Canyon C310 question

[qrpcw]

Hello,

I have a Lenox Hearth Products Canyon C310. It was installed with a 6" stainless liner and cap. The installer used the 8" to 6" adapter for the corrugated flex liner.

It seems to be too tight. I have problems with it smoking when I open the door to add wood even though I open the damper and slowly open the door and wait a bit. The wood is hardwood that has dried and been kept in a shed for over a year. The kindling is kiln dried unfinished oak flooring from a local flooring mill. Is the 8" to 6" adapter restricting the flue output too much?

The dealer has since gone out of business. I am looking for a place to start troubleshooting. The chimney is masonry, about 28 ft tall. The roof is about 22 feet.

I used a wood stove for many years with only a piece of stovepipe up the chimney with no problems. It had more conventional dampers that had large openings when fully open.

Does anyone know where this stove draws air? There is a slot-like area on the right side that may be the opening for air. Does anyone have a diagram of how this stove is put together?

Thanks

-John

 

[DAKSY]

Hello,

I have a Lenox Hearth Products Canyon C310. It was installed with a 6" stainless liner and cap. The installer used the 8" to 6" adapter for the corrugated flex liner.

It seems to be too tight. I have problems with it smoking when I open the door to add wood even though I open the damper and slowly open the door and wait a bit. The wood is hardwood that has dried and been kept in a shed for over a year. The kindling is kiln dried unfinished oak flooring from a local flooring mill. Is the 8" to 6" adapter restricting the flue output too much?

The dealer has since gone out of business. I am looking for a place to start troubleshooting. The chimney is masonry, about 28 ft tall. The roof is about 22 feet.

I used a wood stove for many years with only a piece of stovepipe up the chimney with no problems. It had more conventional dampers that had large openings when fully open.

Does anyone know where this stove draws air? There is a slot-like area on the right side that may be the opening for air. Does anyone have a diagram of how this stove is put together?

Thanks

-John

Is this installed in your basement? If so, you're probably gonna hafta open a door or window a bit to prevent the back puffing, but then again, tell us the steps you take when you load the stove...Do you open the combustion air control all the way? Do you open the door very slowly?

 

[mellow]

If that liner is 20+ feet you shouldn't have an issue with necking down to a 6" liner. When was the last time you had the liner cleaned? Check your cap and make sure nothing is blocked.

If it is an exterior chimney you might need to insulate that liner even at that height.

This sounds like you moved into a house with this setup pre-existing, so I am guessing you don't know if this has been happening since the install?

 

[qrpcw]

If that liner is 20+ feet you shouldn't have an issue with necking down to a 6" liner. When was the last time you had the liner cleaned? Check your cap and make sure nothing is blocked.

If it is an exterior chimney you might need to insulate that liner even at that height.

This sounds like you moved into a house with this setup pre-existing, so I am guessing you don't know if this has been happening since the install?

I had it installed about 5 yrs ago. I have to clean the liner at least twice a season. The cap clogs since it has a very small screen over the openings. I need to cut out the screen I think. The installer said he couldn't get insulation on the liner. I really don't understand since the flue liner block is relatively large. He did pull the fireplace damper out completely but it still had a tight spot in the smokebox area. I have been really thinking about pulling the stainless liner out and just trying it with a section of stove pipe up the chimney. It would just be a lot of work to get out. I ran the old stove for about 15 years with no problems that way. I'm just getting lazy in my older age!

 

[Jags]

No - don't go back to a slammer install. With the newer stoves you will simply NOT get enough draft (worse than what you have now). Define "tight spot". Is is possible that he had to ovalize the liner to get it past?

 

[qrpcw]

No - don't go back to a slammer install. With the newer stoves you will simply NOT get enough draft (worse than what you have now). Define "tight spot". Is is possible that he had to ovalize the liner to get it past?

I believe he had to flatten it somewhat to get it through. As tough as the liner is, I would really like to make it work correctly. I am just getting frustrated after spending a lot on the stove and install. Do you know where on the stove the opening is for drawing in room air? Could the mechanism that the draft control moves be blocked somehow?

 

[qrpcw]

Is this installed in your basement? If so, you're probably gonna hafta open a door or window a bit to prevent the back puffing, but then again, tell us the steps you take when you load the stove...Do you open the combustion air control all the way? Do you open the door very slowly?

In the first post I said I pull the draft rod out, wait, crack the door, wait, and slowly open the door. It is almost unusable due to smoking the house up. It is in the living room with 15 ft ceilings in a masonry fireplace. The liner is cleaned at least twice a year. The first loading burns if I leave the door open awhile. Then I close it. When I need to add more wood later, almost without fail I get smoke in the house. I am probably doing something wrong, but I really don't see what it could be.

 

[Jags]

Do you know where on the stove the opening is for drawing in room air?

I do not. If your manual has a parts breakdown (and most do) you should be able to get a rough location from that. Not only that but it will lay out your control mechanisms also. It is always good to make sure they are working as advertised.

 

[mellow]

Is this a new problem or has it been this way for the past 5 years?

 

[begreen]

This sounds like a combination of issues. What is the measurement of opening gap at the damper through which the liner passes?

If the cap screen is frequently clogging it is a sign of either a too cool chimney, poorly seasoned wood, cool burning habits or a combo of these. Is this an exterior chimney? How long is the wood seasoned after splitting and stacking?

 

[qrpcw]

This sounds like a combination of issues. What is the measurement of opening gap at the damper through which the liner passes?

If the cap screen is frequently clogging it is a sign of either a too cool chimney, poorly seasoned wood, cool burning habits or a combo of these. Is this an exterior chimney? How long is the wood seasoned after splitting and stacking?

I don't really know the measurement. It is an conventional masonry fireplace on an outside wall. Brick on block with firebrick in the fireplace. The wood has been in a shed for over a year. It is very dry and light. I think I will pull the surround off this weekend and look. I wonder if there is some soot that has fell back into the stove and was not removed when it has been cleaned. It has a very narrow slot for the smoke to go out to the liner. The man who cleaned it removed some firebrick then put them back after using a shop vac. Please explain cool burning habits. When it was installed I was told to open the damper fully and leave the door cracked until it gets burning well. Then close the door and push the damper rod back to about half way. He also said if leaving it for the night to get it going well then push the damper back till it has only about one inch of rod showing.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the detailed response, that helps check items off the list of possibles. It doesn't sound like you're burning poor wood or letting the stove smolder. That means the likely culprit for the cap clogging is an uninsulated chimney. If the liner is flattened a lot to get through the damper area and the cap is semi-plugged, smoke roll out would be a sure symptom. Fortunately these are addressable issues.Check the damper opening measurement. Also, if the sweep didn't get the baffle back in place correctly that might cause some smoke spillage. Make sure the baffle board is all the way to the rear of the stove and that the baffle blanket on top of the baffle board is laying flat and not bunching up in the rear of the stove under the flue outlet.