In December I installed a Kitchen Queen Grand Comfort cookstove. This is my first wood stove and my first experience at all with an airtight/tube stove. It seems a little sensitive when reloading. I believe I’ve narrowed it down to the bi-metal thermostat. I roll and twist 4 small pieces of news print and lay on the grate. Then cross stack 2 tiers of kindling followed by a mix of small splits and small 1/4 splits. Air inlet wide open, ash door cracked and direct smoke outlet open. Sometimes I’ll take a piece of rolled news print and set it on top at the direct smoke outlet opening to warm the flue. I light that one then the 4 on the bottom, close the firebox door and within 30 seconds to a minute I latch the ash door. No problems. Once the probe in the pipe has reached @900 the thermostat has closed the door down to a small gap. I’ll close it completely at this point and the stove will coast along @600-700 at the probe and then cool down more when until there is a small bed of coals left. At this point the thermostat has the door mostly closed even if I turn it up all the way because there is so much heat in the stove. Now the dance begins. If I put too much wood in it smolders and boom. The salesmen told me to crack the ash door until I have a flame. That’s fine but now I have to get the door latched again without causing to much of a change or “whump”. It’s a good thing it’s a cookstove because the lids allow the pressure of the explosion out.
Explosive combustion after reloading
- Thread starter jbarber
- Start date
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I can imagine a big puffback with a cookstove could be quite startling. The first and most important requirement is dry, fully seasoned wood. The reloaded wood needs to ignite quickly and not smolder. Have you checked the moisture content of the firewood? It should be below 20% on a freshly split face of the wood.
The reload is going to need increased draft. Is the oven bypass opened on reload and left open until the new wood is fully on fire?
The reload is going to need increased draft. Is the oven bypass opened on reload and left open until the new wood is fully on fire?
my first thought was the wood because even though it was dead fall it’s only been split and stacked under roof for a few months. I don’t have a moisture meter. That is my hope that with better wood this won’t be such an issue. Yes the oven bypass is always open. I learned that lesson with one of the first events. Wow! It’s going to take awhile for my wife to be comfortable running this thing but the dog returned the same day.
LOL, poor dog.
Dead fallen wood that has lain on the ground can soak up moisture from the earth. It may need a full year after being split and stacked to dry out to the core. You could try resplitting a box or two and bring them into the house for at least a week. That will accelerate the drying. For this season, maybe try some compressed brick fuel from Tractor Supply or another source. BioBrick and ECO bricks are good.
Dead fallen wood that has lain on the ground can soak up moisture from the earth. It may need a full year after being split and stacked to dry out to the core. You could try resplitting a box or two and bring them into the house for at least a week. That will accelerate the drying. For this season, maybe try some compressed brick fuel from Tractor Supply or another source. BioBrick and ECO bricks are good.
Thanks for the replies. I’ve been a lurker for years and finally had a reason to post. Not much on the web about the Amish built tube stoves.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
I always reload with a small piece or two of really dry kindling On the coals . Some time I even add one on top to kick of the secondaries. I have to split more kindling but I think it leads to a cleaner burn and no detonations. I don’t have a cook stove but I think the principal still applies. Try your best to you have a lit ignition source for all the wood gases and smoke as soon at you can.
Evan
Evan
Isaac Carlson
Minister of Fire
As long as you have flames before closing the door it shouldn't happen. We have an older kitchen queen and if I put wood on unstirred/sleeping coals and shut the door, it will sometimes poof, especially when the flue has cooled too much.
open the back, wake up the coals and bring them to the front, add wood, close door most of the way, the fire should light, close door and back.
open the back, wake up the coals and bring them to the front, add wood, close door most of the way, the fire should light, close door and back.
Isaac Carlson
Minister of Fire
I I know what you meant, I was just kidding. KQ calls it the “direct smoke outlet”.
