Need Help Fisher Stove

[JordanH]

Please Help. I have recently installed a Fisher Grandpa bear 3 into my basement. It was in the house before we bought it but while we rented the owner had removed it. Now that we have it in I cannot get any heat off of it.
the wood I’m burning is burning great. I can get a good burning fire going but it just isn’t putting the heat off to the room.
reading the threads in the group I installed a plate baffle

it helped a little. I can feel the heat about 2’ from the stove but won’t heat the room.
I talked to the previous owner and he said that stove would heat you out of the house with out the baffle.
The wood I’m burning is 1 year seasoned maple and oak.
I really could use some advice please

 

[coaly]

So this stove worked well, was removed, and has not worked properly since being reinstalled, and fired by another operator.
That's two variables.
Lots of questions;
Is this your first wood stove experience?

Lets go over the installation first.
#1 is the chimney.
What size chimney flue, (diameter / height) and how is the connector pipe connected to it? Connector pipe size? Flue pipe damper installed?

Make sure the pipe where it inserts into chimney is not in too far, closing off the effective area of exhaust.
Did you look in the chimney flue for obstructions, cleanliness, and opening at top?
Does it smoke inside when opening doors? This will give an idea of proper draft.

 

[JordanH]

So this stove worked well, was removed, and has not worked properly since being reinstalled, and fired by another operator.
That's two variables.
Lots of questions;
Is this your first wood stove experience?

Lets go over the installation first.
#1 is the chimney.
What size chimney flue, (diameter / height) and how is the connector pipe connected to it? Connector pipe size? Flue pipe damper installed?

Make sure the pipe where it inserts into chimney is not in too far, closing off the effective area of exhaust.
Did you look in the chimney flue for obstructions, cleanliness, and opening at top?
Does it smoke inside when opening doors? This will give an idea of proper draft.

1. Chimney flue is 8” diameter. It comes out the back of the stove elbows up 4’ elbows out the concrete wall and chimney goes up roughly 30’.
2. ive been using wood stoves my whole life.
3. Pipe into the chimney isn’t blocking anything
4. Doesn’t smoke inside when doors are open
5. It doesn’t have a Flue damper installed

 

[peakbagger]

Any hissing or bubbling from the ends of logs when they are put in the stove? Maple and Oak rarely season in one year (especially Oak) so my guess is poorly seasoned wood.

 

[bholler]

Please Help. I have recently installed a Fisher Grandpa bear 3 into my basement. It was in the house before we bought it but while we rented the owner had removed it. Now that we have it in I cannot get any heat off of it.
the wood I’m burning is burning great. I can get a good burning fire going but it just isn’t putting the heat off to the room.
reading the threads in the group I installed a plate baffle

it helped a little. I can feel the heat about 2’ from the stove but won’t heat the room.
I talked to the previous owner and he said that stove would heat you out of the house with out the baffle.
The wood I’m burning is 1 year seasoned maple and oak.
I really could use some advice please
View attachment 256470

What pipe temperatures are you seeing?

My guesses are either draft to strong pulling all the heat up.the chimney or wet wood. Pipe temps should answer that

 

[JordanH]

Any hissing or bubbling from the ends of logs when they are put in the stove? Maple and Oak rarely season in one year (especially Oak) so my guess is poorly seasoned wood.

Nope no sizzling or bubbling. Wood is burning fine making good coals not smouldering. But I did think maybe it was the wood so I grabbed some kiln dried rough lumber scraps I had (again maple oak and ash) and tried them as well still same outcome

 

[bholler]

Nope no sizzling or bubbling. Wood is burning fine making good coals not smouldering. But I did think maybe it was the wood so I grabbed some kiln dried rough lumber scraps I had (again maple oak and ash) and tried them as well still same outcome

What are the pipe temps? How much wood are you loading in the stove?

 

[coaly]

The connector pipe doesn't look like 8 inch. Is it 6?

It should have a damper in the first section of pipe within easy reach.
That slows velocity of rising gasses if the chimney is over drafting, which is a good possibility.
You can only control draft closing air dampers, which is fine. For open door burning with screen in place you will need a flue damper.

Were you burning it with doors closed? It is not considered a radiant heater in Fireplace Mode and screen in place.
A pipe thermometer on the connector pipe just before chimney will give an indication of how hot flue gasses are, or a temp reading with IR thermometer on pipe, elbow at chimney and stove top.

You should be able to open air intakes about 3 turns each when starting. (They should open even farther, just making sure the bolts are the correct length to open enough).

Add larger kindling as it gets going, closing draft caps to prevent a roar up stack. (to about 2 turns each) Add larger wood as necessary. As it warms up, keep closing draft caps slowly until down to about 1 turn each. That should be about a normal setting. Depending on heat output required, they may need to be closed further, but that should bring it up to temp. Should be able to adjust air for 400 / 500 stove top temp.

Depending on how much moisture the bricks have absorbed from atmosphere, you will not get the normal BTU output until water vapor is expelled in the form of steam up chimney, taking some BTU along with it. Second fire should start feeling hotter as water is evaporated from brick. New bricks are worse.

If the 8 inch chimney is 8 inches square masonry, that would be 64 square inch area. The baffle plate needs to have a minimum of 64 square inch opening for smoke to travel through. Start with that as an initial setting, raising or lowering the baffle plate at the front of lower bend to achieve correct open space.

Not sure why you believe you have a Grandma III, unless it has a tag on the back with model. In 1979 there were a few old style flat top doors made with the Series III designation. They should have bent door handles facing forward, 5 fin draft caps, (the older 4 fin draft caps were long gone, but some old stock could still be used, but I believe only to 78) and the tag would be on a rear shield. Looks like a Grandma I, dating it from the front.

 

[Todd67]

I agree that it looks like a Grandma stove, not a Grandpa.

Can you post some pictures of the rear outside of the stove and the baffle plate inside the stove?

Is the baffle plate laying flat, or is it angled higher in front and lower in the back?

Are you using a stainless steel chimney or a masonry chimney?

It looks like a lot of creosote dripping down the wall behind the stove. Is that the case?

Welcome to the forum!

 

[coaly]

I agree that it looks like a Grandma stove, not a Grandpa.

Can you post some pictures of the rear outside of the stove and the baffle plate inside the stove?

Is the baffle plate laying flat, or is it angled higher in front and lower in the back?

Are you using a stainless steel chimney or a masonry chimney?

It looks like a lot of creosote dripping down the wall behind the stove. Is that the case?

Welcome to the forum!

LOL I saw the pic of a Grandma and only noticed the OP added a "3" for some reason and never noticed it was called a GrandPa !

I think the side of wall or chimney is not painted.

If you measure the pipe on the screen it is much smaller than the height of a cement block which is 8 inches. And the pipe is closer, so it should make it larger.
I take a piece of paper and hold up to the pipe and put marks on the edges of pipe, then compare the distance between marks to blocks. It doesn't add up.

We can only assume the original parts are being used for connection since the paint on both stove and pipe looks the same. Burning with doors open would certainly give the results described.

 

[bholler]

I agree that it looks like a Grandma stove, not a Grandpa.

Can you post some pictures of the rear outside of the stove and the baffle plate inside the stove?

Is the baffle plate laying flat, or is it angled higher in front and lower in the back?

Are you using a stainless steel chimney or a masonry chimney?

It looks like a lot of creosote dripping down the wall behind the stove. Is that the case?

Welcome to the forum!

Good catch on the creosote running down the wall. That tells me the stove probably didn't work correctly before either.

 

[Todd67]

@coaly and @bholler , I hope we didn't scare him away. It does look like a 6" stove pipe.

 

[coaly]

Maybe the WETT Police monitor this site.