not a wood stove guy

Have you examined the stove for any other air leaks/cracked welds/cracked castings, etc?

Hi Jeff, I'm in the next town over from you...welcome aboard. (Actually, just got back from a walk/run in Hubbardston)
Can you explain your setup..i.e. type of chimney, length of run, is the chimney interior/exterior?
Sounds like you have too much air going in, so perhaps too much draft?
Pics would help.
Good luck.

Pagey said:

Have you examined the stove for any other air leaks/cracked welds/cracked castings, etc?

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I agree. Wood needs air to burn. To put it simply, more air will burn the wood faster. You have an old stove. You can test the gasket around the load door and the ash pan door doing the "dollar bill" test. Close the door on a dollar bill and try to slide the bill out with a little tug. If the bill comes out with zero resistance, the seal isnt good enough. Repeat this test on all 4 sides of each door. If the doors seem to be sealing properly, you need to inspect the body of the stove for cracks in the welds. You can build a nice hot fire and shut off all the lights in the room. Try to peek around/thru the gasket and see if you notice light escaping. If light is getting out of the stove, you know that because the firebox is under negative pressure, it can be pulling air in thru those same spaces.

Let us know how it goes.

How much do you want to spend on a used stove? Also, do you want to buy another stove before going thru checking and diagnosing your current stove? Hubbarston, MA? I guess I need to go have a cup of coffee there some day.

I thought 3-4 hours was all you got out of the older stoves for a maximun burn time? Ive seen some decent stoves in craigslist for a decent price, they come along now and then, how much you have to spend?

BTW, Im a couple towns over from you guys too.

Nah, lots of older stoves with pipe dampers can burn 6-8 hours. I'm betting this one is leaking someplace. It's just a matter of the OP checking it out

I have a Shenandoah I bought in '75 and have been using since. Don't know the model #, it is a barrel-shaped one with bimetalic damper and top-loading. We also have a Rais in the other end of the house, sort of polar-opposite stoves as far as price, quality, etc. However, the Shenandoah is our main stove. It is great. No way is it airtight or anything remotely close, but it heats our 1000 sg. ft. cottage with some help from the Rais, which is a kitchen stove with an oven.

I have never timed the Shenandoah's burn, but I can load it up before bed and still have coals in the a.m. if the damper's shut down somewhat. It does depend on the wood, of course. Larger chunks or pieces of wood last longer, as would be expected. I suppose if I were pressed, I get 8-hr. burns from it when it's shut down a bit. We don't mind the house cooling down some at night, though.

They are what they are, simple technology but work quite well. A three-hour burn is about right if the damper is open some, you must have some air getting in there or it would not be doing what it is. Has to be. Mine is not airtight around the top of the stove, it is just bolted on to the "barrel" part and there is a tiny gap in there I've never tried to "fix," and mine will go for hours if the damper is shut down low. Again, I don't know your model.....

BrotherBart said:

If my old memory is working, the FP-S has a bi-metallic thermostatic primary air control on it. That is probably what is letting the air into the stove.

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bi-what?? This is no time to be poking fun at his stoves seksiality orientashun. This man needs heat not Dr Phil.

BrotherBart said:

Rockey said:

BrotherBart said:

If my old memory is working, the FP-S has a bi-metallic thermostatic primary air control on it. That is probably what is letting the air into the stove.

Click to expand...

bi-what?? This is no time to be poking fun at his stoves seksiality orientashun. This man needs heat not Dr Phil.

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Hang on to your day job. You pose no threat to Robin Williams' career. :lol:

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How can you take a man with a semi-mullet seriously? It takes more than good genetics for a reel business in the front and party in the back.

And I'm doing this sober.

BrotherBart said:

Rockey said:

BrotherBart said:

If my old memory is working, the FP-S has a bi-metallic thermostatic primary air control on it. That is probably what is letting the air into the stove.

Click to expand...

bi-what?? This is no time to be poking fun at his stoves seksiality orientashun. This man needs heat not Dr Phil.

Click to expand...

Hang on to your day job. You pose no threat to Robin Williams' career. :lol:

Click to expand...

Robin Williams has a career?

Markyboy said:

BrotherBart said:

Rockey said:

BrotherBart said:

If my old memory is working, the FP-S has a bi-metallic thermostatic primary air control on it. That is probably what is letting the air into the stove.

Click to expand...

bi-what?? This is no time to be poking fun at his stoves seksiality orientashun. This man needs heat not Dr Phil.

Click to expand...

Hang on to your day job. You pose no threat to Robin Williams' career. :lol:

Click to expand...

Robin Williams has a career?

Click to expand...

NANU! NANU!
MORK FROM ORK! :lol: