Can't tell if my stove has an air leak or just well seasoned wood.

[tsquini]

My Jotul f3 has begun to work differently. Earlier in the season I was able to close the damper down all the way and the fire would have a slow steady fire. It would maintain the stove top temperature around 400 degrees. Recently, I close down the damper all the way down and there is more flame, still slow, but much hotter. Now them stove top temperature stays around 500 degrees. I have visually checked the seals around the door and ash pan door and don't see anything abnormal. At times I have added pressure to the doors to check if it was not getting a tight seal. The flames don't change.

The wood I am using has been seasoned for about a year oak and maple.

Air leak or Well seasoned wood?

 

[LLigetfa]

Well seasoned wood.

 

[snowtime]

Probably well seasoned wood. Your method of checking for an air leak will not work. Do the dollar bill test on the door and always remember to check the stove for leaks at the end and beginning of each season. Sometimes the gasket for the glass will leak try some incense it will show up any leaks. If you have a ash pan make sure its sealed good. Thats the thing with wood stoves inside is a harsh environment and maintenance means being always aware of changes. You are doing right to question a change in burning habits of your stove.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well seasoned maple. Probably not on the oak.

 

[LLigetfa]

Well seasoned maple. Probably not on the oak.

"Well seasoned" is such a misused term and I used it loosely. Perhaps I should have said "better seasoned". If the OP was burning the Oak at the start of the season, by comparison it would be better now.

 

[woodzilla]

I revisited a row of white oak that, compared to 5 weeks ago, is a whole different animal to burn. There is no doubt winter wind has done it justice.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well seasoned maple. Probably not on the oak.

"Well seasoned" is such a misused term and I used it loosely. Perhaps I should have said "better seasoned". If the OP was burning the Oak at the start of the season, by comparison it would be better now.

I agree. My post was only for answering the OP and hoping it might be an answer to him.

LLigetfa, I hope you missed out on that ice the other day.

 

[LLigetfa]

I revisited a row of white oak that, compared to 5 weeks ago, is a whole different animal to burn. There is no doubt winter wind has done it justice.

A testament to all the nay sayers that claim wood doesn't dry in Winter. I posted a couple of pics in another thread that shows wood that bucked this time last year, sat out all Spring/Summer to dry, and laid up in the Fall, still shrunk close to 4 inches. I do notice a difference in how it burns now versus how it burned at the start of this burning season.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewreply/376796/

BWS,
Ja, we didn't get the ice storm here that hit much of NWO. It seems we are in a bit of a warmer micro-climate here and noticed that right off when I moved here, having lived nearer to Lake Superior most of my life and having worked all across NWO.

 

[Bobcatter]

Seasoning is all about loosing moisture. Yes, the colder the air, and the dryer the air , the more moisture will be sucked out of the wood. Even ice will evaporate (sublimate) when it is frozen - ice will evaporate in your freezer, and I've seen it evaporate from a cold garage floor over a couple of days. Once the air is below freezing, it will lose a lot of moisture in the form of snow, etc. In the northeast we had below zero temperatures the last couple of weeks so I'm sure it helped to further season the wood. Enjoy and now you know what to aim for in future "dry" wood!

 

[begreen]

I'd check the door and ashpan gaskets closely doing the dollar bill test to be sure that isn't why the change in burning. Close the door on a dollar bill and pull it out. There should be good tension on the dollar bill as you are pulling it out. Test all the way around the door to assert that it's still sealing well. Also look for accumulation of ash behind the ash pan. This can push the ash pan forward and prevent tight closing of the door. If the gaskets are good, check for any seam openings at the corners of the stove. With a helper, when the room is dark, shine a bright light into each corner and see if there are any light leaks. If so, seal up with stove cement.

 

[jtp10181]

With the higher temps it suggests its just better / different wood. With an air leak I would expect to see lower temps because more heat goes up the flue.

 

[begreen]

Lower leaks, like at the ashpan can really fire up the stove. The only time I saw our F3CB peg the thermometer was when the ashpan door was ajar and we spaced it.

 

[KeithO]

Since I corrected my door hinge fastener problem, my T5 has been transformed. Although to be fair, I have modified the primary and secondary air intakes that they can be shut 100%. In spring, I will remove the welded stop on the primary air intake, which will likely allow me to restore the controls back to factory default. It is simply impossible to get access to cut off the welded stop without flipping the stove on its back.

At the same time I can remove the ash chute and replace it with a better air control for the base of the fire (to burn off coals, or burn hard coal). I burnt about 6 bags of hard coal during the coldest part of the season, and it allowed 12 hour burns even with the outside temperature in the negative teens. Unfortunately, to make it work requires shutting off primary and secondary air and feeding air below the fire, for which I had to "crack" the ash chute. I need a more precise way to do this in the future, so an independent air control is the ticket.

If I remove the ash chute, then the stupid ash bin can be trashed too. It is really like someone's afterthought.. If I can find a grate system from a Jotul or a Morso, I can make a cutout in the bottom of the stove to suit the grate, then add a proper ashpan with a latching door. I need some practice with my sheet metal skills, so that can be a place to start. The way the economy looks, many of us will have more time on our hands this year than we bargained for...

 

[jtp10181]

Lower leaks, like at the ashpan can really fire up the stove. The only time I saw our F3CB peg the thermometer was when the ashpan door was ajar and we spaced it.

Yeah good point, if the extra air is under the fire it really gets it going.

 

[gyrfalcon]

I revisited a row of white oak that, compared to 5 weeks ago, is a whole different animal to burn. There is no doubt winter wind has done it justice.

A testament to all the nay sayers that claim wood doesn't dry in Winter. I posted a couple of pics in another thread that shows wood that bucked this time last year, sat out all Spring/Summer to dry, and laid up in the Fall, still shrunk close to 4 inches. I do notice a difference in how it burns now versus how it burned at the start of this burning season.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewreply/376796/

BWS,
Ja, we didn't get the ice storm here that hit much of NWO. It seems we are in a bit of a warmer micro-climate here and noticed that right off when I moved here, having lived nearer to Lake Superior most of my life and having worked all across NWO.

Hey, bravo, Lligetfa, for saying what dare not be spoken. The wood I left outside this winter has dried like a sumbitch, despite the snow. I'm beginning to think snow-cured wood is the bestest. If I weren't having to cope with struggling through 1 to 2 feet of snow on the ground all winter between me and the wood stacks, I'd leave it all outside rather than bringing it into my attached woodshed. The difference between the stuff I brought in in November and the stuff I just left out there this winter is significant.

I did have a rush of brains to the head and bought one of those cheapo molded plastic kid's sleds to bring my outside wood down the hill to my house, which works great as long as I keep out of its way on the slide down the slope. But wallowing back and forth through all that snow is just too much, even for dry firewood.

 

[firefighterjake]

I revisited a row of white oak that, compared to 5 weeks ago, is a whole different animal to burn. There is no doubt winter wind has done it justice.

A testament to all the nay sayers that claim wood doesn't dry in Winter. I posted a couple of pics in another thread that shows wood that bucked this time last year, sat out all Spring/Summer to dry, and laid up in the Fall, still shrunk close to 4 inches. I do notice a difference in how it burns now versus how it burned at the start of this burning season.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewreply/376796/

BWS,
Ja, we didn't get the ice storm here that hit much of NWO. It seems we are in a bit of a warmer micro-climate here and noticed that right off when I moved here, having lived nearer to Lake Superior most of my life and having worked all across NWO.

Hey, bravo, Lligetfa, for saying what dare not be spoken. The wood I left outside this winter has dried like a sumbitch, despite the snow. I'm beginning to think snow-cured wood is the bestest. If I weren't having to cope with struggling through 1 to 2 feet of snow on the ground all winter between me and the wood stacks, I'd leave it all outside rather than bringing it into my attached woodshed. The difference between the stuff I brought in in November and the stuff I just left out there this winter is significant.

I did have a rush of brains to the head and bought one of those cheapo molded plastic kid's sleds to bring my outside wood down the hill to my house, which works great as long as I keep out of its way on the slide down the slope. But wallowing back and forth through all that snow is just too much, even for dry firewood.

From some reason I can't keep shaking this image in my head of your significant other looking out back and finding you sprawled face down in the snow with sled marks on your backside and a fully loaded plastic sled a few feet on the downhill side of your body.

 

[gyrfalcon]

From some reason I can't keep shaking this image in my head of your significant other looking out back and finding you sprawled face down in the snow with sled marks on your backside and a fully loaded plastic sled a few feet on the downhill side of your body.

Roar!! That's pretty much the same mental image I have as I'm dancing around trying to get out of the way of the sled as it's going after my ankles.

 

[karri0n]

Winter cured wood:


Water freezes in the wood, causing expansion of the grain. Dry winter air causes sublimation(evaporation of frozen liquid) of the moisture in the wood, while the wood can much more easily shed its moisture due to the grain having much more space between it. There is no drier weather than in the winter, unless you live in a desert. These are two factors that make wood cure extremely well in winter. The wider spaced grain is also what accounts for the ease of splitting frozen wood, not the common misconception that being frozen makes it brittle.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Winter cured wood:


Water freezes in the wood, causing expansion of the grain. Dry winter air causes sublimation(evaporation of frozen liquid) of the moisture in the wood, while the wood can much more easily shed its moisture due to the grain having much more space between it. There is no drier weather than in the winter, unless you live in a desert. These are two factors that make wood cure extremely well in winter. The wider spaced grain is also what accounts for the ease of splitting frozen wood, not the common misconception that being frozen makes it brittle.

Thanks for the factual back-up for the observation. One of the reasons the cold winters here aren't as oppressive as they might be is exactly because the air is usually so dry. (Less pleasant indoors without a humidifier, but easier to take outside.)

Only problem with wood this dry is the blasted splinters my hands are plagued with.

 

[downeast]

Winter cured wood:
Water freezes in the wood, causing expansion of the grain. Dry winter air causes sublimation(evaporation of frozen liquid) of the moisture in the wood, while the wood can much more easily shed its moisture due to the grain having much more space between it. There is no drier weather than in the winter, unless you live in a desert. These are two factors that make wood cure extremely well in winter. The wider spaced grain is also what accounts for the ease of splitting frozen wood, not the common misconception that being frozen makes it brittle.

Thanks for the factual back-up for the observation. One of the reasons the cold winters here aren't as oppressive as they might be is exactly because the air is usually so dry. (Less pleasant indoors without a humidifier, but easier to take outside.)
Only problem with wood this dry is the blasted splinters my hands are plagued with.

Neat analysis and take on winter drying.
The practical side of this is how most here in Downeast Maine harvest and season firewood only in winter. Since we came here in 2000 our firewood is harvested ( along with TSI and some pulp cuts ) in winter. Why? Felling and cutting is active stuff...you get some warm using a saw, humping the bucked lengths into a trailer, then unloading. Easier in the cold to layer then take off layers as you work the trees. You do need some of that real work exercise don't you ? Then there's none of the air bombers to bother you: Black Flies, Mozzies, Deer Flies, and too many more not around in the cold. The ground is hard and snow covered making it easy to get around as long as the snow isn't too high ( a foot or so is just right ). And, the wood is lighter in winter (northern temperate zones at least ) since there's no sap running.
Skidding log lengths on snow is simple and not destructive of the terrain. Though forestry science recommends dry summer skids for dispersal of seeds.
So what we do: cut and buck in late fall through winter. Stack the butts/bucks for later split and stack at leisure in late summer/early fall for the season's firewood. Worked for years.
At the same time, with snow, we keep the trails open not just for the wood gear, but also for XC skiing and walking.
Try it.

 

[woodsie8]

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have lots of rain and some snow with temps in the 20's. We bought most of our wood at the beginning of last summer with 2 cords bought in July. We have had them in racks with roofs but air has been able to go thru the sides. We are now needing to burn Bear Bricks cuz the water is pouring out of the wood still. We put it in the stove and listen to it boil. I see some people with their wood out in the rain, just piles and wonder what the heck are they thinking. I sure hope this year everything drys.

 

[lexybird]

how much rainfall and how much humidty in your area makes a world of difference on moisture readings and drying times

 

[begreen]

It sounds like the wood you bought was green. Depending on the species of wood, thickness of the splits and storage conditions, it can take a year or two for wood to dry out. We stored our bought wood late last spring, but it was already fairly dry. We've had no problems to report with it other than the pine that was mixed in the load. The wood should be stored so that the prevailing wind blows through the stack. Our shed is open on all sides, with the wood stacked so that north/south winds blow through it. FWIW, I can take fresh fir, stacked in the spring and it will be ready to burn about 6 months later - if the splits aren't too thick. Otherwise, I allow a year for it to dry. Alder dries out pretty quickly too. Soft maple also takes about a year to dry. Madrona takes a couple years after splitting to season fully.