Fire going out

[Ninjorp]

Hello!

First time wood-stove owner here. I just moved into a house which is heated with a Hearthstone Heritage 8020.

For the first 3 weeks everything was fine, I had good fires burning. Starting a couple of days ago the fires just go out. When I open the ash pan door a bit the fire perks right up and goes like a blow torch, so I don't think it's a draft issue. The level for the damper (lower left of the stove) doesn't seem to have any effect. It almost seems like it is stuck on 'off' to the far right position (when it is to the far left). If I get the fire going using the open ash tray then close the tray and leave the front door open it burns just fine too.

Is it possible that the damper is stuck? How could I check for this? I did a through cleaning of the stove this morning and couldn't see anything obviously wrong on the inside of the stove. We just had our winter wood delivered and I was assured that is was dried for at least a year so I don't think the wood is the issue.

It really looks like the fire is being starved of oxygen.

Any help is appreciated ... it's getting cold in here!

Thanks

 

[NH_Wood]

Have you inspected your flue? Possible obstruction? Edit: also - is your wood well seasoned? Any idea of moisture content? How long split/stacked? Cheers!

 

[Heem]

go buy some kiln dried wood in the little bundles at the grocery/hardware store. see if it works better. we had problems like that first year due to not REALLY knowing what seasoned wood was.

 

[Ninjorp]

Thanks for the advice. I'm a total newbie at this, how would I go about inspecting the flue?

I was also searching around the net for suggestions and I saw about checking for any obstruction on the air inlet. Could anyone tell me where this is located?

 

[NH_Wood]

Thanks for the advice. I'm a total newbie at this, how would I go about inspecting the flue?

If you have easy access from the roof, hop up, remove cap (or whatever covers your chimney flue) and shine a bright light down the flue - perhaps wait till late evening so you get a good shine. You may have heavy creosote build-up if you've been burning unseasoned wood, or critters may have caused an obstruction. Also, your chimney cap could be clogged as well - again, not sure what your setup is like. If you post a log more info on your setup (flue size, height, etc.), folks will be able to help more. Cheers!

 

[oldspark]

If this is with the new wood you just had delivered and it worked for the last 3 weeks I guess it is the wood no matter what the guy told you.

 

[branchburner]

I was assured that is was dried for at least a year

Unfortunately many people describe wood in log length this way - but it needs to be cut to length and split for a year for ideal results.

 

[joshlaugh]

I have a heritage too. Like others have said really check your wood. The newer EPA stoves really like well seasoned wood. I can tell if I would "attempt" to burn unseasoned wood in mine. She really doesn't like it.

 

[krex1010]

Sounds like wet wood to me. Did your problem coincide with your wood delivery? I don't know your firewood guy but very few have one year seasoned wood. There is a possibility that the trees may have been cut down a year ago, but I would be surprised if the wood was split a year ago.

 

[Ninjorp]

Damn that Wayne!

Thanks for all the replies. I was checking around the net and found that the wood should be split at the ends .... my wood is not. It has some of the other signs of being dried: bark falling off, good sound when hit, etc, but no splitting at the ends.


I did take the time and thoroughly clean out the inside including the air hole and it does seem to be burning a bit better now.


So, now that I know I have wood that is not the best, is there anything I can do to improve the burn?


BTW, if you'd like to see a video of the wood delivery and stacking here it is:


I know I didn't do the best job: No risers taking it off the ground, etc (I've already been told). Me and the lady are going to re-stack it on the next sunny day.

 

[Lighting Up]

Wow...great video...have to say I thought the nice white picket fence was going down until he moved the truck. That's alot of wood to re-stack I give you 2 years and you will be cutting and splitting your own if your going to re-stack.

Get a moister meter they are cheap at Harbor Freight then you will know if it's your "Wood Guy" to blame.

Good Luck with your stove
md

 

[Dakotas Dad]

If the stove ran well until you started using this new wood.. well it's the only "new" thing in the mix.. so it is where I would check first.

I got my moisture meter at Home Depot.. I doubt you have one there.. but some kind of hardware or woodworking store should have one..

While we don't stack our wood on the ground, I note yours is on pavement, and only going to be down there a couple months, I would not bother to re-stack. It's not going to rot this winter, and that area is not going to hold a lot of moisture anyways..

 

[ansehnlich1]

yaya, nice video.

methinks if you're burnin' steady up there in nova scotia you'll use up more than 2 cords.

if your flue is clear, i concur with others, the wood you have is likely not dry enough.

i split my wood and stack it and let it sit for 1, sometimes 2, and even 3 years before burning.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hello!

First time wood-stove owner here. I just moved into a house which is heated with a Hearthstone Heritage 8020.

For the first 3 weeks everything was fine, I had good fires burning. Starting a couple of days ago the fires just go out. When I open the ash pan door a bit the fire perks right up and goes like a blow torch, so I don't think it's a draft issue. The level for the damper (lower left of the stove) doesn't seem to have any effect. It almost seems like it is stuck on 'off' to the far right position (when it is to the far left). If I get the fire going using the open ash tray then close the tray and leave the front door open it burns just fine too.

Is it possible that the damper is stuck? How could I check for this? I did a through cleaning of the stove this morning and couldn't see anything obviously wrong on the inside of the stove. We just had our winter wood delivered and I was assured that is was dried for at least a year so I don't think the wood is the issue.

It really looks like the fire is being starved of oxygen.

Any help is appreciated ... it's getting cold in here!

Thanks

That statement in red bold says it all. Do not feel badly though as most new wood burners go through the same thing and most find out that wood sellers don't necessarily lie, but they either don't tell the full story or don't know what dry wood is or how to get it there.

You did a good job on the video!

You might do some measuring of that wood pile. You have 5 rows of wood. If those rows are 8' long and the wood is cut to 16" length, you are way short of 2 cord of wood. Two cord of wood, if cut into 16" lengths would give you 6 rows of wood 8 feet long and 4 feet high. The picture looks like it might not be 4' high.

You mentioned that the wood is not raised off the ground. What you could have done, without having anything else to stack the wood on would be to simply make long rows with the wood you have. Imagine what it would look like with 2 landscape timbers laid down and then you stack the wood on that. In this case, you have used wood rather than buying the timbers. As you burn and down to the bottom, you can either then take those logs you laid down and burn them or if wet, put them on top of the last stack so they will dry. This way your wood would be off the ground so air can circulate under the pile and you do need lots of air to dry that wood. You might also consider re-stacking the wood so that you have a big space between the rows. This would speed up the drying just a bit.

Good luck.

 

[firefighterjake]

As mentioned . . . the most likely culprit is the wood.

Incidentally, as you may or may not know, starting a fire by leaving the ash door ajar is not a recommended practice by most manufacturers.

 

[Ninjorp]

Re: The ash tray door.


I read on a few sites that it's a good way to get it going BUT not to leave it like that for more than 10 minutes (I usually .. heh heh for the past few days) only leave it open for like 30 seconds to a minute to get it to catch the wood. I suppose I should just leave the side or front door open for a bit instead.


I've got to say that I'm pretty peeved about the wood situation and will NOT be giving this guy my return business. He probably figured that I was a newbie (correct) and that he could just offload some not quite up to snuff wood on me.


As the wood isn't really burning efficiently, this blows my plans to primarily rely on the wood stove for the winter and not use my furnace. Actually I'm a bit more than just peeved :

 

[firefighterjake]

Re: The ash tray door.


I read on a few sites that it's a good way to get it going BUT not to leave it like that for more than 10 minutes (I usually .. heh heh for the past few days) only leave it open for like 30 seconds to a minute to get it to catch the wood. I suppose I should just leave the side or front door open for a bit instead.


I've got to say that I'm pretty peeved about the wood situation and will NOT be giving this guy my return business. He probably figured that I was a newbie (correct) and that he could just offload some not quite up to snuff wood on me.


As the wood isn't really burning efficiently, this blows my plans to primarily rely on the wood stove for the winter and not use my furnace. Actually I'm a bit more than just peeved :

I think many of us have used the ash pan door to get the fire going . . . but in all honestly it's much safer and just as easy to crack the fire box door . . . I tend to use my side door and leave it ajar . . . no worries about turning my ash grate or any other parts into a warped, twisted pile of slag.

Incidentally . . . Lunenburg . . . that place jogs my memory . . . is there a fort in this town or nearby?

 

[Pagey]

If you are pretty sure that your wood supply is less than ideal, make sure you inspect the chimney more often. Creosote can build up faster than one might think, and everyone here wants people to be as safe as possible when they burn!

 

[krex1010]

To address your wood issue, you likely will have a hard time finding anyone with truly seasoned wood, and if you do you will probably pay a very premium price. If you are going to buy your wood you will probably be better served finding someone that sells honest cords at a good price and seasoning the wood yourself, this way you will eliminate one of the issues that buying wood presents.

 

[Ninjorp]

Thanks Krex,


I will start to look into that.


The biggest problem for me is I just moved here from Germany (although I am Canadian) and my finances are tight right now. I would love too by some wood and get it ready for next year. I may be able to do so in a couple of weeks, but we may have snow by then.


Are there any major disadvantages of staking up later in the season (other than the obvious, cold, possible snow)? Or anything I should be aware of?


I'd like to thank all of you for all of your comments and suggestions.

Firefighterjake: Just recently moved here, but I do know that there are some forts in the area. There is Fort Point down the road, although the fort itself is long gone and a lighthouse stands there now.

 

[firefighterjake]

Thanks Krex,


I will start to look into that.


The biggest problem for me is I just moved here from Germany (although I am Canadian) and my finances are tight right now. I would love too by some wood and get it ready for next year. I may be able to do so in a couple of weeks, but we may have snow by then.


Are there any major disadvantages of staking up later in the season (other than the obvious, cold, possible snow)? Or anything I should be aware of?


I'd like to thank all of you for all of your comments and suggestions.

Firefighterjake: Just recently moved here, but I do know that there are some forts in the area. There is Fort Point down the road, although the fort itself is long gone and a lighthouse stands there now.

I realize now I was mixing up towns and places . . . I was thinking of this place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Louisbourg

I also now realize I remember Lunenburg being a place that was on my list of places to visit though due to it being a World Heritage site.

 

[Ninjorp]

I realize now I was mixing up towns and places . . . I was thinking of this place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Louisbourg

I also now realize I remember Lunenburg being a place that was on my list of places to visit though due to it being a World Heritage site.

Funny, I've been here for a month and haven't made it to Lunenburg yet. I've been told it is a beautiful town. We've been to insanely busy since our arrival, shopping, getting ready for the winter, settling in, just haven't had the time. But, perhaps in the next few weeks we'll head over.


And yes it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

[Wood Duck]

I think you're better off buying and stacking wood in the snow than waiting until spring to buy your wood. If you buy it now, at least you know it is split now, and there is plenty of good drying weather in the winter. As long as you're not stacking wood with a ton of snow lodged inside the stacks, the winter air will take care of the snow and dry the wood.

By the way, split ends is not a necessary indicator of seasoned wood. Split ends is a sign of uneven shrinkage, and can be more prevalent with partially seasoned wood than with fully seasoned wood. Once the wood is evenly seasoned the cracks sometimes disappear. On the other hand, loose bark can be an indication that the tree has been dead or cut down for a while, but doesn't mean the inside of the wood is dry. i think overall weight is the best non-scientific indicator of seasoned wood, but you have to know what type of wood (so you can judge the density) and you have to get a feel for what the weight should be. It isn't very precise, now that I think about it.

 

[billb3]

I wouldn't be restacking the whole block. It is up on asphalt which is a lot better than in the grass.
Especially with a cover.

I might take the last row and move it a foot or so away from the rest of the pile and not cover the side unless it stays wet in the rain and snow to get a bit more air flowing through to season faster.


Actually, if I was hell bent on restacking I'd move it all single row against the fence in the back yard to get as much air flowing through as possible.
Course, I'm not shoveling your snow, either.