I've been heating our home with a Vermont Castings Resolute for the third seasons now since we've moved in. This year, though the stove's started to belch smoke back into our living room. My wife and I are finding a bit unpleasant to say the least. I've burned wood for heat for at least eight years and have used four or five different stoves in different heating situations, so am not totally green although I can't seem to pin down the source of this problem. I've read and followed the literature from Vermont Castings but this hasn't prevented the problem. Any suggestions?
For background:
We noticed that the stove wasn't burning like it had in previous years.
After getting up to temp in updraft mode for 10-15 minutes I'd switch to downdraft but upon doing that it was hard to keep the griddle temp high enough for a clean thorough burn even with the thermostat set quite far in the open position (I liked to keep the griddle between 450-550deg) Backpuffing was common after about 15 minutes in downdraft mode. The puffs were sudden whooshes of flame in the firebox which pushed smoke into the room through any openings in the stove.
The manual suggests this backpuffing is a low draft issue caused by either warm outside air temperature or windy conditions. although it seems to happen even during cold nights and low wind conditions.
Based on previous forum seaches I figured the firebox was oxygen starved then the gasses would ignite suddenly when air became available. Maybe the air inlets were clogged? I cleaned the interior by vacuuming all air ports both inside and out, made sure the horizontal flue section was clean. I had already brushed the vertical flue (which yielded more creosote than normal) so knew it wasn't buildup that was the issue. While vacuuming out the stove I did notice ash in the air inlets so I now shovel ash from the firebox more often. I fired it up and thought this had resolved the issue. The stove began to respond well to normal thermostat adjustments and hold a fire in downdraft mode (burning at 4-500 deg on the griddle top). Immediate back puffing didn't seem to be a problem.
Now I've noticed that the back puffing begins to happen half way through a burn cycle - after about 3 hours in downdraft mode and while th griddle temp has been consistent at 450-550deg.
Not sure what's going on. Any thoughts appreciated.
Other info that may be pertinent:
Upon buying the house we had the 8" clay flue lined with 6" ss flex and insulated. After cleaning this fall I noticed that the insulation appears to have compacted or slid down at least 8 feet. Am having the installer come to remedy this asap. I'm not sure if it's the cause but it's my most likely suspect as of now.
I've noticed some cement chips falling from joints and the casting around griddle seems to have be bowed up enough to interfere with smooth opening of the top (ugh! stove rebuild necessary?)
I replaced lid, door, and window gaskets a little more than one year ago.
fuel is white ash, sugar maple, beech and been split stacked for about two years and under cover
stove ser no. 067688
For background:
We noticed that the stove wasn't burning like it had in previous years.
After getting up to temp in updraft mode for 10-15 minutes I'd switch to downdraft but upon doing that it was hard to keep the griddle temp high enough for a clean thorough burn even with the thermostat set quite far in the open position (I liked to keep the griddle between 450-550deg) Backpuffing was common after about 15 minutes in downdraft mode. The puffs were sudden whooshes of flame in the firebox which pushed smoke into the room through any openings in the stove.
The manual suggests this backpuffing is a low draft issue caused by either warm outside air temperature or windy conditions. although it seems to happen even during cold nights and low wind conditions.
Based on previous forum seaches I figured the firebox was oxygen starved then the gasses would ignite suddenly when air became available. Maybe the air inlets were clogged? I cleaned the interior by vacuuming all air ports both inside and out, made sure the horizontal flue section was clean. I had already brushed the vertical flue (which yielded more creosote than normal) so knew it wasn't buildup that was the issue. While vacuuming out the stove I did notice ash in the air inlets so I now shovel ash from the firebox more often. I fired it up and thought this had resolved the issue. The stove began to respond well to normal thermostat adjustments and hold a fire in downdraft mode (burning at 4-500 deg on the griddle top). Immediate back puffing didn't seem to be a problem.
Now I've noticed that the back puffing begins to happen half way through a burn cycle - after about 3 hours in downdraft mode and while th griddle temp has been consistent at 450-550deg.
Not sure what's going on. Any thoughts appreciated.
Other info that may be pertinent:
Upon buying the house we had the 8" clay flue lined with 6" ss flex and insulated. After cleaning this fall I noticed that the insulation appears to have compacted or slid down at least 8 feet. Am having the installer come to remedy this asap. I'm not sure if it's the cause but it's my most likely suspect as of now.
I've noticed some cement chips falling from joints and the casting around griddle seems to have be bowed up enough to interfere with smooth opening of the top (ugh! stove rebuild necessary?)
I replaced lid, door, and window gaskets a little more than one year ago.
fuel is white ash, sugar maple, beech and been split stacked for about two years and under cover
stove ser no. 067688
