I purchased an Englander Madison and just started it on Friday night. I start the fire with some kindling and newspaper and when that burned down a bit and the stove was a bit hotter I opened the door to put two small splits on. When the door opened, the smoke came right into the room. I even tried opening the door very slowly. This stove, if anyone knows, only has an air control, no damper (as I know of). I had the air control all the way opened. Any suggestions on what I need to do to keep the smoke out of the house? It happened to me every time I opened the door to put more wood on yesterday.
Controlling my new Englander Madison
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That sounds like insufficient draft. There could be several reasons:
- Outside temps too high. Problem will go away when it gets colder outside.
- Chimney not optimal: too short, too many bends, not insulated, oversized etc.
- House is airtight: Opening a window close to the stove should help with that. If that cures the problem an OAK may be required.
- Kindling load was too small to establish good draft.
Another option would be the wood is not dry enough. Has it been tested with a moisture meter? Make also sure the baffle above the burn tubes is positioned correctly. Usually it should be pushed all the way to the back.
- Outside temps too high. Problem will go away when it gets colder outside.
- Chimney not optimal: too short, too many bends, not insulated, oversized etc.
- House is airtight: Opening a window close to the stove should help with that. If that cures the problem an OAK may be required.
- Kindling load was too small to establish good draft.
Another option would be the wood is not dry enough. Has it been tested with a moisture meter? Make also sure the baffle above the burn tubes is positioned correctly. Usually it should be pushed all the way to the back.
I have another question regarding the control of my Englander Madison. In the morning when I wake up, I am attempting to reload the stove. The firebox still has a decent amount of embers left over however I am having a very difficult time getting the pieces started again from the ember pile. There is not a great deal of ash in the firebox and there seems to be plenty of embers to get the new wood started. I am using smaller splits in order to do this and even tried it with small pieces of very dry bark. When i do the reload, I push the air lever all the way in and leave the door cracked. The past 6 times I have tried to reload in the morning after a good nights burn, the embers just go out and nothing relights.
Any suggestions would be helpful. I don't want to have to do a kindling pile very morning and would like to keep the stove burning while at work.
Any suggestions would be helpful. I don't want to have to do a kindling pile very morning and would like to keep the stove burning while at work.
First, leave some ash in the bottom of the firebox when cleaning. That should help.
I would try raking the coals to the front. Place fresh wood behind it and put some small splits/kindling on top of the coals. With the air fully open, slowly close the door. If you still have good draft the primary air that comes in from over the door will fan the coals and ignite the kindling quickly. Once that happens I often open the door again a little bit to get the rest of the wood going.
However, that method relies on good draft and dry wood. I have had not good luck with bark. That tends to smolder in my hands rather than burn. Small, dry wood works best; dry pine is great to get a fire started again.
I would try raking the coals to the front. Place fresh wood behind it and put some small splits/kindling on top of the coals. With the air fully open, slowly close the door. If you still have good draft the primary air that comes in from over the door will fan the coals and ignite the kindling quickly. Once that happens I often open the door again a little bit to get the rest of the wood going.
However, that method relies on good draft and dry wood. I have had not good luck with bark. That tends to smolder in my hands rather than burn. Small, dry wood works best; dry pine is great to get a fire started again.
You are overthinking the startup process for one..
Load that sucker up and light a fire. No need to open the door before the next load of wood needs to go in.
Second - I suspect your wood might not be optimal. Loading wood on coals should be easy stuff. Open the primary full open, load the stove up, maybe crack a door if needed. If that doesn't get your wood going in short order, I suspect high moisture content in the wood.
Silenced38
Feeling the Heat
Is this your first epa stove? I bought the Madison last year. And i had the exact same issues. You need more draft and dry wood (<20% moisture). Ive got 19' of pipe. From the stove top to the cap. I started with 15'. Smoke would come in when i opened the door. Fire was slow to lite and get up to temp. After i added an OAK and the extra pipe. The stove ran worlds better. I am also fighting marginal wood. Wood that measures <15% with my moisture meter burns the best. Read the thread
Extremely Unhappy with Madison
wrote it last winter and see if it isnt quite similar to the problems your having. The answer was more draft, dry wood, an OAK, and most inportant is learning how to use an epa stove. Hope this helps.
Extremely Unhappy with Madison
wrote it last winter and see if it isnt quite similar to the problems your having. The answer was more draft, dry wood, an OAK, and most inportant is learning how to use an epa stove. Hope this helps.
Wow. Thank you so very much for all of the wonderful responses. I have some questions:
1.Any suggestions on a good moister meter?
2. Can I use metal flex hose for the OAK, like metal dryer vent?
3. Anyone have directions I can follow on how to install the OAK?
1.Any suggestions on a good moister meter?
2. Can I use metal flex hose for the OAK, like metal dryer vent?
3. Anyone have directions I can follow on how to install the OAK?
Light in the Dark
Feeling the Heat
Look at Amazon for moisture meters. Yes you can use metal flex hose. Depending on the installation, you might find the semi-rigid works better (the dryer vent is a real PITA depending on your install... I have some of each on mine).
You can find the OAK info in the manual here: (broken link removed to http://www.heatredefined.com/assets/images/general/15-SSW01.pdf)
From the PDF:
"• The outside air connection pipe protrudes from the bottom center of the stove; a kit is available from England’s Stove Works, Inc. designed for connecting this unit to outside combustion air. [Part No. AC‐OAK3]"
You can find the OAK info in the manual here: (broken link removed to http://www.heatredefined.com/assets/images/general/15-SSW01.pdf)
From the PDF:
"• The outside air connection pipe protrudes from the bottom center of the stove; a kit is available from England’s Stove Works, Inc. designed for connecting this unit to outside combustion air. [Part No. AC‐OAK3]"
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