Hearthstone Problem

[rus23]

Hello to all, I am new to the forum and have an issue. This has happened more than once:

Hot coals in bottom of Phoenix,

Add fresh wood,

Wait two minutes or so, and then......


Whooshh The gases from the wood burst into flame and smoke puffs out the draft compensator.

This rapid burning has pushed the stove pipe loose from the chimney and has scared the chit out of me . I am afraid to let this thing die down to coals any more.

I have read some posts from a couple years ago that list some draft problems with the Phoenix, and I do crack the ash door to help the fire along at times(less now since the temps are down).

My chimney is a good 30 feet tall, there are two 45's in the stove pipe to the chimney, and I think the wood I have may be a little wet yet.

Any one else heard of or experienced this issue?

 

[Highbeam]

I have a hearthstone too and I can easily get the flash situation. Usually from a hot bed of coals, no flame, add wood which begins to smoke and then smoke more and then smoke heavily and then when it gets hot enough the smoke reaches its flash point and bursts into flames. This immediately burns up all the smoke and then the fire burns. I think it is normal. If the thing starts huffing well that's another problem which neither of us have.

Your draft compensator worries me. Is it one of those barometric dampers that lets fresh room air into the flue? If so, well that's your problem. Remove that piece of garbage and add a flue damper.

Then if anything is pushing your stove pipe apart then I have to wonder why there aren't screws there. These things should be attached.

 

[edthedawg]

I have a hearthstone too and I can easily get the flash situation. Usually from a hot bed of coals, no flame, add wood which begins to smoke and then smoke more and then smoke heavily and then when it gets hot enough the smoke reaches its flash point and bursts into flames. This immediately burns up all the smoke and then the fire burns. I think it is normal. If the thing starts huffing well that's another problem which neither of us have.

Your draft compensator worries me. Is it one of those barometric dampers that lets fresh room air into the flue? If so, well that's your problem. Remove that piece of garbage and add a flue damper.

Then if anything is pushing your stove pipe apart then I have to wonder why there aren't screws there. These things should be attached.

I'd add something but HB has it covered. "Everything he said."

 

[BrotherBart]

Don't have a Hearthstone stove but any time a new load on hot coals starts smoking heavily and hasn't ignited in a minute or so I just light a two inch or so piece of paper and toss it in front of the base of the split nearest the door and the flames begin. No buildup of smoke and "whooshing".

 

[rus23]

Your draft compensator worries me. Is it one of those barometric dampers that lets fresh room air into the flue? If so, well that's your problem. Remove that piece of garbage and add a flue damper.

OK, when I started looking into getting a woodstove for my living room, I read online and was instructed by so called "experts" that tthe flue damper was out of favor, and the barometric damper and limiting of input air were the best way to control a fire. Please shine the light in my direction and let me in on your info.


Then if anything is pushing your stove pipe apart then I have to wonder why there aren't screws there. These things should be attached.[/quote]



They are attached, the stove pipes do not come apart. The pipe into the masonry has been pushed out of the chimney by the expansion of the burning gases. I have sealed the pipe with that asbestos looking paste, cramming it into the gap between the pipe and the masonry, and it eventually works loose. Any good fixes for this?

I appreciate the responses,

Thanks for your help.

Rus

 

[Highbeam]

Barometric dampers are for furnaces that do not burn solid fuel. They maintain a fixed draft in the flue by dumping relatively cold room air into the flue which is fine for a furnace but in a solid fuel application the cold air will cool the flue and condense creosote. The creosote can then catch on fire to create a chimney fire. The silly barometric damper will again hurt you by then flipping wide open and supplying this chimney fire with a huge supply of combustion air. Sticking one on a woodstove flue is not recommended by any experts that I've seen. Your stove's manual actually addresses dampers. They don't mean a furnace barometric damper. Yes, some people still have them and they function well if you can live with the awful side effects.

I didn't realize that you were blowing apart the connection between your masonry thimble and the metal pipe. Having never assembled that particular connection, I can't advise. Many folks on this site have the masonry interface issue and hopefully can advise you.

 

[rus23]

Thanks for the input, next warm spell I will be removing the baro damper and putting in the flue damper.

Is the flue damper used for anything but a shut off in case of a chimney fire? The input air control seems to do a fine job of throttling back the fire at night.

Rus

 

[Highbeam]

Most people that use a flue damper use it at all settings from full closed to full open. You have quite a chimney there so you really need some sort of damper.

 

[edthedawg]

I've got 35+' of 6" SS liner on the back of my Heritage. Without the flue damper, I'd never get it over 300 - all the heat would go right up the flue... Absolute necessity to slow down a fast flue.