Yes. Once it gets over 450 and secondaries lit it burns smoke free. I have gotten up at nite and put wood in and gotten tired of standing there wait for it to catch. Just closed the door and went back to bed.
Learning the new Englander Madison
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mellow
Resident Stove Connoisseur
I can still get a long clean burn but it takes awhile to get going. Mabe the wood i had at first was really drier?
Ok ill have to get up there to add pipe anyway.
As far as adding pipe. Is 2' enough or go 4'? I was trying to keep it as low as posible for cleaning. When on the roof its at eye level now.
Can you have too much pipe?
Yes, but if your worsening ability to keep the fire going started exactly when you installed the OAK, maybe the OAK is related. Did you notice any other changes right around that time, like more smoke spillage or less secondary burning?
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
Sorry to say that poor wood selection and operator error is what's going on here.....start with burning 101 and a clean flue and you will be on your way, lower your expectations and respect the beast, it will love you back.....gl
Do you have the pipe?
Would probably try two ft first as this could make quite a difference and still keep it easy to clean. Also, don't know your setup but you may require additional bracing if you add 4'
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
Actualy Tarzan is the name of my African Grey Parrot. An easy one to remember since he is often squaulking his own name
Does he wear a leopard print onesy?
The house is fairly tight. I was having a definite neg pressure issue before i added the OAK. Especially when the drier was running.
Mabe thats still part of the problem. Neg pressure when i open the door is over riding the draw of the flue? If its really hot say 550 or more then i can open the door without a problem.
For the record, 550 would be well within its normal operating temps. It wouldn't be considered "really hot".
spirilis
Minister of Fire
Huh, sounds marginal. I get issues in my house when it's not super cold outside, the dryer is running, and maybe 1 or more bathroom fans (or the kitchen hood)... but those problems go away by the time I'm >200F stovetop temp. My house isn't super tight in the basement though.
OAK has been installed though, so one would expect that should help. Is it attached directly to the stove, or is it terminating "near" the stove? Would be interesting to pull it off and see how much air is rushing through there with the stove cold I guess... and then with the stove running.
Right. It just seems really hot to me. We determined here that it is ok up to 700 for short times.
Have you tried leaving a nearby window open 1/2" to see if that improves starting or reduces smoke spill?
spirilis
Minister of Fire
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
I wouldn't assume any of the "kiln-dried" wood is really dry; I've seen gas station Oak that was sopping wet, wouldn't burn worth a crap. I can tell by how heavy the bundles or splits are weather it is reasonably dry. I would trust pallet wood to be pretty dry, and you can tell just by looking at a pallet if it is new or weathered. Assuming your stack is tall enough (how tall is it now?,) the lack of draft is probably caused by lack of heat when trying to get that wet Oak burning. I doesn't have to be bubbling water out the ends; Just a bit of moisture is enough to really kill the burn. If your wood is 18% or less and you toss a split on a hot coal bed, it will be burning on a couple sides within a minute or two. The fact that the Pine is burning and drafting better is telltale. Hope you don't have a chimney fire before you can get that 1/2" of glazed creosote outta there.
Its getting in the mid to low 30s at nite. Mid to upper 40s when i get home to light the stove.
But i have the same results in the morning when it low 30s. Lot of time i dont have a fire in morning because dont have time to mess with it.
17, from topof stove to the capI wouldn't assume any of the "kiln-dried" wood is really dry; I've seen gas station Oak that was sopping wet, wouldn't burn worth a crap. I can tell by how heavy the bundles or splits are weather it is reasonably dry. I would trust pallet wood to be pretty dry, and you can tell just by looking at a pallet if it is new or weathered. Assuming your stack is tall enough (how tall is it now?,) the lack of draft is probably caused by lack of heat when trying to get that wet Oak burning. I doesn't have to be bubbling water out the ends; Just a bit of moisture is enough to really kill the burn. If your wood is 18% or less and you toss a split on a hot coal bed, it will be burning on a couple sides within a minute or two. The fact that the Pine is burning and drafting better is telltale. Hope you don't have a chimney fire before you can get that 1/2" of glazed creosote outta there.
Im gona finish cleaning the pipe and put it back together tonite. Then go and find the splits that the mm says are the driest. Split and test every piece until i get a load of the driest that i have. And see what that does.
Itll be this weekend before i can add another piece of pipe
Itll be this weekend before i can add another piece of pipe
Charles1981
Minister of Fire
Draft will definitely be affected if you are trying to relight a fire and it is in the 40's outsides..
But you definitely have to wait until your wood catches fire before closing it down otherwise you just created a creosote factory.
You can't leave the front door cracked when reloading and get good flamage and draft? That definitely indicates poor draft even with wet wood.
Additional chimney may help with draft, maybe not. Definitely try some 2x4 from the lumber store - non treated, and see how they fire up on a hot bed of coals...But again draft is difficult if it really is still 40 degrees outside.
But you definitely have to wait until your wood catches fire before closing it down otherwise you just created a creosote factory.
You can't leave the front door cracked when reloading and get good flamage and draft? That definitely indicates poor draft even with wet wood.
Additional chimney may help with draft, maybe not. Definitely try some 2x4 from the lumber store - non treated, and see how they fire up on a hot bed of coals...But again draft is difficult if it really is still 40 degrees outside.
I
Several here convinced me that a cat stove was the way i should go. But it was unatainable this year. I have twins gratuating and going to college intge fall. Ones to be a Radioligist the other a Graphic Design.
Thanks to everyone for the help. Im try to learn new tricks. Ill put a 12 hour anger to post restriction on myself in the future.
i understand that. But im pretty far south. Low 30s to upper 40s are most winter days. Right now at 4pm its 55 and will be 36 by 10 pm.
Several here convinced me that a cat stove was the way i should go. But it was unatainable this year. I have twins gratuating and going to college intge fall. Ones to be a Radioligist the other a Graphic Design.
Thanks to everyone for the help. Im try to learn new tricks. Ill put a 12 hour anger to post restriction on myself in the future.
It's possible that the Madison will turn out to be a stove needing a stronger draft that some. It sounds like you have covered most of the bases. Adding more pipe and maybe trying a couple bundles of store bought wood are about the only recourse left. I would add at least a 3 ft section of chimney with a roof brace attached at the 5 ft level on the pipe.
Ok. Ill go with 4'. But whats the chances of lighting hit it. That far above the house. Doesnt get that cold here. But hellasus lighting storms it the spring.
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