stinkin wet wood and chimney fires!

[begreen]

Back on topic to the OP.

Yes, you can dry out the wood faster in the basement, especially with the stove down there. If you put a fan blowing at the stack it will also help accelerate drying.

You may also be suffering from a cold chimney. How tall is it? How is the stove connected to the chimney?

 

[castlegates]

Yesterday I had a full occlusion of my pipe. I haven't even had it 2 months yet with 2 chimney fires, etc. I cleaned out the pipe and got the creosote tar off the bottom parts, also getting a big stick and whacking off the spark arrestor cap (it's pretty high up, too high and I couldn't get leverage enough to twist it off while looking straight down to the ground from way up there, so a big stick got the occluded screen right off). It was completely full of 3rd degree tar creosote already (that's after 2 fires).

It's kind of a no-win. The recirculate function, even when roaring at 600 degrees lets cool smoke out and my chimney is 28 feet up when the reburn is on. Too bad I can't get a shorter chimney or a thinner pipe to get it moving out faster. I got the triple wall pipe mainly to preserve the inside heat since it was going out and up.

I couldn't get the chimney sweep all the way into the top with that cap on it and with no footing or holding, I couldn't sweep it from the top or get that cap off. I was not terribly happy, so a big stick whacking that thing off from 30 feet up served many purposes this afternoon.

From now on, I'm going to get that fire roaring up the chimney once a day >600 degrees for at least a minute or two (I had been but not that hot, not that long). Inside the stove burns hot but the smoke from the top I suspect is too cool by the time it's out, leaving whatever particles exist by then to all stick to the spark arrestor cap.

It occluded yesterday and it took 24hrs to fix. It was a smelly mess and I'm happy it's over. I'll be happier when my house doesn't reek of smoke.

Although my stove has the secondary burn, blah, blah, blah, the rear temperature control vent is another culprit (actually we are, not an inanimate object). My wife or I likely adjusted it too low during the days when it was warm, causing buildup in no time at all given that double burn function seems to take a lot of heat out before releasing the smoke.

Just one day after cleaning the outside chimney (but not knowing the top cap was occluded still troubleshooting and cursing the day I was born), a fair amount of tar creosote formed again inside the pipe while I was troubleshooting this nightmare (dry wood, air vent closed, reburn off so 1/2 the smoke went directly out best I could make it, while the other 1/2 went directly out of my 2 basement windows).

Soon as I got back from work, the fire had gone down enough I could spray the rest out, took everything apart and was able to sweep out the top since the cap was off, showering myself with creosote balls. I need to get another cap that's high enough I can get the sweeper into from below. My stack is 3 1/2-4 feet above my roof straight up the side. Not safe standing, too high above a ladder and I can't get leverage if this one gets stuck. I'll need to find a cap I can put on and don't have to keep playing with it, where the screen doesn't occlude the entire pipe.

I don't recall letting the stove go below 300 (I haven't shut it down for over a month straight of burning, though). Just didn't have a good week...

 

[MasterMech]

If your stove's afterburn feature was working correctly you should have very little creosote buildup and no smoke exiting the chimney except immediately after a reload or on start-up. Your tall chimney should be a plus in getting everything to work correctly, not a hinderence. As for running the temps too low, resist the urge to add wood on warm days. Sometimes I'll set a nice warm overnight fire and let it go out in the morning or only load a couple splits and let them burn up relatively quickly.

Most of your issues seem to stem from your wood. Although much better than the oak your started with, the beech you found lying on the forest floor is probably far from ideal. Wood that hasn't been split and stacked to dry for some time just isn't going to burn like dry wood will. I think we all have tried burning "less than ideal" wood at one time or another either from curosity or necessity.

 

[blacktail]

So, for now, I've got lines of wood a few feet from the stove making sure it's warm and dry before getting it in there.

I only bought my house a few months ago, so I wasn't able to get out front of my wood supply. I've been burning wood I cut this fall that had been down 18-24 months when I'm short on dry wood from my dad's supply.
Drying it near the stove works well. I find it entertaining to watch and listen to the cracks in the wood as it dries. I try to stay ahead and have tomorrow's wood near the stove for that last push of drying. I wouldn't expect to burn wood that was alive recently, but for wood that's been down for an extended period I don't have a problem drying it a bit and then burning.

 

[traditions]

I have the same stove as you,not to many out there.I have found that you have to let it get going good after adding wood before you close it down.The air controll on the rear on mine will not let the stove get to hot.Ihe hotter the stove gets the less air it lets in.When the stove gets cool the air opens up,keeping the temp up in the stove.I have noticed that when I add wood my glass gets black at first,but as the stove gets hot it does burn off.I would remove the cap on your pipe if it is clogging and makes it hard to clean.,I didnt have a cap until I put the liner in my chimney and I never had rain going down the chimney.If you have tar like goo in your chimney you have a wood problem,no question.I have been using the same stove as you and I dont have any tar type creasote at all and I thought the stove works quite well if you burn off the wood before you shut down the air.I can turn my air controll all the way to high and let her go and the stack wil be around 600.When the wood is good and charred I turn the air back to low and Im good for 5 or 6 hours.This is with the rod damper closed or pushed in.Did you set the screw in the flap so the flap stays open 1/8 th of an inch?This is crucial as not to choke and smolder the fire.When I have a good fire going the stack temp stays steady at 450,I have had a bunch of stoves and this one runs the most consistent of them all.I let the ashes build up so they are just below the two louvers on the right side on the bottom of the stove,just skake them a little bit when they get to high,and my burn times increased considerable,but I have to give it more air until the wood is good and charred.This stove throws alot of heat and its hard to regulate by choking off the fire.I have mine in the basement and I regulate the house temp by opening a outside door.All said,I think you have green wood if you have tar.I hope this helps you out,and feel free to ask any questions.

 

[pen]

So, for now, I've got lines of wood a few feet from the stove making sure it's warm and dry before getting it in there.

I don't have a problem drying it a bit and then burning.[/quote]

With what you described here I'd recommend either letting the stove go cold or else sourcing some actually dry fuel. The drying wood by the stove thing isn't working from what you are describing about the chimney. I'd suggest possible biobricks, eco blocks, envi blocks, etc as a fuel source that at the very least could be used to mix w/ your wet fuel and hopefully get the temps up so that you don't have so much accumulation.

Wet wood can be burned so long as it is given enough air, and loaded in the stove in a pattern conducive to burning, hot enough to keep chimney accumulations from what you are describing.

Burning "hot" once a day won't do squat, you need to make sure that chimney is clean then burn it hot all the time. The only thing burning hot once per day will do is let you know at what temperature your creosote deposits will or will not ignite at.

This situation you are in has me worried.

pen