How to run masonry soapstone heater?

[Daylansmama]

Help
I have had this soapstone fire place for 3 winters now and I cannot figure out how to heat my house. I am loading it 3 times a day just to kind of heat the house. Loading it in the morning and at night is not enough. I loaded it again this morning and a couple of hours later, the house temperature is at 64. I know I am doing something wrong. Any help would be great! The only thing I do differently when burning is almost shut the bottom vent once the fire is going. The top nob on the upper right stays open and the nob below it slides in and out but I keep it in after I have lit my first few fires of the winter.

 

[TheRambler]

Is this a custom stove or does it have a make/model etc? Looks like it has alot of mass and to me may be more of a masonry heater? Just by first look i would think it would heat wuite well. Maybe some others can chime in.

What is the moisture content of the wood tou are burning?(measured with a moisture meter of a freshly split face of the wood at room temperature). How ling has it been split and stacked? How tall is the flue?

 

[webby3650]

Help
I have had this soapstone fire place for 3 winters now and I cannot figure out how to heat my house. I am loading it 3 times a day just to kind of heat the house. Loading it in the morning and at night is not enough. I loaded it again this morning and a couple of hours later, the house temperature is at 64. I know I am doing something wrong. Any help would be great! The only thing I do differently when burning is almost shut the bottom vent once the fire is going. The top nob on the upper right stays open and the nob below it slides in and out but I keep it in after I have lit my first few fires of the winter.

How many square is your home? Many of these heaters that I've seen only heat smaller homes, like 1,000 feet or less.

 

[DougA]

Is there a manual that came with the stove? It appears to be fairly small but that can be misleading in photos. If it's 2 or 2.5 cu ft., you will probably need to load more often, depending upon the wood you are using. I suspect you are using softwood and as TheRambler posted, probably not dry enough.

 

[begreen]

I'm wondering if you can get in touch with the builder of the stove to verify controls and operation. Some stone heaters are not meant to be run on low. Instead they require a hot fire to bring the mass up to heating temp. If so after the fire is established the bypass damper gets closed but the fire gets a lot of air. The air is only closed down when the fire dies down to embers.

Also wondering if this is an older Tulikivi?
(broken link removed to http://www.tulikivi.com/en/fireplaces/Use_and_care_User_manuals)

OPEN THE AIR CONTROL LEVERS OF BOTH MAINTENANCE DOORS Before using the fireplace, open the air control levers of the two maintenance doors (see picture 1). Leave them open while the fire is burning, and close them only after the embers have died completely.
USE OF BY-PASS DAMPER WHEN USING A TOP-VENTED VALKIA 2D
1) When lighting the fire, first open the by-pass damper (see picture 2). Note! Keep the by-pass damper open for just 5 minutes, then close it. Keeping the by-pass damper open for longer periods while the fire is burning can increase the temperature in the flue so much that it overheats and becomes damaged or causes a fire hazard. 2) Follow the Tulikivi fireplace instructions for heating the fireplace. When you add more wood, open the by-pass damper at the same time (see picture 2), as this will prevent smoke entering the room through the open fireplace door. Open the door, add the wood, then close the door and close the by-pass damper.

 

[DougA]

Also wondering if this is an older Tulikivi?

That's what I wondered. If so, it appears to be very small.

 

[begreen]

That's what I wondered. If so, it appears to be very small.

They come in all sizes. It looks a bit like a group 2 "Whirlbox" model

 

[DougA]

Whirlbox. Good call.

 

[DougA]

If that's the case, as begreen posted, it's meant to be loaded fully and have a few, very hot fires. I suspect it's still undersized for your home. From the photo you posted, it looks like you have more of an open concept home that is not small.

 

[Daylansmama]

Is this a custom stove or does it have a make/model etc? Looks like it has alot of mass and to me may be more of a masonry heater? Just by first look i would think it would heat wuite well. Maybe some others can chime in.

What is the moisture content of the wood tou are burning?(measured with a moisture meter of a freshly split face of the wood at room temperature). How ling has it been split and stacked? How tall is the flue?

This is a masonry soapstone fire place. The inside measured roughly 16"x17"x16". As far as the moisture content, I have no idea. We cut the wood in the summer, stack it outside uncovered. We make a pile in the garage and haul it in as we run out. Why would the moisture matter?

 

[Daylansmama]

How many square is your home? Many of these heaters that I've seen only heat smaller homes, like 1,000 feet or less.

It is 1000 sq. feet down stairs and the same upstairs.

 

[DAKSY]

If you are not burning wood that has a moisture content of less than 20%, you are wasting your time trying to heat with it.
By the time the water boils out of it, most of the heating energy has been utilized.
Not to mention the fact that you will be plugging your chimney with creosote.

 

[begreen]

This is a masonry soapstone fire place. The inside measured roughly 16"x17"x16". As far as the moisture content, I have no idea. We cut the wood in the summer, stack it outside uncovered. We make a pile in the garage and haul it in as we run out. Why would the moisture matter?

Moisture content matters a great deal when it comes to the heat output of the wood. It takes a lot of btus to boil the water out of the wood. That translates to less heat. Different species of wood dry at different rates. Ash can be ready to burn after a summer of proper drying, but oak usually takes 2 summers before it's ready to burn.

 

[Daylansmama]

I found some instructions that the installer sent to me and it is meant to burn high, 2 times a day. My husband says we are using Lodgepole Pine.

 

[begreen]

I found some instructions that the installer sent to me and it is meant to burn high, 2 times a day. My husband says we are using Lodgepole Pine.

Pine will dry out pretty quickly in a dry climate like WY given enough time. I would split it in late winter in the future. Running the fireplace on high will help it burn cleaner and should help warm the place up. Just be sure to close the bypass once the fire is burning well.

 

[Daylansmama]

Pine will dry out pretty quickly in a dry climate like WY given enough time. I would split it in late winter in the future. Running the fireplace on high will help it burn cleaner and should help warm the place up. Just be sure to close the bypass once the fire is burning well.

Which one is the bypass?

 

[DougA]

Lodgepole Pine is actually not all that bad, the BTU is similar to Ash. You are burning wood that probably has more moisture in it than what you should, but that's what you have, so you need to adjust a bit. You will be losing a good chunk of it's BTU burning off the moisture but my guess is that your chimney should be OK since you will be burning shorter, hoter fires.
This heater is meant to be fired with a few hot fires a day but I would up that to twice as many to heat your home. Even then, I doubt it will provide all the heat you need. Fill the firebox to capacity each time. It will take quite awhile for the soapstone to feel warm but it should retain the heat for many hours. These heaters are designed to get warm on the outside, not hot.

 

[begreen]

Which one is the bypass?

That's a question for the installer. It's hard to tell from the picture where any of the controls are located. The bypass control should be uppermost, but I'd rather not guess.

Can you start another thread? This needs its own topic.

 

[Daylansmama]

That's a question for the installer. It's hard to tell from the picture where any of the controls are located. The bypass control should be uppermost, but I'd rather not guess.

Can you start another thread? This needs its own topic.

On the info we have from the installer: the top control is the flue pipe shut off and the lower handle is the contra-flow damper

 

[Daylansmama]

That's a question for the installer. It's hard to tell from the picture where any of the controls are located. The bypass control should be uppermost, but I'd rather not guess.

Can you start another thread? This needs its own topic.

I agree I don't know how to start a new thread

 

[begreen]

OK, I moved all the posts into a new thread.

It sounds like the installer left instructions. How did he instruct to use the controls?

 

[DougA]

From my previous research into these - from memory -
When starting fire, top control for flue is wide open, contra flow is closed This provides better draft.
Once fire is going well (may only be a few minutes) - open contra flow control. That makes hot exhaust go through the soapstone/high mass chambers.
I think flue is only closed when not in use but can be adjusted if fire is too hot.

I'll let others answer who might know more. In reality, it's not too different from many stoves.

 

[Daylansmama]

From my previous research into these - from memory -
When starting fire, top control for flue is wide open, contra flow is closed This provides better draft.
Once fire is going well (may only be a few minutes) - open contra flow control. That makes hot exhaust go through the soapstone/high mass chambers.
I think flue is only closed when not in use but can be adjusted if fire is too hot.

I'll let others answer who might know more. In reality, it's not too different from many stoves.

Well we have been leaving the control for flue open all the time and contra flow open all the time. The contra flue we have only closed for our first initial fires. We didn't get an owners manual but instructions that are a bit hard to follow.

 

[bholler]

Well we have been leaving the control for flue open all the time and contra flow open all the time. The contra flue we have only closed for our first initial fires. We didn't get an owners manual but instructions that are a bit hard to follow.

Well in that case you are sending all the heat out the chimney. Find out a model number if it has one so we can try to find you a manual. Either that or call the installer to give you a lesson on how to use it.

 

[Daylansmama]

Well in that case you are sending all the heat out the chimney. Find out a model number if it has one so we can try to find you a manual. Either that or call the installer to give you a lesson on how to use it.

Any idea on where the model number usually is?