Crazy/Scary draft issue....I think.

[bsearcey]

OK guys I'm going to try and explain this as best I can from what I have observed twice now. And let me go ahead and apologize for the length of the post. I just want to make sure I cover everything.

A few facts first.
Burning in an 83 Federal Airtight 224CCL. It has a cat.
The wood I've been burning is Hackberry with a low MC. Last I checked around two month ago, I had pieces that were 15-17%. Yes the reading was from the inside of a split piece. I'd say average size is 4-5 inches x 18 inches.
Chimney is approx. 25 ft. SS liner. Damper on the flue collar (usually left all the way open). Temps have only gotten to low 30s at night. I'm pretty sure it hasn't hit freezing yet.

So...twice now I've had something happens that scares the @#$% out of me. It has only happened when I put in a full load, and I mean stuffed with as much as I can fit in, which is usually about 8-9 pieces. I load it in, get it burning good and the cat (according to the thermometer above it) at between 600-800 degrees. Then I close everything down. On the two occasions from hell, I little while into the burn I start to smell smoke. The first time it happened I didn't pay great attention to my steps, but this time I did.

Once I smelled the smoke tonight, I went and disengaged the cat (opened up by pass door). Almost immediately I get a jet engine and in less than a minute my SS T-connection and SS liner below the block off plate are GLOWING super orange red hot.

The first time it happened I just thought, well if I close everything down again (ensure all air control is closed, close the bypass, and close the damper on the flue collar) it will stop. Yeah that didn't work. It was pulling the fire through any little hole by the bypass door it could find. And the SS parts are glowing the whole time. Minutes pass and I'm seriously contemplating calling the fire department at this point. I'm envisioning the SS liner melting and flames erupting from the back of the stove. What got it to stop was with the bypass door closed I opened the small square panel on the top of the stove that covers the cats location. The draft/flaming went out almost immediatly.

Like I said tonight it happened again, but remembering kinda what I did last time, I immediatly opened the top plate over the cat and the flames started kind of spurting. Oh yeah I think I should mention that the flames were blue, super hot. After a few seconds it kind of puffed out. I noticed that the cat, was not really glowing and had a black coating on it that was burning off like when you light steel wool. Kind of running. No flames just orange burn off. I know the cat should have been engaged because the thermo above it was reading around 1400. I left the bypass open for about a minute and rechecked the cat and it was completely clean ceramic. I opened the side feed door just to check things out and most of the wood had coaled up, but it was deep. Again nothing but big blue flames coming off of everything.

I know my chimney is clean because I just cleaned it last weekend becuase of the first incident. I admit I was late getting to the cleaning before I started burning. I also checked the cat to make sure it wasn't blocked last weekend. It was completely clean except for a little ash build up on the bottom. I cleaned it thoroughly anyway.

So what's the deal? Why does this keep happening? Is my wood too dry? I'd hate to think it is the draft because we havn't even hit the really cold weather yet. And why is my cat sooting up with temps above it reading 1400 or more? BTW I just checked the cat and the entire surface is glowing and clean. It's only been about 20 mins since the jet incident. Can you guys shed some light?

Thanks.

 

[branchburner]

Maybe the ol' Federal Airtight is locally not so airtight? (Gaskets, seams, etc.)

 

[begreen]

Taking a guess, but it sounds a bit like the cat is being overwhelmed and perhaps a small puffback is occurring? What is the age of the cat?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I agree about the gaskets and possibly the cat but you still should not get that jet engine thing which sounds very much like a chimney fire. Best also check the stove for cracks

 

[bsearcey]

Appreciate the comments guys.

This is the first season for the cat. I was kind of thinking that it could be getting a little overwhelmed as well, but didn't think it would cause the crazy burn like I've seen.

All the gaskets should be good. I just replaced everything last year. I guess there could be some cracked seams somewhere, but finding them seems pretty daunting.

I know the stove isn't truly "airtight". The two rocker grates, where they stick out from the side of the stove, can let a little air in around them. The rod to close/open the bypass can also let air in around it. The voids are not that big, and I'm pretty sure part of the design of the stove.

The first time it happend I thought "chimney fire", but I thouroghly swept the chimney and only 4 days had gone by before the second occurence. I don't see how I could have developed that kind of creosote build up in such a short period of time. It is more like a super draft from the chimney actually pulling the flames up the stove. I went outside both times to see if any sparks or flames were coming from the top of the pipe and didn't see anything.

Anyway, I guess I'll just go a little easier on my full loads. I think it I try not to get it too hot right off the bat it may work better.

 

[begreen]

Curious. How long have you been burning in this stove? Did the issues just start with the new cat? Have you tried running the stove with the flue damper partly closed?

 

[bert]

i had a sort of similar issue with my old v.c."winter warm" last year. i had just replaced the cat, bought that "inexpensive one", i wont go into the brand, and after loading up and shutting down the air, i went to bed. just like i've been doing for the last 10 years. about 3 a.m., smoke detector goes off, i jump up run downstairs, house is filled with smoke! get the wife and kid ( and the cats) outside in the snow, open doors and windows to ventilate and try to find source of smoke. nothing obvious, no freight train noise, no flames from top of chimney. then i heard it, a puffing sound and smoke coming from the side of the insert. right where the air intake is. so i opened the air control all the way and whoosh, what was a very subdued fire turned into instant inferno. closed air halfway down and got ready to call f.d. but the inferno mellowed, no more smoke puffing,then i opened the damper and just let the fire burn out. after it all cooled, i tore the stove apart, everything looked ok. i had just cleaned the stove and chimney 2 days before. reassembled everything and duplicated everything, same thing, with air shut down 3/4 of the way, it started puffing smoke again. i reopened air control, it stopped. then i turned on the oil heat and ordered the new cat. a name brand that cost almost twice as much and i haven't had any puffback since. i think the air filter type cat element doesn't allow the same flow as the honeycomb type. so i learned that a good deal isn't always so good. bert

 

[LLigetfa]

Are you sure you are not experiencing chimney fires? There could be creosote curling and dropping down into the Tee. The heat of a chimney fire will induce a huge draft that can make the stove go nuclear. Air leaks anywhere in the system can exacerbate the situation. Air leaks at the flue can cool the exhaust and precipitate out the creosote and inversely fuel a chimney fire. Air leaks at the stove can prevent you from controlling a runaway fire.

 

[bsearcey]

i had a sort of similar issue with my old v.c."winter warm" last year. i had just replaced the cat, bought that "inexpensive one", i wont go into the brand, and after loading up and shutting down the air, i went to bed. just like i've been doing for the last 10 years. about 3 a.m., smoke detector goes off, i jump up run downstairs, house is filled with smoke! get the wife and kid ( and the cats) outside in the snow, open doors and windows to ventilate and try to find source of smoke. nothing obvious, no freight train noise, no flames from top of chimney. then i heard it, a puffing sound and smoke coming from the side of the insert. right where the air intake is. so i opened the air control all the way and whoosh, what was a very subdued fire turned into instant inferno. closed air halfway down and got ready to call f.d. but the inferno mellowed, no more smoke puffing,then i opened the damper and just let the fire burn out. after it all cooled, i tore the stove apart, everything looked ok. i had just cleaned the stove and chimney 2 days before. reassembled everything and duplicated everything, same thing, with air shut down 3/4 of the way, it started puffing smoke again. i reopened air control, it stopped. then i turned on the oil heat and ordered the new cat. a name brand that cost almost twice as much and i haven't had any puffback since. i think the air filter type cat element doesn't allow the same flow as the honeycomb type. so i learned that a good deal isn't always so good. bert

Bert,

That sounds about right. However, I have a good honeycomb cat, that is brand new.

On these two occasions the smoke does not appear to exit fast enough with the cat engaged. So smoke builds in the stove, until I let some air into it either 1. by opening the bypass and 2. opening an air control or door. Then a raging inferno insues.

I really don't get it. My wood is seasoned. I know the liner is clean because I just swept it. The cat is in good condition and not blocked.

Has anyone ever heard of wood being too smoky? I mean does the hackberry I'm burning put off more smoke then other wood seasoned to the same percentage?

BeGreen:

This is just my second year burning. I did have the cat become clogged last year, but I was burning crap that was way too high MC. At that time I did get the overwhelming smokey smell and a flash of fire in the stove when I opened air controls. The fire in the stove didn't rage on me like these past too times.

LLigetfa:

The first time I could see it being a chimney fire, but the second time IMO couldn't have been because the liner was swept 4 days prior. Typically running temps on the thermo above the cat (when things are going) are between 1100 and 1500 degrees. If I'm home I usually reload when it gets around 600 or 800, let the wood start burning decent and reengage the cat. If I'm not home then it just burns down to coals, so at that point the exhaust should be contain too much in the way of impurties to cause excessive creosote build up. At least that's what I've read.

 

[bsearcey]

Guys it did it again tonight!

Same procedure as described before. Loaded it full for the night, stove top temp at 700, engage cat, and proceed to go to bed. About 30 minutes later I notice a smokey smell upstairs. I come down and there is smoke issuing from the hole that the bypass rod sticks through in the side of the stove. I lift the plate above the cat and it is completely black with chuncks of stuff on it. I close the plate and slowly open the bypass and WHOOSH the stove lights off and starts jetting. I immediately close the bypass and the smoke starts coming out of the hole. At one point with the bypass closed I opened the cover above the cat because that does seem to affect the jetting. The flames start coming up through the cat and kind of spilling over the sides of the cat. It was all contained within the stove, that fire was just trying to get out and up the chimney.

Finally things stopped. I now have the bypass open and you would think nothing was ever wrong. The cat is completely clear of all the black coating at least on the outside surface. I can't really check down in the comb at this point. Outside temps on the stove (even during the jetting) never got up too high like a runaway stove would. I think the max temp I got on one of the sides was 600.

One thing I do notice is that the load of wood I put in there has completely charcoaled up in probably about an hours time. I loaded with 7 pieces of the hackberry with a decent (not huge) bed of coals. It completely filled the box. Now it is reduced to a little less than half that size.

I honestly think the problem is the hackberry. I think it is too dry. And that everything starts combusting all at once for the most part even when I close off all the air immediately after loading. There is no way I have a leak that bad. I think that there is just so much smoke created at once that the cat cannot burn it all off and eventually clogs up causing a build up of smoke and heat in the stove. When I open the bypass it just takes off, pulling the oxygen from the chimney. I would think if I had a leak in the stove I would see uncontrolled burning at all times even under small loads, but when I only put a little wood in the stove she works like a charm.

I will check the MC tomorrow, but I can guarantee that it is probably at 15% or less. I just split this stuff last April. We did have a really dry hot summer in Virginia though.

I also think I will try to use some oak or hickory I have that is not down to that MC. It will probably be between 20 and 25 MC. I was trying to save it for when things get colder, but putting a full load of that in should be a good test. I have a feeling it will burn slower then the hackberry and then the cat can keep up. I may have to use a mixture of wood instead of all hackberry for full loads. I'll keep you all posted on what happens. Hopefully I can get it to stop because it is no fun.

Let me know if you think I'm going the wrong direction with this. I just can't think of what else it might be. BTW. I just closed the bypass about 5 minutes ago with the temp reading 800 and the cat completely clean. The temps are now at 1100 and the cat is glowing uniformily on about 90% of the area. All that is left in the stove are coals.

 

[certified106]

Guys it did it again tonight!

Same procedure as described before. Loaded it full for the night, stove top temp at 700, engage cat, and proceed to go to bed. About 30 minutes later I notice a smokey smell upstairs. I come down and there is smoke issuing from the hole that the bypass rod sticks through in the side of the stove. I lift the plate above the cat and it is completely black with chuncks of stuff on it. I close the plate and slowly open the bypass and WHOOSH the stove lights off and starts jetting. I immediately close the bypass and the smoke starts coming out of the hole. At one point with the bypass closed I opened the cover above the cat because that does seem to affect the jetting. The flames start coming up through the cat and kind of spilling over the sides of the cat. It was all contained within the stove, that fire was just trying to get out and up the chimney.



I would think if I had a leak in the stove I would see uncontrolled burning at all times even under small loads, but when I only put a little wood in the stove she works like a charm.

I will check the MC tomorrow, but I can guarantee that it is probably at 15% or less. I just split this stuff last April. We did have a really dry hot summer in Virginia though.

I also think I will try to use some oak or hickory I have that is not down to that MC. It will probably be between 20 and 25 MC. I was trying to save it for when things get colder, but putting a full load of that in should be a good test. I have a feeling it will burn slower then the hackberry and then the cat can keep up. I may have to use a mixture of wood instead of all hackberry for full loads. I'll keep you all posted on what happens. Hopefully I can get it to stop because it is no fun.

Let me know if you think I'm going the wrong direction with this. I just can't think of what else it might be. BTW. I just closed the bypass about 5 minutes ago with the temp reading 800 and the cat completely clean. The temps are now at 1100 and the cat is glowing uniformily on about 90% of the area. All that is left in the stove are coals.

I have been racking my brain for ideas since reading about this yesterday but the problem is some of the symptoms don't seem to add up to me. Here are a few questions I have for you.

1) When you load the stove up before going to bed are absolutely positive that the cat is lit off (What is the cat temperature) ?
2) Are you shutting the stove down in stages before and after engaging the cat?
3) I have never seen black chunks of anything stuck to my cat it almost sounds like the cat is not lit off and plugged up which traps all the smoke in the firebox. However if the cat was plugged up when you remove the cover from the cat you shouldn't have flames coming up through the cat if it's plugged up.
4) When you shut the stove down do you still have obvious flaming in the firebox or stove temperatures that seem to keep climbing? (that would be a sign of a leak somewhere)
5) I tend to not load up my stove when my cat temperature is still way up. As it can start an inferno very quickly. Also when you load up a full load on a very hot bed of coals and shut it right back down very quickly you can overload the cat with smoke and cause excessive cat temperature on your stove.

Keep us posted as to what you find I'm interested in how this turns out.

 

[bsearcey]

1) When you load the stove up before going to bed are absolutely positive that the cat is lit off (What is the cat temperature) ?
I don't usually engage the cat until stove top (thermo inserted directly over the cat) temps are above 600. Usually I check the cat and thermo to see 1. lighting off (glowing) and 2. rise in temp. I'm positive on every occasion the cat is lighting off.
2) Are you shutting the stove down in stages before and after engaging the cat?
Not typically. I did not think there would be a need to given that the wood has no problem igniting. If my wood was not as seasoned I would probably do this, to allow more wood to ignite in a controlled way. Since this stuff has been occuring I've actually shut things down almost immediatly, trying to prevent too much of the wood from igniting.
3) I have never seen black chunks of anything stuck to my cat it almost sounds like the cat is not lit off and plugged up which traps all the smoke in the firebox. However if the cat was plugged up when you remove the cover from the cat you shouldn’t have flames coming up through the cat if it’s plugged up.
I'm positive that immediatly after loading and engagement, the cat is going. Maybe not the whole surface, but certainly getting there before I stop checking. Maybe chunks is not the best descriptive word. It is definitely a build up (other than a coating) of black soot/creosote. On these occasions when I open of the cat cover all this build up immediatly starts burning off. Not flaming burning, but steel wool burn. I think it was odd too the way the flames came up through the cat this time. However at that point, in messing with the stove, I believe all of the build up that was on there causing the blockage had burned off.
4) When you shut the stove down do you still have obvious flaming in the firebox or stove temperatures that seem to keep climbing? (that would be a sign of a leak somewhere)
Yes still have obvious flames on the wood, but more gentle licking/flickering flame. I have read somewhere that this is kind of the idle burn for airtight stoves. Definitely not inferno unless I have let things get going too hot before shutting down. You know leaving the ash door cracked too long, I don't even have to really do this anymore. Outside stove temps have never gotten much over 600 with everything shut down even during these weird situations. I've experienced a runaway stove before (feel asleep on the couch after loading and left the ash door cracked). My temps on the outside were pushing 1000 when I finally caught it. The temp directly above the cat does continue to rise. Usually when things are running right the cat gets up to about 1200 to 1500, and according to my thermo this is the normal range.
5) referring to your original post I tend to not load up my stove when my cat temperature is still way up. As it can start an inferno very quickly. Also when you load up a full load on a very hot bed of coals and shut it right back down very quickly you can overload the cat with smoke and cause excessive cat temperature on your stove.
I don't think I've ever loaded the stove if temps are showing "normal range" on the probe. Maybe just below it. I think that is around the 800 range. I haven't really had an inferno this year just from loading and maybe leaveing the air open too long, only on these three occasions have I had an inferno issue. Thats what is driving me crazy. On these weird occasions I don't think I've had an extreme bed of coals at loading. IMO it is average. I can get a big build up of coals, but typically I put one piece of wood on them and open up the air some to get the coals to burn down.

Thanks for taking the time to respond certified106. I really appreciate the feed back.

 

[bsearcey]

I just noticed that a post I made last night after talking about the event didn't post.

I found this article, which I belive has been discussed before on the forum. It sounds exactly like what my suspicions about the wood being too dry are.

http://www.woodheat.org/tips/drywood.htm

 

[Backwoods Savage]

1) When you load the stove up before going to bed are absolutely positive that the cat is lit off (What is the cat temperature) ?
I don't usually engage the cat until stove top (thermo inserted directly over the cat) temps are above 600. Usually I check the cat and thermo to see 1. lighting off (glowing) and 2. rise in temp. I'm positive on every occasion the cat is lighting off.
2) Are you shutting the stove down in stages before and after engaging the cat?
Not typically. I did not think there would be a need to given that the wood has no problem igniting. If my wood was not as seasoned I would probably do this, to allow more wood to ignite in a controlled way. Since this stuff has been occuring I've actually shut things down almost immediatly, trying to prevent too much of the wood from igniting.
3) I have never seen black chunks of anything stuck to my cat it almost sounds like the cat is not lit off and plugged up which traps all the smoke in the firebox. However if the cat was plugged up when you remove the cover from the cat you shouldn’t have flames coming up through the cat if it’s plugged up.
I'm positive that immediatly after loading and engagement, the cat is going. Maybe not the whole surface, but certainly getting there before I stop checking. Maybe chunks is not the best descriptive word. It is definitely a build up (other than a coating) of black soot/creosote. On these occasions when I open of the cat cover all this build up immediatly starts burning off. Not flaming burning, but steel wool burn. I think it was odd too the way the flames came up through the cat this time. However at that point, in messing with the stove, I believe all of the build up that was on there causing the blockage had burned off.
4) When you shut the stove down do you still have obvious flaming in the firebox or stove temperatures that seem to keep climbing? (that would be a sign of a leak somewhere)
Yes still have obvious flames on the wood, but more gentle licking/flickering flame. I have read somewhere that this is kind of the idle burn for airtight stoves. Definitely not inferno unless I have let things get going too hot before shutting down. You know leaving the ash door cracked too long, I don't even have to really do this anymore. Outside stove temps have never gotten much over 600 with everything shut down even during these weird situations. I've experienced a runaway stove before (feel asleep on the couch after loading and left the ash door cracked). My temps on the outside were pushing 1000 when I finally caught it. The temp directly above the cat does continue to rise. Usually when things are running right the cat gets up to about 1200 to 1500, and according to my thermo this is the normal range.
5) referring to your original post I tend to not load up my stove when my cat temperature is still way up. As it can start an inferno very quickly. Also when you load up a full load on a very hot bed of coals and shut it right back down very quickly you can overload the cat with smoke and cause excessive cat temperature on your stove.
I don't think I've ever loaded the stove if temps are showing "normal range" on the probe. Maybe just below it. I think that is around the 800 range. I haven't really had an inferno this year just from loading and maybe leaveing the air open too long, only on these three occasions have I had an inferno issue. Thats what is driving me crazy. On these weird occasions I don't think I've had an extreme bed of coals at loading. IMO it is average. I can get a big build up of coals, but typically I put one piece of wood on them and open up the air some to get the coals to burn down.

Thanks for taking the time to respond certified106. I really appreciate the feed back.

I read the post no further than that part I highlighted in bold. You stated you know your wood is seasoned but I say it is not. Although I have not seen your wood or know anything about it, if you are getting any sort of creosote on that cat, your wood is not ready to burn. Dry wood would not create creosote on the cat! It simply won't happen.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I just noticed that a post I made last night after talking about the event didn't post.

I found this article, which I belive has been discussed before on the forum. It sounds exactly like what my suspicions about the wood being too dry are.

http://www.woodheat.org/tips/drywood.htm

Do not believe everything you read. I've seen wood burned in all stages but have never seen wood that is too dry for a good fire.


Try an experiment some time. Build a fire outdoors. Once it is going good, put in the driest wood you can find and observe the smoke. Then put in some green wood and observe the smoke. Now, what was the difference in the smoke of each?

 

[bsearcey]

Dennis. Read the article I posted about wood being too dry. According to it wood that is too dry produces excessive amounts or smoke and creosote too fast. I can guarantee you that my wood is below 20. Some pieces I checked two months ago were already below 20. Granted I'm working with a HF meter, but I think there have been enough people who have tested them, and are known to be fairly reliable.

 

[bsearcey]

I just noticed that a post I made last night after talking about the event didn't post.

I found this article, which I belive has been discussed before on the forum. It sounds exactly like what my suspicions about the wood being too dry are.

http://www.woodheat.org/tips/drywood.htm

Do not believe everything you read. I've seen wood burned in all stages but have never seen wood that is too dry for a good fire.


Try an experiment some time. Build a fire outdoors. Once it is going good, put in the driest wood you can find and observe the smoke. Then put in some green wood and observe the smoke. Now, what was the difference in the smoke of each?

I don't think that would be a valid experiment. I can put fresh cut wood on an open fire and eventually it would burn so hot that no smoke is coming off of it. I use to do it all the time in my open fireplace. May be harder to get started and smolder more at first, but with unlimited amounts of oxygen it will burn and burn hot. Last year when I was burning crap it was all I could do to get the fire going. Shutting the whole stove down like I do now after just putting wood in never worked.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Dennis. Read the article I posted about wood being too dry. According to it wood that is too dry produces excessive amounts or smoke and creosote too fast. I can guarantee you that my wood is below 20. Some pieces I checked two months ago were already below 20. Granted I'm working with a HF meter, but I think there have been enough people who have tested them, and are known to be fairly reliable.

nonetheless, read that last post I made. That was in answer to that article. Now do the experiment I suggested. Can wood be too dry? NO!

What about that wood I had when I was conservator of an estate. Wood had been cut well over 10 years (I recently was told it was closer to 15 years) and thrown into a building. It was white ash which is fairly low in moisture to begin with. It burned great!

And, if it did produce more smoke, then it would be ideal for burning in a cat stove and some also claim in a non-cat stove.....which is how that wood was burned. I was told it was the best wood that family ever had burned.

Have I mentioned dry wood burns great? Have I mentioned wood can't be too dry?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I just noticed that a post I made last night after talking about the event didn't post.

I found this article, which I belive has been discussed before on the forum. It sounds exactly like what my suspicions about the wood being too dry are.

http://www.woodheat.org/tips/drywood.htm

Do not believe everything you read. I've seen wood burned in all stages but have never seen wood that is too dry for a good fire.


Try an experiment some time. Build a fire outdoors. Once it is going good, put in the driest wood you can find and observe the smoke. Then put in some green wood and observe the smoke. Now, what was the difference in the smoke of each?

I don't think that would be a valid experiment. I can put fresh cut wood on an open fire and eventually it would burn so hot that no smoke is coming off of it. I use to do it all the time in my open fireplace. May be harder to get started and smolder more at first, but with unlimited amounts of oxygen it will burn and burn hot. Last year when I was burning crap it was all I could do to get the fire going. Shutting the whole stove down like I do now after just putting wood in never worked.

Why would it not be valid? Of course it will burn. When I worked in a sawmill we used to burn most of the slabwood. That certainly was not dry as most of it was burned the same day it was cut. It did burn. Sure, we had a difficult time getting it started (used gas) but once it got started it burned. And yes, we got tons fo smoke....the same way you would in a stove. After a day and a night of burning, the next day we would get there and still find tons of smoke from that fire built with green wood.

 

[bsearcey]

Dennis. I defintely bow down to your experience and knowledge, but if it is not the wood then what is it. I repeat my wood is popcorn fart dry.

 

[begreen]

Aha! Popcorn farts can lead to erratic stove behavior.

 

[bsearcey]

There also a PITA to split and stack.

 

[Todd]

How's your chimney cap look?

 

[bsearcey]

Not sure. I just swept the liner two weekends ago, so brushed it off good while up there. It was caked with cresote (tar kind). I attributed that to the burning I did last year. I haven't checked it since.

I'm glad you brought up the cap though, because I was wondering if maybe it is too close to the top of my flue. I'd say from the bottom of the cap to the top of the liner in the clay flue is 6 inches. Should there be more distance between the too? I've never had any issues with draft. Always had a good strong pull when things are working right.

 

[bsearcey]

I split 2 pieces of the hackberry and checked the MC. They were average size pieces for the way I split it. I didn't measure them, but would say they were 5x4 pie shaped 18" long. The MC on each split was 16 with the HF meter. Which as a side note is pretty incredible since this was dumped off in April from a live removal. Split and stacked in April and now down to 16 in 7 months. I also split a piece of hickory that I just got. It was from a standing dead, which according to the owner, had been dead for at least 4 years. The meter read OL on the split. That was shocking. Just for S&Gs; I put a piece of the hackberry and a piece of the hickory on a normal bed of coals. About 5 minutes later I checked the pieces and the hackberry is completely coaled up and the hickory is burning nice, but you can still see alot of the original wood grain and color. The hickory I might add is not hissing or bubbling on the ends. Surprising. I just engaged the cat with the probe reading 800 and the cat barely glowing. I know I'm not going to get the crazy reaction because I only have 2 pieces of wood in. Honestly the temps outside are around 60 so it is kind of silly to be burning, I'm just trying to figure this out. I'm not going to do a full load tonight of anything. Side note cat is reading 1100 about 2 minutes later and glowing nicely (daughters still up watching Rudolph so I'm I bit distracted while typing).

Something I did notice this evening when getting the fire going and even after the bed of coals formed. This could be part of the puzzle, but have no idea how it fits.

My stove bottom consists of 2 shaker grates with a fixed grate in between (this may be difficult to explain so please bear with me). My fixed grate broke on me at the end of last season. It was broken when I got it, but I made it work. So in order to burn without large coals falling down into my ashpan I used a grate that is part of the coal hopper setup for this stove to cover the bottom. Just guessing this reduced the amount of open space (seperation between grates) by about 60%, with the majority of the open space towards the front of the stove. This is the setup I've been using to burn with for the past month. Tonight I just replaced the fixed grate with the right part, opening up the bottom (above the ashpan) to the designed spacing. I noticed immediatly when starting a new fire that my kindling didn't seem to catch nearly as quick as before. Once the kindling was burning good I thru on 4 odd shaped chumks, which would normaly start burning really good quickly, even without that much air open to it. Tonight I actually had to open the ash door pretty wide to get it going good. I seems like since I put the fixed grate in that things seem to be taking longer to get going. The stove is burning nice now cruising at 1300 probe temp.

If the grate thing was the reason why I was having those issues I'm stumped. I know these stoves weren't just thrown together willy nilly, but I can't see how having the bottom of the stove, above the closed ash box, covered more would affect the burning of the wood and cause what I've been describing. Maybe by reducing the spacing the air that was entering was coming in faster fanning the flames. Like blowing through as straw versus blowing through a 1" pipe.

Honestly even this doesn't really explain the inferno IMO, since on those occasions. I would load the stove and barely give it any air before closing things down. Anyway thanks to you guys who are still paying attention, and sorry to those who got bored reading. I hope Dennis is right though and it is not the wood, because I have right at 2 cords of it left to burn. It would suck to have to baby it and not be able to fully load the stove with it.