Large Wood Stove Purchase Help

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Not sure where you are in NH but if you have a truck, Ossipee Mountain Lumber in Ossipee sells pallets of kiln dried hardwood. Not cheap but super dry. Its comes in big heavy woven plastic bag on a pallet and they will load it in your truck bed (no covered SUVs). These are "seconds" from their packaged firewood production line. Its mix of mostly oak, maple and birch. It may not be pretty but it does not take much to light it. Once you get a fire going you may be able to blend in some of the wood you bought. Biobricks, compressed sawdust blocks are usually available at hardware stores. I bought two pallets 2 year ago thinking it was kindling but it was still great wood.
 
Thanks for the wood recommendation. I am in southern NH, about 90 miles from there.

I was able to get the baffles and I purchased kiln dried wood. I even tried bio bricks. It is slightly better than it was, but the smoke still spills out. I can see it kinda billow towards the front top and then out and up into the house (attached a photo where you can see smoke spilling out). I open very slowly, and have tried with and without a door open in the room. I have already spent $1,100 on double wall to make the clearances and put on a cap. I don't want that to be for naught. It seems like it must be a chimney issue, although I am the last person to have an educated opinion on this?

I will contact the company who put the cap on on Monday to see if they know the flue size. If it is too big will a metal liner help with the draft? I don't want to keep dropping money into this, but I also want it to work properly. How much is a metal liner for a chimney like mine? I am guessing it is 35 feet. Trying not to get frustrated...

Thanks everyone!

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To check if it's a chimney issue, charge the chimney to get the flue moving.

Open the clean out door and stuff a bunch of paper in it. Light it. The small fire should get the air moving up the chimney. Now go inside and light a paper fire in the woodstove. Once it dies down you can light a regular fire.
 
I can get the fire started and get it cranking, but no matter what level of fire I have, smoke comes out when I open the door to put more wood in.
 
I am thinking I should hire a different chimney for their opinions. Just trying to not waste money.

Based on everyone's generous feedback, it seems like the chimney liner and possibly the chimney height are the last two possibilities since it is not the stove, there are no blockages, I have left a door open when slowly opening the door, and I have used kiln dried wood. Maybe direct outside air connected to stove? Am I missing anything?

Thank you all for your help. I am so thankful for a resource like this.
 
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Hi All. It has been a year and I still have the smoke issue with the NC-30 evn with all the fixes. As I said last year, we are considering the Manchester and T6, and any other stoves that are large. Any new stoves to consider? Would the Manchester or T6 be comparable to the NC-30 for heat production?

My biggest grip is having to constantly feed the NC-30. I can put 4-6 medium splits in and they are gone in 45-60 minutes (gets the top temp to 700).

We are 100 % getting an insulated steel liner put in, and with the tax credit (at least on the Manchester) on the full install this would be the time to get a new stove.

Appreciate the advice. FYI, I love the production of the Ideal Steel, but not the look.
 
They are all ~ 3 cu ft stoves. The new Manchester hasn't been out long enough to comment on though internally it is similar to the Hearthstone GM80.

4-6 medium splits is about a 1/3d to 1/2 load. If the fire is not turned down quickly I can see burning it up in a couple hours.
 
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I know I need to fill it more, but I try and limit the amount of smoke that billows out. I am torn as the insulated liner may fix my issues, but if I am spending that much and can get 26% off liner and stove (plus I can finance the liner) now may be the time.
 
It's hard to say why this is happening. It's possible the old 30-NC has some bad history if a tube was burned out on it. But with the baffles properly in place and moved all the way toward the rear of the stove, it should not be spilling smoke on a tall flue.

FWIW, the T6 and Summit tested just 1% below the 75% HHV threshold at 74%. Rumor is that PE is tweaking their stoves to pass the 75% threshold. There may be more info later this summer.
 
I like the Woodstock, but the wife has vetoed it as she doesn't care for the look.
Take her on a factory tour your close by! She might like them more if she actually sees them. I'm not a fan of the steel stoves but I like the soapstone look.
 
What is the distance from the front of the baffle to the inside front of the firebox?
 
For me, the credit is a teaser, but the right stove for what I want it to do is more important. The credit is for this year, the stove is for the decades that follow. There will be more stoves coming online. The Hearthstone GreenMountain stove look interesting too and the BK Ashford is a good looker as well.
This…. I tried to convince myself that it made sense to take advantage of free money. But I didn’t want to run a catalytic stove.
 
This…. I tried to convince myself that it made sense to take advantage of free money. But I didn’t want to run a catalytic stove.
I crossed this bridge in 2009 and seriously considered cat options but I came to the same conclusion. I wanted a KISS-designed stove that would be low maintenance and easy for multiple family members to run. No regrets.
 
I feel the same way and am happy to see others do too.

I suppose ideally, we'd all be able to run a small stove that could efficiently handle the shoulder seasons and a large stove for full on wood eating winter.

Hmm, mini cat stove that'll run off a 4" pipe? There's a market! The ultimate room heater!
 
Are you having smoke spillage when you have a good hot fire or is it more like reload time? I have had similar experience on 2 different basement install wood furnaces. Both had essentially three 90 degree bends before the main flu. Top down fire has helped on start up my current furnace I have to crack the basement door regularly on refuel until I have visible flame and heat in the box. Have you tried opening a door or window?
 
I’m a master plumber, and I’m familiar with draft problems on clay lined chimneys on outside walls that are too big for the flue outlet of the device. Wether boiler or water heater. It’s similar to wood stoves in that if the flu is uninsulated and oversized it will be hard to get a good draft. A 6” wood stove flue into a 6x8 clay lined outside chimney might have a problem drafting. Is your chimney lined with a stainless liner or possibly an insulated stainless liner ?
 
I would think the liner will probably solve your problem.
 
Begreen - Thanks for the rumor about the T6. My wife and I really like that stove and would definitely wait for it if that proves to be true. I would say about 2-3" from the baffle to the angled piece of metal at the top of the stove. Hard to measure to the actual door.

John - If I have a really good strong fire I can usually get wood in without smoke, but I have to be at the 700 degree mark. Anything less than perfect conditions and smoke billows out. This stove chews through wood, so I really to be on top of it as once it gets below 700 I can expect a house full of smoke to put 5-7 splits in, hence why I usually only toss 2 or 3 in to limit the smoke.

71montress - Not currently lined at all, just 7" clay.
 
I suspect your 7" flu has a lot to do with the smoke spillage I can tell a big difference in the basement between a hot and cold flu.
 
FYI, I love the production of the Ideal Steel, but not the look.
I have found that Woodstock stoves are not that photogenic. But in person, at the factory I saw the appeal. Very handsome.
 
I wrote Pacific regarding the T6 and this was their response :

"Hi Christopher, thanks for reaching out. It turns out the credit is only available if you have a tax refund pending therefore it didn’t have as much impact as we anticipated. We continue to work on developing the same program for the T6 however there is no definitive timeline for the implementation. Thanks again! Kind regards, Pacific Energy Online Support"