does a wetback need to be blanked off?

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ewokteck

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#305935 14-Jun-2023 20:04

Hi guy's

i understand that if a wet back in a fire isnt used then they should not be blanked/bunged off...

Correct??

we have picked up a secound hand fire that has a wetback and we arre not going to use the wet back. yes i understand that running the fire with out it hooked up will bugger the wet piping inside.

it's going into a container .

other question is therre any reason i cant have the flue installed so it goes out the wall insteed of the roof??

thanks guys

Bung

6477 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3090146 14-Jun-2023 22:27

You'll probably need a council building permit and some councils have limits on how old a second-hand fire can be. That's what you need to check first.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3090174 15-Jun-2023 08:08

i don't know much about this but i know someone who had his wetback explode because the heated water wasn't getting moved out of the heated tube and the water was boiling under immense pressure within the tube

if it has water it needs to be moving so it doesn't boil

if it has air - i am guessing you can't weld it off coz the air will have nowhere to go when it expands?

maybe leave it vented but remove the water?

bluey

82 posts

Master Geek

#3090472 15-Jun-2023 20:33

Can't the wetback be removed? If so that would be the best option.

Rust

99 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#3090565 16-Jun-2023 05:59

The wetback should not be completely sealed, some orifice should be left open for pressure to escape.

Completely blanking it off will turn it into a pressure vessel when the fire is operating, and you definitely don't want that.

Swept

36 posts

Geek

#3090823 16-Jun-2023 17:36

For the love of all things holy; DO NOT PLUG A WETBACK. It will explode.

You have two options; leaving the coil inside the firebox with BOTH end pipes open to let the coil burn out over time, or

Remove the entire coil and using two large washers, a bolt, and nut per hole, plug them both.

Reason they don't allow wall outlets for installs is due to a variety of issues; safety with heat and walls, poor flashing allowing water ingress, and lower performance. To do bends in a flue is also a more expensive job and more technical; if this is your first rodeo with chimney flues, I'd avoid going this route. Finally, cleaning it becomes a lot more difficult without the good flexible rotary brushes.

Source; 10+ years in the logfire industry. Currently run a chimney sweeping and logfire repair business.