2nd Season Burning... New Air Issue Federal Airtight 224ccl

[dmmoss51]

OK guys... new to the forum and 2nd year at burning wood.

My first year went pretty good all things considered... I muddled through with some questionable/green wood that I found here and there.

My fires seemed to burn well and I did well to heat my whole house with just the radiant heat from this stove with no blowers.

So overall I start this season out a happy camper.

Here are the two things that I changed:

1) found a source of wood that has been cured for 2 years already working on its third. It's nice and dry and I have had it stacked and under tarps since last spring as well. I don't think I have any issues here.

2) I replaced the fiberglass rope gaskets around both the front doors and the side wood loading door. I knew this needed to be done so I got on it!

So here is the issue: Now that I replaced my gaskets it seems my stove really is "airtight" I get a good fire going with the airflow both ash door and side door wide open. I have the bypass open as well. Once I get up above 500 degree on the top of the stove I close the baffle. Without adjusting the airflow the fires really slow down and smolder so much as to black out the glass of the windows very quickly.

I realize how much air I was leaking before replacing the gaskets because last year I could close the bypass and shut the air intakes completely and the results would be a nice slow 6-7 hour fire. Now I don't have that extra airflow and with my air controls open all the way I can't seem to keep it going.

Any other ideas????

Dave

 

[corey21]

Sounds like bad draft how long has it been since your chimney has been swept and how tall is it?

 

[dmmoss51]

Sounds like bad draft how long has it been since your chimney has been swept and how tall is it?

Thanks for the quick follow-up... My Chimney is 20-25' tall (two stories and extends past the peak of the roof) It is due for a preseason cleaning as it was last clean mid last winter. Thought I would get a fire or two in now before we start running 24/7 plus wanted to see how it performed with the new gaskets. I also wondered if the draft is not as strong because it's not super cold out yet (30s).

 

[BrotherBart]

What condition is the cat combustor in that stove in? And quit using that that ash pan door for air or you will be cracking the heck out of the grate/floor of the stove.

Tell us about the condition of the cat and what wood, how long dried, you are burning in that old sucker.

BTW: Moving the thread over to the Classic Stove room.

 

[Nick Mystic]

As you will soon hear from many others here at the forum you don't want to be burning your stove with the ash door open. That is a formula for quick damage to the grate and/or the bottom plate of the stove. Firing the stove up to 500 F in this manner is likely to lead to big problems in short order. As Corey21 mentioned, you need to check on your flue to see if there is a blockage somewhere. You mentioned burning green wood last year, so if you haven't cleaned your chimney it could well be clogged up with creosote. If you have a rain cap with a wire mesh screen that is a prime candidate for blockage. Speaking of flues, what sort of arrangement do you have for your stove?
Welcome to the forum Dave.

 

[dmmoss51]

Sorry for the confusion... NOT burning with ash door open there is an air vent located on the front of the ash door that is open. The ash door and side door are not wide open the vents in the respective doors are wide open

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah I know. I almost bought one of those stoves in 1985. But don't use that thing. They were nuts to put it there in the first place. That stove has a lot of history. Best to let the ash pan fill up with ash and forget it is there.

 

[dmmoss51]

my chimney is outside of the house (so I know this is a colder arrangement) The pipe rises a few feet off the back of the stove, make and elbow into the wall and then opens up into the masonry chimney outside the house. I do have a rain cap on top. I did a visual inspection while cleaning the gutters last weekend and there is no "obvious" blockage. The main thing that I noticed was last night was the first time I ever snuffed a fire out. I had a cold stove with two pieces of charred wood left this morning. The wood should be drier and better than what I had been using so should be an improvement there. So the only other difference is that gasket and I am asking myself was I really leaking THAT MUCH AIR? Hmmm... Thanks for your help so far. hopefully once I become and experienced burner I can share some wisdom back...

 

[dmmoss51]

What should I look for in determining condition of CAT combuster? From what I have read so far it's mostly making sure it's free of blockage which it appears to be (when I pull it out I can see through all the little openings.)

 

[dmmoss51]

Yeah I know. I almost bought one of those stoves in 1985. But don't use that thing. They were nuts to put it there in the first place. That stove has a lot of history. Best to let the ash pan fill up with ash and forget it is there.

So should I focus on just using the vent in the side door to control the air? I also open the small secondary air vent that lets air into the CAT a couple turns once I close the baffle. This is the process that I learned from the manual and seemed to do well last year.

 

[BrotherBart]

That works. With good dry wood and a functional cat.

 

[dmmoss51]

Update:

So I have had a few colder nights to fire the stove and experiment. It seems I just had to go back on the learning curve a little bit as before replaceing the gaskets I was getting more air than I thought. Even with the vents all the way closed I was probably on the edge of overfiring the stove. I got the CAT fully engaged the other night with a nice load of dry oak splits and I had embers 11 hours later! Before The longest I could get was about 6 hours if I was lucky.

 

[dmmoss51]

42 and raining outside... 75 and dry inside

 

[dmmoss51]