Help with New Jotul Rockland

[Wazel]

I have a lifetime of experience with fires in a fireplace. The Jotul Rockland that I just had installed is my first wood stove since I was a wee lad. I started a very small kindling fire to begin "breaking it in". As some smoke started coming out of the blower (especially for several minutes after briefly opening the door), I called the person who sold it to me. After telling him about building a small fire he said: "Oh, Don't do that! You'll smoke your house out" "60 degree weather is not cold enough to give you a proper draft". Fair enough, makes sense. Today the temp was right around 50 degrees and I build my second fire with the same result.

Question, what should I expect from smoke coming out of the blower hole in normal winter use of this?

Any other tips on the use of this stove?

Thanks!

 

[Shane]

No. Maybe try cracking a nearby window or door. Make sure no bathroom fans, dryers etc are running. With the warm weather establishing draft can be difficult

 

[firefighterjake]

While it's true that warmer temps can make getting a good draft more difficult I would think you still should be able to start a fire in the stove at those temps without a lot of smoke.

One thing you might want to try is to start the fire, leave the door ajar and open a nearby window . . . during this time of year (and the Spring) sometimes this helps establish the draft. You can also try pre-warming the chimney with a hairdryer (there is another thread here about methods to pre-warm the flue) to once again set things up and get a good draft going.

 

[Wazel]

The smoke that I mention occurred not at the start of the fire, but after is was relatively hot. . .then I opened the door to add some wood. . .closed the door, and for the next 5 minutes smoke (not a ton, but very noticeable) came out of the blower opening. In my imagination of what is going on, when the door opens smoke escapes to outside the firebox in the rear and then has nowhere to go except out the blower hole. Does this sound likely? Is that normal?

 

[firefighterjake]

The smoke that I mention occurred not at the start of the fire, but after is was relatively hot. . .then I opened the door to add some wood. . .closed the door, and for the next 5 minutes smoke (not a ton, but very noticeable) came out of the blower opening. In my imagination of what is going on, when the door opens smoke escapes to outside the firebox in the rear and then has nowhere to go except out the blower hole. Does this sound likely? Is that normal?

I don't have an insert, but I'm thinking this changes things . . . the one thing I've learned while here is that in general smoke should not be entering your living space, but in fact should (as a rule) be exiting your chimney. Perhaps some insert owners -- and users of this make/model -- will chime in later today.

 

[JimmyMood]

There should't be any smoke comming out of the blower slot for sure, even if you have a poor draft. Is the adapter for the chimney liner inserted all the way into the stove flue collar? Is the smoke perhaps comming from the air intake above the door, and not from the blower slot?

 

[Wazel]

There should't be any smoke comming out of the blower slot for sure, even if you have a poor draft. Is the adapter for the chimney liner inserted all the way into the stove flue collar? Is the smoke perhaps comming from the air intake above the door, and not from the blower slot?

Maybe I have my terminology wrong. Above the door is a slot where air comes out into the room when the blower is on. That is where some smoke enters the room for a few minutes after the door has been opened and then closed. What do you think?

 

[fredarm]

Turn the blower off when you're loading the stove. That should help. Also, open the door slowly, otherwise you will pull smoke out of the stove. These EPA stoves exhaust the smoke from the firebox through a slot in the front of the baffle, so it's easy to cause the smoke to miss the slot and exit through the door. Inserts seem to be particulalrly vulnerable to this, probabaly because of the blower.

 

[Wazel]

Turn the blower off when you're loading the stove. That should help. Also, open the door slowly, otherwise you will pull smoke out of the stove. These EPA stoves exhaust the smoke from the firebox through a slot in the front of the baffle, so it's easy to cause the smoke to miss the slot and exit through the door. Inserts seem to be particulalrly vulnerable to this, probabaly because of the blower.

Thanks. Clarification: The above smoke experience was when the blower was off and the door was opened slowly and smoke did not come out from the door (or very little).

 

[fredarm]

Turn the blower off when you're loading the stove. That should help. Also, open the door slowly, otherwise you will pull smoke out of the stove. These EPA stoves exhaust the smoke from the firebox through a slot in the front of the baffle, so it's easy to cause the smoke to miss the slot and exit through the door. Inserts seem to be particulalrly vulnerable to this, probabaly because of the blower.

Thanks. Clarification: The above smoke experience was when the blower was off and the door was opened slowly and smoke did not come out from the door (or very little).

Hmmm...Then I'm not sure what the problem is. Maybe a flue collar issue as suggested above, or backpuffing out of the air intake. There are only so many places smoke can come out of your stove. Time to call your dealer/installer?

 

[begreen]

Does it smell like wood smoke or more like oils and paint? If this a painted stove, after the initial breakin fires it could take a couple hot fires to burn off oils and cure the paint. Try a hot fire or two with the windows all open and that should cure the smell. If not, get the installer out there.

 

[daryl]

How is it vented ?

 

[gibson]

My guess would be that the stove is curing, maybe you are seeing the smoke more because of the warm weather? I have never seen smoke from the blower. I would follow BeGreen's advice.

 

[Wazel]

After speaking with the dealer, I now feel that it is a combination of warmer weather and the fact that I am starting low heat fires (to break it in). The dealer went over the stove design and what air is being asked to do inside in the context of all the baffling and intake to stove and the physics of what is going up the chimney. Anyway, I can't remember everything he said in detail, but he convinced me that he was not surprised by the situation and that it would resolve with cooler weather OR hotter fires. It made sense to me, but we shall see.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Keep 'em coming. Especially if you disagree with what the dealer says.