Englander NCH 30 not getting air into firebox

[bholler]

pics of the pipe the chimney inside and out where it hooks to the chimney ect.

 

[Mtngoat69]

This thing really suppose to run at 600-700? Thermostat shows over fire starting at 600, again I'm new at this so, excuse my ignorance

 

[Mtngoat69]

Well think I've got this figured out , somewhat anyway, atleast where it's useable.
Still can't get it over 500 but if I pack it full and get it in the 400-500 range I can shut down the primary and she'll cruise for about 4 hours or so then I can reload and shut her right back down. Still wood in there after 4 hours but if I wait till it's just embers (8-10 hours and temp at 250-300) I have to fight it to get it going again.
Question on wood , does it ever really dry out? I got some beech wood from my neighbor that's been cut and stacked for 2 years. MM said it was 8% . Kind of big splits so I split them again , 34% moisture WTF??? After 2 years. Seems to catch on and burn pretty good. Just wondering how accurate these MM are. Thanks for all the Replys , much appreciated

 

[Cory S]

It takes a LOT of time for the core of big splits to dry down under 20%. This is why I keep my splits to 4" or under at the 90*. If the wood burns good for 20-30 min, then the surface chars and you lose flames, the core is still pretty wet.

 

[bholler]

Kind of big splits so I split them again , 34% moisture WTF???

Sounds about right beech is really dense and needs split down small i also assume the stacks were not top covered right? And exactly where and how are you taking these temps? Have you had anyone qualified out to look at it yet?

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

Been awhile but I've been fighting this POS all the way! Had wood anywhere from 18-22% moisture content can never shut the door without it going out.

Hi man, when you wrote that your wood was 18-22% moisture (back at the top of page 3), did you measure that by splitting a piece and measuring on a fresh split face? Just curious....

 

[Mtngoat69]

Hi man, when you wrote that your wood was 18-22% moisture (back at the top of page 3), did you measure that by splitting a piece and measuring on a fresh split face? Just curious....

 

[Mtngoat69]

Yeah I split it again and took the reading from the fresh cut side. Finally got her up to 600 and light show going on up top. Pretty cool. Woods just glowing red in the bottom and all the flames are from secondaries . I think
My biggest problem is I wasn't putting enough fuel i her to get it hot enough. Just been waiting 3-4 hours to enough space is created from the wood burning down , filling her back up and close her right back down. I have the primary almost completely closed ! Finally! I guess with my chimney size I won't get the long burn times you guys get. Maybe I'll spring for a liner when I get tired of tending to it every 4 hours or so

 

[blades]

Burn times= variable definition= usable heat output would be a better description as burn time could be defined as from the first match till the last coal is cold. Usable heat is also going to vary depending on climate and temps you expect to maintain. For me load around 4:30 am when I get back home mostly around 12 hours later and the house is still above the kick on point (65) of wallet robber unit that's a good burn with usable heat output. At that point the stove could be only warm to the touch usually with enough coals left to restart ( after gathering them together in front of the dog house). On the other hand if I am going to be playing couch potato I want to be experiencing considerable more output heat wise - in which case small (2x2 or so )splits and mutiple small reloads to keep unit in the 400+ area is my choice. Past 36 hours has seen a temp swing outside of 7, Fri. morning to around 50 this morning.