I've been burning since mid october in Northeast PA and this is my first wood stove. I have a hearthstone manchester on the mid level in a modified split level home that is 3600 sq ft. I'm trying to heat the upper half of this home with the stove and I've got some questions after reading through this forum. I see a lot of posts about over firing a stove and I'm not sure if there is something wrong with mine because I dont feel like I could ever do that. My chimney is above, but close to, the minimum requirement for the stove. I almost always have to leave the door cracked to get a fire started. I thought I had the hang of burning until recently I tried loading the box full of big splits because I see that a lot of members do this. My results have been good stove top temps with absolutely no secondary burn. My question ultimately is am I better off with small splits and constantly reloading or is there something I'm doing wrong or is there an issue with my install
Running a Manchester, please help
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Simonkenton
Minister of Fire
Does your pipe go straight up through the roof? Are there any 90 degree turns in the pipe?
Are you a good rookie who went to Lowes and bought a moisture meter, and who is testing the moisture content of your wood?
Are you a good rookie who went to Lowes and bought a moisture meter, and who is testing the moisture content of your wood?
My chimney makes a 45 before it goes through the ceiling in order to avoid a rafter that's in the way but to answer you, I have a mini lingo that I use to check moistire
How long has your firewood been cut, split, and stacked (here in after refered to as CSS 
) ?
Welcome to the forums
) ?Welcome to the forums
Simonkenton
Minister of Fire
A mini lingo. Never heard of it but I just looked it up and it costs a hundred bucks! The Lowes meter costs 29 bucks so you ought to get good results with that.
So what is the moisture reading on your wood?
So you have two 45 degree turns. That shouldn't hurt performance that much but maybe you need 3 more feet of pipe.
So what is the moisture reading on your wood?
So you have two 45 degree turns. That shouldn't hurt performance that much but maybe you need 3 more feet of pipe.
brazilbl
Burning Hunk
The most important fact I've learned reading these forums for a while now is that dry wood is crucial. If your lingo measures 20 degrees or less (with a room-temperature piece of wood just split again to test), that will go a long way toward a satisfying fire. I will let the Chimney specialists handle the more complex issues that may be in play right now.
Welcome!
Welcome!
Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
For accurate reading this time of year bring wood in house for 24 hours before testing. Low temperature can give inaccurate readings.
All of the cherry I've been burning is around 10% and the oak is around 20% at room temp. I can burn at good temps with good secondaries if I have a few splits but never with a full firebox. Also I am never worried about an over fire and my wood likes to charcoal over
It heats the house I'm just concerned about the cleanliness of the burn and I'm not sure if I'm just obsessing
Simonkenton
Minister of Fire
What stove top temps are you getting.
Twenty percent is a little high. Something, as you suspect, is not quite right with your setup.
Twenty percent is a little high. Something, as you suspect, is not quite right with your setup.
Stovetop likes to hang around 400 according to an infrared thermometer. It will often drop below that and honestly it takes constant watch to make sure its in that area
How is your wood dried? Because I have to suspect your measurments are innacurate if you air dry and are getting a 10 reading. Especially this year in PA I don't think that is possible
Just bringing the wood inside after splitting and hitting it with the moisture meter. I'm not suggesting it's the best wood ever but it could be worse. The cherry is the only stuff giving that reading
Cold wood will not give you accurate measurements. Let it get to room temp. Then split it and test. Your symptoms sound like wet wood
So you are shooting through the convective top of the Manchester, down to the actual stove top? Is it giving the 400 reading when there are secondaries going? It sounds above like the big splits weren't producing secondaries, so I have to guess those splits aren't as dry..?
Yes, shooting through the top because after considering a bunch of stuff I read on here that seemed to be the best way to monitor it. I'm hesitant to believe that its wet wood though because I have brush that has been laying dead in a 10 ft pile since I bought this house a year ago.... I use it to start things up and even that needs a door open and a lot of encouragement to get started
I could be wrong but I didnt think that wood was like a sponge..... this brush is clearly a few years old so rain or not if the surface is dry how is it that moisture content is an issue? It lights up like gasoline in my burn barrel
I test customers firewood at least 4 times a week and this year it is all wetter than normal here in PA. The driest stuff is 16 or 17 percent. And nothing uncovered has been anywhere near 20. I wood will take on water especially when the average relative humidity is as high as it was this year.
Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
No doubt, I have had maple that was once about 20 percent shoot up to the 30’s due to stretch of wet weather. The wood was uncovered and it stayed wet even though i moved a bunch into the basement. Dried out eventually but took time.
Bigger pieces aren't as dry. Might benefit from a little more pipe, I'll leave that stuff to bholler.
I've had small unsplit Oak (2-2.5") that were stacked, top-covered, and still bubbling out the ends two years later.
It's perplexing that you aren't getting secondaries all the time. What happens when you throw a few 2x4s in there?
Simonkenton
Minister of Fire
Four hundred degrees is not a very hot stove top. On my Jotul Oslo I can crank it up to 600 easy and have to watch for it not getting too hot.
I have a straight stove pipe and very dry wood. Something is definitely wrong with your set up but, keep at it the guys here will get you straightened out.
These modern stoves are very unforgiving of any flaw in the pipe, ie, don't like bends in the pipe. In your case I understand you had to do the 45s to dodge the beam. You did dodge the beam and run right up through the ceiling, right? Not through the wall?
Also these new stoves are very unforgiving for wood that is not dry enough.
I have a straight stove pipe and very dry wood. Something is definitely wrong with your set up but, keep at it the guys here will get you straightened out.
These modern stoves are very unforgiving of any flaw in the pipe, ie, don't like bends in the pipe. In your case I understand you had to do the 45s to dodge the beam. You did dodge the beam and run right up through the ceiling, right? Not through the wall?
Also these new stoves are very unforgiving for wood that is not dry enough.
Yes, with a full load of truly dry wood I would be expecting to see a stove top temp in excess of 600º.
Thanks for the replies. I wouldn't have thought that brush would retain moisture like that from just rain. I'm certain the oak I have isn't really ready to burn but the cherry seems good I just still dont get those high temps on the stovetop you guys are talking about. I can get it that hot if i feed it small splits but that isn't very useful to me for a longer burn Nd it will take me a while to get it to climb to 600. Could the 45 be killing my draft that much?(yes it 45s and then goes straight out the roof) It seems like theres good airflow but the fire itself is telling a different story. As a side note I've also noticed I get much worse performance if the box is loaded up more than if I just have 3 splits in it say
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