Lesson #53 colder than outside room and stove.

[GrumpyDad]

Today I visiting my cottage with my stove. We keep the heat at around 48 while we are not here, then turn up the oil furnace and then fire up the stove and the fireplace.

I'm still quite new and learner a couple lessons today.

First. With the oil heat, fireplace going, when I started my stove smoke poured out of the closed doors, the rear intake, the top door, and other areas. The entire stove area was engulfed in smoke! Panic sets in as I run my air purifier on high and open windows and put a fan against the window to help exhaust the smoke.

Room temp and outside air temp registered exactly the same maybe a degree less outside. I hurried up and lite a couple of paper towels and shoved them up inside the damper near the flue collar then closed the doors. That heater the stove pipe enough to cause the proper draft.


Lesson two. The stove is not airtight by any means.

 

[peakbagger]

Noi substitute for hands on experience Just wait until you have an incredibly negative draft event where you will swear that the sides of the stove would suck in. Usually related to high winds on cold clear night.

 

[begreen]

In addition to the roughly equal temp, there was competition from the fireplace and oil burner for combustion air. An outside air supply connected to the stove might help or skip the fireplace and leave its damper closed.

 

[GrumpyDad]

In addition to the roughly equal temp, there was competition from the fireplace and oil burner for combustion air. An outside air supply connected to the stove might help or skip the fireplace and leave its damper closed.

The wife sits by the fire and watches TV. The stove is in the expansion that will have a normal sized kitchen in it, a bathroom and a little office plus a dining area. I considered making the dining area another seating area and leaving the large island for dining because it gets nice and toasty where the stove is.

 

[GrumpyDad]

Noi substitute for hands on experience Just wait until you have an incredibly negative draft event where you will swear that the sides of the stove would suck in. Usually related to high winds on cold clear night.

Oh geez well I don't look forward to more surprises but I'm more prepared mentally now after being on these forums.

 

[begreen]

Does the expansion have a lower roofline than the main structure?

Tell us more about the installation starting with the stove make and model. Can you describe the flue system in detail starting at the stove's flue outlet all the way up to the chimney cap? How tall is the flue system overall?

 

[GrumpyDad]

Does the expansion have a lower roofline than the main structure?

Tell us more about the installation starting with the stove make and model. Can you describe the flue system in detail starting at the stove's flue outlet all the way up to the chimney cap? How tall is the flue system overall?

So it exists shortly after that elbow run. Cathedral ceiling 4/12 pitch. 630 sq ft. Entrance to old cabin is only 5 feet wide and eight tall. All my warm air is trapped in this room for the most part. In fact it feels cold r than normal in the other rooms on the old side.
Living room is in the old building. Where you see the stove to 26 feet opposite wall is old cabin entrance. Then a big stone chimney in the center with living room on one side and kitchen bathroom on other side of chimney.
It's all good. I'll have to work to get the warm air on the old side. I might consider a fresh air kit.
We had fireplace on and burn through about 15 pieces of wood today. That went out after about six hours or burning. The stove was dead in the morning and started an hour before fireplace. The stove is still going. I've used 4 medium pieces and 4 larger. About 11.houre of burning. At one point I had window open for a couple hours it was too hot to work up on the ceiling.

 

[Eman85]

I'm not getting all of the problems you're having with your stove. I have an old Encore and even when the gaskets need replacing and I burn with the damper open I don't get smoke pouring out of everywhere. I use very dry kindling that I get from a cabinet shop and a little paper and a cardboard egg carton to get a fire lit with the doors open. Then I add some larger kindling and get it burning before I add any splits of wood and only a couple to build a good fire before I fill the stove and expect heat.

 

[GrumpyDad]

I'm not getting all of the problems you're having with your stove. I have an old Encore and even when the gaskets need replacing and I burn with the damper open I don't get smoke pouring out of everywhere. I use very dry kindling that I get from a cabinet shop and a little paper and a cardboard egg carton to get a fire lit with the doors open. Then I add some larger kindling and get it burning before I add any splits of wood and only a couple to build a good fire before I fill the stove and expect heat.

I only had the one issue with smoke pouring into the room from INSIDE the stove to the room. That was probably a few factors. Cold flue, bottom up start, fireplace and furnace going 30' away pulling air to fuel their needs, the stove room being rather air tight and heavily insulated..

 

[Eman85]

I'm not familiar with your stove, mine is old. Can you front load with the doors open?, that's how we light a fire. We don't close the doors until the kindling is burning and the chimney is drafting. I honestly have never lived in a home that was "tight". I've had my stove in 2 different houses and one had a tall masonry chimney and this one has a straight up metal chimney. It does sound like your stove is quirky from your posts and others that have commented. I know you bought it new from your posts. I would contact the seller and have them experience what you have going on and have them give you a tutorial. If still not satisfied I'd contact the manufacturer.

 

[bholler]

I'm not familiar with your stove, mine is old. Can you front load with the doors open?, that's how we light a fire. We don't close the doors until the kindling is burning and the chimney is drafting. I honestly have never lived in a home that was "tight". I've had my stove in 2 different houses and one had a tall masonry chimney and this one has a straight up metal chimney. It does sound like your stove is quirky from your posts and others that have commented. I know you bought it new from your posts. I would contact the seller and have them experience what you have going on and have them give you a tutorial. If still not satisfied I'd contact the manufacturer.

These stoves are just temperamental. So were many of the older ones. Your startup procedure is way more than I would be willing to go through honestly. I load my stove full with a few pieces of kindling. Light that with a torch and the stove is up to temp and cruising in 10 to 15 mins