It is still acting weird unfortunately. My husband scraped out inside the stove again and the fire box today between burns. We have to burn as it's our only form of heat and we are off grid so not many options. We are racking our brains trying to figure out what is going on and how to fix it. Nothing that we think of has changed other than the weather/atmospheric so we are still at a loss at this point.
Help with sudden draft issues!!
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You talking about the slider that either allows smoke/heat to go straight out or around th we oven to heat? I will double check with my husband but he did say before that he checked it.
Squisher
Minister of Fire
There was very little build-up in the flue. The wood we are using is the same that we have been burning. My husband is a bit of a safety nut so he checks and cleans the flue pretty often. Not sure how we are going to be able to clean the inside pipe though when the temps drop here soon. We do clean the inside of our stove every two weeks or soourd came with a scraping tool and prots we unscrew to access all around the oven.
Our current stack is semi-seasoned unfortunately. We just moved to NH this past April and the trees we cleared for the yurt won't be seasoned and ready till next season so we bought wood this year. We do have 2 cord fully seasoned oak that we were saving for the coldest months that are coming up quickly on us.
You mention having questionable wood but also some that you were saving. Burn some of the wood that you've assessed as better and see if you have the same problems. What type of wood are you burning right now, and do you have a moisture meter?
huauqui
Burning Hunk
Can you describe the air controls on this stove for us. I know there is a knob on the back, that slides kind of side to side, which moves the grate to allow ash to fall into the ash drawer. There is also a knob on the left side near the top that you turn to adjust airflow for different desired temperatures. This one should make a metallic sound as it is rotated closed. If it does not make that sound maybe the cable that runs from it to the flap has come off. Is there an actual bypass lever or knob as well? The bypass lever would allow flue gas to go straight up the chimney without going around the oven? Does it have a flue damper? I just can't remember all the controls on that particular stove and without that info it is hard to make guesses.
Maybe you could describe to us, in greater detail, your cold start procedure. Not a lot of us have the joy of a wood cook stove so maybe some extra info will help us figure it out. I know they often have three or more adjustments for air circulation/flow.
Maybe you could describe to us, in greater detail, your cold start procedure. Not a lot of us have the joy of a wood cook stove so maybe some extra info will help us figure it out. I know they often have three or more adjustments for air circulation/flow.
Yes there is a side airflow adjust that makes a metallic sound when closing off. The side airflow adjust seems to contribute the worst to it smoking as cracking it open causes the most smoke puffs. There is a draft knob low down behind the fire box that you spin which loosens a disk and let's air in. There is a slider which is the bypass letting the smoke and hot gasses go directly out the flue instead of around the oven.
The only change that happened before these issues is that my husband finished our porch and sealed the yurt to the bender board. I think he may have done too good of a job. Last night for giggles we tried starting the fire with the front door open and lo and behold the smoking was far less. It didn't stop it completely but it was a significant difference.
The only change that happened before these issues is that my husband finished our porch and sealed the yurt to the bender board. I think he may have done too good of a job. Last night for giggles we tried starting the fire with the front door open and lo and behold the smoking was far less. It didn't stop it completely but it was a significant difference.
Warm_in_NH
Minister of Fire
jatoxico
Minister of Fire
Well that's takes this from "nothing has changed" to a big difference. You were OK before but now you need more chimney I would guess. Can an outside air kit be fitted to that stove?
*Just checked, the manufacturer has an OAK for that unit. Called external air box.
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brad wilton
Feeling the Heat
Warm_in_NH
Minister of Fire
If they don't make one for you stove look into some sort of a "passive" air inlet through the wall of the yurt near the stove, so it can draw in combustion air when needed, the closer to the stove you place it the less draft you'll feel elsewhere inside. At least you figured it out just as the winter weather arrived!
English BoB
Minister of Fire
Thanks so much for all your help!
Where can I find the external air box? Thanks again!!
Thanks so much for all your help
Where can I find the external air box? Thanks again!!
Glad you got sorted out, just in time..........enjoy your warm yurt.
bob
The problems are persisting now. We thought our brush might not be doing a good job on the cap so we've tried scrubbing it with a brush from the outside and tapping it. We don't have a ladder that will go high enough to reach it and we are having to luck at getting it off in the ways we are trying. My husband has actually taken the back draft port cover off and blown air into it with not much result. With it now dipping down to almost negatives we are getting desperate. I have emailed obadiahs where we got the stove from in hopes they have some idea as to what has been happening.
jatoxico
Minister of Fire
What changes have you made to the system? Specifically have you added the OAK and/or extended the chimney?
we are now burning fully seasoned oak instead of the semi seasoned hardwood mix. We are unable to extend the chimney as we do not have a tall enough ladder or a lot of funds since my husband is not working at this time.
jatoxico
Minister of Fire
You ought to be able to add an outdoor air kit (OAK) to the stove for very little money. With the info you provided this seems to be a very likely problem. You have a relatively small space similar to a mobile home install which require an OAK to meet code. Do a search here on OAK systems.
My husband got frustrated enough that he climbed the support post for the pipe and took the cap off. He then removed the screen which looks to be the best bet for the root problem. Apparently our chimney brush wasn't able to even touch the screen to clean it. Removing the screen fixed the entire problem Immediately! Thank you guys so much for the advice and help!
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I should add those spots that are removed in chunks us from where he threw the damn thing to the ground in victory so it was solid black with tiny pinholes o.0
huauqui
Burning Hunk
So glad you got it going again. Be warm and please post later telling us how it is going. I personally would love a new thread with your impressions of the princess once you have a chance to use it for a while.
Warm_in_NH
Minister of Fire
English BoB
Minister of Fire
Cookstoves can run a bit dirty when the bypass is engaged. Routing the flue gases around the oven robs a lot of heat which results in cooler flue temps.
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