Hearthstone Equinox not burning correctly

I got the fire going with kindling and properly seasoned wood(split and stacked over a year ago). As soon as I close and latch the door the flames go out. If I close the side door and don't latch it the fire burns fine. After doing a little research it seems there could be a few things happening.

1.) Too mild outside to create a proper draft.
2.) I need an OAK.
3.) Damaged baffle

Does anyone have any other possible explanations for the poor fire performance?

There also seems to be an excessive amount of ash.

is the tiny primary air inlet at the front bottom of the firebox clogged?

It's brand new. Is it possible it came clogged from the factory? How do I check if it is clogged or not?

How tall is your chimney?

unlikely it came clogged, check thru some of the threads BB linked....

(also, what does your dealer say? they should be your #1 resource for help operating your new stove )

16 feet to the roof and 3 feet above.

Is your wood by any chance oak?

Does not sound like draft problem then.

What kind of wood do you have if it is oak one year stacked will not burn good at all. Oak needs at least 2 years to be ready to go into the stove 3 years is better.

1.) where are you located?
2.) Open a nearby window to see if this improves anything.
3.) The damaged baffle would be obvious to see, so that would be easy to rule out.

4.) As others have said, what type of wood are you burning?
5.) If the wood is the issue, you will need to leave the side door open much longer to burn in the fire so you can close the door and have temps rise. It is possible to burn wet wood, it just sucks to do it and wastes a lot of wood.

Sounds to me like a draft issue due to a fairly short chimney and a not so cold temp outside, combined with not getting that stove going hot (a solid burn) enough before closing it down? Just my guess.

I had one heck of a time trying to get a fire going the other day. Finally decided that while I was cold in the house, that it was warm enough outside to make the draft poor. And I've got a very short chimney (single story Ranch style house).

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I live in Colorado at an elevation of 6500 ft. Current temp around 45 degrees.

I was trying to use oak and was hopeful that was the problem.

I started a fire this afternoon from the top down with pine (split and stacked a year ago). Got the stove temp over 500 degrees. As soon as I shut the door completely, the flames leave the logs and go to the baffle for 5 min or so and then nothing. Just smoke. Before doing this I even opened 4 doors to the house.

Are you running your air controls correctly? Sounds like you have something not open or opening!

Sounds like your primary air is not open.

Primary air? The only air control I know about is the wooden knob on the bottom left.

I would think that controls your air supply to the fire.

That's the control, just read the manual on line, lower left, all the way "LEFT" is full open. Maybe the rod is not moving a plate or what ever it's hook to. Can you visually see an airway opening and being closed?

Yeah, it's open.

This is from the manuol.

PRIMARY AIR CONTROL: (This becomes hot during operation. It is best to operate the primary air system with a fireplace glove.) The primary air control handle is located on the front lower left of the stove, just under the left edge of the ash lip. The primary air control allows you to regulate the amount of air entering the firebox. Generally, the more air allowed into the firebox, the faster the rate of burn; conversely, less air creates a slower burn. For maximum air flow, move the primary air handle as far left as possible; move the primary air control handle as far to the right as possible for minimum air flow (does not close completely).

There is nothing to visually see. According to the manual, I have it open.

Did you do your break in fires? Maybe a draft issue. Maybe you need a bigger fire, that stone is just sucking the heat up? What was up to 500 your stove or stove pipe?

How did you ever do a break in fire if the stove won't stay going?

Did 2 break in fires. 500 on the stove pipe 18 inches up from the stove.