My First Ever Stove Fire Up (and some good news)

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KingNFM

KingNFM

New Member
Oct 13, 2010
38
Northern NJ
www.nofearman.com
I bought this house in April and I noticed that the wood burning stove that was in it had the glass split on the left side. After ordering almost $200 in parts and going through a nightmare of trying to fix two snapped bolts I finally fired it up for the first time today! Keep in mind I'm VERY new to this as I've never ever had a wood burning stove before. Granted I've gone camping for years but never had anything like this.

firstfireupstove.jpg


I really just wanted to test it out and see how to use it so I just used a quick lighting "Duralog" to start it up. It started without an issue and I turned on the blower. The only problem I had was with a little bit of smoke in the beginning. Apparently when I fixed it I didn't make it as air tight as I thought I did. I'll probably let it cool down and fix the gasket on the side door tomorrow as most of the smoke came from there. I opened up the flue(?) (whatever it is that lets the smoke up the chimney) and that problem resolved itself. The house is actually getting a little warmer....unless it's just my mind playing tricks on me.

However, the good news is that a very gracious company told me that they are willing to drop off a mason truck full of seasoned split wood for me for free. Since I've spent most of my money fixing this house and a nice chunk on that stove....free was a good deal and I'll take whatever I can get!
 
KingNFM said:
However, the good news is that a very gracious company told me that they are willing to drop off a mason truck full of seasoned split wood for me for free.
Click to expand...

Wow - that IS good news.

Being new to a stove means extra caution and diligence. Have you checked and swept the flue? Have you checked the actual install of the stove for clearance to combustibles (you would be amazed at the frequency that installs don't meet this requirement). Sounds like you have already tackled the integrity of the stove.

Just throwing out a couple of things that you should be aware of.

That "appears" to be an older stove, but I am not familiar with it. What is the make and model of that beauty?
 
First off welcome to Hearth and the wonderful world of Wood burning.
Congrats on the fire, but you may not want to burn any more duraflame type logs in the stove, many of them have chemicals and binders that may (or may not) effect the stove. You also want to make sure you open up the flue before you light anything in the stove.
Read the many posts here, it will speed up the learning curve on how to burn in your stove.
BTW, if you know the make and model of the stove, you may be able to find someone on here that has the same or a similar unit who can give you some advice on it. Heck someone here may be able to tell you what kind it is by the picture, that is not in my skill-set.
Anyway welcome and enjoy the chilly/cold evenings by the toasty warm fire.
 
Jags said:
KingNFM said:
However, the good news is that a very gracious company told me that they are willing to drop off a mason truck full of seasoned split wood for me for free.
Click to expand...

Wow - that IS good news.

Being new to a stove means extra caution and diligence. Have you checked and swept the flue? Have you checked the actual install of the stove for clearance to combustibles (you would be amazed at the frequency that installs don't meet this requirement). Sounds like you have already tackled the integrity of the stove.

Just throwing out a couple of things that you should be aware of.

That "appears" to be an older stove, but I am not familiar with it. What is the make and model of that beauty?
Click to expand...

I had the whole thing (except the ashes in the bottom) cleaned out about a week ago. The stove model is a Federal Air Tight FA264CCL. I haven't heard back from the company that offered me the free mason dump truck of wood but I'm sure we'll get that set up soon. I was hoping he'd drop it off early today since we're due to get the Nor-Easter tonight.
 
Are you using the catalytic converter in the stove?
 
BrotherBart said:
Are you using the catalytic converter in the stove?
Click to expand...

Yes, the one that was in the top seemed to be in semi-decent condition. I will definitely change it out next year though. I'm really low on funds otherwise I would have changed it out with this fix up.

Also, loon, thanks for the manual. I actually already had a copy of that since I've been lurking here and at an arborist site too.
 
I decided to put some real wood into it. Took a little bit to get it to light up honestly. I used some cardboard packing material to try and get it started right. I did notice that even with the doors closed some smoke was coming out into the family room. I have the flue open, was that just because of the paper burning and causing more smoke than normal? I had even put new gasket on the front two doors and the smoke came out of there too...not a lot but enough to be noticeable. I've decided that even though the gasket on the log door (the door on the left) was in decent condition I'm going to have to replace that gasket tomorrow when the stove cools down, I can't get an airtight seal on that door and smoke was coming out quite a bit. I realize I'm rambling but I'm just speaking the thoughts that come through my head before I forget them....lol

On that note...I find it odd that smoke can get out but I have to keep opening dampers to stop the fire from choking out.

I'm a confused newbie.
 
If smoke is coming from a gasket area, its not fit right, or the wrong size, or door out of adjustment, etc. A properly fitting gasket ain't gonna leak smoke. Ya might want to do the dollar bill test on it and see where the problem areas are and fix what ails it.

Note: dollar bill test is taking a dollar and clamping the door on it. It should resist from being pulled out. On the other panel areas, wait for a cold stove and then take a light (or high power flash light) and put it in the stove. Darken the room and look for areas that light is escaping. Fix as required. You don't want that stove breathing air it was not intended to get.
 
KingNFM said:
On that note...I find it odd that smoke can get out but I have to keep opening dampers to stop the fire from choking out.

I'm a confused newbie.
Click to expand...

We all were confused newbies at one time. :)

RE: Smoke coming out/keeping dampers open so as not to choke the fire: Green (unseasoned) wood? Not enough draft (chimney not tall enough)?

Shari
 
I think I figured out what I did wrong....and it's actually two things I did wrong....lol

#1 I need to fix the gasket on the log door and the front door.

#2 I thought I "opened" the flue because when I had smoke the first time it went away when I "opened" the flue....apparently I actually closed the flue at that time. I've now followed the instructions on the manual again (which I had actually done the first time and then "un-did" when I closed it) and there is less smoke and the fire seems to be burning a little better now.

Now if only I would have put screens on the windows down here I could get some of the smoke out of my family room. Instead I have to hold the door open that leads outside and lose some of the heat I'm getting.
 
Depending on how tight the windows and doors to the room are, you may need to crack open a window to get the draft going when you light the fire. You can close it as soon as the fire catches. Put a crumpled up piece of newspaper on top of the wood when you light the fire, that will also help get the draft going. Or you can search for how to do a "top-down" fire on this site. Forget the cardboard, get some Supercedars to start the fire. You can get a free sample by emailing the owner of the company (search the site for "Supercedar"). Make sure your wood is dry. There's a learning curve the first year of burning and most of us have had smoke in the room at one time or another. There's a lot of good information and helpful people here.
 
Do you have a thermometer for the stove top n flue? If not you should get them in my opinion there very important and will help you tell how to control the temps in the on the stove so u can burn safely......
 
King NFM,

I am on my first wood stove too, but burning wood been in my family, so been burning wood since I remember. I have anew house, wich is well insulated and super tight (Haven'T install a air exchanger yet) and I was havong some smoke too at some time. IT's a learning curve, depending on the weather (For me humid and stormy day are the worst) I need to ''pre-heat'' my flue pipe with some paper like fredarm is saying, or sometime I crack a window.... and before I re-load, I may need to give it some air to re-light a good fire before I re-load if I don't want back smoke.

I too think that the flue thermometer is a good thing, it helps the ''Stove learning curve''.

Good luck and enjoy your fire
 
The thermometer is missing from my stove, I do intend on picking one up. The local (nothing is local where I live...lol) store (45 minutes away) said he has one for about $20. Is that a good price?
 
King, good news for you. You had a smoke problem in the room. You don't have to open your entry door to get rid of that smoke. Simply light a candle or two and those candles will take care of the smoke and the odor of the smoke.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
King, good news for you. You had a smoke problem in the room. You don't have to open your entry door to get rid of that smoke. Simply light a candle or two and those candles will take care of the smoke and the odor of the smoke.
Click to expand...

I had my wife laughing when she came home last night actually. We have 3 cats and the cat litter box is in the laundry room which is on the other side of the room. She walked in and said "It smells smokey in here" I said "But you can't smell that cat litter!"

I'm up now and it's cold in the house again....still trying to get this fire started up again. My son left all the kindling out in the rain yesterday so it's pretty useless at the moment. I'm using whatever newspaper I can find.
 
Ooh...I just remembered I had a question.

I have the blower on the back of my stove. I have no idea what it is used for. I had it on high all day yesterday and now I've turned it on low....but I honestly have no idea if it needs to be on since I'm not quite sure what it's used for.
 
Very simple. It is used to blow warm air into the room.

You've learned a valuable lesson on that kindling problem. lol Depending on what it is, it should dry out fast.
 
Be sure and remember that the thermometer that was in that hole in the top was a catalytic converter probe that measures the temperature of the converter. Not a regular stove top thermometer.
 
BrotherBart said:
Be sure and remember that the thermometer that was in that hole in the top was a catalytic converter probe that measures the temperature of the converter. Not a regular stove top thermometer.
Click to expand...

I think you've confused me slightly more now.

Do I want to get a stove top one or do I need to get something special to replace the one that was in the top?
 
KingNFM said:
BrotherBart said:
Be sure and remember that the thermometer that was in that hole in the top was a catalytic converter probe that measures the temperature of the converter. Not a regular stove top thermometer.
Click to expand...

I think you've confused me slightly more now.

Do I want to get a stove top one or do I need to get something special to replace the one that was in the top?
Click to expand...

We need one of the folks that have burned in the Federal for a while to chime in on where to place a magnetic thermo to monitor the stove temps. The cat probe will read a whole lot higher with the cat engaged that the rest of the stove surface.
 
KingNFM said:
The thermometer is missing from my stove, I do intend on picking one up. The local (nothing is local where I live...lol) store (45 minutes away) said he has one for about $20. Is that a good price?
Click to expand...
Yeah sounds about right u can buy them on line to good luck...
 
Hello KingNFM

Congrats on the fixup and hookup. I had a FA288CCL for 19 years and saw the latest model at fireplace village a while ago. Vermont Castings still makes them!

Do you have the coal grates for coal burning?


Below is some literature I picked up about 20 years ago, let me know if you want the PDF. I can email it.
 

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