back puff?!

[mattjm1017]

My wife woke me about 5 am today and said theres something wrong with the fire I can smell it. So I stumbled around and then smelled smoke and freaked out. I ran out side and checked the chimney no smoke also no wind and its pretty warm about 46. I went back inside just in time to see a ball of fire appear in the firebox along with smoke coming out of the door. Then it happened again I opened a window and opened the draft a little. The smell is pretty much gone and the stove hasnt done that again for about 45 minute. Im thinking it was back puffing cause its so warm out? When I reloaded at 1130 last night all was fine I checked the stove at 1215 set the air to 3/4-.5 and went to bed. Do ya'll think back puff or maybe something else? I'll take all advice given my wife is a little freaked out right now and I am too this has never happened before

 

[Chettt]

It's fine. Wood stoves require a hard pull from the chimney which you won't get on a warm rainy night. When it's above freezing outside you'll need to leave the primary air open much more. The same thing will happen if you just barely get the fire going and then close the primary down all the way. The fire will go out and then the smoldering gases will ignite all at once.

 

[Swedishchef]

When you relit last night did you get the fire going?

It may have been a backpuff if it was hot enough and you opened the door. If the fire was starved for oxygen and you opened it; puff (that is my understanding of backpuff however it has never happened to me)

I think perhaps you had a downdraft , without a big fire. If the fire was smoldering, smoke then would have exit via secondary air and primary air inlets....

Others will chime in who are much better than me at this stuff.

Andrew

 

[mattjm1017]

I did get the fire going at reload there was a good burn in there I didn't open the door this morning when it was happening. The stove top was around 425 im thinking I just set the air to low thinking it was going to het colder than it did overnight.

 

[Cross Cut Saw]

I had that happen to me a few weeks ago.
It was in the 30's when I lit the fire then a freak warm pocket of air settled in and the temps got into the 50's outside.
The gasses would build up in the stove and then POOF!
Opening the air a little is the cure...

 

[mattjm1017]

Yeah it was poofing a lot at least 4 times that we saw opened the air and it stopped. I just cleaned it out and adjusted the door latch a little tighter hopefully its good to go. The only thing im worried about is what if this happens when nobody's home? Are there any potential dangers or problems that could occur?

 

[Chettt]

Just leave your primary 1/2 or a 1/4 open. The best time to practice with a new stove is when you're home all day and can watch it. Your set up is going to be different than anyone else so just try different settings.

 

[Ashful]

Classic back-puffing. I've been plagued by it for a year. Most of the time it just makes the house stink, but I know of at least two cases (one a close friend, and another local story in the paper) where it blew the stove door open and started a fire. Not sure what the status of the stove door latch was in either case.

Bumping the air control open a bit is the cure, as is running smaller loads (so you can leave the air more open...) in warmer weather. However, unlike others have posted, I usually have LESS trouble when I shut down on a big load sooner. If I let a big load really get going before closing the bypass lever, and see my cat temps up above 1500F, I know I'm in for a rough ride when I dial down for an overnight burn. If I can just get the cat up above 500F when I engage, and then dial down right away, I can have a nice long cruise.

 

[fire_man]

Mattjm:
What I find odd is the back puff happened 5 hours after loading. I have never had a puff after the temperatures on the stove peaked - which they always do within the first few hours. Were you loaded with gigantic splits or full rounds that were not fully into their coaling stage?

 

[mattjm1017]

Fire_man I had it loaded full and as I recall the temp was around 325 when i went to bed. I was tired and not paying attention to the stove. Could it have been delayed because things weren't into coaling stage? Or could it possibly been something else?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Yup. It can happen even that far into a burn. At 46 outdoor temperature and a full load in the stove, that is tough for a stove to handle. You are correct to just give it more air and it will stop.

What happens when you are gone? Same smoke smell and you'd probably never know it happened. If in doubt, before you leave give it just a tad more draft; not a lot, just a little.

So the house suddenly smells like smoke. Wife doesn't like that. Light a candle or two and it will take that smoke right away.

 

[mattjm1017]

What happens when you are gone? Same smoke smell and you'd probably never know it happened. If in doubt, before you leave give it just a tad more draft; not a lot, just a little.

So the house suddenly smells like smoke. Wife doesn't like that. Light a candle or two and it will take that smoke right away.

The wife was a little scared thats why she woke me which I told her was the right thing to do and thanked her. I also explained to her what I thought was happening and how to correct it. After I realized that the only fire was right where I left it I was able to calm down and figure things out. As far as the smell I just opened a window for a little while and all was well again.


I really appreciate all the replies and help. Ive said it before and Im saying it again this is the best forum out there I wish some of the other forums Im on were as nice as this one.

 

[mfglickman]

Fire_man I had it loaded full and as I recall the temp was around 325 when i went to bed. I was tired and not paying attention to the stove. Could it have been delayed because things weren't into coaling stage? Or could it possibly been something else?

Is it because I have the older Fireview or is 325 on a full load, 45 minutes in, a pretty low temperature?

 

[mattjm1017]

Mfglickman I think its kind of low also but like I said I was tired and not paying attention or thinking. On another note though my wood isn't properly seasoned and I've been fighting with that so I believe thats part of the problem I should have thrown in some of my dry pallet chunks to help before I went to bed.

 

[no stove yet]

I had this happen to me last year, first season with my Fireview,and it scared the heck out of me to see a big ole puff of smoke come out the top of the stove and a large fireball inside.So I called Woodstock and he explained what happened and how to fix it,truly great customer service as I had a whole bunch more questions and he walked me thru the typical operation of the stove etc.and we finally decided my wood was not quite prime time and I was cutting the air too low too fast.
Now in season 2 things are much better no puffing and thanks to all on this forum wood is nice and seasoned and 2 years ahead and building the supply.

Great folks here on Hearth I have learned a lot, but don't hesitate to call Woodstock very helpful and patient bunch.

Best of luck with the Fireview it's a great stove

 

[Ashful]

...and we finally decided my wood was not quite prime time and I was cutting the air too low too fast. Now in season 2 things are much better no puffing and thanks to all on this forum wood is nice and seasoned and 2 years ahead and building the supply.

I've been wondering to myself if a less-than optimally-seasoned wood supply could be a big factor in backpuffing, so I'm glad to hear you say this. What was the reasoning? I have my own theory, but would like to hear an expert opinion on this.

The bad news for me is that the cord I just moved from the woodlot to the house yesterday is far less seasoned than what I've already been burning. Seems damn near every stick I split in my first year was oak!

 

[no stove yet]

Yup oak was my wood the first year had some spitting and sizzle...just not dry enough and could not get the stove temp up,get enough good flame and lasting heat at lower air settings .

I would try and lower the air and get that long over night burn but the box would go dark and I back puff on occasion,never saw a 500 stove top last year, now I'm burning 1.5 yr old red maple 550 or so and nice 6-8 hr burns with no puffing,pretty clean flue and a warm house.

I've learned tons here on hearth but the biggest lesson overall is seasoned wood and get ahead ,makes burning a pleasure.

 

[Slow1]

Another thing to consider is to verify that your cat is clean (if partially clogged this can make the marginal draft of a 45* outside temp worse).

Then also consider that if the issue continues anytime it is warmer out perhaps add 2-3' of chimney height if you can. With my FV I did this and never had another backpuff.

 

[argus66]

ya really no big deal it happens.

 

[mattjm1017]

Im going to clean the cat this weekend its due for its six week inspection. I have gotten the temp up to 550 but I used a lot of pallet wood now im just mixing in a little pallet wood and some of my regular splits.

 

[Ashful]

Which temp was at 550F? Do you have a cat temp probe? If not, I would strongly suggest you get one. I ran my stove last year without one, and thought I was doing okay. Over the summer, I installed a probe, and learned I was running all wrong. Now that I've gotten used to driving the stove according to the cat probe, I can't imagine operating a cat stove without one.

Rather than buying a cat probe, I bought a K-type thermocouple probe and use a thermocouple meter sitting on the floor next to the stove. Beats crawling around back to look at a probe thermometer.

 

[mattjm1017]

The stove top was 550 but im having a hard time getting it there again. I've talked to someone about the cat probe I know I would look into it could you tell me where you got yours from that sounds better trying to look behind a hot stove.

 

[Ashful]

I bought an Amprobe dual K-type thermocouple meter off Amazon for $60. There are many cheaper, but I like this one. For the probe, I bought a custom probe from Omega.com, but I wasn't entirely thrilled with it. My fault, as I did not talk to their tech's before buying, and mis-interpreted their less-than-clear data sheet. If you buy from Omega, you're best calling them and explaining what you want to do, and then a tech will find the best probe for you.

I just bought a second probe from McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com, item 39095K96) for $37, but haven't tried it yet, so I can't report on it. Condar also makes a remote probe/meter rig, although I didn't like the described looks/operation of it, never seen it in person. The major trouble with the McMaster-Carr probes is they only go to 1700F, whereas you can buy higher temp probes from Omega.

If you're having trouble getting your stovetop to 550F, you either have a lack of draft, lack of air supply, or wet wood. It should not be too difficult to figure out which of these factors are troubling you.

 

[mattjm1017]

Thanks for the info joful ill look into them. As far as the temp problem its my wood for sure sometimes maybe the draft to on the days that it gets pretty warm

 

[Ashful]

I'm having the same issue, having just moved into a new house and starting fresh 16 months ago. I've been getting along okay by (mostly) avoiding oak when I burn, and mixing 1year dry softwoods in with my 1 year wet hardwoods. Trouble now is I'm getting to the point where everything left in my stacks older than three months is oak! Threw one oak split in this morning with a bunch of walnut, and some cedar to get things going. Now having trouble getting the stove temp up myself.