Progress Hybrid crazy noise

[smitty79]

I just reloaded the stove, had the Flue all the way open and the Cat disengaged. My stove made a sound that was comparable to low frequency thunder..maybe like a freight train rolling by. It definitely made me nervous. I closed the flue and engaged the Cat (Temp was around 250), the noise stopped. Any ideas as to what that noise was?

 

[smitty79]

Nevermind, i'm just dumb ;-P. My wife bought a pot/steamer today and the top doesn't fit flush on the pot..it was rattling when the fire got roaring...

 

[Waulie]

Better than the alternative, Smitty!

 

[HollowHill]

I've had that noise once, just when I engaged the cat on a full load, but no steamer or pot. Stopped when I closed the draft. Thought it was a chimney fire, but the sweep says it was not. Real interested to know if anyone else gets that sound and under what conditions.

 

[smitty79]

Now you have me thinking Hollow....maybe it wasn't the steamer.. Or a combination of the steamer and something else.

 

[HollowHill]

I likened the noise to an elephant's sneaker in a dryer, or an unbalanced washing machine. Did not seem to have any air whooshing sounds associated with it that I recall. I had a full load, close to the top and the secondaries were really going to town, but the lower layers were not as engulfed as the top layer was (I think due to proximity of secondaries). The noise started immediately after I had engaged the cat (the draft was at 50%). Disengaging the cat did nothing, but it stopped as soon as I moved the draft to 0.

My chimney sweep, who checked for signs of chimney fire (none), thought it might have been a phenomenon known as "chugging", where there is too much oxygen and off gasses to make it up the flue, so they back up and kind of pound on the flue pipe. Sounded a bit too chaotic for that, maybe that and the sheet metal heat shield flexing???

 

[rideau]

I really think it is "chugging". Happened 2x to me. Both immediately upon closing door as completed a reload into a hot bed of coals, top down fire, newsprint on top. This was in the early days with the PH before I knew the fire would light off so quickly and easily from coals. Both instances I lit the newspaper. Second time, had a larger load of wood so had the door open longer. Don't recall outside weather conditions, so really cannot comment as to whether that contributed to things. Both times stopped immediately upon closing draft, so I didn't worry too much. Second event, though, really scared me while occurring. Entire stovepipe/chimney assembly shook like Billy-be-damned (I'm certain any creosote that may have been there was shaken loose)and the rumbling sounded like a freight train. My theory: Took long enough reloading so the bottom layer of wood was charring nicely, putting out lots of volatile gasses before I lit the newsprint. I have an interior chimney, really good draft in the worst scenario. Had the door open a relatively long time to load, so lots of time for unrestricted air to work on that newly loaded wood. Lighting that newsprint was all that was needed to spark the gasses in there, instant ignition of the whole shebang and maybe that is where the expression shebang came from...The main event occurred as I was closing the door. Once the main event had occurred, most of the excess air had been used up...wasn't being supplied freely anymore, although for a few seconds the flue was wide open. So burn rate was already slowing down, and presumably less volatile gasses already being produced. Instant I closed the damper completely, everything stopped. = no more excess air, no more excess burning, no more excess gasses, everythibg the way it should be. I have not used newsprint since at the top of the stove, and have used no starter of any sort (newsprint/white birch bark) unless starting from a cold start. Have not had any repetition of this scary event since, and the stove starts just ine. I do think I may talk with Woodstock about cautioning people about the possiility of this type of event, and how to avoid it, because it is frightening, and I never had it in all my years of burning with the Fireview. This is just such a well designed efficient stove that when we feed it too rich a fuel combination it explodes into flame. Takes very little to get this beauty going, which noone would believe who hadn't seen it. I'm spoiled now. So used to its ease of start that I can't imagine going back to a lesser stove....

Has anyone had this event occur other than at the beginning of a burn/flue wide open? Anyone still having it occur taking precautions about introducing flame prior to damping down the stove in a scenario of a hot bed of coals?

 

[HollowHill]

I really think it is "chugging". Happened 2x to me. Both immediately upon closing door as completed a reload into a hot bed of coals, top down fire, newsprint on top. This was in the early days with the PH before I knew the fire would light off so quickly and easily from coals. Both instances I lit the newspaper. Second time, had a larger load of wood so had the door open longer. Don't recall outside weather conditions, so really cannot comment as to whether that contributed to things. Both times stopped immediately upon closing draft, so I didn't worry too much. Second event, though, really scared me while occurring. Entire stovepipe/chimney assembly shook like Billy-be-damned (I'm certain any creosote that may have been there was shaken loose)and the rumbling sounded like a freight train. My theory: Took long enough reloading so the bottom layer of wood was charring nicely, putting out lots of volatile gasses before I lit the newsprint. I have an interior chimney, really good draft in the worst scenario. Had the door open a relatively long time to load, so lots of time for unrestricted air to work on that newly loaded wood. Lighting that newsprint was all that was needed to spark the gasses in there, instant ignition of the whole shebang and maybe that is where the expression shebang came from...The main event occurred as I was closing the door. Once the main event had occurred, most of the excess air had been used up...wasn't being supplied freely anymore, although for a few seconds the flue was wide open. So burn rate was already slowing down, and presumably less volatile gasses already being produced. Instant I closed the damper completely, everything stopped. = no more excess air, no more excess burning, no more excess gasses, everythibg the way it should be. I have not used newsprint since at the top of the stove, and have used no starter of any sort (newsprint/white birch bark) unless starting from a cold start. Have not had any repetition of this scary event since, and the stove starts just ine. I do think I may talk with Woodstock about cautioning people about the possiility of this type of event, and how to avoid it, because it is frightening, and I never had it in all my years of burning with the Fireview. This is just such a well designed efficient stove that when we feed it too rich a fuel combination it explodes into flame. Takes very little to get this beauty going, which noone would believe who hadn't seen it. I'm spoiled now. So used to its ease of start that I can't imagine going back to a lesser stove....

Has anyone had this event occur other than at the beginning of a burn/flue wide open? Anyone still having it occur taking precautions about introducing flame prior to damping down the stove in a scenario of a hot bed of coals?

The similarity between our two events is having fire at the top of the stove. In my instance, it was flaming wood at the top near the baffle, in your case, flaming newspaper at the top of the stove. Somehow, I think that might be the inciting factor.

 

[rideau]

HokkowHill: Was your event at the beginning of a burn, or well into a burn? Was your draft open all the way? I definitely agree the catalyst for this type of event is flame at the top of the firebox. But I'm curious if I am correct in assuming that it occurs in a setting of lots of air and lots of volatile gasses prior to established burn. I want to KNOW, because I don't ever want to duplicate the experience. A few more of these and I'd be worried about my chimney. Glad it is screwed together at the overlaps.

 

[rideau]

Sorry about that typo, HollowHill. Should have read before posting...Looking back, see you say it was a the beginning of a burn, draft open, but you had a secondary fire going already. Smitty79's sounds like it was in a similar situation to mine. Wonder if others have experienced this? All three of ours thus have : very early in or beginning of burn cycle, draft completely open, very short duration event. You and I at least flame at top of firebox. Smitty, did you use a match, newsprint or firestarter, or notice a flame at the top of the firebox? HollowHill, The fact that yours happened immediately upon engaging cat after secondaries were burning prior to your engaging cat interests and bothers me. I'll have to try to think that one through. Meanwhile, I won't be engaging my cat anymore before completely closing the draft, even if I plan to open it a smidgen right away after. Want to avoid these events.

 

[HollowHill]

+++1 on wanting to avoid this event. Scared bejeeepers out of me. Although knowing what to do if it occurs is helpful (close the draft). Yes, mine was at the beginning of a burn cycle, about 10 minutes in, just when I closed the bypass. My draft was about 50% open. The secondaries were going strong and were more of a flamelike appearance (solid, yellow) rather than the usual opague, reddisht. I wondered if I had somehow lit off gasses in the baffle or top of the stove and that the sheet metal heat reflector had contributed to the sound if there was gas explosions going on up there. It was definitely clattery-bang sounding. My pipe goes right up my internal masonry chimney, so I couldn't really tell if that was vibrating. Is yours a stainless steel one that you could see vibrating? (Nevermind, I see upon rereading yours that it is, and that's interesting because I felt like something was vibrating wildly when mine was occurring, in fact scanned around for it (but felt rather stupid because a stone stove is not going to vibrate much)

 

[smitty79]

I didn't use anything to restart the fire, My stove temp was still around 300 and I was just filling up the stove before going to bed. There were plenty of hot coals to get it started. My flue was all the way open. I would be guessing, but I'd say there were flames at the top of the firebox, but not secondaries. I was just heating everything up in there before engaging the cat. It seriously sounded like a freight train..maybe like an earthquake rumbling, (although I've never experienced one) but I don't think the stove itself was moving. I must also admit, i wasn't completely sober at the time.. ;-)

 

[HollowHill]

I didn't use anything to restart the fire, My stove temp was still around 300 and I was just filling up the stove before going to bed. There were plenty of hot coals to get it started. My flue was all the way open. I would be guessing, but I'd say there were flames at the top of the firebox, but not secondaries. I was just heating everything up in there before engaging the cat. It seriously sounded like a freight train..maybe like an earthquake rumbling, (although I've never experienced one) but I don't think the stove itself was moving. I must also admit, i wasn't completely sober at the time.. ;-)

Betcha were after it happened ;-)

 

[smitty79]

Yeah, that definitely woke me up. I also thought that I should mention that when I engage the Cat I get a lot of ticking noises like you would hear with baseboard heating when the heat turns on. I assume the noise is normal, but just thought I should mention it in case it is not.

 

[HollowHill]

Yeah, that definitely woke me up. I also thought that I should mention that when I engage the Cat I get a lot of ticking noises like you would hear with baseboard heating when the heat turns on. I assume the noise is normal, but just thought I should mention it in case it is not.

Yup, I get that, too. As I've been mulling this over, another similarity between my event and rideau's was the closing of something (door or bypass door), which might have, at least in my case, sent an extra push or fanning of air into the stove. Did anything similar precede your noise?

 

[Flamestead]

I've had one chugging incident. I think it was a full load of wood on top of a deep bed of hot coals. I had it closed down nearly all the way, got a faint smoke whiff after a while, opened it up quite a bit to get the secondaries going, and go they did. I was easily able to stop it by closing the draft down more.

My old stove had two draft tubes from the top, a top cast iron lid, and no other moving parts. I could make it chug at a deeper, slower frequency than the PH did - I used to play with it - could make the old windows in the kitchen rattle from the chugs. Wife found little humor in that. The PH chugged at a higher frequency, almost more of a hum. Too nice of a stove to allow chugging intentionally, and too many parts.

This stove creaks as the temperature changes, likely due to the multiple different materials and thicknesses expanding/contracting at different rates.