New wood stove not putting out enough heat

[begreen]

The Airintake outlet (where it goes through the wall) is approximately 5ft above where the vent goes into the stove.

So, first, that is not supposed to be done due to the potential of a reverse draft turning the air intake into a chimney. It's not your fault, the manual is deficient in not pointing this out. Most stove manuals have a specific caveat stated in this regard. Detach it temporarily to see if this is an issue affecting draft.

Secondly, if the wood is dry, this really sounds like a draft issue. The stove should be connected to a 6" r flue. (~28 sq in). Draft is getting reduced quite a bit by the 3' horizontal run. Changing that will help if the horizontal run can be eliminated by using 45s and an offset. But it still may need a 6" liner in the chimney.

 

[billb3]

My chimney is roughly 25 to 30 feet. It starts under the ground so hard to find where the stove pipe meets the chimney. The top of the stove running as hot as I can get it is around 300 but that is read with a temperature laser not with a magnetic thermometer.

When I open the stove the fire starts roaring.
I also have a lot of ash build up
I'm using mostly hickory oak and cherry

Opening the stove door and the fire roars to life can be an indication of suffocation.
I'm confused by the statements that it works fine "wide open" but you're only getting little heat on the stove top.
Depending on your chimney draft and the size of the fire you want in the box you'll have the air setting <somewhere> between fully open and fully closed. If you're opening the door with the air control "wide open" and the fire is roaring to life you have a restriction someplace.
You probably shouldn't have a OAK in a basement install. That's probably better worded as an OAK should never be installed above the firebox height. Should = risk of becoming a chimney.

 

[Woody Stover]

My stove pipe enters a 8x8masonry chimney about 2 feet under the ground and then its 26ft to the top of the chimney. Plenty of exhaust and I dont have any smoke or draft issues anymore.

So, first, that is not supposed to be done due to the potential of a reverse draft turning the air intake into a chimney....Detach it temporarily to see if this is an issue affecting draft.
Secondly, if the wood is dry, this really sounds like a draft issue. The stove should be connected to a 6" r flue. (~28 sq in). Draft is getting reduced quite a bit by the 3' horizontal run. Changing that will help if the horizontal run can be eliminated by using 45s and an offset. But it still may need a 6" liner in the chimney.

It sounds to me as though he now has a liner to the top, which resolved some previous draft issues for him. I'd definitely try the 45s you suggested.
But until he tests several of his bigger splits which have been brought to room temp for a couple days, re-splits and tests on the freshly-exposed face, that aspect is going to be in question. If you open the load door after ten or fifteen minutes when you've thrown in a fresh load, do you see any moisture coming out the ends of some splits, or do you hear hissing?
You can get a cheap moisture meter at Harbor Fright for like fifteen bucks..

 

[Lsingle]

I unhooked the outside air line and after 30 min of a new fire the top of the stove is 425 measured with a laser thermometer.

Door shut and latched.
Damper open

Does that seem normal?

 

[Lsingle]

My masonry chimney does not have a liner.

No moisture comes out of the wood

The stove is definitely being suffocated I just dont know if that's a draft issue or not. When opening the stove door to load no smoke comes out into the room. (Unlike my old stove)

 

[Woody Stover]

425 still isn't very hot..draft may be marginal. I think that to get a hot burn in the modern stoves, you need to be able to run the stove with the air cut more and less air running through the stove, where the secondary burn really kicks in and heat builds in the stove. Have you seen much secondary action yet, flames shooting off the tubes in the top of the box? I don't know the construction of your stove (add your stove model to your signature so other owners can give you targeted advice,) but maybe check your baffle above the tubes as well and make sure it is slid all the way back..smoke may be escaping past the back of the baffle before it can pass the tubes and get burned, robbing the stove of heat.
You might be close to getting away with running the pipe into 8x8 clay liner since your chimney is tall. I would first try begreen's suggestion; Minimize the horizontal run by substituting 45* elbows. Then try to reduce the stack effect in your house by sealing attic access, ceiling light fixtures, and any other air leaks upstairs.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I unhooked the outside air line and after 30 min of a new fire the top of the stove is 425 measured with a laser thermometer.

What is it 1 hr into the burn ?

 

[Lsingle]

I let it run for about an hour with the door shut and it never got over 450. I cracked the door but latched it. And it rose up to 500. Then closed the door and is running close to 600. After an hour or so I will update on the temp with a closed door.

 

[bholler]

I let it run for about an hour with the door shut and it never got over 450. I cracked the door but latched it. And it rose up to 500. Then closed the door and is running close to 600. After an hour or so I will update on the temp with a closed door.

What is the outside temp?

 

[Woody Stover]

I let it run for about an hour with the door shut and it never got over 450. I cracked the door but latched it. And it rose up to 500. Then closed the door and is running close to 600.

Any secondary action?

 

[Woody Stover]

I let it run for about an hour with the door shut and it never got over 450. I cracked the door but latched it. And it rose up to 500. Then closed the door and is running close to 600.

Sure sounds like the wood could be drier. You cook the hell out of it, then later it starts to kick out more heat. Do the secondaries kick in after you cook the wood a while?

 

[Lsingle]

Secondaries are working but not real hard. Top of stove is pretty much staying around 450. That's the top. On the front of the stove above the door is around 400.

This is with the airflow open all the way.

With the door cracked theres no secondary burn. When its shut the secondary burn comes on pretty good.

From experimenting today it seems like i need to keep the door open to get it roaring. Once its roaring shut the door and the secondary burn starts and it burns up around 500. But it slows down pretty quick

 

[bholler]

Secondaries are working but not real hard. Top of stove is pretty much staying around 450. That's the top. On the front of the stove above the door is around 400.

This is with the airflow open all the way.

With the door cracked theres no secondary burn. When its shut the secondary burn comes on pretty good.

From experimenting today it seems like i need to keep the door open to get it roaring. Once its roaring shut the door and the secondary burn starts and it burns up around 500. But it slows down pretty quick

Are you ever shutting the air back? You typically won't have allot of secondary action with the air all the way open.

 

[Lsingle]

Are you ever shutting the air back? You typically won't have allot of secondary action with the air all the way open.

No
Am I supposed to? I thought run it with the airflow pulled out all the way and it will be the hottest.

After an hour of great heat the fire has died down and all I have now is huge pile of glowing ash. I cannot add more wood without the embers falling out. Stove temp is down to 400

 

[bholler]

No
Am I supposed to? I thought run it with the airflow pulled out all the way and it will be the hottest.

After an hour of great heat the fire has died down and all I have now is huge pile of glowing ash. I cannot add more wood without the embers falling out. Stove temp is down to 400

No open all the way is not the hottest

 

[Lsingle]

I guess I need schooling on how to operate the damper on this stove

 

[bholler]

I guess I need schooling on how to operate the damper on this stove

Well first off it isn't a damper. It is an intake control. Any open all the way is really only for startup. As you shut it back more air will be pulled through the tubes creating better secondary combustion and raising the stove top temp. What is your pipe temp

 

[Woody Stover]

I thought run it with the airflow pulled out all the way and it will be the hottest.
After an hour of great heat the fire has died down and all I have now is huge pile of glowing ash. I cannot add more wood without the embers falling out. Stove temp is down to 400

Ah, we've finally figured out why your stove isn't putting out enough heat..you are sending it up the flue!
If your wood is dry, get the new load burned in with the air open a good ways. When the load is starting to catch well, start cutting the air in increments until the flames get a little lazier. The fire will build back up as more wood catches, then cut the air some more. If you have a flue meter, it will give you more immediate feedback as to what the burn is doing, but you can use the stove top meter until you get a flue meter on there. Take note of stove top and flue temps needed for the secondary to start kicking in. Cut the air to the point that the flame off the wood is lazy, but the secondary is rockin'. At your final air setting, you still have plenty of wood left, not a pile of mostly spent coals, and the secondary should keep going for a good while as the stove tosses massive heat.
At the end of the burn you can open up the air a bit on the coals to burn them down and keep stove top temp up.

 

[Lsingle]

Ah, we've finally figured out why your stove isn't putting out enough heat..you are sending it up the flue!
If your wood is dry, get the new load burned in with the air open a good ways. When the load is starting to catch well, start cutting the air in increments until the flames get a little lazier. The fire will build back up as more wood catches, then cut the air some more. If you have a flue meter, it will give you more immediate feedback as to what the burn is doing, but you can use the stove top meter until you get a flue meter on there. Take note of stove top and flue temps needed for the secondary to start kicking in. Cut the air to the point that the flame off the wood is lazy, but the secondary is rockin'. At your final air setting, you still have plenty of wood left, not a pile of mostly spent coals, and the secondary should keep going for a good while as the stove tosses massive heat.
At the end of the burn you can open up the air a bit on the coals to burn them down and keep stove top temp up.

With the door open?

So to start

Door open air flow open all the way?
Start small fire with kindling
Add a log
Now the fire has started and burning well now what?

 

[weatherguy]

Dont throw a log, load it up, once it catches really good is when you start closing it down slowly as mentioned above. With the door closed.

 

[Lsingle]

Ok so start fire with door open and air flow open

Then load fire up

Then after it catches good shut door

Then what

 

[maple1]

Ok so start fire with door open and air flow open

Then load fire up

Then after it catches good shut door

Then what

Post 43 explained pretty good.

 

[Lsingle]

How do I know when to cut down the airflow

 

[Ludlow]

Show a pic of how full you load it up. How full is it? You have to put a good bit of wood in it on startup.

Much of the following is repeating what others have said . This works on mine. Yours may vary:
When I light a cold stove, I let the door slightly unlatched. Not wide open!.You will sense how to do this on your stove based on where the flames go crazy. Let it do this for awhile until going very good. DONT WALK AWAY FROM THE STOVE

Then latch the door but leave the air open all the way until the wood chars a bit and your flue gauge hits about 3/4's up into the burn range. Yes the flames will die for a bit but will come back with a vengeance. Dont let it go into the overfire range. Close the air down to about half at this point. Your flames will die a bit and your flue gauge will drop. This is when the heat will be contained in the stove and the secondary flames will ignite. It is at this point where your stovetop temp will really climb. You are no longer blasting the heat up the chimney! If you get too much heat turn down to 1/4. Your secondaries should slow down. After the splits start cracking apart slightly you can turn down all the way and ride the secondary heat for hours because at this point there is no more moisture left. The gasses pour out and burn as ghost flames.

 

[Lsingle]

So let the wood char and then shut it up and close the intake to about half way?