Anyone seen this concept in jotuls newest stove.

[guest5234]

This is Jotuls newest stove the one in my avator.
Please look at photos.
Tried to burn some unseasoned wood by mistake last night and just produced loads of smoke, when I opened the door I noticed some smoke was coming from the back of the stove which has a cover plate with a purpose made hole in it, fearing I had a crack in the back I took of the vermiculite back brick which has holes drilled for secondary burn , this is held in by two bolts, I removed the brick and found corresponding holes drilled in the back-plate which match up with the holes drilled in the brick.
These holes go directly to air at the back of the stove although there is a cover that covers the back of the stove with gaps all around.
I thought stoves were supposed to be air-tight, is this correct on my stove please, thr fire burns wonderful with dry weood in it and the secondary drilled holes work perfect.

 

[BJ64]

Hmm, I'll take a wild guess.

When the secondary combustion is working well, the secondary combustion air is supplied from the holes in the back and preheated as it passes through the vermiculite back brick.

When the less-than-dry wood was burning, the secondary combustion stalled out because of the lack of heat needed to sustain it. Since the secondary combustion was not ongoing, there not enough draft produced to draw air into the stove via the holes in the back. That caused the secondary chamber/area to build a positive pressure that allowed smoke to creep out rather than air to be pulled in.

Hmm. This is like forced compliance to burn cleanly or you will be smoking old world style hams in you living room with that very modern looking stove.

I think Shakespear would love the irony.

 

[guest5234]

Thanks BJ, it is supposed to be the one of the cleanest burn stoves on the market, but it just seems a strange set-up.

 

[begreen]

Modern EPA stoves are not air tight. They always feed a minimum amount of air to support combustion. This is one way they differ from pre-EPA stoves.

As you've learned, wet wood can cool the fire down so badly that secondary burn can't occur and the stove does not function correctly. My guess is that when you opened the door, which fed more air, that a minor backpuff occurred as the unburnt smoke tried to ignite.

 

[webbie]

That was mostly a chimney downdraft or, as BG notes, a situation where too much combustion was started with the door open, etc....and then closed.

The same would happen with most stoves on the market today - I have seen smoke come right out through the air controls on the bottom of stoves, etc.

This will rarely - if ever - happen when you become familiar with the stove.

 

[moondoggy]

thats one cool stove.....doesnt get more modern then that.