Dauntless Forced Draft Assembly

This instructional video walks you through the installation of a Forced Draft System on a Smoky Lake Dauntless Evaporator.
Please note that the brand of our blower has changed over the years, but quality remains equivalent.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
00:07 - Introduction
00:50 - Unboxing
03:40 - Assembly
03:45 - Connect the Blower to the Back Plate
05:35 - Connect Back Plate to the Pressure Cabinet
07:11 - Preparing the Arch
08:07 - Inserting the Pressure Cabinet into the Arch
11:08 - Attach the Front Plate
13:42 - Heavy Duty Elbow
13:50 - About the Blower
14:50 - Importance of keeping the damper OPEN. Also, understanding the importance of proper alignment of the Pressure Cabinet.
15:20 - When to install the Forced Draft if you are assembling the Arch from scratch
16:20 - Sorry, this unit is NOT compatible with StarCat evaporators
17:37 - This Is What It Boils Down To...™

[@Zippy1wood.]

What evaporation rate will you get with fan on the all in one pan

[@RobertViani]

I run a Dauntless (5 year this season) without a blower on a flat pan. We're getting 14+ GPH. We're now dialed in using dry pine split just the way Jim suggests in some of their other videos.

[@greatnorthernviews3052]

How much does the forced draft improve your evaporation from 12 gallons per hr.

[@SmokyLakeMaple]

On your flat pan or divided flat pan Dauntless the evaporation rate will go from about 12gph up to about 15gph-16gph. However, there are other major advantages. You will not have to split your wood nearly as small, the wood can be less than perfectly seasoned, and startup and shutdown will be much faster.

[@greatnorthernviews3052]

@@SmokyLakeMaple good to know I probably should make the upgrade. I probably will pick my Dauntless up Monday.

[@marblemill]

Do you have any estimate of what kind of stack temperatures this unit could produce with the blower? Shouldn't change the 18" clearance to combustibles with 24gauge black stovepipe that comes with it? I bought one of these units with a drop flue pan(so maybe not as hot as flat pans). I'm setting it up for this season.

[@marblemill]

If you have the blower, you basically want to run it all the time? You cannot turn it off to slow things down because the box is cutting off the air to the fire? You must keep it running, but use the damper slides to adjust?

[@SmokyLakeMaple]

The blower has a large pass-through capacity, meaning that if the blower is not running, there is still a nearly 2" opening through the blower for air to draw through. And even if the blower is not allowing enough pass through, removing the front panel of the pressure cabinet allows all the air you need, and its only 6 bolts. For those not following this conversation exactly, this conversation pertains only to the notion of running a Dauntless with the forced draft added but choosing not to run the blower.

[@marblemill]

@@SmokyLakeMaple Very Good. Thank you.

[@dryhackle1]

Do you need to unplug fan before you open the door to add fuel?

[@SmokyLakeMaple]

Yes. It is best to turn off the blower before opening the door. Some folks have connected their blowers to an on/off switch which works great. However, do not add a rheostat as it could damage the blower.

[@davidberg2516]

What’s the CFM of the fan?

[@SmokyLakeMaple]

It is less than 200cfm.

[@khriskennedy3199]

Nice job!

[@SmokyLakeMaple]

Thanks!

[@RobertViani]

My Dauntless cranks without the blower...With the blower it's going to be a fire breathing dragon!