ghost flames

[kieth4548]

Sorry for the bad title but didn't know what else to call it. I am in my second year of buring and I have a furnace add on. A few times that I put wood in to start the stove after its gone out I will get a lot of fire like it's getting to much air. I will tone it down and I start to get a lot of what I will call ghost flames. It's flames that seam to explode or dance around above the wood from nowhere. It acts like it needs air but if I open the dampers then the flames get entremly large again. Why am I getting these large ghost flames?

Thanks
Kieth

 

[VtRv]

I'm no expert but what you're describing sounds like what my Vermont Castings does when it's burning off the wood gases. It's really cool to watch like a bunch of little flash overs.

 

[webbie]

Exactly..those flames are slightly delayed ignition of your wood gases. If you did not see them, a lot more smoke...and less efficiency would be present.

A rule of thumb is - always try to keep some flame on a fire......

 

[kieth4548]

flash overs is what I was thinking. The problem I have is the flames get sucked up the stove pipe and the pipe can get real hot. It seems to me the pipe is getting to hot. I'm afraid that a fire may start in the stove pipe because it gets so hot. It just happened to me when I reloaded.

 

[LeonMSPT]

I like it when I see it in my Vermont Castings insert. It only happens hot, and it is burning off... have a damper control or bypass, baffle? I close mine, and it just dances around in there with a magnetic thermometer stuck to the front door at 575 degrees.