Friend’s stove being worrisome

[AlecT]

I don’t know anything about wood stoves, but I’m watching a friend’s house while he’s out of the country. He heats the place with a wood stove and asked me to burn a fire in it whenever I had the time. His written instructions were basically “turn on the ceiling fan, build a fire, push the damper in when the thermometer says it’s in the catalytic zone, open or close the vents for heat.” So…yeah. The first fire took me three hours to get started and I only found out (from this forum) after the first two hours that I shouldn’t have thrown all his junk mail and scrap paper in there as kindling. Oops.
Second fire wasn’t too bad.
Today I noticed some rusty brown smudges and white drippy streaks running down the outside of the stovepipe that I would almost swear weren’t there before. I could not get a fire lit. I had some little embers going, so I left them with some twigs on top and the door open to see if anything would catch. A few minutes later I came back to black smoke billowing out of the stove. Obviously, I panicked, and didn’t know what you’re supposed to do, so I threw water in and closed the door- THEN Googled and found out that’s not good. Oops again.
Googling what happened was like Googling health symptoms. Now I’m spooked I’ve started several chimney fires and damaged the whole system. The homeowner isn’t going to be home for weeks and it’ll be a while before he has phone reception.
Here’s what I know:
The stove says Kuma on it. He bought it new when he built the house, which is about ten years old. He’s never mentioned any problems with it.
I have no idea how often he cleans it or when he last did. He’s one of those guys who keeps his workshop pristine and his kitchen a hazardous waste zone, so who knows.
The stovepipe goes straight up through the roof. No bends.
He cuts and stores his own wood. I think it’s maple. I found one one of those wood moisture detector things with the little prongs, which says the wood on top of the pile is 17%.
The weather is running around 30-40 degrees, with rain off and on.
I think the house is pretty airtight because the air is seriously dry in here- he’s said the wood floors crack and separate because of it. I opened a window when I tried to light a fire.
So does it sound like I’ve cost him a chimney cleaning, or worse? Or just been really clumsy around a stove?

 

[marty319]

I think you should get someone over to show you how to operate the stove before you cause some major problems

 

[kennyp2339]

Dont use the stove until you have better knowledge of how to operate it, start by looking up the stoves manual for guidance.

 

[stoveliker]

And you're likely using wood that is rather wet;17 pct measured on the outside (the driest part) means it's still 30 pct or so on the inside.

As above, get hands on instructions from someone.

 

[jetsam]

Kuma makes some well-liked stoves.

If I was you, I'd start by downloading the owner's manual. If you have access to the rear of the unit, it is required to have a UL plate with a model number on it. Otherwise post a photo here or call Kuma to help you figure out what model it is.

If your friend has a shop, it has a brush and poles in it, or a sooteater. Sweeping takes me about 5 minutes top-down with a brush, maybe 20 minutes from the bottom with a sooteater. (It's possible that he pays someone else to do this; in that case you can get a brush and poles for cheap on Amazon.)

Disconnect the flue from the stove, tape a garbage bag to it, and sweep the flue. (You don't want the sweepings to fall into the stove in the case of many stove designs, as they can pile up and obstruct air flow.)

Also take a split from the woodpile, leave it inside overnight, and split it and test the freshly-split face with the moisture meter, and tell us what you get.

Once you have the instructions, you know the flue is clean, and we know how wet your wood is, we'll be able to tell you how to use the stove safely. (Burning wet wood, which you probably have, is a bit different from burning dry wood.)

 

[NorthernFireplaceFool]

We live in a world of technical wonders. Facetime, Skype, Zoom with him and show him what you're doing and he can show you how to run it properly. Save both of you a lot of headaches.

 

[peakbagger]

I can emphasize, my wood boiler to me is easy to operate with minimal instruction., my brother managed to run it way up over design temp two days in a row. No damage but you really could do far more damage not knowing how to run it.

 

[AlecT]

I found the model number so I’ll look that up- thanks! The wood that sat inside all night is reading around 13%.
I’ll try finding a neighbor.
I realize I sound like an idiot on here, but he made it sound as easy as building a campfire and pushing a few rods. Thanks for helping me not burn the house down!

 

[stoveliker]

13% on a surface that was freshly exposed because you re-split the piece?

 

[ratsrepus]

I didn't see what type of stove it is.

 

[stoveliker]

I didn't see what type of stove it is.

A Kuma cat stove ( model not yet known).

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Well, Merry Christmas. Good on ya for trying to figure out how to run the stove right.

Is there a backup source of heat while this gets figured out? If not, has the water been drained?

 

[jetsam]

Well, he got the model number, so he can snag the manual from Kuma's web site. That's most of the battle.

 

[xman23]

Did he tell you a stove and chimney cleaned and ready to use? Any of these, a plugged cap, dirty chimney, or a cat that is shot will be a problem. And the wood needs to be seasoned and dry.

 

[brenndatomu]

That cat is probably half plugged up with junk mail now too...

 

[clancey]

Get a wood stove installer over there and have him show you how to use it as well as "let him check it out" and in the meanwhile get a electric heater oil filled kind and lock yourself up in one of the rooms for heat until he gets back...Do not use that stove until you get real time advice from a real person that can check out things for safety...Merry Christmas...clancey

 

[MagdalenaP]

When you started the 2nd fire, was the 1st completely out and the stove was "cold"?

Few issues/ questions: Why did it take you three hours to get the first fire started? How much wood did you have on it?

I think for your 2nd fire, you had cold air coming down the chimney. If you go right now, open the stove and put your hand near it, do you feel cold air coming in? If yes, proceed to these instructions. If no cold air at all, don't proceed.

I would:

1. Put some candles in the stove, crack the door open about 1/2 inch, have the damper in the out position, and the ceiling fan on.
2. After about 30 min with the candles in, take them out and immediately make a fire like a cabin style:

a) two logs, side by side about 6 inches apart. Then add kindling, maybe 3 pages of news paper in the middle of the logs.
b) two logs, on top of the other two, in the opposite direction.
c) Add more kindling on top, and paper. Then light.
d) close the door to only 1/2 open. And wait.
e) when the thermometer almost says it’s in the catalytic zone, close the door. Once it's in the zone, close the damper.

 

[brenndatomu]

IMO no need to start the ceiling fan until the stove is actually putting off some heat...just more chance of getting smoke and flyash stirred up/out with it on...

 

[MagdalenaP]

IMO no need to start the ceiling fan until the stove is actually putting off some heat...just more chance of getting smoke and flyash stirred up/out with it on...

If those are the instructions for the home owner, there must be a reason for it. Perhaps it helps with draft?