My personal nightmare with wood!

[Michael6268]

Long time coal burner. Part time pellet and wood in the past. Having recently moved to NH and having an abundance of wood I thought I would give it a try. Didn't want to break the bank as I was leery about wood. Bought an Englander NC 30. Was left freshly cut cords of wood by previous owner 3 years ago. Had been top covered for the entire time. Mostly Oak and maple. Moisture approx. 12% on fresh splits. Draft good. .05 to .10 on wc. Problem was I would fill the 3 cu ft fire box with wood and damper down and within 3 hours there was nothing but coals and not throwing much heat. Tried extra dry kiln dry supermarket wood. Got approx. 45 mins fully dampered Tried some damp almost wet wood. About 3 hours and of course even less heat. Was filling box up to the tubes. Tried less. Same results. Did the air leak tests. No airs leaks to speak of. Tried a manual damper. Snuffed the fire down to a smolder. Got about 5 hours (only about 3hrs of flames) out of it. The whole time this was going on we routinely came home and woke up to 56 deg house. Our house is R19 fiberglass/R38 ceilings and moderate grade double pane windows. I read frequent posts on this site claiming routine 10-12 hr burns. Yeah after 10 hrs I had a couple of red coals. Usually enough to get the fire up and running but not enough to throw any usable heat... Not in NH anyway where it was -0 daily a good part of the winter. Oh yeah. Went through approx. 6 cords from late Oct to early Feb. Is it just me, or is this the norm? Finally gave up and went back to coal. Back to 12-48 hr burn times which is nice.

 

[begreen]

Something is radically wrong. Sounds like an air leak somewhere to be burning through oak so fast. This was an unusually cold winter so I can understand the stove being pushed hard. What were your typical stove top temps? How large is the home?

 

[HotCoals]

6 cords is a little much. You were spoiled by coal is the real problem..lol.

 

[Michael6268]

House is 2200 sq ft. Stove front average 400. Could get it hotter and lower but that was average range. I even blocked the 2ndary and airwash part way. Helped slow it down but not much heat. When it was dampered it wasnt overly aggressive.

 

[begreen]

Stove front? How are you reading the stove temp?

 

[Michael6268]

I should have said "attached to side of stove upper corner towards the front" I would have liked on the upper corner above the door but no room.

 

[BrotherBart]

The hottest temp on the 30-NC is in the center on the front of the step bend in the top.

 

[Grisu]

I should have said "attached to side of stove upper corner towards the front" I would have liked on the upper corner above the door but no room.

Why do you not put it onto the stovetop? That is where usually the hottest spot can be found. What is your chimney? (length, type, 6"?, etc.)

When the stove is still warm and you do a reload on the hot coals, how quickly does the wood ignite? How fast do you reduce the air? What is your final air setting? Where do you see the flames in the firebox?

 

[fire_man]

How did you test for air leaks? I would not trust the dollar bill test alone. Try holding a lit match around the door frame and any other area that is suspicious.

 

[Michael6268]

Why do you not put it onto the stovetop? That is where usually the hottest spot can be found. What is your chimney? (length, type, 6"?, etc.)

When the stove is still warm and you do a reload on the hot coals, how quickly does the wood ignite? How fast do you reduce the air? What is your final air setting? Where do you see the flames in the firebox?

I was always told front upper corner was the best spot for the therm. Also I figured if I used the blower it might affect the temp as it blows over the stove top. Wood ignited almost instantly. Reduced the air gradually usually within 15 mins or so after the wood was mostly charred. Flames were usually middle to back part of firebox. Even when packed tight.

 

[Michael6268]

How did you test for air leaks? I would not trust the dollar bill test alone. Try holding a lit match around the door frame and any other area that is suspicious.

I did the dollar bill and incense stick.

 

[logger]

6 cords is a little much. You were spoiled by coal is the real problem..lol.

6 cords is not off at all for this year but of course it depends on a lot of variables. I average about 4, depending on the year but easily went over 6 this year. I have a good stove and setup, great insulation and heat approx 2000 sq ft with wood only.

 

[dafattkidd]

Hey Micheal,

Sorry you had such a crappy experience with wood heat. Something does not sound right. What size were the splits? What is your chimney height? A very intense draft with small splits on a large cold bed can result in similar experiences to what you are explaining. Either way, really glad you have the coal as a fail safe.

 

[Michael6268]

Hey Micheal,

Sorry you had such a crappy experience with wood heat. Something does not sound right. What size were the splits? What is your chimney height? A very intense draft with small splits on a large cold bed can result in similar experiences to what you are explaining. Either way, really glad you have the coal as a fail safe.

My chimney is 24'. Splits were approx 3-4 inches on average
I am wondering if I am expecting too much. How long do you guys actually have flames in the stove before it goes to coals? Seems I only could keep flames for a couple of hours, then went into coaling stage and at that point it wasnt even close to

 

[DanCorcoran]

My chimney is 24'. Splits were approx 3-4 inches on average
I am wondering if I am expecting too much. How long do you guys actually have flames in the stove before it goes to coals? Seems I only could keep flames for a couple of hours, then went into coaling stage and at that point it wasnt even close to

I think that's part of it...3-4 inch splits. They sound mighty small to me. Not kindling, but certainly the smaller the split the faster they burn. Good for starting a fire, but long burns take larger splits.

 

[velvetfoot]

Wouldn't lowering the incoming air on the stove take care of that? It does for me. If you had nice secondaries after damping down after an initial hot burn, I would say that's the best you can do.
Coal sounds awesome.

I think that's part of it...3-4 inch splits. They sound mighty small to me. Not kindling, but certainly the smaller the split the faster they burn. Good for starting a fire, but long burns take larger splits.

 

[Grisu]

I was always told front upper corner was the best spot for the therm. Also I figured if I used the blower it might affect the temp as it blows over the stove top. Wood ignited almost instantly. Reduced the air gradually usually within 15 mins or so after the wood was mostly charred. Flames were usually middle to back part of firebox. Even when packed tight.

I would run it a few times putting the thermometer in BB's suggested location and leaving the blower off. How much was the air control closed when you finished adjusting the air? Those flames, were they coming from the wood or were they in the top of the firebox coming from the burn tubes? BeGreen's initial idea may be right and you have an air leak somewhere.

Seems I only could keep flames for a couple of hours, then went into coaling stage and at that point it wasnt even close to

That would be ok, but the coals and with it the stove should still give off quite a bit of heat. Are you packing the splits tight in the stove when refueling?

 

[HotCoals]

6 cords is not off at all for this year but of course it depends on a lot of variables. I average about 4, depending on the year but easily went over 6 this year. I have a good stove and setup, great insulation and heat approx 2000 sq ft with wood only.

Well I heated a 2500 sq.ft. house here in western Ny 24/7 with 4 cord and still have a little left. Course it is a BK cat. Cheers! Normally 3 ,sometimes another face cord on top of that.

 

[begreen]

I was always told front upper corner was the best spot for the therm. Also I figured if I used the blower it might affect the temp as it blows over the stove top. Wood ignited almost instantly. Reduced the air gradually usually within 15 mins or so after the wood was mostly charred. Flames were usually middle to back part of firebox. Even when packed tight.

You were told wrong. Put it where BrotherBart mentioned. With those skinny splits I'm concerned that you may be overtiring the stove. Next season try using those little splits only for starting and maybe mild weather, partial load burning. We normally burn 6-8" splits in the winter.

 

[velvetfoot]

Didn't he put in a supplemental air damper? "Snuffed the fire down to a smoulder".

 

[BrotherBart]

And do some burning E/W the way the stove was designed to burn. Longer burns as it burns back through the load.

 

[begreen]

Yes, there are some inconsistencies and perhaps some unfamiliarity with wood burning. It would be helpful to know more about the heating load. That is, what size is the house? It sounds like it is not as tight as thought perhaps. Could be the house just needs more continuous btus. The Reading Coal Stoker Allegheny is an 85,000 btu thermostatic stove. Hard to match that unless one goes larger than the 30NC.

 

[Michael6268]

Ok sorry my mistake. Splits are definitely not the problem. Guess my estimate was way off. Looked st a ruler today and realized they were at least 6-8 inches. Smaller ones packed on top. Usually up to the burn tubes.

 

[Michael6268]

I would run it a few times putting the thermometer in BB's suggested location and leaving the blower off. How much was the air control closed when you finished adjusting the air? Those flames, were they coming from the wood or were they in the top of the firebox coming from the burn tubes? BeGreen's initial idea may be right and you have an air leak somewhere.



That would be ok, but the coals and with it the stove should still give off quite a bit of heat. Are you packing the splits tight in the stove when refueling?

Usually had it within an 1/8 th of an inch from fully closeond. Flames are something I also wondered about. Seem like even when fully/almost fully dampered and basically smolering, I still get one or two spots burning off the wood. Dont know if it should be.

 

[Michael6268]

Dont think I mentioned. If I burn a med fire 300 deg or so,load the fire would be burnt to ash and cold in approx 4hrs.