So I purchased an old Hearth Mate wood stove back in the fall. I installed the stove and it ran pretty well for a few weeks. I found that if I ran it with the air intake wide open along with exhaust and an already warm stove I could overfire the stove if I was not paying attention. So running it at 400-500 degrees was not an issue. However, due to the way the unit is constructed, the ash sits in the burn chamber and there is no tray to pull out. Over time the chamber fills up with ash and started blocking the air inlet at the front of the stove, right below the door. When this became an issue I let the stove cool down and shoveled out maybe 70% of the coals and ash to open the burn chamber back up and eliminate all the ash falling into the air inlet. However, since I cleaned out the stove the other day, it wants to run around 350, no hotter and wants to smoke out when I open the door, even if I do it slowly. Once the door is opened, the fire erupts and begins to better draw the smoke out. This was never an issue before. The fact that opening the door seems to solve the problem tells me for whatever reason the fire is not getting enough air and maybe I have to clean out the area around the air inlet better? Any ideas what to look at first?
Old Hearth Mate Stove does not want to run past 350 degrees
- Thread starter sr73087
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I will take a look but due to the style, I would think it would not be plugged. Not in a month of burning very dry hardwoods.
https://www.woodlanddirect.com/Chimney-Champion-Terra-Cotta-Mount-Cap-13x13?st-t=shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAheXiBRD-ARIsAODSpWPNJiWLM-wZ2bTVm21Ekl4fk4kt8dTsSfO8TQCyglePb-v8wyd5QdsaAhgnEALw_wcB#252Diameter:6"
https://www.woodlanddirect.com/Chimney-Champion-Terra-Cotta-Mount-Cap-13x13?st-t=shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAheXiBRD-ARIsAODSpWPNJiWLM-wZ2bTVm21Ekl4fk4kt8dTsSfO8TQCyglePb-v8wyd5QdsaAhgnEALw_wcB#252Diameter:6"
allow to cool vacuum your intake ports and check for ash on baffle or flue connection , sounds like this lack of air problem is specific to the stove end
I am still having some issues where my air inlets are clean, I have the fire going well, but once I close the door it gradually wants to just smolder. As soon as I reopen the door, the fire kicks back up. If the air inlet is clear, but adding air helps the fire, is it just a poor design?
Have you paid any attention to the weather conditions when it burns good/bad? I know with my setup (admittedly different), it really makes a difference in the draft. If its below zero outside or windy, it drafts like a freight train, I run with the air closed way down and have to be careful to avoid over firing. When it is 35+ degrees out, the draft is much weaker. I need to leave the door open for a long time to get it well established. Even after I finally close the door, I'll end up running the air wide open for quite a while, and don't close it down nearly as far to cruise. I could probably use a little extra height on my chimney, but if I did that I'd really have to be careful when its colder outside. How tall is your chimney?
Very good point.
The run to the stove is roughly 22 feet. Partially in the garage and partially exposed on a north facing wall.
The run to the stove is roughly 22 feet. Partially in the garage and partially exposed on a north facing wall.
Would wet wood ignite with more air and as soon as its damped down go out? I thought it would always burn poorly regardless of airflow. However, this last batch was low down in the pile. The few pieces I tested were 12-14% but there could have been a few that were alittle higher that I didn't check.
The stove is an old Hearth Mate. Picture at the link.
https://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/68/details/9519/Series-1000-DFP--1/25539.html
The stove is an old Hearth Mate. Picture at the link.
https://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/68/details/9519/Series-1000-DFP--1/25539.html
I use a Stihl moisture meter on the exposed ends of the piece of wood.
This is the unit. Probably 4 years old now or so.
http://www.moisturemeterguide.com/page10.html#.XHaGvbh7mUk
This is the unit. Probably 4 years old now or so.
http://www.moisturemeterguide.com/page10.html#.XHaGvbh7mUk
If you are testing on the end your measurement is not at all accurate. You need to be testing a room temperature split on a freshly split face not endgrain
The purpose of testing is to find the wettest part of the wood . Take a piece of room temp wood split than test freshly split face this will give you the accurate moisture of your wood .
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