drafting problem - help

[RickOldSchool]

I need some help figuring out my stove's drafting problem. Have had this stove for 2 years and it has worked fine, but the last few weeks has stopped drafting properly. I have already cleaned the chimney, the stove, kindling and wood is seasoned and dry, done everything I can think of and still the stove won't burn properly.

It seems the air intakes are not functioning. Have tried to make sure they are clear by removing bricks, shop vac'd the stove and outlets, used a long brush etc. Done every trouble shooting method I am aware of. It seems perhaps the air tubes inside the stove are blocked but there is no way to get to them. I even used a compressor to try to blow them out. Flu wide open but as soon as I shut the door the fire snuffs out.

My stove is a Hampton cast iron H300 and is only about 2 years old. Any suggestions?

 

[Stump_Branch]

where is it located in the house?
Try opening a window nearby.
that or prime the chimney with something (small hot fire, newspaper, blowtorch etc.)
the tubes on the hampton have hammer pins i believe, they will come out, not sure how easy but they do. pull them and blow clean, blowing them in the stove only blows the carbon deposits back into the intake portion.
make sure all the flue connections are tight and no air leaks

sounds like you did a good job of cleaning, but your around me and the weather lately has made it a tad more difficult to get a draft going. (not the cold but pending storms)

hope you get it going its cold out there.

nice stove by the way, how do you like it?

 

[Brian VT]

Can you get a draft in the chimney ? Lets start there before going to the stove vents.

 

[Dave_1]

"... I have already cleaned the chimney," ...

Q: Did you go up on the roof or clean it from below?

Your problem sounds like the chimney's 'spark arrestor' is clogged. :bug: ;-)

 

[RickOldSchool]

Cleaned the chimney from the ground up to the cap but did not get on the roof as we have snow! ugh. Was wondering if the spark arrestor/cap may be clogged but we did take the bottom cap off and burned newspaper & did see smoke coming out the top of the chimney so don't know what to think.

Ya in MD the storm fronts and drastic temp changes have been challenging, but this is beyond that. We pulled up the manual/parts breakdown and it really doesn't show the air tubes at all. Were able to get the top air baffle jet off and it was surprisingly cleaned and not clogged.

Guess the next step is to take off the cap/spark arrester and see what's in there. We have been wondering if it's clogged with the darn stink-bugs that have infested this area. Our neighbor had them in their pellet stove that stopped it from working so maybe that's it.

Thanks for all your replies/tips!

 

[begreen]

Could be the cap? Check the screen.

 

[Brian VT]

If it's not the cap, maybe a blockage between the stove and the tee (cat, 'possum, lol) ?