Older Appalachian 52 wood stove "need help"

[AppalachianStan]

Hi to every one here. Ok where to start. I have an older Appalachian 52 wood stove with a 8" flue. I bought used in winter of 2009. Had a hard time burning in it. It seems to not get enough air to burn. Had a 6" flue and old brick chimney in the celling that was as old as the house is same where around 100 years old. From the time I bought the wood stove until part of 2010 it was hard to burn in. Now we use to burn with the non- air tight wood stove. We had a chimney fire do to creosote build up. So I bought a new SuperVent 8" chimney kit and 3 sections of 3' x 8" SuperVent pipe from Lowe's to replace my old chimney. The chimney is about 3' above the closest roof peak which is about 4' away and the next peak is about 20' away. Payed a chimney guy to come out to make sure it was installed right and I was told that the flue is 8" every thing has to be 8" for the wood stove. And the pipe runs straight up. It just want burn right. Dose any one know any thing about the Appalachian 52 ? I have to crack the door to get enough air to get the temperature up to 300 degrees and it takes 45 minutes or more to get there. I thought it meet be the catalyst but it has been removed by the original owner.
1) dose any one know any thing about the wood stove? Like how the air run through the wood stove. To me it looks like the air come in the bottom front middle right beside the fan and ash pan and come out on the right and left side of the door. How to burn wood in it North Sorth or East West. How close to the door can the wood be. Can the wood be over the ash hole?
2) If I add more chimney pipe. how much to add, how tall is to much, do I need a chimney guy?
3) What is a good wood moisture meter device and how much is it going to cost?
4) It could be the wood. It is so hard to find any one honest or knows what they are doing to buy from. I have got most of my wood from craigs list.

 

[Jags]

I'm not sure I am picturing your setup correctly. Could you clarify if you have 9ft of 8" pipe, or is your total stack height more than that. Where does the 6" come in to play. If you are going from 8 to 6, your choking the heck out of the draw.

I would also like you to describe your wood source. How long split and stacked (not cut or dead, but SPLIT).

And welcome to the forum.

 

[AppalachianStan]

The old set up was 6" the new set up is 8" all the way. yes I have 9' of SuperVent chimney pipe and 5' of single wall stove pipe. I hope that clears things up.
The wood source 1/2 of it is from the first of last seasons and the other 1/2 I was told it was cut about a year ago but not all of that load is split up.

 

[Jags]

Okay, so 14 ft of 8" stack straight up, right? That will be about the minimum stack height that is recommended. Even a couple of ft on top of that could make a big difference.

I am also suspect of your wood. When you had the problem with the fire, were you using the tail end of last years stuff, or the stuff that was newer? Do you have the ability to check for moisture content (moisture meter)?

 

[AppalachianStan]

Ok so get a other 3' x 8" pipe. Will that be to much weight and will I need a roof guy to support the chimney?
No I do not have a moisture meter and that was one of my questions. What is a good wood moisture meter device and how much is it going to cost?
Yes the last burn was the new wood with some of the old. then I split it down to about 3" and it still did not burn good.

 

[Jags]

Ok so get a other 3' x 8" pipe. Will that be to much weight and will I need a roof guy to support the chimney?
No I do not have a moisture meter and that was one of my questions. What is a good wood moisture meter device and how much is it going to cost?
Yes the last burn was the new wood with some of the old. then I split it down to about 3" and it still did not burn good.

Okay, stay away from the newer wood till you can confirm dryness. A cheapo Moister Meter can be had for pretty small bucks at places like Harbor Fright, it isn't a fine tuned, high caliber piece of test equipment, but it does the job for firewood.

How much pipe sticks above the roof line? A simple and low dollar test is to grab a piece of metal ducting (like the sections you see at hardware stores) for a couple of bucks and slip it on your pipe. Keep in mind that this is NOT acceptable piping for your wood burner, but it will work for a short term test. Does it help?? If so, then you know where money is well spent. If it doesn't, you tossed a couple of bones to the local hardware store.

 

[AppalachianStan]

Ok that sound good thanks.
I have more to ask. When I had the chimney fire the Fire Marshall said my stove pipe was in up side down but the professional chimney guy said it was install right. It is a little confusing. From top Of wood stove to the SS A class chimney; "I call it male and female on the stove pipe ends" I have a male end going in to the stove top flue and a female end going around the chimney stove pipe adapter. Is this right?
The fire Marshall said this set up gases can get in the home.
Now if this not right how do you install it when the chimney stove adapter has a male end going down???????

 

[Jags]

Your description is a bit confusing. Lets put it this way. The stove pipe should be in the direction that if anything dripped down the pipe, it would STAY in the pipe. In other words, the part that goes INSIDE the next part should be on top, funneling into the lower piece. If that makes sense.

 

[AppalachianStan]

Yes it dose. Thats the way I have it. But what sad is the Fire Marshall was wrong.

 

[Jags]

Yes it dose. Thats the way I have it. But what sad is the Fire Marshall was wrong.

Was it this guy:

 

[AppalachianStan]

LOL!

 

[AppalachianStan]

Does any one know anything about the Appalachian 52 bay wood stove?
The new Stove owners manual does not show how the fire brick is lined. How is the fire brick lined?
How does the air runs through the stove?
How close to the glass door can I put the wood?
Can I stack the wood on the ash pan opening?

I also have read on here that the stove thermometer should be placed at 18" to 20" above the surface of the stove. I bought a Rutland magnetic stove thermometer. The directions says it should be placed on a vertical single wall pipe no more than 6" above the stove surface.
Also the temperatures? the thermometer says not run at temperatures above 500 degrees. I see a lot of you on here at temperatures 700 degrees are more?
Also read on here that the temperatures on the out side of a single wall pipe is cooler than on the in side? So if I get 250 to 300 degrees on the out side does that mean that the temperatures on the in side is right for the burn zone?

 

[Loco Gringo]

4) It could be the wood. It is so hard to find any one honest or knows what they are doing to buy from. I have got most of my wood from craigs list.

My guess is that #4 is your problem. Once i saw craigslist as your source it confirmed my suspicion. Unless you do it yourself its very hard to know what you have for fuel, and quality fuel is key to quality, headache free heat.

 

[AppalachianStan]

Hi, I guess know one knows the Appalachian 52 bay. I fond
jpeterman34 post but his Appalachian 52 bay is newer than my.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/27046/

I need to get the stove up and burning it is my primary heat source.
I will call Appalachian tomorrow to see if they can help with the layout of the stove.

 

[begreen]

As a test, go to the local grocery or hardware stove and buy a bundle of their fireplace firewood. Try that wood, starting the fire with dry construction scraps, like 2x4 cut-offs. If that works great, you will know it is your wood. You can also do a few simple tests on your current wood supply. Lift up several splits, do some feel heavier than others? The heaviest ones may be still wet. Do you have several species of wood in stacks? If you have any ash or pine, use that to get a good fire going. Take a couple sample splits and resplit them in half. Take the freshly split face of the wood and press it against your cheek. Is it cool and damp? If yes, the wood is not seasoned well. Then, bang together some various splits. Dry wood will make a resonant wood note, like banging together two baseball bats. Wet wood will just thud.

About the chimney pipe above the roof, there needs to be a brace if the pipe is taller than 5 ft above where it penetrates the roof.

 

[AppalachianStan]

BeGreen, My local grocery fire wood pack are not seasoned. I went and bought some from them last year and it was green. I thank they are getting it from a fire wood dealer from Rock Hill SC.
And that dealer is expensive to buy from. Today I'm going to go to Tractor Supply and get some eco-wood. Want is a good prices to pay for wood. and how much wood do you get in a cord?

 

[begreen]

Wood prices vary a lot with the species of wood and the region. A cord only 50 miles away can sell for half of what another would sell it for. It's about supply and demand and it's about integrity. Try to buy from and established wood seller that has year after year repeat customers. Ask about their policy for taking back wood cut too long or not fully seasoned. Ask when the wood was split. And before they dump the load, take several splits off the truck and re-split them performing the tests mentioned above or using a moisture meter. If you find damp wood, reject the load.

A cord is 128 cubic ft. or a stack 4' x 4' x 8'.

 

[AppalachianStan]

This is my Appalachian 52 Bay. As you can see it is a older stove. I would like to know if I need to refurbished. I know that I need a new catalyst because the original owner removed it. Not sure if the fire brick are lined right. So I was hope that some one on here knows this stove. I tried emailing the manufacturer for help back in 2009 and no reply from themfile:///media/09CE-8633/DCIM/100M1063/100_2409.JPG

 

[AppalachianStan]

[quote author="AppalachianStan" date="1320624634"]This is my Appalachian 52 Bay. As you can see it is a older stove. I would like to know if I need to refurbished. I know that I need a new catalyst because the original owner removed it. Not sure if the fire brick are lined right. So I was hope that some one on here knows this stove. I tried emailing the manufacturer for help back in 2009 and no reply from them

 

[AppalachianStan]

Well guys finally got a photo of my Appalachian BEAST up. More to come. And by the way thanks to all that has help so far.
BeGreen, you know it has just hit me if my neighbors see me with the wood against my face they will think I'm crazy. " Look at that nut he is out there hugging his fire wood". Lol

 

[AppalachianStan]

well it looks like no one know any thing about this stove.

 

[AppalachianStan]

Hi guy, just called the manufacturer. they said the date when was made would be on the back will its not.
1) does the air flow look right to you guys? this is the only air come in to the box.

 

[daleeper]

I know nothing about the Appalachian stoves other than they have a very poor web site for support of their stoves.

I realize this is a manual for a newer model than what you have, and it doesn't describe the airflow or the firebrick pattern, but in case you haven't found anything, maybe this will help a bit. This is a link to a manual.

http://www.gasgrillsnow.com/pdf/appalachian_52-BAY_manual_08.pdf

I would be using a vacuum and compressed air to blow/suck that air passage out as best as I could. Then make sure I have some dry wood, and some small fires to test draft.

Someone on another thread suggested adding regular stovepipe on the top side of the chimney for a test to see how much class a might be needed, I thought that sounded like a good way to know how much to get.

Good luck, hopefully someone with this stove will come by and offer their expertise on this stove.

 

[AppalachianStan]

Thanks daleeper, I have downloaded that owners manual. Find out that my stove is a 52 not a 52 bay looks the same to me except for they changed the door design,and now it has 3 draft controls. The owners manual is where I find the phone# to call. The sad thing is Appalachian stove cost a lot of money to have such a poor website with no support on the website for their stoves. The drawing of the 52 bay in the owners manual is kinda cheap if you ask me. I have looked at other companys stoves and there manuals look nice. they gave detailed drawings for there stoves. Sometimes I think I made the wrong choice in a wood stove but at $ 500.00 used it not bad I could have payed $2000.00 new for it. I'm going to get a new 3' SuperVent pipe at the 1st of the mouth for me at $55.00 new I just rather buy it then pay $10.00 for pipe to see if that help. I am at 14' is at its minimum now. after the 3' chimney pipe it will put me at 17' and chimney guy. And hopefully that will work.

 

[RIDGERUNNER30]

Hey appalachian, looking at the pics you posted is your stove a insert or a freestanding? The reason i ask is i don't see legs or a base for the stove to sit on. I one time looked at some appalachian wood stoves on there website and email them for prices and they never replied so that was enough for me to not to bussiness with the company. wood burning can be a real pain if you don't have the right equipment, and the most important part is the stove. The stove you have looks to be a older model or non epa model. and getting parts can be tough to get. If i were you I would look at investing in a new stove, please don't get offended at me you need to have a wood stove that has a good company backing up the product they are producing. there are some good quanity wood stoves for a cheap price. one that comes to mind and alot of members have them with no complaints is englander wood stove they are sold at big box stores like lowes, home depot and sometimes craigslist, I also see you are having trouble finding good seasoned firewood, I cut my own wood and let it season myself because what few guys that sell firewood around here don't know what seasoned is, If i were you get out and drive around and try to find someone that burns firewood and see if they can hepl you find some good seasoned wood.