So we just moved into a new house a few weeks ago. It is 1800 sqft on the main floor with the same sqft in the basement(unfinished). The main floor has a fireplace and the basement has a wood stove. They use the same chimney but different flues. I have used the fireplace a few times, I dont have a stock of seasoned wood yet so I have been getting wood from various places. I have found that some woods actually produce some decent heat but some (not sure if any was actually seasoned) doesn't do a whole lot. As for the wood stove. I have tried burning in it a couple times. But have not been able to get any real reward from it. The previous owner had talked about it being able to regulate some heat upstairs and keep the floors warm upstairs. So I am curious, could it just be that I havent been getting seasoned wood or if im not running the stove long enough or if its some other factor. Im trying to supplement my electric heat and try and keep my utility bills down. The stove and fireplace are positioned in the middle of the house but on the outside wall. Any help or suggestions are apprecieated. I have tried searching for my specific situation but havent found much relevant. Sorry if this post is repeated or not allowed (im new) THANKS!
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firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
First off, welcome to hearth.com. This site is very user friendly and welcoming to anyone seeking information about woodstoves.
Your issue with not getting a lot of heat from the woodstove could be caused by many, many things.
Wood: As mentioned, if you are attempting to burn unseasoned wood it will be an uphill battle. Burning unseasoned or partially seasoned wood is akin to putting watered down gasoline in your car -- it may not run very well or at all. There are a few ways to rule this possible issue in or out. A moisture meter is one way -- after splitting a piece of wood you can use the moisture meter to see if the moisture content of the wood/fuel is 20% or so which would be good. In my case, I split and stack my wood anywhere from 1-4 years in advance so simply giving my wood time insures seasoned wood. An almost sure fire way to know your wood is not seasoned is if there is a lot of hissing and spitting water coming out of the end of the wood when you are burning it in the stove. Blackened glass is sometimes an indicator of unseasoned wood.
The size and type of wood can also sometimes be a factor. If you stick just a few small sticks of pine in the stove and fire it off you will get a quick, hot fire, but it will not really heat up much vs. loading the stove with well seasoned oak and letting the stove burn.
Wood Stove Operation: Not knowing your expertise and past experience with burning wood . . . or your stove type . . . modern woodstoves are quite different to run vs. older woodstoves. Newer woodstoves need good, dry wood and need to be run between certain temps to insure maximum efficiency (= heat and clean burning.) In the case of a secondary burning type stove the air control can be counter-intuitive as I would turn down the air on my older woodstove to get a longer burn, but the amount of heat would also decrease . . . whereas in a modern EPA stove with a secondary burner once your stove is up to temp (thermometers on the stove and flue can be very, very useful by the way) and you turn down the air you typically will get a longer burn, but also more heat as the secondary burn kicks in.
Time: Woodstoves heat a home through radiant or convection heating primarily . . . in the case of radiant heat it sometimes takes a while to really heat a space -- a lot depends on the home's insulation, size of the room/home, what's in the space, etc. In early Fall and late Spring I sometimes have the opposite problem of you as it may be cool in the home so I light a fire and when it's in the late coaling stage the space is still on the cooler side so I add another load of wood and sometimes the house becomes too warm . . . I have had to learn in this case to sometimes just give the stove time . . . but the opposite may be at play here for you . . . you may need to run the stove a little longer to heat up the place, especially since the stove is in the . . .
Basement: Basements can sometimes be tricky. I subscribe to the philosophy of putting the woodstove where I spend the majority of my time since I will then get the most benefit from the heat (plus I can better monitor the fire and know when to reload -- not to mention that watching the fire can be mesmerizing.) Basements that are not well insulated can lose a lot of the heat generated from the woodstove to the uninsulated concrete walls which means less heat for the home. In addition, sometimes moving the heat to the living spaces upstairs can be a bit tricky.
I am sure there are probably some other possible issues, but I suspect these are some of the more likely culprits. Hopefully this may help . . . or give you some ideas.
Your issue with not getting a lot of heat from the woodstove could be caused by many, many things.
Wood: As mentioned, if you are attempting to burn unseasoned wood it will be an uphill battle. Burning unseasoned or partially seasoned wood is akin to putting watered down gasoline in your car -- it may not run very well or at all. There are a few ways to rule this possible issue in or out. A moisture meter is one way -- after splitting a piece of wood you can use the moisture meter to see if the moisture content of the wood/fuel is 20% or so which would be good. In my case, I split and stack my wood anywhere from 1-4 years in advance so simply giving my wood time insures seasoned wood. An almost sure fire way to know your wood is not seasoned is if there is a lot of hissing and spitting water coming out of the end of the wood when you are burning it in the stove. Blackened glass is sometimes an indicator of unseasoned wood.
The size and type of wood can also sometimes be a factor. If you stick just a few small sticks of pine in the stove and fire it off you will get a quick, hot fire, but it will not really heat up much vs. loading the stove with well seasoned oak and letting the stove burn.
Wood Stove Operation: Not knowing your expertise and past experience with burning wood . . . or your stove type . . . modern woodstoves are quite different to run vs. older woodstoves. Newer woodstoves need good, dry wood and need to be run between certain temps to insure maximum efficiency (= heat and clean burning.) In the case of a secondary burning type stove the air control can be counter-intuitive as I would turn down the air on my older woodstove to get a longer burn, but the amount of heat would also decrease . . . whereas in a modern EPA stove with a secondary burner once your stove is up to temp (thermometers on the stove and flue can be very, very useful by the way) and you turn down the air you typically will get a longer burn, but also more heat as the secondary burn kicks in.
Time: Woodstoves heat a home through radiant or convection heating primarily . . . in the case of radiant heat it sometimes takes a while to really heat a space -- a lot depends on the home's insulation, size of the room/home, what's in the space, etc. In early Fall and late Spring I sometimes have the opposite problem of you as it may be cool in the home so I light a fire and when it's in the late coaling stage the space is still on the cooler side so I add another load of wood and sometimes the house becomes too warm . . . I have had to learn in this case to sometimes just give the stove time . . . but the opposite may be at play here for you . . . you may need to run the stove a little longer to heat up the place, especially since the stove is in the . . .
Basement: Basements can sometimes be tricky. I subscribe to the philosophy of putting the woodstove where I spend the majority of my time since I will then get the most benefit from the heat (plus I can better monitor the fire and know when to reload -- not to mention that watching the fire can be mesmerizing.) Basements that are not well insulated can lose a lot of the heat generated from the woodstove to the uninsulated concrete walls which means less heat for the home. In addition, sometimes moving the heat to the living spaces upstairs can be a bit tricky.
I am sure there are probably some other possible issues, but I suspect these are some of the more likely culprits. Hopefully this may help . . . or give you some ideas.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Before burning anymore I would suggest calling a chimney sweep to inspect both the fireplace and stove, make sure its up to par.
Working with the fireplace - what type (zero clearance fireplace, or a true masonry fire place) if its a true masonry fireplace you may want to invest in a wood insert, that will provide heat for the livable floor, you will need to install a metal liner in the existing flue, as most inserts require a 6" liner, anything larger will slow the draft down and may give you smoke problems, most will advise (including myself) that the liner should be insulated, after having the chimney inspected you may have to insulate the liner if the chimney is out of nfpa clearance spec. There a plenty of inserts out on the market, they provide great heat and last many many years, they will reduce your utility bills, and if you get one that sticks out past the fireplace opening they can provide good heat during a power outage.
Working with the fireplace - what type (zero clearance fireplace, or a true masonry fire place) if its a true masonry fireplace you may want to invest in a wood insert, that will provide heat for the livable floor, you will need to install a metal liner in the existing flue, as most inserts require a 6" liner, anything larger will slow the draft down and may give you smoke problems, most will advise (including myself) that the liner should be insulated, after having the chimney inspected you may have to insulate the liner if the chimney is out of nfpa clearance spec. There a plenty of inserts out on the market, they provide great heat and last many many years, they will reduce your utility bills, and if you get one that sticks out past the fireplace opening they can provide good heat during a power outage.
Thank you for the responses! Im thinking it is a combination of not having seasoned wood and not burning long enough in the wood stove. I have a cord of seasoned wood being delivered in the next couple days so i'll try and do some longer burns over the weekend and see if i can get some good output. As for the insert in the fireplace. I have read that they are much more efficient, not sure if im going to go that route or just try and get the wood stove running optimally or not. I like having the open fireplace upstairs, but if the wood stove isnt going to cut it I may wind up doing an insert. I have attached pictures of the wood stove just in case its something special that i need to be doing with it.
oh, and I have already had the stove and fireplace and chimney inspected and everything was good to go as i was told.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
". I have a cord of seasoned wood being delivered"
I have a bridge to sell you to, buy a moisture meter, almost no one sells truly seasoned wood.
I have a bridge to sell you to, buy a moisture meter, almost no one sells truly seasoned wood.
I have a basement stove. As others have said, it's far from ideal.
You said that you didn't feel any heat from the fire. For me, the first load of wood through the stove will not be felt upstairs. It seems to take that much to get the basement warmed up. After the second reload, heat will start moving upstairs.
If I had a hearth upstairs already, I'd be looking very seriously at getting a modern burner and an acceptable chimney system in.
You said that you didn't feel any heat from the fire. For me, the first load of wood through the stove will not be felt upstairs. It seems to take that much to get the basement warmed up. After the second reload, heat will start moving upstairs.
If I had a hearth upstairs already, I'd be looking very seriously at getting a modern burner and an acceptable chimney system in.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
Yeah, I would take an ax and meter (Harbor Freight has cheap ones) and go the guy's wood pile. Then split several pieces and jam the meter pins deep into the freshly-exposed face. Low 20s moisture reading will be passable wood. Mid 20s or higher....rough sledding this season. If you have a saw and access to a woodlot, find small dead trees, standing or down, with the bark already gone. A lot of that wood may be close to 20%.
If you don't have dry wood, there's not much point in rushing to buy a new stove. Better to use the stove you have now, and research stoves, and wood-burning in general, in these forums so that you can make a decision later that you will be happy with for a long time. You might buy some compressed-wood logs to burn in the old stove...it may reduce heating costs if your electric bills are very high. Follow instructions if you get the "Bio-Bricks," they burn hot!
Another thing you want to do is work on getting wood lined up and drying for next season, so you can enjoy your new stove. If this guy's wood turns out to be somewhat seasoned, go ahead and get a bunch for next year, stack it in the wind on pallets, top-covered only, and get it drying.
BTW, can you get better pics of the stove and the metal tag? But it does look like an old smoke-blowing wood-eater... If you have to burn semi-wet wood in it, keep a close eye on your chimney, checking it for creosote every couple of weeks, until you can gauge how often you will have to clean it to prevent a dangerous chimney fire.
The old stove is going to eat wood like candy. Uninsulated basement walls add to the issue by sucking out up to a third of the heat produced. It's very hard to find seasoned wood at this time of year. Poorly seasoned wood = more heat loss.
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