Excessive chimney smoke

[Splittinfool]

Hello everyone, have a question regarding smoke from the chimney upon startup.

Some info-
Just had a lopi rockport stove installed a month ago and had around 10 fires so far.

Our flue is around 25 ft tall and goes straight up through our home and out the roof. The question is when i start a fire using either kiln dried pine planks or pallet planks, i get alot of dark thick smoke from the chimney until the stovetop reaches 400 or so. Is this a normal occurance?
I also leave the primary air open fully and the catalytic damper open as well during startup.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[bholler]

Hello everyone, have a question regarding smoke from the chimney upon startup.

Some info-
Just had a lopi rockport stove installed a month ago and had around 10 fires so far.

Our flue is around 25 ft tall and goes straight up through our home and out the roof. The question is when i start a fire using either kiln dried pine planks or pallet planks, i get alot of dark thick smoke from the chimney until the stovetop reaches 400 or so. Is this a normal occurance?
I also leave the primary air open fully and the catalytic damper open as well during startup.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Yes it is normal to have smoke untill things get up to temp.

 

[Splittinfool]

Yes it is normal to have smoke untill things get up to temp.

Ok, i was just worried about possible creosote burning in the chimney. My wood is somewhat subpar. Around 23 percent moisture, so i wasnt sure how fast creosote could build up.

 

[lsucet]

For sure keep an eye on it but is kind of normal. Try the top/down method and see if it helps with the smoke on startup.

 

[begreen]

Top- down starting demonstrated here

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[Ctwoodtick]

In my non-pro experience, wood that is 23 percent should be ok. You sound diligent about how you burn so that’s a good thing. If at all worried about creosote, run sooteater in flue or have pro swept mid season (my wood is all 20 or less and i still like to take a look down flue to make sure I’m good mid season- pick a dry day with no snow or frost though, being on a slippery roof is a very scary experience).

 

[maple1]

Hello everyone, have a question regarding smoke from the chimney upon startup.

Some info-
Just had a lopi rockport stove installed a month ago and had around 10 fires so far.

Our flue is around 25 ft tall and goes straight up through our home and out the roof. The question is when i start a fire using either kiln dried pine planks or pallet planks, i get alot of dark thick smoke from the chimney until the stovetop reaches 400 or so. Is this a normal occurance?
I also leave the primary air open fully and the catalytic damper open as well during startup.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Your kiln dried pine is likely off gassing way faster at startup than the stove can digest it. Startup smoke is common, but you might be able to reduce it a bit by using something different for startup. Or reducing how much of it you use. Or maybe reducing primary air some.

Things should get better also when winter hits and you have a steadier fire going, and are re-loading in a hot stove vs. starting a new fire in a cold stove every time.

 

[Splittinfool]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I will make some adjustments and see how it goes. I am trying to keep a close eye on things since this will be the first year learning the stove and how stuff operates.

 

[jetsam]

The best gauge of how you're doing is to sweep the chimney and see what comes out.

If you get a half gallon of creosote after a month of burning, you should make some adjustments. If you get a little tan powder, all is good.

Try sweeping every month at first, and back off as you get comfortable that you don't need to do it so often. I do it 2-3 times a year. I think most people do it once a year.

The two sweepings I always do are one in the summer in between burning seasons, and one in late fall/early winter when the weather starts getting cold. Sometimes I do one more in the spring if I'm burning really terrible wood.

 

[Splittinfool]

The best gauge of how you're doing is to sweep the chimney and see what comes out.

If you get a half gallon of creosote after a month of burning, you should make some adjustments. If you get a little tan powder, all is good.

Try sweeping every month at first, and back off as you get comfortable that you don't need to do it so often. I do it 2-3 times a year. I think most people do it once a year.

The two sweepings I always do are one in the summer in between burning seasons, and one in late fall/early winter when the weather starts getting cold. Sometimes I do one more in the spring if I'm burning really terrible wood.

What type of chimmey brush would you recommend? I have heard of the stiff bristle kind or the weed whip style that hooks to a power drill.

 

[lsucet]

What type of chimmey brush would you recommend? I have heard of the stiff bristle kind or the weed whip style that hooks to a power drill.

Look into a sooteater on Amazon. You will use it bottom/up from inside the house.

 

[Sodbuster]

Not so much with kiln dried, but with regular firewood what you are seeing is steam. If it's white and fades away after rising about 10 ft from your chimney it's steam.

 

[Woody Stover]

Your kiln dried pine is likely off gassing way faster at startup than the stove can digest it. Startup smoke is common, but you might be able to reduce it a bit by using something different for startup.

I have some Pine kindling, and if I throw a few pieces in on some coals and it catches fire, you can see the black smoke coming off of the Pine, more so than other woods.
You can try the top-down start to minimize smoke as the new load gets the stove up to temp. Build the load with big wood on the bottom, and small splits, kindling and firestarter in the top/front. As the flame works its way down from the top, smoke from the wood that is catching below rises into the flame above, and is consumed.

 

[Splittinfool]

Success!
The top down method paired with less pine planks reduced the overall smoke output dramatically. Thank you everyone for the input. I have a couple more questions though.

1. Is there a negative to the temperature getting up to speed taking longer using this method? More possible creosote?

2. When using my damper to activate the catalytic combuster, do i have to wait until the stovetop temp reaches the "good burn" range. Or can i close the damper when the cat probe is over 500 even if the stovetop is still cool?

 

[lsucet]

Success!
The top down method paired with less pine planks reduced the overall smoke output dramatically. Thank you everyone for the input. I have a couple more questions though.

1. Is there a negative to the temperature getting up to speed taking longer using this method? More possible creosote?

2. When using my damper to activate the catalytic combuster, do i have to wait until the stovetop temp reaches the "good burn" range. Or can i close the damper when the cat probe is over 500 even if the stovetop is still cool?

When the cat probe is at 500 or active, you should close the bypass. Some go by flue temp and others by cat temps. You best bet is following the manufacturer recommendation till you get familiar with the stove and how it perform.

 

[Splittinfool]

When the cat probe is at 500 or active, you should close the bypass. Some go by flue temp and others by cat temps. You best bet is following the manufacturer recommendation till you get familiar with the stove and how it perform.

Ok sounds good. I only ask because most times the stovetop thermometer is still in the "creosote range" but the probe is anywhere from 600 to 800 degrees.

 

[blades]

Go with probe reading as it is in the exhaust gas flow

 

[lsucet]

It is hard to say which is the correct way of do it. That's why I insist on you should follow manufacturer recommendation. Reason to be, mines are different stoves but same principles. I have cat probe and flue probe, depending how the fire spreads, the cat or flue can get first up to temps. I prefer the cat first. I have my tricks that 99% of the time the cat gets to temp first and ready to close bypass when the flue still has lower temps. Like mentioned before, others like to go by flue temp. You will get the experience to the point that just seeing the way the fire is burning you can tell. Give you some time. Lol

 

[begreen]

Ok sounds good. I only ask because most times the stovetop thermometer is still in the "creosote range" but the probe is anywhere from 600 to 800 degrees.

Ignore the stovetop thermometer ranges, except to avoid overfiring. They really are not that helpful unless you know what you are doing. The flue temp is much more meaningful and in this case the cat temp too.

 

[Splittinfool]

Would it be recommended that i purchase a flue magnectic thermometer or are those not accurate? Currently i dont have any way to read flue temp.

 

[Woody Stover]

The two sweepings I always do are one in the summer in between burning seasons, and one in late fall/early winter when the weather starts getting cold. Sometimes I do one more in the spring if I'm burning really terrible wood.

What are you doing, burning "terrible wood?" You know better than that..

1. Is there a negative to the temperature getting up to speed taking longer using this method? More possible creosote?
2. When using my damper to activate the catalytic combuster, do i have to wait until the stovetop temp reaches the "good burn" range. Or can i close the damper when the cat probe is over 500 even if the stovetop is still cool?

The top-down start can take a little longer to get rolling but if the plume is relatively clean, you aren't depositing much creo in the chimney. But a top-down start also puts more heat in the top of the stove, getting the cat hotter, quicker, and you should be able to light it off sooner.

You will get the experience to the point that just seeing the way the fire is burning you can tell. Give you some time. Lol

Right. Keep an eye on your meters, experiment, and see what works. I have a cat stove, but no cat probe installed right now. I go by stove top temp and flue temp (I have a surface meter lying on the horizontal tee snout that comes out the back of the stove.) I know that if I have 200 stove top, or if I hold 500 on the flue meter for 10-15 minutes, I can get light-off pretty reliably. Temps in your particular setup and stove will vary, of course. It also depends how dry your wood is. If you have some wood that's a bit wetter than other, it takes longer to get light-off, and may require more air to keep a clean burn going.
I don't know how the cat is laid out in that particular stove, but webby3650 has seen some stoves where you have to be careful that you aren't burning the flame so high that it can reach the face of the cat. That will damage or destroy it.

Ignore the stovetop thermometer ranges, except to avoid overfiring. They really are not that helpful unless you know what you are doing. The flue temp is much more meaningful and in this case the cat temp too.

Right, I use a stove top meter on my flue also, so the ranges don't apply. Even if I had a flue meter on the tee, I wouldn't pay attention to the ranges. Actual temps are what I go by.

 

[begreen]

Would it be recommended that i purchase a flue magnectic thermometer or are those not accurate? Currently i dont have any way to read flue temp.

If this is for single-wall stovepipe then yes, surface mount. It's less accurate but will provide a relative reading when placed about 18" above the stovetop. If this is for double-wall then a probe thermometer is required.

 

[Splittinfool]

Thanks again everyone for the information. I am going to try to figure out the way this stove acts over this winter. Either way we will be staying warm for a fraction of the price not using propane Lol

 

[Ctwoodtick]

The top down method is the gold standard for clean burnibg start-ups. As long as your wood is dry, you’re not going to create excessive creosote from start-ups.