Q&A Can't get wood to really burn in stove

Question:

We have a 1 month old COUNTRY brand woodstove. We can't seem to get the wood to really light-up and burn- it smolders and chars (looking like charcoal). We are using Firestarter Briquettes. Could the wood simply be unseasoned? We have Eucalyptus, Avacado and Pine- bought from a Firewood Co. We are stinking up the neighborhood and ourselves. Our chimney is 3 ft. above our 1-story roof and 10 ft. away from our 2-story roof- (Draft problem perhaps??)Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? The smoke backfills the room upon lighting often too. >Thanks



Answer:

It does sound like a draft problem. Even if your chimney meets the code height, that does not mean that it high enough for proper stove operation. A straight-up chimney usually needs to be at least 14 feet high if no elbows. 16 feet is even better.

Newer stoves all require a stronger draft than older model sue to the clean burning features.