long burns but black glass????

[scott6824]

We have an older Hearthstone wood stove app 15-20 years old.... I have found once the stove is up and hot.. to shut all the air vents and doors on the stove... making for nice long burns to extend my wood time... but the glass gets really black.... now is this ok for up the chimney ...I checked the chimney with a mirror the other day and looks good... just worried about the chimney building up with soth from these not so ragging fires in my stove...any advise would help .. thanks in advance..

 

[myzamboni]

Let the fire rip wide open for a little while each day and that helps keep everything clean.

 

[Hogwildz]

Make sure the wood is really as dry as you think.
Don't choke the air back completely, play with it and see if you can leave it open a lil to get a better slightly hotter burn.
Sounds like wet wood, too lil air making it smolder, or both.

 

[Jags]

Rule of thumb: If your glass is getting black, so is your stack.

 

[firefighterjake]

Make sure the wood is really as dry as you think.
Don't choke the air back completely, play with it and see if you can leave it open a lil to get a better slightly hotter burn.
Sounds like wet wood, too lil air making it smolder, or both.

+1

 

[firefighterjake]

Rule of thumb: If your glass is getting black, so is your stack.

+2 . . . although it may take a while to get to the point where it should be clean. I would take Hog's advice . . . make sure your wood is as seasoned as it should be and/or play with the air control a bit . . . also when you say you get the stove hot . . . do you have an actual temp . . . or are you saying it just looks hot since there can sometimes be a big difference in what looks hot and what truly is hot.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Scott.

It seems to me that Hearthstone recommends no more than 600 degree stove top temperature.

Shutting all the air vents and doors generally is not the way to run a stove. Fire needs oxygen to burn and chimneys need air flow to push the smoke out. Chimneys also work best when they are warm and not cold. This is a big reason why it is easier to get a fire going on the re-light as it is to start from a cold stove (of course the coal bed helps a lot!).

I'd suggest cutting back on the air until you get a small but decent flame rather than just shutting down. The stove will operate much better that way and if your wood is good then the glass and chimney will stay clean.

Good luck.