Having trouble getting flames in new stove

[Mx51]

So I have had a wood stove in my house since I was a kid. I live in the house I grew up in, but the wood stove hasn't been used in 20 years. I decided this year I was going to use it and for insurance purposes they wanted it certified, so we bought a new stove. Quadra-fire 2100 millennium which was installed today.
They ended up putting all new piping from the stove all the way out the roof. I have been playing with it all day but I can not seem to really get any flames. I have a really good bed of coals but when I put a new log in I can't get any flames, why is this? What am I doing wrong?

Thank you for any help

 

[begreen]

Welcome. We've heard this a lot this season. Most of the time this is an issue of either the wood being damp or too little draft. Sometimes it's a combination of both. Can you describe the wood you are burning in thickness, when it was split, and wood species? Also, how tall is the flue system on the stove? Is it all 6"?

 

[BrotherBart]

And don't just "put a log" in it. If this is split wood you need at least two and better more splits of wood with air space between them to burn. If they are un-split wood it won't burn worth a darn except if it is really dry, unless at least three are in there and it is cold enough outside to give good draft.

 

[Mx51]

Welcome. We've heard this a lot this season. Most of the time this is an issue of either the wood being damp or too little draft. Sometimes it's a combination of both. Can you describe the wood you are burning in thickness, when it was split, and wood species? Also, how tall is the flue system on the stove? Is it all 6"?

I no the wood is pine when the guy installed it today he told me to do kindling fires for the first couple of fires so I burned kindling for about 4 hours then threw a log in. It was a split piece probably 4-5 inches tall and 10 inches wide. It turned to coal eventually but never really had any flames. So I split more already split wood so it is about 4x4 size and threw a few of those in but still really no flames or if any flame just on top of the logs... The wood could be damp as we had some snow yesterday but I have it under tarps so no direct water would get on them

 

[begreen]

When was the wood under the tarps split?

 

[Mx51]

When was the wood under the tarps split?

The wood was split last Sunday. I have about 6 cords on the ground blocked up at my buddies cabin. So when I go up there we back his log spitter up to the pile split it and put it in my truck

 

[Woody Stover]

At least it is Pine, which dries a lot faster than some of the more dense woods, but it is still probably too wet to burn well. Can you hear steam hissing out of the wood when you put it on the coals? Is the stove window gunked up? You need some trees (Pine is good) that have been standing dead for as many years as possible, with all the bark long gone. If you could find that kind of stuff, it should be dry already. You can get a cheap moisture meter at Harbor Freight, but I'm pretty sure what you are gonna find with that wood you have now....well over 20%.

 

[kennyp2339]

The wood was split last Sunday. I have about 6 cords on the ground blocked up at my buddies cabin. So when I go up there we back his log spitter up to the pile split it and put it in my truck

And there's your problem, new stoves only like dry wood <20% moisture, good luck and look for bio bricks, neils, compressed wood bricks, same that wood for next year

 

[firefighterjake]

The wood was split last Sunday. I have about 6 cords on the ground blocked up at my buddies cabin. So when I go up there we back his log spitter up to the pile split it and put it in my truck

Sadly you are not the first and will not be the last to discover that EPA stoves burn clean and can burn long with less wood . . . but the trade off is they need well seasoned wood.

Wood split just a few days ago . . . heck wood split just a few weeks ago . . . will most likely not be seasoned (dry) enough to burn well. Instead it will most likely hiss and moisture will slowly be driven out of it and it will smolder if you put it on a bed of coals.

Generally the wood needs to be less than 20% moisture . . . or you can do as I do . . . and cut, split and stack the wood a year prior -- some wood may dry out sooner (softwoods, ash, etc.) while others species may take longer (i.e. oak), but generally a year cut, split and stacked will result in a happier burning experience.

At this point the chances of getting truly seasoned wood are probably going to be slim. As mentioned your best bet may be compressed wood products.

 

[Mx51]

Sadly you are not the first and will not be the last to discover that EPA stoves burn clean and can burn long with less wood . . . but the trade off is they need well seasoned wood.

Wood split just a few days ago . . . heck wood split just a few weeks ago . . . will most likely not be seasoned (dry) enough to burn well. Instead it will most likely hiss and moisture will slowly be driven out of it and it will smolder if you put it on a bed of coals.

Generally the wood needs to be less than 20% moisture . . . or you can do as I do . . . and cut, split and stack the wood a year prior -- some wood may dry out sooner (softwoods, ash, etc.) while others species may take longer (i.e. oak), but generally a year cut, split and stacked will result in a happier burning experience.

At this point the chances of getting truly seasoned wood are probably going to be slim. As mentioned your best bet may be compressed wood products.

Thank you for all the help I'm sure the wood is pretty wet and will try to cut and split a year in advance... This was kind of a last minute decision to get a new stove put in, decided about three weeks ago to do this so I really didn't think about wood until I needed it which was about a week ago