first fire..can't seem to get it going

Tfapps · Jan 5, 2012

this forum is great, helped me alot so far. I just bought a fireplace xtraordinair elite 33 insert. I tried starting my first fire last night opened the air control all the way, opened the bypass, cracked the door and the fire seems to burn great. As soon as I shut the door the fire seems to just smolder never getting really hot. after about 2 hours of keeping my door cracked it finally held a fire with the door and bypass closed and air control opened fully. Still it never really got that hot. Wood seems to be fine but I guess this could be the problem. I will try some different wood tonight, but was just wondering if anyone has any better tips. From what I've read on these forums it could be a draft problem, but its a 17' straight run up the chimney.

I installed it myself (well with my father), 15' SS flex line with a 2' hard pipe to extend it to 17', I used furnace cement around both parts of the stove adapter. RTV sealant around the top cap and between the liner and the top cap to seal it up.

TIA

dafattkidd · Jan 5, 2012

Tfapps, welcome to the forum. Congrats on your insert that is a beautiful unit. May it serve you well. The first few fires are a bit tricky. Best thing to do is to start with a bunch of crumbled up newspapers on the bottom. Place a good amount of kindling on top of that and then maybe a few very small, like 1-2 inch splits. Light that and let it burn fully. Keep the door open for the first few minutes and let it really catch. I then let it fully cool and then repeated the process with some more medium sized splits. Let the fir die down and fully cool then repeat. Progressively lighting larger fires. Other guys say you don't have to let it fully cool, but see what your manual reads. Hope that helps

mellow · Jan 5, 2012

Exterior chimney?

Tfapps · Jan 5, 2012

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. The manual doesn't really say much. It just says open the bypass and the air control, keep the door cracked for the first five minutes.

When you say let it fully cool do you mean let it burn out with the door cracked or close the door and bypass and let it die away.

Tfapps · Jan 5, 2012

It's not an exterior chimney. it's between my house and attached garage.

RIJEEP · Jan 5, 2012

Make sure you build a good starter fire, before larger splits are thrown on. Kind of sounds like wet wood not getting going, is it hissing? Make sure its dry indeed.

BTW if all the air is left open forever, you can effectively flush all the hot air right out of the stove and out the chimney and never get a hot stove.

1st lights are tough esp, with a cleaned out stove.

Keep us updated.

mellow · Jan 5, 2012

I do believe Dafattkidd is referring to the break in fires, your manual should tell you what steps to take for first fires.

It is either fuel or draft, trying some different wood that is surely seasoned would be a good test. I am wondering as well if your liner not being insulated could be taking longer for the draft to get established, you could try running a hair dryer up the baffle for a while and see if it is a draft issue. Also try lighting a match in the stove, your draft should put it out.

dafattkidd · Jan 5, 2012

Tfapps said:
Thanks, I'll give that a shot. The manual doesn't really say much. It just says open the bypass and the air control, keep the door cracked for the first five minutes.

When you say let it fully cool do you mean let it burn out with the door cracked or close the door and bypass and let it die away.

Sorry if I was unclear. Leave the door open only long enough to let the fore fully catch. Then once its fully caught and you liner is heated up, you should be able to shut the door with the draft fully open. When I said let it cool fully, I meant when I break in a stove I don't then put wood on top of a bed of coals. I let it fully cool. Then open the door and restart the process with a slightly larger fire.

Is your chimney fully lined from the chimney top to your unit?

dafattkidd · Jan 5, 2012

DaFattKidd said:
Tfapps said:

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. The manual doesn't really say much. It just says open the bypass and the air control, keep the door cracked for the first five minutes.

When you say let it fully cool do you mean let it burn out with the door cracked or close the door and bypass and let it die away.

Click to expand...

Sorry if I was unclear. Leave the door open only long enough to let the fire fully catch. Then once its fully caught and you liner is heated up, you should be able to shut the door with the draft fully open. When I said let it cool fully, I meant when I break in a stove I don't then put wood on top of a bed of coals. I let it fully cool. Then open the door and restart the process with a slightly larger fire.

Is your chimney fully lined from the chimney top to your unit?

Edit: I did read that you did it yourself. Sorry.

Tfapps · Jan 5, 2012

Guys Thanks for the advice. I didn't insulate because I didn't think I had to with it not being an exterior chimney. sounds like I'm just not letting it get hot enough before closing the door. I'm going to give it another go tonight. I'll keep you guys updated.

pen · Jan 5, 2012

Here's a thread w/ some great information that I think you'll find useful. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/65174/

First fires in new units often have this problem. As was mentioned, fuel is often the culprit but not always.

pen

logger · Jan 5, 2012

You said, "wood seems fine but could be the problem." I cant tell you how many people on this site try burning unseasoned wood. Is this wood you bought, or cut, split, and stacked yourself? If it was bought, my guess is that it is NOT seasoned. Most sellers advertise it as so, but most lie about it. Hardwoods must be split and stacked for at least a year or two before they are good to burn. Otherwise your fires will smoulder, create creasote, and not give off enough heat (this might be why it needs so much air. Green wood needs more oxygen, which in turn sends most of ur heat up the chimney and not into the house). Good luck.

onion · Jan 6, 2012

Sounds a lot like my first break in fire.

Could be a draft problem. Solved in my case by following advice here and pre-heating the flue with a propane torch like you use for soldering plumbing. I still do this on cold starts even though I probably don't need to using top-down fires.

Wood problem you can identify real quick by using dimensional lumber (2x4 or furring strips) scraps. Those are generally REALLY dry. Try a small fire with split 2x4 (not treated) scraps. If that fire can't get hot then wood isn't your problem. For my first year I actually went and bought 5 8' furring strips for $1.25 each and cut them into 16" sections which I then split for use as kindling as my wood was really suspect and these would at least give me some heat on cold starts.

Tfapps · Jan 6, 2012

I got it going last night. Alot easier than the first night. I just wasn't letting it get hot enough before closing the bypass/doors. Thanks for all your help.

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first fire..can't seem to get it going

Tfapps

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dafattkidd

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mellow

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Tfapps

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Tfapps

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RIJEEP

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mellow

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dafattkidd

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Tfapps

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pen

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logger

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