At 06:23 PM 5/19/2010, Mike South wrote:
>So did it make the exhaust leak into the intake or something?  Just
>curious how that caused the problem, or if that's the kind of "leak"
>you are talking about.

The whole assembly only works properly if it's a completely sealed
system except for the intake and flue.  If there's any leakage then
wind or other pressures will cause airflow through the system.  It
doesn't take much to blow out that tiny flame.  The coaxial
intake/flue/separator plate/cover assembly experiences -- by design
--  the same pressure at each end pretty much no matter what's
happening outside.

Firebox seals, drain tube seals, o-rings where the corrugated tubes
insert into the flue fitting are the likely places for leaks.  I
suspect that misalignment of the aluminum fitting to the body
stresses the o-rings and invites leaks.

In a classic example of how folk medicine works, my success included
sealing the separator plate hole, and sealing the aluminum fitting to
the inside of the body.  I doubt if these had anything to do with it,
but I continued to do them thereafter.

Yours,
David