I have a PE Super Classic and this morning I loaded it more than what I usually with do with four medium to larger sized splits over a small bed of coals. Stove was maybe half full. I think the fire took off and heard the pipe making noise and there was some rumbling of the stove and pipe. Wife commented on how loud it was. This scared me a little. Anyone experience this? I shut the air all the way down and it continued to rumble for about 5-10 seconds and then stopped. There was a slight smell similar to when I first got the stove. I haven't fully loaded this stove yet, either. It was installed Nov 30, so i haven't been burning long and my oak is well under 20% for the most part (I've ran into a couple logs that weren't as seasoned). Should I be concerned? Its been about an hour now and the fire is down to large coals and the glass is a dirty. I'm thinking maybe going forward I need to turn down the air sooner rather than let it go. I like to get the soot burned off the baffle before I start to turn it down.
Help - Stove and Pipe Rumbling
- Thread starter Draughts15
- Start date
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stoveliker
Minister of Fire
The smell was the stove pipe and/or stove getting hotter than before.
Some rumbling is not necessarily bad; high draft (because of a hotter fire) can make it sound bad. If nothing came out of your flue (did you look outside), if no part of the stove was glowing, if the pipe is single wall and was not glowing, it is unlikely something improper happened.
Do you have a flue probe? That allows you to measure and dial down on time. Keep the gases below 900-950 or so.
Indeed, dial down a bit sooner when you add more wood on good coals.
The black glass means you could (should) have opened it up a bit after the scare was over.
Next time the stove is cold, see if you can have a look in the pipe how it looks.
Some rumbling is not necessarily bad; high draft (because of a hotter fire) can make it sound bad. If nothing came out of your flue (did you look outside), if no part of the stove was glowing, if the pipe is single wall and was not glowing, it is unlikely something improper happened.
Do you have a flue probe? That allows you to measure and dial down on time. Keep the gases below 900-950 or so.
Indeed, dial down a bit sooner when you add more wood on good coals.
The black glass means you could (should) have opened it up a bit after the scare was over.
Next time the stove is cold, see if you can have a look in the pipe how it looks.
Thank you for the reply. I highly doubt the stove was glowing, it was basically a cold start, the coals were very weak and not much heat coming off the stove. If it was glowing, I didn't see it and could have missed it being our living room is bright.
I have a double wall pipe and need to look into which probe to get.
When I first heard the noise I went outside and there was a decent amount of smoke coming out. I shut the air down when the noise got louder and went outside again but I never seen sparks or flames.
I went and bought three fire extinguishers. Thought we had some but we didn't. I'm also going to get a stick of chimflex just in case something were to happen someday.
Lastly, I'm going to have someone come out for a cleaning just to be on the safe side.
stoveliker
Minister of Fire
Condar sells good flue probes. (I have one.) If you are into digital ones (that can have alarms set), see Auber.
Having someone check things out is good, even if only for peace of mind - that you need to really enjoy using the stove. Pay close attention when he's there to see how much comes out. Ask questions.
If you have snow on the ground, then a chimney fire would likely be visible there (burning creosote coming out).
If your wood is dry, and you have burned only a short time, that's highly unlikely.
Fire extinguishers are good. Mount them near the exit/entrance to the stove room, and other rooms. Not near the stove; if shtf, you might not be able to reach it...
Have smoke and CO detectors on each floor?
Keep a bucket with ash available; dumping ash on an out of control fire is a good way to smother it safely. (Let it cool outside for a day or two first because of CO and fire risk.)
Having someone check things out is good, even if only for peace of mind - that you need to really enjoy using the stove. Pay close attention when he's there to see how much comes out. Ask questions.
If you have snow on the ground, then a chimney fire would likely be visible there (burning creosote coming out).
If your wood is dry, and you have burned only a short time, that's highly unlikely.
Fire extinguishers are good. Mount them near the exit/entrance to the stove room, and other rooms. Not near the stove; if shtf, you might not be able to reach it...
Have smoke and CO detectors on each floor?
Keep a bucket with ash available; dumping ash on an out of control fire is a good way to smother it safely. (Let it cool outside for a day or two first because of CO and fire risk.)
I'll buy a probe. All I see on here is people referencing temps and I'm completely blind as I don't have one. Looks to be an easy install and 'll probably visit a local stove shop to verify things.
We have smoke detecors in every room and multiple CO detectors on each floor.
I also try to keep my ashpan full just in case I need it to throw on the fire.
No evidence of ash on the snow or on my roof.
stoveliker
Minister of Fire
Get the flue inspected. Poorly seasoned wood can gunk up a chimney quickly. A visual inspection can reveal a lot.
Thank you all for the replies. I refrained from lighting another fire since last week until I had an inspection and cleaning today, just to be on the safe side. Came back clear. Very little creosote. The guy mentioned I still had steel showing and didn't get much of anything. It was windy when I heard the rumbling and that's probably what the noise was.
It's a balmy 15f today, up from the -20f temps and -45f wind chills we have been having the past week. Also have a flue probe installed now. Glad to have a fire again.
It's a balmy 15f today, up from the -20f temps and -45f wind chills we have been having the past week. Also have a flue probe installed now. Glad to have a fire again.
Good to hear that. The fire in the picture looks fairly small and with a lot of air surrounding the wood pieces. Packing tighter, fully across the stove floor will help slow down the burn.
Good to know, thanks. I've been hesitant to pack the stove more than half full as I'm still getting used to it. Now that I know everything looked good I'll start packing it tighter and turn the air down for slower burns.
Even if only packed half-full, try to put a full row of splits across the stove floor and then another row on top, or at least a partial row. Big air gaps allow the wood to get more air quickly which accelerates outgassing, and combustion. The more solid the mass of wood is, the slower this will happen.
This stove can really put out the heat. I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to do it at the right time. I've had our living room at 84 when it was -20f out. And other times we set the thermostat 65 and I get home from work and do the top down fire with the box 3/4th full and after a couple hours I'm at around 69-70, which is slightly chilly for my liking. Do I need to open the air more and leave more air gaps to have a more robust flame in the stove to get a higher heat output? The fire burns beautifully but I'm left with a high pile of coals and unburnt logs under the coals and im trying to heat the house. Perfect for a long burn time when the house is up to temp but I want more btu output initially. I've achieved this..just having a hard time figuring this stove out.
We reached -36f this morning and around -25f the morning before. I guess what I want is it to get this stove hot and heat the space quickly and then do the low and slow to maintain Temps. I'm guessing this would involve adjusting air and watching the flue temp so I don't go overboard. Another concern i have is the excessive coaling. I don't want to fully load it over 2-3 inches of hot coals because I'm afraid of an overfire or my flue getting too hot. I've been shoveling the coals to the front and opening the air to burn them off but im tending the fire more than I'd like. Am I okay with loading it and turning the air down?
I know im all over the place but any tips you have, please send them my way.
Thanks!
We reached -36f this morning and around -25f the morning before. I guess what I want is it to get this stove hot and heat the space quickly and then do the low and slow to maintain Temps. I'm guessing this would involve adjusting air and watching the flue temp so I don't go overboard. Another concern i have is the excessive coaling. I don't want to fully load it over 2-3 inches of hot coals because I'm afraid of an overfire or my flue getting too hot. I've been shoveling the coals to the front and opening the air to burn them off but im tending the fire more than I'd like. Am I okay with loading it and turning the air down?
I know im all over the place but any tips you have, please send them my way.
Thanks!
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