Woodburner Experts needed!

[slpknt10l03]

I grew up with a fire place and never gave it much thought.

a couple years ago we moved into this house with a woodburner downstairs. Being responsible I hired a sweep for a cleaning and inspection before any fire. (I swept it this year myself) I asked him for some pointers as i've never used a woodburner.

most were pretty straight forward (dry wood/ split wood)
but some i seem to be having problems with.

he told me to never control the fire with the damper - always leave it open - adjust the fire with the air inlets only.


that made perfect sense to me. But in doing so a full load only burns for at very most 1 hour before its nothing but coals and ash.

I usually have both air inlets fully closed and the fire burns just fine - but still very hot and very fast - I burn a variety of hard woods from cottonwood to oak - am I being unrealistic hoping for longer heat output and a slower burn - or did i get bad advice from the old sweep and using the damper is ok???

Id really appreciate any advice you can offer on the topic

 

[comat0se]

Is there a gasket that you could replace around the door? I don't think that with the inlets closed you should be burning fast and hot... somewhere else air is getting in.

 

[jwhite]

A fire of split hard wood should burn for several hours. I use a wood stove as my primary heat source. It's a bit hard to tell from your pictures but perhaps your using light wood, smaller pieces of dry light wood will burn quickly. Even so with your front air inlets fully closed your fire should barely smolder and may even go out. Check to make sure they are fully closed, they should shut fairly tight. If they shut tight, check to see if your doors shut and latch smoothly. If they do check for gaps around the door and any other vents, some models have dampers around the back, side and bottom. If the door shuts well and the latch fully engages there is an insulation that you can buy from most places that carry wood burning supplies. It looks like rope with a cloth backing. You will also need the corresponding cement. This fits into a groove that runs around the perimeter of the door. You have double doors so it would not go between the doors. When you cut the insulation, cut it an inch or so longer on each end than you would need. You'll find that the rope is more like a woven tube, add a little bit of the cement to the inside and tuck the end inside, this will help you to have neat finish and prevent fraying.

As far as the chimney damper is concerned, the sweep is correct insofar as you should not fully close it while there is a fire burning. It is, however, adjustable on purpose. You should feel free to adjust the damper to suit your needs just be sure not to close it off so far that smoke does not draft properly, and make sure creosote does not build up around it so that it can be adjusted smoothly and easily.

 

[jcummins]

I grew up with a wood buning stove as the only source of heat in the house. We've always turned the damper down - especialy at night so it burn through the night and have some coals the next morning. But then we just about always burnt green Hedge wood.

For anyone who knows about this - Yes - It's hot. I've seen it that the black door of the stove was white with heat, and I probably could have pushed a nail through the door. But it also kept things hot enough, we hardley ever really needed to sweep the chimney. Just never had to do it.

If ever sweeping the chimney was more to sweep any leaves and such that collected through the spring/summer/early fall (before lighting the stove).

 

[Hawkeye5]

Air leak, most likely door gaskets, combined with lighter wood. I always burned oak and hickory at a ratio of three oak to one hickory. The oak will burn faster and provide a good bed of coals.

For over night I would burn mostly hickory reversing the oak/hickory ratio.

I've not burned cottonwood, but I would think it would burn fast.

And yes, leave the damper alone to avoid smoke backup. Just use the air vents.

 

[LarryAndro]

I burned with a free standing wood stove for 20 years, and frequently used the damper. The advice to never use the damper is wrong, but recognizes that the damper can cause problems too.

In my opinion, there are two controls on the air feeding your fire: the door/vents and the damper. They should be used in tandem.

 

[spindlecone]

Burn 4 cords of almond every year (two years seasoned) never use the damper, just turn down the inlets at night.
From what I can see in the pics looks like you have no gaskets thus you do not have an airtight stove which is the goal with the exception of the adjustable inlets.
Cottonwood is a very poor wood for a stove IMO.

 

[tpoof]

I use the damper and the air inlets to adjust the air flow for proper combustion.
looking for a clean burn that is neither too fast nor too slow
I also burn mostly Poplar(cottonwood) as it is readily available here and find I have to sweep my chimney every season

 

[Pkrankow]

That is not an air tight stove. Using the damper is necessary to prevent overfiring in addition to using the air inlets. You will be more pleased replacing the stove with an new EPA certified airtight model as you will get much better efficiency, and use less wood to get the same heat. You will also be able to choose a fire viewing model, and bennefit from the ambiance of a fire.

Replacing the gaskets and sealing the iron will improve what you have. A new EPA certified stove starts a little below $1000US plus install, so it is not an impulse buy.

Well seasoned wood is suitable to burn of any hardwood or conifer species (at least common varieties in the US). If the wood is well seasoned it has a low moisture content and will be suitable to burn, and will not produce substantial creosote. Wet or poorly seasoned wood promote creosote formation. Denser species such as oak have more energy per log, and take longer to burn than lighter species such as pine.

Check out http://woodheat.org for more information.

Phil

 

[slpknt10l03]

gasket lol

i didn't even know there was a spot for a gasket until now, lol ... it makes perfect sense now --- upon closer inspection i even found remnants of the old gasket. I guess the previous owner removed it. I'm surprised the sweep didn't mention anything about it.

I bought a new gasket and will install it tonight. now i suppose the air inlets might actually do something, lol

And the only two choices for wood around here are cottonwood and pine. I prefer cottonwood over pine but availability can sometimes be an issue even then. I have a nice pile of untreated oak scraps i use to build a coal bed.

thanks for all the advice guys!

 

[Pkrankow]

While you have the stove cement out, get a high powered light and either put it in or put your head in the stove and check for light leaks from inappropriate places along the seams in the ironwork. Check for loose/missing bolts, and inspect the liner material for excessive damage (hairline cracks are fine, as long as the whole brick is present and in place) Seal these gaps as necessary too.

Some stoves require being taken down to separate panels every few years and the seams cleaned and re-cemented. This is extreme, but may be worth doing if you see light leaking everywhere.

Phil

 

[slpknt10l03]

what is the purpose of the bricks in an iron box anyway?

 

[jlanger]

what is the purpose of the bricks in an iron box anyway?

From what I remember as a kid when my family burned wood almost exclusively to heat the house, they're there to help retain and radiate heat, as well as to prevent the iron from weakening as much from hight heat exposure.

 

[jwhite]

from what i remember as a kid when my family burned wood almost exclusively to heat the house, they're there to help retain and radiate heat, as well as to prevent the iron from weakening as much from hight heat exposure.

+1

 

[Pkrankow]

what is the purpose of the bricks in an iron box anyway?

In the older stoves the bricks protect the iron from extreme temperature and can be easily replaced. This makes the stove a very durable item. Bricks are very cheap to replace, repairing iron takes special equipment if it can be repaired at all. The brick also lets the fire burn hotter without overfiring the stove.

In modern stoves, the brick also form an air channel to preheat the air, to help keep the fire very hot (which promotes complete combustion, reduces soot and creosote), and help get more heat into the room instead of up the chimney.

The brick also stores heat so it can be released more slowly to the room, which is better for heating and reduces large swings in temperature as your stove is cycled.

Overfiring of a stove is very dangerous as it makes the outside of the stove hot enough to instantly cause serious burns. Overfiring also increases the likelihood of having a fire around the stove. Shorter life of the appliance is also notable as temperatures over about 800F will cause the iron to scale, reducing the thickness of the metal. Use of a stove or flue thermometer is a very good idea.

Phil

 

[tpoof]

just to touch on another point.. pine wood.
pine is very resinous and has a notion to burn very hot and fast.. a fully loaded stove with pine can create temps that are very high.. mixing the pine with cottonwood(poplar) can help reduce the extreme temps some and lower the danger factor

 

[Pkrankow]

just to touch on another point.. pine wood.
pine is very resinous and has a notion to burn very hot and fast.. a fully loaded stove with pine can create temps that are very high.. mixing the pine with cottonwood(poplar) can help reduce the extreme temps some and lower the danger factor

Or load a smaller amount of wood knowing that it will fire hot and fast. This will mean you need to reload more frequently, or that you want quick fires for taking the chill off in the fall or spring.

Phil