BRAND NEW TO WOOD BURNING!!!HELP!!

[Hkj7590]

Hey guys, this is my first post and I'm so happy I found this site. My boyfriend and I just moved into a house where our only source of heat is a DAKA wood burner in the basement. The previous owner came over today and showed me how to get the fire going. There are so many things I still have questions about or am scared of....

What's the best and safest way to burn overnight?

Terrified of a chimney fire What should I avoid???

How do I know of it needs cleaned?

It says automatic damper, but I can turn the knob and I'm not sure if it works automatically....how do I know if it's working?

There are two levers on the pipes coming from the stove as well, are these dampers? Intake valves? What is the best position for all these levers!?!?

I have the ability to turn on the furnace fan, along with the blower connected to the stove....is that safe?

I'm so confused...I know most of this should be basic knowledge....but it's so hard to find information on a wood furnace.

 

[stee6043]

Welcome! I suppose I'd start by perusing the owners manual. This might help with the actual unit.

https://www.northerntool.com/images/downloads/manuals/701200-2.pdf

If that's not your model I assume you can simply google the correct one.

I think the first bit of advice I'd offer is that you make sure you have 2 or 3 good CO detectors in the house. On every floor. Cheap insurance. Then perhaps consider calling a local chimney sweep to have the chimney inspected. For $100 or so (?) you could have a lot of piece of mind. That said, if you don't have creosote dripping out from the back of the unit or from the cleanout this is likely a good sign. Can you access the chimney cleanout (usually a "tee")? Can you look in and see how clean the walls are inside the chimney?

 

[maple1]

You should run all those question past the previous owner. Even with a same furnace, there can be differences in install & remainder of the system that might influence things.

Do you have a manual for it? If not, get one. Most things should be addressed there.

Most important part is to have dry wood. On cleaning, start with too often - then scale back only if you can or it doesn't need it as often.

I also would not want to spend a winter with that as my only heat source - not sure that helps any though.

 

[Hkj7590]

I know that she said she had it cleaned at the end of last season. I do have an owner's manual...i read it and it helped. I really just think I freak myself out more than anything. When you grow up with people telling you not to leave a fire going overnight it kinda freaks you out to try.

There are just a couple more questions, so she said that running it too hot for too long will start a chimney fire( it happened to her before in a different house) ....but in the owners manual it says to burn hot to stay safe and efficient and that burning low fires can cause a fire because of buildup....so how do you guys keep your fires going overnight? The past couple nights (since we have started using it) I have turned the damper almost all the way down....is that not safe? How do you do it?

 

[maple1]

If you run low fires, you will increase the rate of creosote accumulation. Then if you run hot you run the risk of lighting that creosote up. But that is usually the way wood burners have to operate - as the heat load varies with the weather outside. So - you need to clean your chimney as required, so it doesn't light up. How often that happens to be likely varies setup to setup. New operators should start out checking the chimney every couple of weeks until they get a hang of how often a cleaning is needed. When I had my old boiler, I cleaned I think 4 times a year. Since I got the new one, now starting into year 6, I haven't cleaned it once. So there is a wide variation. The quality & dryness of your wood supply also plays a part. Also the chimney setup.

What she said about too hot for too long starting a chimney fire isn't quite right. Chimney fires usually start when you suddenly run it hotter after a period of creosote buildup. Another vulnerable time is if you happen to open the loading door during a hot fire, when it is windy outside - the wind can suck flame into the chimney & up it goes.

What you say you did that last couple of nights sounds right - you control the burn for the amount of heat you need to stay warm. And if you need to make it through a night, that would normally mean turning it down some. But if that means you are running slower at times, that also means more frequent chimney cleanings. Fairly basic.

 

[Hkj7590]

That helps so much. Thank you! How do I check my chimney?

 

[warno]

As far as checking your chimney goes, my dad had a small mirror he puts inside the clean out Tee and tilts it too see up the chimney. A decent sunny day outside you can see all the way up and out. I use my cell phone camera in my clean out. Take a picture with flash on. It works good also.

This is assuming your chimney is straight up and out

 

[Hkj7590]

As far as checking your chimney goes, my dad had a small mirror he puts inside the clean out Tee and tilts it too see up the chimney. A decent sunny day outside you can see all the way up and out. I use my cell phone camera in my clean out. Take a picture with flash on. It works good also.

This is assuming your chimney is straight up and out

Thanks

 

[maple1]

That helps so much. Thank you! How do I check my chimney?

That depends on your chimney - which we can't see from here.

I have a barometric damper just upstream from where my flue pipe Ts' into my chimney - I can get an idea by peeking inside that. I have a T on the back of my boiler with one end capped - if I want to check or clean the flue pipe I take that cap off. I have a cleanout cover on the bottom of the chimney - if I need to, I can take two screws out, pull it off, and look up the chimney. I could also go up on my 2 story steel roof, take the cap off, and look down - but I don't go up there unless I really have to and haven't been up there in 5 years now. After that one close call that time....

 

[Hebner]

That depends on your chimney - which we can't see from here.

I have a barometric damper just upstream from where my flue pipe Ts' into my chimney - I can get an idea by peeking inside that. I have a T on the back of my boiler with one end capped - if I want to check or clean the flue pipe I take that cap off. I have a cleanout cover on the bottom of the chimney - if I need to, I can take two screws out, pull it off, and look up the chimney. I could also go up on my 2 story steel roof, take the cap off, and look down - but I don't go up there unless I really have to and haven't been up there in 5 years now. After that one close call that time....

Yea, those steel roofs are damn slippery

 

[Bad LP]

Yea, those steel roofs are damn slippery

If I owned a steel roof I would own a pair of roof shoes for metal roofs.