Englander 13 Not throwing heat.....

[Wiseguy13]

Hello,

Looking for some advice. I have a Englander 13NC stove, this is my second year with the unit. We loved the stove last year it saved us big time heating out 1600 sq ft 1860's farmhouse. I am having some problems this year with heat, as this is the first really cold weekend it does not seem to be producing as much heat. My setup is as follows, Englander 13 stove, Vozelgang heat reclaimer, added the stove blower this year. I check out the stove before the first lighting in September this year and it seemed good, a couple fire bricks were cracked but other than that no other issues. Recently I noticed the fiber board above the burner tubes is a little curved but seems to be in place, burner tubes are installed correctly and clean, I can see into the stove from the top with the door closed, the seal seems fine but the latch feels loose??? Anyways, hope to hear of some suggestions...

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[73blazer]

Wet wood perhaps? Where'd you get your wood from this year as opposed to last?

 

[Wiseguy13]

This year I got my wood from a local guy that all he does is split and sell wood, I has been siting since last year. Also I split a bunch of my own of stuff that was cut and just needed split. All of the wood is oak, ash ect. hard wood.

Another problem is that my burn times have never been longer than an hour or 2 with a full stove.

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[North of 60]

Your wood is wet, now you even have more creosote blocking off your draft due to your heat reclaimer is probably also becoming plugged up. Remove that reclaimer as your stove is not designed to have that item attached to your flue. Fine some dry wood, and giver another try. Some pine scraps will do ya good.
ADD) I bet your also running her with a mostly open throttle at this time.

 

[jasong]

Do you have any thermometers on the stove or flue? What do you you mean by you being able to see into the stove from the top with the door closed?

 

[Wiseguy13]

Okay, so I will get a moisture gauge to check the wood and remove the reclaimer, I didn't have this problem last year with the reclaimer but at this point I am willing to try anything.

Thanks, I will let you know if it helps.

James

 

[Wiseguy13]

I do not have a thermometer, but I am going to get one to take readings. there is a gap around the door when closed, should I replaced the gasket? The handle is also loose and might be the problem.

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[jasong]

Either your gasket is bad or the door or stove face is warped. This would cause you to not be able to control your fire and burn the wood up fast but should also make the stove get pretty hot.

 

[Wiseguy13]

Well I will try the gasket first but it is is the stove or door then Me and Englander are going to have a long chat, that should be fun...... What kinda of burn times should I expect normally?

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[jasong]

With a full load of oak I get 3 to to 5 hours of actual flames with the same stove.

 

[jasong]

Use a straight edge to check the door and plate where the door should seal.

 

[Wiseguy13]

Which stove do you have, mine is the older design with the air control under the door, I keep it mostly closed, the ash plug always installed, I do not have the outside air inlet tube installed because I have never had a problem with lack of draft.

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[jasong]

It's the same stove but mine has the outside air kit hooked up. Draft would be affected by length of the chimney and flue. The oak would only supply air from the exterior of your home instead of using your already heated air to supply the fire with oxygen, it also helps with airtight house that can't pull enough air.

 

[Wiseguy13]

So that might be an option too. I have an all brick home, but the room the stove is in has a crawl space that is quite cold, do you think just running it through the floor would be effective since it is cold air?

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[lexybird]

its a wonderful stove your doing something very wrong ..i dont use an oak and i get long hot burns over 6 hours if its dampered down ,if ran wide open mine gets so hot you dang near can get close enough to load it get rid of that junk heat reclaimer aka creosote factory ,get yourself some bundled kiln dried wood at homedepot and try it out and see if things improve sounds like you need to inspect and sweep your chimne/pipe setup .

 

[jasong]

My OAK does not help me get longer burn times. If the crawl space can supply enough air to feed your fire I think it would be alright.

 

[Wiseguy13]

Okay I will check the chimney also, When I damper the stove it just reallly goes cuts the heat, last year it was way to hot in the same room as the stove this year not so much.

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[jasong]

Did you clean your chimney after burning last year?

 

[Wiseguy13]

I also have a big problem with incomplete burns. I end up with the entire bottom of the stove full of coals.....

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[Wiseguy13]

NO I did not, but I will very soon! I have to figure this out!

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[carinya]

I also have a big problem with incomplete burns. I end up with the entire bottom of the stove full of coals.....

I posted this in another thread about my 13 -

"Given the meticulous approach of Hearth community members…...I kept meticulous notes of temps this afternoon.

Inside 66, outside 38

Loaded up with elm, top down start with door open.

10 minutes - door just about closed, realise air supply is closed :red: ..... open air supply

15 min - flue probe 900, stove top 750 start closing down air hellfire

20 m - flue 750, top 850 close air - aurora australis

25 m - flue 600, top 750 open air a bit

35 m - flue 400, top 600

1 hour - flue 400, top 600"

Much the same this morning starting at 8am. Four hours later I have coals that I'm quite happy about & my air supply is choked right back to zero. I'm getting a nice gentle radiant heat from those coals.

These 13's are good but if the input/output flows are not up to snuff then, as with any stove, things come to a slow spluttering stop.

Seems to me like your system has a case of constipation - check that flue/chimney system !

 

[dave11]

I have had similar problems with my 30-NC when I use wood splits that are very large. There seems to be a maximum size of wood split that will burn properly, for whatever reason. If I take the time to split the large pieces into medium ones, and then burn, all goes perfectly fine.

Try splitting your pieces smaller, and use more of them.

 

[firefighterjake]

Oh my . . .

As to your original problem . . . it sounds as if you need to replace your door's gasket if you're able to see into the firebox (couple that with the fact you also cannot get very long burns which may indicate excessive air entering the firebox) OR the door is warped from overfiring the stove OR this is a manufacturing defect. What I would recommend is first changing out the gasket and seeing if this doesn't correct the problem . . . you should not be able to see inside the firebox with the door shut. If the gasket doesn't solve the problem you need to determine if the door is warped from overfiring (and you'll have to be honest with yourself -- if it is due to overfiring we can give some good advice on how to avoid this in the future, but you will most likely need to replace the door) or if the door is warped as a result of a manufacturing defect (it is possible . . . I have seen doors come this way . . . although if you ran this all last year with no issues I would suspect either the gaskets are worn out or the door is warped from overfiring (it happens.)

Second, I doubt this problem is caused from your Heat Exchanger . . . but I would get rid of this device. Heat exchangers may have had a place at one time, but now what they do is cool down your chimney temps to the point where cresosote can build up in your chimney . . . in general, most folks here do not recommend these devices due to the potential of creosote build up. Instead, rest assured that you are extracting a lot of heat already with your new EPA woodstove . . . the secondary combustion is burning the combustible products in the smoke (i.e. secondary burning) and therefore you are getting more heat (or should be getting more heat) as that smoke is simply not exiting the chimney.

Third, I would clean the chimney ASAP . . . or at the very least inspect it for build up . . . especially if you have been using the Heat Reclaimer all last year and haven't cleaned the chimney at all. I personally check and clean (just because cleaning for me is very easy) the chimney every month.

Fourth, get some thermometers -- a stove top thermometer if you do not have one will allow you to know what temps your stove is running at -- which is good since it keeps you from getting your stove too hot . . . and a flue thermometer will let you know if your stove is burning too "cold" and causing creosote to build up in the chimney.

 

[Wiseguy13]

Okay, I got a magnetic thermometer, the stove is reading 550-600 degrees but when I put it on the chimney it reads like 450 with the damper half way closed. I am ordering the correct replacement gasket because the ones at the local hardware store just didn't seem the same quality. I am going to be removing the heat reclaimer and cleaning the chimney at the same time very shortly. I check the door and stove also and there doesn't appear to be any warpage...... I have paid close attention to my chimney when burning and I am getting no visible smoke. I have also noticed by not filling the stove pact full with wood upon reload I do not get the coal problem, I just add a couple pieces when needed. I have done this for 2 days and I have not started a cold fire since yesterday morning and that is with leaving the stove for 5-8 hours.

Let me know if I am on the right track, thanks for everyones advise. As this is only my 3rd year burning I am by no means a pro.

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Vozelgang Heat Reclaimer
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination

 

[Wiseguy13]

Okay, all Englander 13NC owners, I am stumped.

I have cleaned the chimney, replaced the door gasket, removed the heat reclaimer, gotten a thermometer, installed the outside air kit and still having issues. The wood is dry, I checked it with a digital moisture meter and it is coming in at like 18%. I am getting a huge amount of coals in the bottom of the stove, if I close the air inlet the fire goes out, if I close the damper the fire goes out. I have noticed the air inlet control seems loose but it has been that way since new. I am about ready to give up!

I have thought about replacing the stove with the 30 but now I am thinking of a different brand. Any suggestions?

James M Wise
Northern, OH
Englander 13NC with blower
Chainsaw, Axe, Maul, and determination