New here and new to wood stoves, many questions!

[Ed G]

HI all!
As the title says iv'e got several questions. From browsing the FAQs, i'm confident someone here will be able to answer them.

First off a little background. I live in the high desert of so cal. My son bought this used stove to heat his game room and the work shop, which is an over sized detached 3 car garage. The stove is a 1995 Trailblazer 1300/1306. EPA approved. I'm assuming it's a non cat, as i see none and there are tubes with holes in them at the front and rear. It is installed 18" off the floor with 5' single wall stove pipe to the ceiling, then 9' of triple wall chimney. It exits the roof just off the ridge line and is 25" above the ridge. As i said, we're on 2 1/2 acres in the high desert, so there is no obstructions anywhere near the chimney.

The installation was done by an "experienced professional" and seemed to have been done well, until i read the installation instructions and took a closer look. there is no attic insulation shield so the support box is open to the attic space ( no insulation in the attic). chimney is only 30" above where it exits the roof (code is 36"). the stove is against the center wall with a reduced clearance of 9", so the stove pipe should have been double wall as it is only 12" from the wall (18" for single wall). Obviously he needs to come back and install the attic shield or i will have to fully enclose the chimney. and add another foot to the top.

The stove seems to have plenty of draft, however i sometimes wonder if it could be better. when i put what appears to be hardwood (red and heavy) it rarely burns well. usually starts burning good then slowly dwindles till there are barely flames. this is with the air wide open. i have attributed this to the fact i have no idea how dry my wood is. so on to the questions!

Will double wall stove help draft? I have two choices. either put a shield on the wall to reduce the clearance, or install double wall.

Does the chimney height cause soot to build faster? After about a cord and a half i have a coat of soot in the chimney.

Is it normal to have large variations in the outside surface temperatures of the stove? With an IR gun the right side of the top is consistently 100-150 degrees hotter. same with the sides. i rarely see the left side of the air tubes burning and the right side seems to burn only when the flames are roaring.

And finally, are there any pros or cons (other than embers popping out) to leaving the door open while sitting in front of the fire? my daughter does this all the time in the house.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and if it's too much rambling, please let me know!

 

[mark cline]

All installation needs to be done to code . Therefore any clearances that are not to code need to be corrected . Adding another foot to the pipe is needed or even 2 ft won't hurt . Creosote is a shiny crusty byproduct of burning wet/ damp wood . A minimum of 20% moisture content helps to prevent creosote build up as will burning it hotter. Creosote will build up in the last few feet of pipe at the top where it is exposed to the cold causing the creosote to condense.
Burning with the doors open is dangerous if you don't have a screen on it. Wood consumption is greatly increased by burning it open as most of the heat goes up the pipe.

 

[jotul8e2]

Maximum moisture content of 20%. Maximum.

A stove with the door open is called a "fireplace". It will put out plenty of radiant heat but also pull tremendous amounts of heated air up the flue. The net heat gain may be quite small.

 

[begreen]

Sparks and shooting embers need to be taken seriously. The can shoot out several feet and ignite what they land on or at least make a mess of it. If you want to run with the stove door open you need a screen, even if you need to make one.

The chimney height is a bit shy of the 16ft the stove was tested with. If this is at a higher altitude then that is another strike that'll weaken draft. I'd suggest adding 3 ft to the stack and a brace at 5ft. Changing the stove pipe to double-wall is also a good idea. That will also help draft. If the stove pipe clearance isn't correct it needs to be changed or pipe shields need to be installed.

 

[DanCorcoran]

Moisture meters are cheap...they are your friend. (Less creosote, more heat, less wood used).

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=moisture+meter

 

[mark cline]

My bad I meant max 20% moisture.

 

[Ed G]

Thanks for the quick replies! Yes i am well aware of using the screen when the doors are open but thanks for the reminder anyway. One can never overstate any safety issue! was more curious if open doors caused more build up in the chimney. I also know the importance of meeting the code and all applicable clearance specs. My first real job, back in the 70's, was as a laborer for a general contractor who did insurance work. I have seen first hand what fire can do and have a deep respect for what it's capable of.

Thanks for the info on 16' being what the stove was tested with. I've done a quick search for an owners manual but haven't found one. was trying to find how the air flows through this thing. thought that might help figure why the temp differences side to side.

As i said in my post, i'm adding height to the chimney and correcting the clearance on the stove pipe. It's not a problem to add shields to reduce the clearance on the stove pipe, but if double wall will help the stoves performance than i would go that way.

I have not seen any shiny build up just a layer of black soot when looking down from the top of the chimney. that's why i was wondering if the short chimney caused soot to build up faster. After i talked to a manufactures rep about clearances i started reading online articles about chimney fires. now i think i'm a little paranoid!

Oh, yes i have definitely been looking at moisture meters.

 

[Heftiger]

Go with the double wall. Will help with draft and solve your clearance issue.

 

[begreen]

Sounds good Ed. Double-wall stove pipe will keep the flue gases hotter and it's a better quality pipe.

As for chimney height, what altitude are you at?

 

[Ed G]

Around 3000-3200'

 

[begreen]

That's not too high. You have a good plan in place. Sorry it wasn't done right in the first place for you.

 

[Ed G]

Yeah it's frustrating. This is my sons house. I retired a few years back and he said why don't you come live with me, so here i am. I was going to do the install myself but he said no lets just pay someone, you have enough to do already. I thought, since i'd never done one before, the time i would spend on research for the install and locating parts could be better spent. not to mention the actual labor! I had already researched the building code requirements. so i said ok let a pro do it. now iv'e spent just as much time as i would have doing it myself.