and if you listen to her at the end she said her fire almost goes out if she closes the damper almost all the way. It makes no sense to me as to why it burn great with a starter log and once the log is done fire goes out.
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help new stove and it does not burn right!!
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Ah, now youtube is working for me. That is not a great example of starting. I'll try to find another one now that I can preview youtube again.
What are you using for a starter log? If the draft is weak the stove will not be able to go into secondary burn.
This video is better. He uses the top down method for starting which is popular with many folks. Make some kindling by taking some 1 ft long 2x4s and split them in thirds. Then try this method. He also has a basement install and goes over how things can affect draft like the stack effect.
What are you using for a starter log? If the draft is weak the stove will not be able to go into secondary burn.
This video is better. He uses the top down method for starting which is popular with many folks. Make some kindling by taking some 1 ft long 2x4s and split them in thirds. Then try this method. He also has a basement install and goes over how things can affect draft like the stack effect.
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edyit
Minister of Fire
not to sound condescending, but that is your problem, water doesn't burn, it's not your stove, your wood isn't dry enough to burn, ideally you want less than 20% moisture content, try to find something like these, just make sure they have no wax binders in them
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/redstone-wood-fuel?cm_vc=-10005
ratsrepus
Minister of Fire
If its really 35 on the meter, it should be hissing and bubbling water out the ends when burning
i did notice hissing from a piece or two yesterday. last night when i went and bought the starter log and used the dry wood from the store it still went out after the starter log burned out.
edyit
Minister of Fire
lots of kiln dried wood from stores are just kiln treated enough to kill bugs, not actually dry the wood. best test i can think of, go buy a 10' 2x4 (not treated of course) cut into pieces, put it in your stove and try that
Jotel me this
Feeling the Heat
Im sure its a mix of damp wood, the 90° angles, and the length of your chimney.
Get a cheap moisture meter from amazon. test your wood. should be 20% or lower.
i know its easier said then done, but perhaps replace those 90s with 45s.
So youre new to wood stoves? Stoves need heat to work properly. not saying youre doing this, but i get the most effective burn when i stuff it full of wood and let it burn down (learned that here). you cant just throw on one log every now and then or you wont create the draft needed to suck fresh air in and exhaust up and out.
Get a cheap moisture meter from amazon. test your wood. should be 20% or lower.
i know its easier said then done, but perhaps replace those 90s with 45s.
So youre new to wood stoves? Stoves need heat to work properly. not saying youre doing this, but i get the most effective burn when i stuff it full of wood and let it burn down (learned that here). you cant just throw on one log every now and then or you wont create the draft needed to suck fresh air in and exhaust up and out.
Dug8498
Feeling the Heat
Everything you’re describing also sounds like wet wood to me. I have pretty limited experience here, but last winter was my first winter burning, I bought “seasoned” wood before I found this forum and knew what seasoned was. Bought a meter this spring and everything I tested measured 35+% mc. I was having the same issues you are describing. Made a fire last week with wood measuring 18-19% and what a difference; pretty sure i came close to over-firing my stove as I wasn’t used to my stove getting going that quickly. Hopefully you can find some truly seasoned wood or a decent price on bio bricks for this winter if you can’t
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
For wood to burn, the water needs to be driven out of it first. That takes energy (heat) to do so. With seasoned wood, the outer sections are dry enough to sustain a fire and that heat perpetuates the burn as well as drives the rest of the moisture out that's still trapped inside.
For you, once that starter log goes out, there's not enough heat to sustain the burn with all of the water that's in the wood. The energy is going towards boiling water and driving it out of the wood instead of burning the wood.
Hope that makes sense.
Guys your great the wood was way yo wet along with me wanting to get it to big to fast. I have to split all the wood in half to dry it faster its seasones but wet from all the rain. We have had here in NJ. Thanks again for a the help and my stubbornness.
FPX Dude
Feeling the Heat
Ok,, so you need more kindling and little stuff to get that thing going, as it was struggling just start. You should have flames roaring and bigger splits ready after 5mins. or so, and they should be catching on easily. Easily w/in 5-10 mins. you should have no problem with draft etc., although when I heard the wood hissing in the vid it made me think that wood was not good. Good job pointing that out. You need good dried wood or you will never get anything out of it, never hissing.
Dug8498
Feeling the Heat
I split as much of my wet wood into as small splits as I could last winter and I would keep them a safe distance from the stove so that they'd dry out more quickly; this seemed to help. A lot of businesses near where I work put pallets outside so I would bring those home and split them up to get the fire going as well as I could. Also, I could be wrong, but I don't think rain is going to substantially "unseason" wood; I could be wrong but this hasn't been my experience
The wood I bought was from some one who has big piles. Out in the open it's has rained her in NJ no joke almost every day some times all week the past 2 months . I am not happy with the wood he sold me. Next year a buddy of mine has a tree down. I am going to get at it as soon as winter breaks it has been down a year so far.
Wood sitting in big piles does not season. You just have to get over the idea that you can buy wood that is ready to burn. If you want wood that will be ready to burn for next year you need to buy it now. Every dealer out there says that their wood is seasoned but it isnt. It can sit in the middle of those big piles the dealers have during an extremely dry year and the only wood that would be ready to burn would be the wood on top of the pile. Buy yourself next years wood now, stack it and you will have a much better time going forward. You have to stay at least 1 year ahead if you want to heat with wood.
Dug8498
Feeling the Heat
Yup. Around here seasoned means the tree was cut down 1 year ago and they split the wood right before delivering it to you
. I don't think most people are trying to screw anyone over, they genuinely don't know what seasoned wood is.
ratsrepus
Minister of Fire
if you can find some ash that was dead standing, which there was alot here in Michigan. Thats about the only wood that could be ready to burn right away
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