Smokey Chimney

[schortie]

We just had a Vermont Castings Defiant installed a coupla weeks ago. Everything is warm and cozy inside, yet when I went outside the other day I noticed a significant amount of smoke coming from the chimney - enough to make it look like there was a leaf fire on my roof. After playing around a bit, I realized it smoked this much when the damper was closed. I thought this was a very efficient stove (though it's noncatalytic). I am quite confident that we are burning good, seasoned wood. It's possible that Im not lighting the fire correctly - although I'm building up a good amount of coals before I add more wood and close the damper. Could it be that I'm not putting enough wood on the coals to keep it up - usually I put a coupla BIG logs on them. I have also tried opening the air intake more, and less. Any suggestions or insights?

 

[daveswoodhauler]

I've found that I am much better off with a lot of smaller splits vs a few huge rounds....a lot will depend on your firebox size/draft, etc...
Try some different size splits and placements, and after a while you will find out what works best for you. Good luck.

 

[jtp10181]

BIG logs are generally not seasoned well. Splits should be 6" in diameter or smaller and in this region hard woods should be split and seasoned for 2 years outdoors where the wind can blow through.

 

[Diabel]

Do a search on "defient" or "encore" there is lots on info there.

 

[begreen]

We just had a Vermont Castings Defiant installed a coupla weeks ago. Everything is warm and cozy inside, yet when I went outside the other day I noticed a significant amount of smoke coming from the chimney - enough to make it look like there was a leaf fire on my roof. After playing around a bit, I realized it smoked this much when the damper was closed. I thought this was a very efficient stove (though it's noncatalytic). I am quite confident that we are burning good, seasoned wood. It's possible that Im not lighting the fire correctly - although I'm building up a good amount of coals before I add more wood and close the damper. Could it be that I'm not putting enough wood on the coals to keep it up - usually I put a coupla BIG logs on them. I have also tried opening the air intake more, and less. Any suggestions or insights?

Get a good, hot coal bed established first. Then add smaller chunks before putting in the larger pieces. Let them get hot, then engage the bypass.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We just had a Vermont Castings Defiant installed a coupla weeks ago. Everything is warm and cozy inside, yet when I went outside the other day I noticed a significant amount of smoke coming from the chimney - enough to make it look like there was a leaf fire on my roof. After playing around a bit, I realized it smoked this much when the damper was closed. I thought this was a very efficient stove (though it's noncatalytic). I am quite confident that we are burning good, seasoned wood. It's possible that Im not lighting the fire correctly - although I'm building up a good amount of coals before I add more wood and close the damper. Could it be that I'm not putting enough wood on the coals to keep it up - usually I put a coupla BIG logs on them. I have also tried opening the air intake more, and less. Any suggestions or insights?

Welcome to the forum schortie.

By your post it sounds to me like you have a fire until you get a good amount of coals, then add more wood and close the damper. If this is correct, what you should do is after adding more wood, leave that damper open for a while. This gets rid of any remaining moisture from the wood (even seasoned wood has some moisture in it). That might take 10 minutes or more depending upon the wood. Usually after the wood is charred really nice then you can close the damper. How far to close it will depend upon your setup as every one is a bit different. Probably closing it all the way is certainly wrong though. Also, you did not say what type of wood you are burning.

Hang on, you will get to burn that stove good by the weekend. Cold is coming.

 

[schortie]

Thank you folks for your insights. After reading many of the other posts in regards to VC stoves, I was getting terrified that we we're going to be in for a continuous, frustrating problem - I truly hope we are not.

As for not closing the damper all the way....it is either open or closed, there is no inbetween. Am I confusing the damper with the air intake? I have kept the air intake both open, midway, and closed with a similar result of smoke, smoke, smoke. I will try the suggestions made by you all and hopefully be burning clean and efficient.

By the way, we are burning a mix of oak, ash, and maple. I'm not certain of the species, but everyone around us that we spoke with absolutely RAVED about the quality of the wood from our supplier.