws, (See Diagram B).
Warning
The Burning of such woods as pine, fir, etc. produces a tar-like substance known as creosote which can coat the interior of the chimney and Draft Inducer. Stack temperature may become high enough to ignite the deposits and cause a chimney fire. Similarly, caution must be exercised when artificial or paper roll logs are burned because of the large volumes of flue gas and smoke produced. If artificial logs must be used, burn only one or two at a time to determine whether or not the smoke output exceeds your stove’s venting capacity.
Wiring
Electrical power from a grounded 120/1/60 source is required for the Auto-Draft. All wiring must be done in accordance with the National Electric Code (NEC) and applicable local codes. Extreme caution must be exercised to ensure that the radiant and convective heat generated by the stove and vent pipe does not damage the electrical wiring. Prior to lighting the wood in your stove, the Tjernlund Auto-Draft should be turned on with the speed control adjusted to the ‘H’ position. After the draft is established in the smoke pipe, the fire may be lit and the speed control may now be adjusted to a lower setting.
Mitchell –
Just what you need for draft problemsI’ve had a wood stove in my basement for almost ten years. My stack runs straight up 5-6 feet to insulated chimney pipe, out horizontal another 6, then up 20. Getting a natural draft going is usually easy, but there are rare occasions where negative pressure in the basement from atmospheric conditions or the power vent on the gas furnace causes us some serious trouble keeping smoke from billowing out of the stove. Before lighting I could even feel a powerful, cold down draft from outside.After installing this fan, any issues with the draft in the same conditions have been non-existent. It also keeps the excessive smoke smell from filling up the basement that even starting up a small amount of kindling would have before. Don’t expect it to pull up all of the fumes when the door is open. You will still know by nose that a fire is going; it will just be a light scent like a fireplace. I don’t normally run it on full speed when lighting and turn it off after the stove warms up.Installation could have been easier, though. Do what other have said and toss the instructions. I pulled the entire pipe from stove to insulated chimney pipe, to make it easier to work with and to inspect for creosote buildup. I carefully measured and cut my pipe with a dremel and jigsaw, making sure the top lip would slip into the pipe and the blades wouldn’t catch. Then I marked and drilled holes and used the splined studs that came in the hardware kit(the ones the instructions don’t even mention). The last nut by the motor was a pain because they don’t give you enough clearance for even a 1/4″ ratchet. Just make sure you install yours above any heat exchanger or cleanout your stack might have. I put mine above the Magic Heat we had for years just to make sure it didn’t leak. Also, invest in a tube of 600° F sealant for $4-8.The included fiberglass gasket tape is not going to seal around all the gaps that even a perfect cut would have. I caulked around ever joint from the fan to the chimney. Pulling that off to clean is better that breathing carbon monoxide. When I saw it puffing some smoke, the blower housing that should have had factory powder coat sealing it got small beads around it.The build quality one this unit is decent, but the design could use improvements. I already mentioned the blocked screw hole that made things harder for me. The electrical box cover also vibrates so I gave it a tiny bead just by the blower to keep it still without blocking air cooling for the control. That at least was easy to solve. The control could have been made easy turn for a more awkward installation I sure some people have. And I had to add a cord to it. Every other fan or blower I see on the market has a simple a plug. They could have included one with clear warnings not to let it anywhere near the hot surfaces. Mine is well away from anything. There is also a large(about 2″ sq). hole by the blower shaft open to the insides of the pipe. This does draw in air to keep heat from the motor but I’m worried starting a fire after power goes out might have that hole belching smoke for a long time before a draft gets going. It doesn’t seem to let out any flue gasses when the coals are dying down, though. I’ll have to cut out some sheet metal or machine a block to make it smaller and slip that over the shaft when I have no power to keep smoke in. It just would be nice if something was included to block that hole in an emergency.All in all if you have draft issues with a freshly cleaned chimney, then you need something like this. It also lets you load your stove without smoke puffing out of the door. I’ve had mine for only a short time and don’t know the longevity of it, but I’m happy with it for now.
Mark P. –
Fan working but quality in questionThe fan seems to work well, but the product I received had paint chipping off of it when I took it out of the box. See photo. Installation was a bit of a pain with the clips you insert after the holes are drilled moving around.
Marissa Zile –
Fantastic addition to a smoky wood stoveWe had a new wood stove put in last fall and had problems starting fires, establishing good draft, smoke entering the room whenever the door was opened, very dirty chimney, etc. To the point of not wanting to use the stove anymore. I installed this as a last ditch effort before opting for the chimney top draft inducer which would have been almost 10x the cost. I am happy to report that this is exactly the fix we needed. No more smoky rooms or slow fires. Just crank this baby on when you are starting the fire or opening the door (I leave mine off when there is a hot fire going and it does not leak smoke through any of the shaft inputs).The previous reviews are accurate regarding the need to close up the gaps. I used chimney cement and it was fine.The one thing I didnt anticipate is the positive pressure it creates downstream in the flue pipe. That is probably the biggest side effect that would be avoided had I opted for the chimney top unit instead. The fix for it is a simple chimney cement seal and your good to go.
Michael V. –
Works but you need to be very handy to install itAs far as the product itself goes, it works as advertised and has solved our backdraft problems. The negative on the product design is the cheap fan control mechanism, as well as the electrical connections. You will need to purchase suitable electrical cording and a plug for this, which I did know beforehand and makes sense because the manufacturer cannot know how your specific installation will go (how far away from an outlet, whether you need shielded cable, etc.). But in addition I recommend you purchase a cable clamp for the control box, because there is basically just a knock-out hole that your wire will run through, meaning you have unsupported wire on a metal box. That is a bad design IMO.As some of the other reviews have indicated, you do need to be fairly handy to install this. The template is good for the rectangular cutout, but is useless for the screw holes because we found they did NOT line up with the mounting flange after drilling them. My recommendation is to make your square cutout, then place the fan on the pipe to see exactly where you need the holes to be.Also, take the little bag of speed clips and screws and throw them away. That mounting is an awful design for a unit of this weight, especially if you end up hanging this horizontally under the pipe! Instead use machine screws, with nuts on the inside of the pipe. Yes that means you have to take the pipe off to mount this, and it means you are probably never going to clean the unit, but are you really going to do so? When you clean your chimney pipes your brush will go past the fan blades in place no problem, and I really don’t see the issue of creosote building up on the blades. If need be to clean, just disassemble the pipe in the future. Believe me that’s much preferable to having tiny little screws and speed clips holding this monster in place.We installed this on 6″ pipe which added to the challenge. The preset curve of the mounting flange is designed for an 8″ pipe, but using screws and nuts we were able to draw it in. We also needed to trim the top flange in order to get it to fit in the pipe.
The Carpenter Shop –
Works wellI have two of these running on rocket stove mass heater pulling suction on the piping. First one pulls through the normal fire brick chimney inside a barrel down into the ondol style heat storage made out of cement blocks and a 5 x 8′ granite slab for the top and then the fan pushes the smoke a few feet through the building wall. On a perfect day the stove would draw, any windy, the ondol leaked smoke. No more, works in all weather. The second unit runs a second 20″ x 8′ rocket stove mass heater made out of fire brick and cement bricks with a soapstone/serpatine base, through a loop made out of six inch stove pipe then down under the house about two feet and laterally maybe fifteen feet through the crawl space to outside, suction all the way. it pulls too much even on the slow setting so I blocked the outlet with a brick to slow it down. Works in all weather even in high winds. Awesome smoke handlers.
DMarie30 –
Sent with knob missingWe purchased this as a back up the one we have installed, It has worked for 3 years and is still going strong, but heating with wood we need to make sure if it breaks it is easily and quickly replaced. HOWEVER., the “New” one that we were sent, came with the knob missing. We searched the box, nothing. Not sure if it was never put in or is it a refurbished unit? no idea. The only way to get the knob was to return the entire item? No way to really contact anyone in order to “talk” about them just sending me the knob! This is my biggest issue!!!!
MCRS –
Great addition to a wood stoveWe have had so many smokey room problems over the years with our woodstove and this has in a way solved all of it. I personally think that all woodstoves should be required to have a draft enducer built in in some way. I did alot of pre-reading so the install went realativley smoothly. I bought a new piece of 6 inch piece from Lowes, cut it to size and installed the fan on the clean pipe (no mess) and then replaced a section with the fully assembled piece. Its mounted horizontially. A few changes I made. I did the potentiometer adjustment to make the slower fan speed much slower. I havent had the need to use the slowest speed much though, so its was probably not nessessary. I then removed the switch from the ridiculously ugly housing its installed in (they could have done so much better) and relocated it into a single din housing that I mounted on the wall behind the wood stove. Everything sealed with black high temp RTV. Install went well and came out clean. The PROS, if there is even one or two coals left, I can get a fire going again by putting in a few new logs, turning on the fan and leaving the door open an inch or two, the draft coming in is enough to get new logs burning. Anytime I want to stoke a slow fire, just do the same as described for a minute or two. Anytime we need to add new logs on a low burning fire, we will turn on the fan, and then put logs in. No smoke enters the room at all, which is a huge change to what we experienced before we got the draft enducer(fan). Cons, its fugly. Looks like it was enginered in the 1920s. Leaks like a strainer until every edge is sealed. As others have said, the RTV will let off some seriously bad fumes when first fired. If you stay in the room your eyes will be stinging all day. All in all I am happy with this thing and my wife enjoys the benefits enough to give me a pass on its looks.
G. Messier –
Game changerI used to open the stove door and half the time i would get smoke into the room. Also, the fire used to go out overnight and i’d have to start from scratch (pain in the neck).Now, I turn the fan on just before opening the door to ensure no smoke in the house. Also, if the fire gets low, i just turn this on and ten minutes later i have a raging fire. Every night i can choke the damper down to keep embers all night. In the am, i just turn on the fan, rake the coals forward, add wood, and in ten minutes I’m back up to 600 degrees. Then i turn off the fan (if you don’t you’ll burn up wood like crazy), set the damper, and enjoy!Total game changer and worth its weight in gold.I would NOT run the fan constantly. That’s your call though.
Paul t. –
Install this outside NOT inside.Reading through all of the reviews about it leaking into the room near the blower … I made a couple of changes to the installation of unit which makes it MUCH better. 1) added a sheet metal plate with a motor shaft sized hole which doesn’t allow it to leak out any smoke at all. 2) mounted the motor OUTSIDE (a couple of feet below the chimney cap) I then built a sheet metal cover for the motor and electrical connections. If you install the blower on the back side of the chimney pipe its barely seen. You can then bypass the built in switch using a wifi dimmer switch to toggle the motor on and off on the outside. Sounds like a lot but it works VERY well!… no sounds, no smoke, and a HUGE amount of draw up the chimney. See pic. Units been running great for several months now.
Daniel Grimme –
Do your researchSo the unit works as designed if installed correctly. The template provided for mounting was a big help. Make sure you seal where the unit attaches to pipe. The housing for the fan is not air tight. This created a Smokey atmosphere in the room. I had to make some alterations: used high temp sealant, along the rounded fan housing edges, where metal components come together. This eliminated smoke coming out of the fan housing. The motor housing has a “drive shaft” that spins the fan. Where this shaft enters the fan housing; there is an approximately two inch hole. I don’t believe it needs to be that big.. when it is not running, smoke can escape from this hole ever so slightly. I used aluminum tape to seal up around the shaft, leaving only 1/16” space around the shaft. Yes it heats up, the first two times after putting the tape on, the glue on the aluminum tape melted/burned off.. leaving a smell in the room. This being like operating a stove for the first time when the paint cures. After those two times the glue was hardened or non existent but the aluminum is permanently affixed. I did not like that I had to make these alterations, believing these are engineering issues that can be corrected by the manufacturer. I’m no expert, but what I did worked, and I hav not had any issues since… but it did give me some doubt about the product to the point I almost scrapped the idea. Do your research, listen to the comments others have posted. They are accurate. Hope this helps.