New Kozy z42 Wood Insert Eating Wood

[kauffjd3]

We had a new kozy z42 installed and our gas insert removed. At first it wasn’t providing much heat. So after a lot of reading on here I determined it must be bad wood. So I had a different guy bring a load and what a difference. The stove heats our 2400sqft house really well. This leads me to I guess I should have been careful to what I wished for. This new wood burns to good. I can close the drafts and it just sits in there roaring away. Is this normal? At this pace we have to reload every couple hours which is tough overnight or while we are at work.

 

[webby3650]

The z-42 has a very vigorous secondary burn, if the chimney is real tall, it can be a little hard to slow down. Make sure your baffle is in place and installed properly. It should be pushed all the way back.
Have you tried mixing the wood? Some under seasoned with the good stuff.

 

[kauffjd3]

The z-42 has a very vigorous secondary burn, if the chimney is real tall, it can be a little hard to slow down. Make sure your baffle is in place and installed properly. It should be pushed all the way back.
Have you tried mixing the wood? Some under seasoned with the good stuff.

My chimney is 26ft. I’ll check the baffle. I’m letting it cool down now and am going to double check the door seal. It is funny you mentioned about mixing the wood. I was actually going to try that next. Right now it is on the bottom of my pile.

This secondary burn, it does look like my fire burns top down instead of bottom up.

 

[webby3650]

My chimney is 26ft. I’ll check the baffle. I’m letting it cool down now and am going to double check the door seal. It is funny you mentioned about mixing the wood. I was actually going to try that next. Right now it is on the bottom of my pile.

This secondary burn, it does look like my fire burns top down instead of bottom up.

Are you refilling it and leaving the air on low? Non-cat appliances with tall chimneys sometimes take some tinkering to get them slowed down. Since you can’t install a pipe damper, when and how you load the wood and how the air is regulated will be key.

 

[begreen]

Big splits, mixing the wood, packing the firebox tightly and turning down the air sooner will help slow down the fire.

 

[kauffjd3]

Are you refilling it and leaving the air on low? Non-cat appliances with tall chimneys sometimes take some tinkering to get them slowed down. Since you can’t install a pipe damper, when and how you load the wood and how the air is regulated will be key.

Correct me if I am doing it wrong. I refill once everything has been burned up with only coals left. Once I have hot coals I leave draft/air closed. I never open it unless I’m starting a new fire.

 

[billb3]

You might be waiting too long to limit incoming feed air. Your stove's input damper may also not close completely by design so that you can't starve a fire and cause creosote. This might work well with a short chimney and might be too much air for a high draft tall chimney.
Most stove manuals want you to install a (magnetic) temp gage on the firebox someplace to monitor temps with a recommended target range.

 

[kauffjd3]

Big splits, mixing the wood, packing the firebox tightly and turning down the air sooner will help slow down the fire.

The air is usually never open. I threw in some non seasoned wood and it seems to be keeping it under control. This wood is split pretty small. I can get 6-7 pieces in pretty easily. I’ll see if I can find some larger logs for overnight burns and see if that helps.

 

[kauffjd3]

You might be waiting too long to limit incoming feed air. Your stove's input damper may also not close completely by design so that you can't starve a fire and cause creosote. This might work well with a short chimney and might be too much air for a high draft tall chimney.
Most stove manuals want you to install a (magnetic) temp gage on the firebox someplace to monitor temps with a recommended target range.

The only time i give it air is when I open the door or new fire. In that case it is only open for less than 5 min. Stove door temp when full of wood burning is around 400-450. Like should it be flaming like this with draft closed? It was under control but now it’s flaming up again.

 

[webby3650]

It sounds like you are doing everything correct. Double check the door gasket, and use bigger splits.

 

[velvetfoot]

I found that blocking off most of the air intakes, as well as putting a piece of formed sheet metal with a magnet over the one remaining (so the hole can be adjusted) really helped with the controlability on my insert with a high chimney. It's a whole 'nother stove.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[billb3]

It sounds like you're getting too much air. Either from leaks, which is doubtful if new, but check gaskets anyway, and check your air mechanism. Some when they are "closed" still allow some air so you can't starve a fire, which may be fine with an average chimney but can be too much air for a tall chimney with a strong draft.