Help Us Solve Our Country Striker 160 Mystery!

[huauqui]

Just a crazy thought but a strong draft with a bad door seal could keep you from heating up the firebox. If your door gasket or the glass gasket is leaking air you potentially will not be able to control the burn well and it definitely will burn the wood faster. Have you done the dollar bill test on the door? How is the glass gasket?

Secondly this stove should have baffle boards and a baffle blanket (the boards are 4 pieces, 2 large, 2 smaller) These boards sit on the secondary burn tubes and over top of the boards should be the baffle blanket (page 15 of this manual.) Without these baffles and blankets the stove would draw way to fast and burn wood without heating up the stove.

You sound knowledgeable on stoves so I am guessing you checked these things but thought I should throw them out there just in case. That is a beautiful looking alcove setup. I hope things get going better for you soon.

huauqui

 

[Caliderby]

Just a crazy thought but a strong draft with a bad door seal could keep you from heating up the firebox. If your door gasket or the glass gasket is leaking air you potentially will not be able to control the burn well and it definitely will burn the wood faster. Have you done the dollar bill test on the door? How is the glass gasket?

Secondly this stove should have baffle boards and a baffle blanket (the boards are 4 pieces, 2 large, 2 smaller) These boards sit on the secondary burn tubes and over top of the boards should be the baffle blanket (page 15 of this manual.) Without these baffles and blankets the stove would draw way to fast and burn wood without heating up the stove.

You sound knowledgeable on stoves so I am guessing you checked these things but thought I should throw them out there just in case. That is a beautiful looking alcove setup. I hope things get going better for you soon.

huauqui

All - Thank you so much! Honestly I have to confess, you're dealing with "the wife" here as if you couldn't tell. I'm a darn good do-it yourselfer but this hassle is new to me. So, this post here, is yet another gain of information! I'm going to post some pics and answers to other questions in previous comments below and after looking at page 15 and our set up (see pics) I think you're going to jump in here with something similar to "no wonder!"... or at least I hope:

1. It's not an old stone alcove - it's concrete/faux stone facing - it's warm up there but only slightly and not crazy warm. I did add pics of this too. It is a possible heat trap but I agree I need to first get the stove to heat and then worry about my circulation.
2. I am on my way today to get a stove top thermometer and a moisture meter.
3. My door seal, though new and to the eye appeared nice and tight, failed the dollar test miserably. It SEEMED tight but on the half of the door closest to the handle the bill nearly slips out on it's own.
4. The bricks in these two PDF's are different and our brick is placed like the PDF first posted in this thread. We do NOT have the baffle bricks like those pictured on page 15 of THIS manual.

These are great leads and I will get a stove top temp but with a new temperature gauge!

I REALLY appreciate your help here, everyone! I let the fire die to clean it and get all this. I'll be in touch with #'s. I'm probably going to have to order some different brick too if the store does not have it!

 

[brad wilton]

If the width and thickness are the same the bricks can be cut to size.once you get door tight i think you'll see quite a difference.good luck

 

[Caliderby]

All - Thank you so much! Honestly I have to confess, you're dealing with "the wife" here as if you couldn't tell. I'm a darn good do-it yourselfer but this hassle is new to me. So, this post here, is yet another gain of information! I'm going to post some pics and answers to other questions in previous comments below and after looking at page 15 and our set up (see pics) I think you're going to jump in here with something similar to "no wonder!"... or at least I hope:

1. It's not an old stone alcove - it's concrete/faux stone facing - it's warm up there but only slightly and not crazy warm. I did add pics of this too. It is a possible heat trap but I agree I need to first get the stove to heat and then worry about my circulation.
2. I am on my way today to get a stove top thermometer and a moisture meter.
3. My door seal, though new and to the eye appeared nice and tight, failed the dollar test miserably. It SEEMED tight but on the half of the door closest to the handle the bill nearly slips out on it's own.
4. Also - the flame is affected when I shut or open the air flow so that seems to be working okay.
5. The bricks in these two PDF's are different and our brick is placed like the PDF first posted in this thread. We do NOT have the baffle boards like those pictured on page 15 of THIS manual.

These are great leads and I will get a stove top temp but with a new temperature gauge!

I REALLY appreciate your help here, everyone! I let the fire die to clean it and get all this. I'll be in touch with #'s. I'm probably going to have to order some different brick too if the store does not have it!

 

[Caliderby]

I agree guys, I'm with you about wood, draft, stove size and all of it. But if the OP could simply tell us what the stove top temp is (not what the "burn zone" says) we (I ) could move on. If the OP is running wide open through loads of wood to get the thermo into the "burn zone" while it's placed on the stove side and never shutting air to get some secondaries going then it's being run wrong. Sorry, a little cranky tonight.

I appreciate all your help! I answered a lot of these questions on the next thread with more pics of the baffle and brick. I think we are on to something. There are two PDF Manuals for this stove for some reason and we did our brick like one of them and someone is suggesting baffle boards pictured in a 2nd manual! I also failed the dollar bill test too but I'm struggling to see that as a major but all things combined... am sure we are onto something! I have a few things to buy - the condar stove top and baffle boards... and will get back to this after updating these things and testing.

 

[brad wilton]

With the door not sealing properly you burn your wood a lot faster and sucking the heat up the chimney.

 

[kennyp2339]

The baffle setup looks like its in good shape, all bricks are in and tight, I do see the insulation blanket up there I looks a little warn from the edges but that would really make or break your problems, On a side note, if you ever go to remove that blanket (chimney cleaning) be very, very careful, it is fragile and should be kept in whole form.

 

[begreen]

From the pictures, the interior of the stove looks pretty good except that the insulation blanket appears to be getting tattered. If the door gasket is in nice condition, how snugly is the door closing? If the door latches loosely the handle may need adjusting. The manual provided instructions on this.

 

[rwhite]

Once you get the stove temp figured out I would think about replacing that light with a small (24" or so) ceiling fan light combo. That may help keep the air moving around and force it out a bit. My stove calls for brick and blanket baffle as well. I have ran it with and without the blanket and honestly could not tell any difference other than the blanket makes it a mess to clean.