House doesnt heat up like it used to

[Cinder]

Hello all.

I've been heating my house with a woodstove for 2 yrs, this is my 3rd winter. My stove no longer heats up my house the way that it did before and I dont know what has changed to make this happen.

I only heat the main room (kitchen/dining room/living room) and the bedroom. Everything else is closed off. The house does have high celings but I have ceiling fans which bring the warm air back down. Last 2 yrs I burned mostly fir and some maple and some was downed that yr (the maple) and some was downed a few yrs ago. I had no trouble getting my main room to 70 degrees quickly. (big older Lopi woodstove set into a fireplace, chimney has full liner)

I have burned some seasoned wood this yr, and some poplar split in Aug. & dried in the sun. None of it is heating my house. I can barely get the main rooms to 63-64. I do not know what has changed. I have tried adjusting the flue....that doesnt seem to be it. I cant think of changes to the house.

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be going on? I understand the poplar isnt worth much, but the better quality seasoned wood isnt doing much better. In the past yrs and this yr, the thermometer on top of the stove gets up to 800-1000....but this yr that doesnt heat the house. How can that be?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chris Hoskin]

your wood is not as dry as the wood you used last year.

 

[bigburner]

Wood stove can handle pretty wet wood, even better when a bed of coals are present. Curious about stack temps, fans, filters, build up on any tubes etc.

 

[Fred61]

Hello all.

I've been heating my house with a woodstove for 2 yrs, this is my 3rd winter. My stove no longer heats up my house the way that it did before and I dont know what has changed to make this happen.

I only heat the main room (kitchen/dining room/living room) and the bedroom. Everything else is closed off. The house does have high celings but I have ceiling fans which bring the warm air back down. Last 2 yrs I burned mostly fir and some maple and some was downed that yr (the maple) and some was downed a few yrs ago. I had no trouble getting my main room to 70 degrees quickly. (big older Lopi woodstove set into a fireplace, chimney has full liner)

I have burned some seasoned wood this yr, and some poplar split in Aug. & dried in the sun. None of it is heating my house. I can barely get the main rooms to 63-64. I do not know what has changed. I have tried adjusting the flue....that doesnt seem to be it. I cant think of changes to the house.

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be going on? I understand the poplar isnt worth much, but the better quality seasoned wood isnt doing much better. In the past yrs and this yr, the thermometer on top of the stove gets up to 800-1000....but this yr that doesnt heat the house. How can that be?

Thanks in advance.

Has it been colder out there this winter?

 

[kevindauch]

Does it have a catalytic converter? If so then it may need replacement.

 

[hemlock]

Has it been windier this year? I've notices the same thing, but the bloody wind has been howling for what seems like weeks now. A cold, strong wind will suck the heat right out of your house.

 

[Chris Hoskin]

Wood stove can handle pretty wet wood, even better when a bed of coals are present. Curious about stack temps, fans, filters, build up on any tubes etc.

yes, a wood stove can tolerate wet wood pretty well, but a lot less BTU's available from wet (or not dry) wood. For example, there is twice as much energy available for space heating in 20% moisture content wood than green wood. Outside of this forum, I think this is really underappreciated - how often have you heard "oh, wet wood burns better in my xxx" or "I prefer wet wood because it burns longer" That's just crazy talk!!

 

[huffdawg]

Hello all.

I've been heating my house with a woodstove for 2 yrs, this is my 3rd winter. My stove no longer heats up my house the way that it did before and I dont know what has changed to make this happen.

I only heat the main room (kitchen/dining room/living room) and the bedroom. Everything else is closed off. The house does have high celings but I have ceiling fans which bring the warm air back down. Last 2 yrs I burned mostly fir and some maple and some was downed that yr (the maple) and some was downed a few yrs ago. I had no trouble getting my main room to 70 degrees quickly. (big older Lopi woodstove set into a fireplace, chimney has full liner)

I have burned some seasoned wood this yr, and some poplar split in Aug. & dried in the sun. None of it is heating my house. I can barely get the main rooms to 63-64. I do not know what has changed. I have tried adjusting the flue....that doesnt seem to be it. I cant think of changes to the house.

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be going on? I understand the poplar isnt worth much, but the better quality seasoned wood isnt doing much better. In the past yrs and this yr, the thermometer on top of the stove gets up to 800-1000....but this yr that doesnt heat the house. How can that be?

Thanks in advance.

Im pretty sure your poplar wont be that dry yet . I have about 4 cord of bigleaf maple that I chopped up in early July and its not dry yet. Also poplar is quite a bit lower on the btu rating than fir or maple. Maybe the catylitic converter in your stove is rotted out and your heats all going up your flue.

 

[bpirger]

Is the temp getting the same on the stove top this year? And for as long? I third the wet wood suspect...it makes an amazing difference. I have a Lopi...and wet wood is just a huge PITA!

 

[Singed Eyebrows]

Hello all.

I've been heating my house with a woodstove for 2 yrs, this is my 3rd winter. My stove no longer heats up my house the way that it did before and I dont know what has changed to make this happen.

I only heat the main room (kitchen/dining room/living room) and the bedroom. Everything else is closed off. The house does have high celings but I have ceiling fans which bring the warm air back down. Last 2 yrs I burned mostly fir and some maple and some was downed that yr (the maple) and some was downed a few yrs ago. I had no trouble getting my main room to 70 degrees quickly. (big older Lopi woodstove set into a fireplace, chimney has full liner)

I have burned some seasoned wood this yr, and some poplar split in Aug. & dried in the sun. None of it is heating my house. I can barely get the main rooms to 63-64. I do not know what has changed. I have tried adjusting the flue....that doesnt seem to be it. I cant think of changes to the house.

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be going on? I understand the poplar isnt worth much, but the better quality seasoned wood isnt doing much better. In the past yrs and this yr, the thermometer on top of the stove gets up to 800-1000....but this yr that doesnt heat the house. How can that be?

Thanks in advance.

That is kind of baffling. Have you shut the front door this year? Just kidding, lol. You say you have the same heat output as years past & house won't heat. As mentioned wind will suck the heat right out of the house. Check for air leaks, your heat load is higher this year or just the top of your stove is the same temp. & total output is less, Randy

 

[Duetech]

I had a problem like that with my wood stove. The draft was compromised by a rotted out liner caused by rain water that got into the chimney and mixed with the creosote stuck to the sides of the chimney (that mix creates acid that ate through the ss liner). Cleaning the chimney didn't help for very long. I had to disassemble the chimney to find the problem. There had been a chimney cap on the chimney but it blew off in a spring storm and I didn't get it back in place before the heating season. Figured I would clean the chimney before I used the stove. I cleaned the chimney and never had a problem until about half way through the heating season when I started getting lots of creosote plugging the chimney down low. I also had a draft booster on the system and that disguised the problem but helped me get through the winter. I found the problem in the spring and was thankful I didn't have a chimney fire as the corrosion ate the bottom and part of the side out of the liner and compromised fire safety.

 

[Cinder]

Wow, so many helpful comments here! I'll try to answer.

First, Cave 2K....interesting take on things. When I bought the house (with woodstove) I had the chimney liner put in. There had been none. So it's been in there 2 full seasons and then this yr. I have never had it cleaned. I was told when I had it installed that if I made sure my stove reached at least 400 degrees (?) each time it was used, there would be little buildup in the liner. I found out recently that this isnt true and that I must have my chimney (liner) cleaned. Is this true? (I burned it to 400+ religiously, btw). So is build up in the chimney a possibility?

Wet wood. Well I know the poplar is not a great burning wood. But I have also had fully seasoned cedar, alder, and another hardwood in there (this yr) and the results were only somewhat better.

Another interesting comment...Wind! Yes it has been windier this yr. Not colder, but windier. I never thought of that. Not much I can do about that, is there?

I was told my stove is an older model...and I dont think it has a catalytic converter. If it does, it's not one, ahem, up to current EPA standards.

I do have a blower/fan that's part of the stove. Dont know much about other parts.

Check for air leaks...where? Stove or house? There may be but I cant think of anything new. How do I check the stove?

And Randy, the temp registered at the top of the stove is the same, but heat output is less.

Thanks!

 

[Singed Eyebrows]

While the temp at the top might be the same the sides might be much cooler due to wood type/moisture./ I meant air leaks in the house, that doesn't seem to be an issue though. Randy

 

[flyingcow]

No matter what you do, clean chimney.

 

[sdrobertson]

No matter what you do, clean chimney.

+1....This would be the easiest, fastest, and safest first step in your problem solving.

 

[Cinder]

OK, chimney cleaning is at the top of my list in the new year. I will have this done.

And I just noticed that my 'handle' is very appropriate to this forum! LOL and I've used it online for years.

And while I am new to this forum, I have this weird addiction to splitting and organizing (& hoarding?) firewood.