OK. So here I am. I just had a brand new Harman Oakwood Stove installed today and I am a bit lost, possibly in over my head. It is a non-cat stove but has Harman's afterburner in it to reburn the smoke and gasses. I got a nice hot fire cooking, and then closed the rear damper baffle (as instructed to to in the instruction manual) to get the draft to take the smoke thru the firedome afterburner. Now, the stove shoots out a big blasting explosion every 4 minutes or so and smoke poofs out into the living room. Anyone ever experience this? Anyone able to help me out here? Yowzers.....did I just make a big mistake buying a woodstove?
Exploding Harman Oakwood?
- Thread starter Skeezix_McGoo
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stejus
Minister of Fire
This usually happens because you are close to a coal stage and not enough air. The issue is you still have gases emitting from the wood and they build up and fill the stove and then explode. Just open the air a little so you have flames burning.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
Skeezix_McGoo said:
Back puffing.
How was the stove installed?
How are you adjusting the air controls?
North of 60
Minister of Fire
Air is wide open...all the way open. Stove is installed with a straight up 8 inch pipe 18 feet high.
North of 60
Minister of Fire
The weather is in the sixties during the day up there right now. The chimney draft isn't sufficient to smoothly pull the gases through the afterburner and they are collecting in the firebox and going off all at once. With the design of that stove when the damper is closed it has to pull the smoke down and into the afterburner.
Leave the damper open when you are starting the stove up until you don't see smoke in the firebox anymore just flames . That tells you that the chimney is drafting sufficiently pulling the smoke up the chimney. Takes a long time in warm weather in the high fifties or higher.
Leave the damper open when you are starting the stove up until you don't see smoke in the firebox anymore just flames . That tells you that the chimney is drafting sufficiently pulling the smoke up the chimney. Takes a long time in warm weather in the high fifties or higher.
North of 60
Minister of Fire
north of 60 said:
Because they just got it today dang it. I fire off a stove in July if I just got it. :lol:
North of 60
Minister of Fire
Exactamundo my friend.....exactamundo. Im in shorts, loving the way the stove looks, and trying to learn all this and get the kinks out before really cold temps.BrotherBart said:
North of 60
Minister of Fire
Skeezix_McGoo said:
Not drafting for sure. You gotta get some more heat up that chimney 1st. The big Δ T thing.
A dumb question, but did you try you air control the opposite way to see if it livens up since you said the fire was roaring?
spirilis
Minister of Fire
I remember reading something recently from another thread--how are the joints between the sections of your stovepipe? When it's running can you take a grill lighter or something and try putting the flame next to any joints in the stovepipe to see if the flame gets sucked in? Ideally those joints would be sealed up with furnace cement but sometimes they're not or it's still not sealed well.
If there are a lot of joints in the stovepipe (say it's going a long ways up, i.e. cathedral ceiling) those leaks can add up to ruin your draft.
If there are a lot of joints in the stovepipe (say it's going a long ways up, i.e. cathedral ceiling) those leaks can add up to ruin your draft.
Hmmmm....There is about 7 feet of pipe inside the house, and none of them are sealed with anything, just screwed. I asked the installer today if this was ok and he said no problem. I will also say that he has been in the chimney business for over 20 years. Any thoughts on the unsealed joints?spirilis said:
The damper is definately open to the right and closed to the left and The bypass damper is only one way.north of 60 said:
Gentlemen and Ladies, (as appropriate)
I want to thank everyone here for your help. I bought this stove and have been so excited about slashing my dependence on Arabian oil. I fired it up tonight and wanted to see her burn. I got a fire going pretty good ( at least I thought), but I closed the bypass baffle prematurely, and was not able to achieve a secondary burn in the firedome afterburner. I need to be patient enough for the fire to get hot enough to ignite the afterburner. Therefore, the gasses were not burning and probably accumulating in the chamber and poofing. You all were so helpful. This is an amazing site and a great resource. I look forward to chatting and updating you all as the season progresses and can't wait for the day that I get really good at this and can help some other newbie
You all go back to enjoying your evening and I am going to sit here staring at my stove all night long. Love this damn thing!
I want to thank everyone here for your help. I bought this stove and have been so excited about slashing my dependence on Arabian oil. I fired it up tonight and wanted to see her burn. I got a fire going pretty good ( at least I thought), but I closed the bypass baffle prematurely, and was not able to achieve a secondary burn in the firedome afterburner. I need to be patient enough for the fire to get hot enough to ignite the afterburner. Therefore, the gasses were not burning and probably accumulating in the chamber and poofing. You all were so helpful. This is an amazing site and a great resource. I look forward to chatting and updating you all as the season progresses and can't wait for the day that I get really good at this and can help some other newbie
You all go back to enjoying your evening and I am going to sit here staring at my stove all night long. Love this damn thing!
spirilis
Minister of Fire
It's usually not a problem for short runs, although it's still a good idea to seal it. How many joints/sections of pipe are there?Skeezix_McGoo said:
Here's the thread I was talking about btw: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/84082/
That guy was using *double walled* pipe which keeps more heat inside, and the leaks were causing him trouble, so if you're using typical single-walled pipe I'd assume the same. Something to think about--furnace cement applied to the joints (with a caulking gun, then smeared smooth with a paper towel is typically how I do it) should help. Worth a try?
Bub381
Minister of Fire
Skeez - be patient, just a bit of a learning curve. The key is not just how hot the fire is, but how deep the coals are. From a cold stove it takes quite a while to get a decent coal bed. Start out with smaller splits and/or branch wood, and nothing wet/green. If you backpuff, just open the damper. You know the AB is going when no smoke comes out of your stack.
You will love this stove in the dead of winter - that's when it shows its stuff. Make sure you have dry wood - a year cut and split is best.
You will love this stove in the dead of winter - that's when it shows its stuff. Make sure you have dry wood - a year cut and split is best.
OK Folks,
Here's the deal. I stayed up all night with this stove, not because I was worrying, but because I wanted to watch it and learn. I decided to cooker' up really good and see how hot I could safely get it. Because it is brand spanking new, some of the oils and paint smoked a bit when it cured, and not only smelled a little, but set off the smoke alarm around 2am. Oh, how my family loves me! Anyway, I have so many less unanswered questions than I did last night. Stoves a crankin for absolutely no reason (its still pretty mild here in CT) other than I wanna watch her burn. Good god, I am loving this thing more and more. Gunna watch the Patriots whoop the Eagles today right here in my 96 degree livingroom
Here's the deal. I stayed up all night with this stove, not because I was worrying, but because I wanted to watch it and learn. I decided to cooker' up really good and see how hot I could safely get it. Because it is brand spanking new, some of the oils and paint smoked a bit when it cured, and not only smelled a little, but set off the smoke alarm around 2am. Oh, how my family loves me! Anyway, I have so many less unanswered questions than I did last night. Stoves a crankin for absolutely no reason (its still pretty mild here in CT) other than I wanna watch her burn. Good god, I am loving this thing more and more. Gunna watch the Patriots whoop the Eagles today right here in my 96 degree livingroom
glad you like your stove. i bought the smaller oakleaf this year, and am waiting for it to get cold enough to burn more. i have only had a few fires so far and i think it is great. did you get the grill for yours? i did, but have not had a chance to use it.
Beach Party!Skeezix_McGoo said:OK Folks,
Here's the deal. I stayed up all night with this stove, not because I was worrying, but because I wanted to watch it and learn. I decided to cooker' up really good and see how hot I could safely get it. Because it is brand spanking new, some of the oils and paint smoked a bit when it cured, and not only smelled a little, but set off the smoke alarm around 2am. Oh, how my family loves me! Anyway, I have so many less unanswered questions than I did last night. Stoves a crankin for absolutely no reason (its still pretty mild here in CT) other than I wanna watch her burn. Good god, I am loving this thing more and more. Gunna watch the Patriots whoop the Eagles today right here in my 96 degree livingroom
Didnt get the grill option. It looked pretty cool, but we grill 12 months a year on our Weber. With 2 kids and a wife and the way I like to eat, the grill wouldnt be big enough anyway. Getting it would have been like a self imposed diet- and that aint happening!
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