New to wood burning, need help?

[dbrks88]

Hello all, new to burning wood and have a few questions. We bought a house that has a woodstove installed in the basement rec room. We got some seasoned hardwood a few days ago and have been testing it out since and I am not really sure if I am doing things right.

The woodstove is a fairly large box, only has one slider for air intake on the door. The single wall flue goes up and has a 90 degree bend going through the foundation which then goes to a large double wall stack up the side of the house and extends probably 7 feet from the edge of the roof roughly.

First thing is the flue temperature guage. I have it roughly 18 inches above the stove pipe. The only time it gets into the "comfort" zone is when I have the door open a crack and the fire is blazing. When I close the door the fire tames down, air intake open all the way it will eventually drop down below the comfort zone. When the temperature guage is below the comfort zone the stack smokes quite a bit outside. When the fire is blazing away and in the comfort zone there is minimal smoke.

What I am wondering is when am I supposed to put more wood on? Right now the last log is pretty much burned up, barely any flame going and mostly a good bed of coals sitting there. The temp guage on the flue reads around 100 degrees, the stack is smoking outside. The issue is the thing puts off so much damn heat that I don't want to put more wood on, do I just leave the coals and back off the air intake until night time when its colder, put more wood on then?

Say I put some wood on, the fire gets hot, the flue reads 400-450deg, minimal smoke etc. Once I close the door, and leave the air intakes open all the way, the fire gets lazy, the temperature on the flue drops, starts smoking outside. It is almost like I can't even control the fire with the door closed because it never stays up in the higher temps and I have to leave the air open full non stop? From everything I have been reading you don;t want lots of smoke outside, creosote builds up when its smoking. My glass has gotten dirty in like one day, which im assuming is because it's not burning hot enough? I don't really know if I am looking to much into it, watching it like a hawk, nervous about it? Hoping you guys can make sense with what I am trying to say.

Door closed, full air intake and the fire won't even stay in the comfort zone. If i close the air any it just dumbs down the fire even more, flue temp drops more, smokes more. Do i just say screw it with the flue temp guage? Do i just let it smoke? I am trying to do things the right way as I am already nervous about using the damn thing in the first place lol.

 

[dbrks88]

Here is a couple pics of what I am dealing with.

 

[Wolves1]

My guess is if you purchased the wood a few days ago most firewood dealers don’t really have truly seasoned wood, that would cause the problem your having. When you put the wood in if you hear sizzling and see moisture bubbling on the ends chances are it’s the wood. Also with the poker try clearing the air intake of ash maybe blocking the air.

 

[yooper08]

Typically, if the glass gets dirty that quickly and the wood is hard to keep burning, the wood is not seasoned enough.

Most dealers selling wood don't actually season it well (if at all). If they were to sell truly seasoned wood, they'd probably have to double or triple the size of their lot for storing wood but they usually get their logs, split it, and just pile it up (literally), which they then turn around and sell. Wood left in piles doesn't season well.

 

[2fireplacesinSC]

"We got some seasoned hardwood a few days ago"

Oh, if only that were true.....

You likely hit the nail on the head without knowing it. Go buy some eco-bricks and see how they burn. Maybe mix one or two in with some wood.

To see if truly "seasoned"(ie dry) wood, split a piece and use a moisture meter on the part that was inside the wood- the fresh face if you will. If that's over 20% you found the problem. Make sure the wood is room temp first, not outdoor temp.

 

[bholler]

I also have to ask have you had the system inspected? The reason i ask is i see no support brackets at all other than the tee support. And where it passes through the soffit looks suspect as well.

 

[dbrks88]

It was all inspected through our insurance company. It was the main thing they wanted inspected and sent someone out who said it was good. The funny thing is I noticed the stack above the roof had no support, I am no expert but I do recall seeing something that wraps around and gets bolted to the roof with 2 support rods, and this stack doesn't have one. I should look into getting one as I believe it should probably have one just in case. When i swept the chimney the whole thing felt pretty sturdy as I did grab onto it and try to wiggle it.

As for the wood, it was a firewood company, not just a random dude who cut down some trees. I know that doesn't matter, and I was skeptical buying wood when I was looking for some. The wood seems pretty dry, bark is cracked off or either separating from the logs, ends are cracked and dry looking with a hollow sound when banged together. I do have no way to truly tell unless I get a moisture meter thing like one of you mentioned.

Could it be that I am just trying to burn to large of logs to quickly?

 

[Supersurvey]

Can you post a few pictures of your splits?

 

[dbrks88]

Splits I am assuming the wood? I'm a complete noob lol.

 

[blacktail]

Moisture meters are cheap. Amazon has them starting around $10.

 

[bholler]

It was all inspected through our insurance company. It was the main thing they wanted inspected and sent someone out who said it was good. The funny thing is I noticed the stack above the roof had no support, I am no expert but I do recall seeing something that wraps around and gets bolted to the roof with 2 support rods, and this stack doesn't have one. I should look into getting one as I believe it should probably have one just in case. When i swept the chimney the whole thing felt pretty sturdy as I did grab onto it and try to wiggle it.

As for the wood, it was a firewood company, not just a random dude who cut down some trees. I know that doesn't matter, and I was skeptical buying wood when I was looking for some. The wood seems pretty dry, bark is cracked off or either separating from the logs, ends are cracked and dry looking with a hollow sound when banged together. I do have no way to truly tell unless I get a moisture meter thing like one of you mentioned.

Could it be that I am just trying to burn to large of logs to quickly?

Yes you need a roof support for sure. And did they open up the area where it passes through the soffit at all to confirm clearances? It may be absolutly fine but it just doesnt look right to me.

 

[dbrks88]

No they did not inspect that. I think they were more concerned with inside. There is a decent gap around the stack though. As far as heat, I have touched the stack by hand outside about shoulder height and it is just barely warm to the touch, that is after all day burning. I would imagine it to be even cooler up there. You would think a roof support would have been installed when this was put in, the stack does jet up pretty high, seems like common sense to me to have one.

I am maybe thinking I am just a noob at making a fire. I should probably split some of this wood into smaller pieces to get the fire nice and hot a lot quicker. Seems like I am not getting the fire going good enough to get the larger logs to catch and they kind of just start to smolder and what not.

 

[bholler]

No they did not inspect that. I think they were more concerned with inside. There is a decent gap around the stack though. As far as heat, I have touched the stack by hand outside about shoulder height and it is just barely warm to the touch, that is after all day burning. I would imagine it to be even cooler up there. You would think a roof support would have been installed when this was put in, the stack does jet up pretty high, seems like common sense to me to have one.

I am maybe thinking I am just a noob at making a fire. I should probably split some of this wood into smaller pieces to get the fire nice and hot a lot quicker. Seems like I am not getting the fire going good enough to get the larger logs to catch and they kind of just start to smolder and what not.

It needs 2" of clearance to combustibles and you need a roof support if it sticks up 5 feet or more.

 

[dbrks88]

Thank you, I'll look into the clearance more closely. The stack is definitely 6-7 ft as its a bit taller than me when I stood next to it up there.
Too be honest it was never really a concern for us when we bought the house as we didn't even think we would use it. I wanted to rip the whole thing right out of here but figured we would try it out I guess.

 

[jatoxico]

Wet wood is the most common issue new burners encounter. The other issue you may be dealing with is poor draft due to warm temps and possibly the basement install.

Wood looks kinda dry but looks can be deceiving. Try some lumber scraps, pallet wood or something similar and see if the fire still dies with the door closed. Also possible the air control lever is not functioning.

 

[Ashful]

Your best test is to buy one of those little $5 bundles of kiln-dried wood at the grocery store or convenience store. Make sure it's stored under cover, not where it can get rained on. If that burns as expected, meaning not dying when you close the door, then your issue is wet wood.

The grocery store wood is kiln-dried, as that's what's usually required to ship it across county lines. It's not being kilned to get it dry, but that's usually the result.

You're getting answer after answer talking about wet wood, because we see dozens (maybe hundreds) of wet wood issues every year. It is the single most common issue, for new burners. What is sold as "seasoned" wood, is rarely dry enough to burn properly.

 

[kennyp2339]

Just seconding bhollars comment on the chimney needing bracing.
Also you can use untreated pallets as your test wood, just make sure the pallet it dry.

 

[Supersurvey]

Splits I am assuming the wood? I'm a complete noob lol.

The splits do look dry but split a few in half when you get your new moisture meter. They should be under 20 percent at room temperature.

 

[Ashful]

Splits I am assuming the wood? I'm a complete noob lol.

"Splits" = pieces of split logs = "cord wood"

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

As for the wood, it was a firewood company, not just a random dude who cut down some trees. I know that doesn't matter,

That's exactly right, it doesn't matter, so stop thinking that it can't be the wood. It almost certainly IS the wood.

Most people burn green wood, even most experienced wood burners who think they are burning seasoned wood. It depends on your climate and wood species, of course, but very few woods are dry in the few months that most firewood gets.

I used to think I was burning seasoned wood, then I got some that was actually dry. Big difference. Oak takes two years around here.

We have a guy around here new this year advertising 2 year seasoned oak on Craigslist. I'll be surprised if he's back next season. There is very little money in firewood, and seasoning two years will drive his costs up too much for him to make a profit. And if he's just piling it, it's not doing enough drying in two years anyway. If he's stacking it under cover, he will go broke pretty quickly.

Could it be that I am just trying to burn to large of logs to quickly?

Hmmmm. yes, could be. But if the wood is really dry, it won't matter as much. You sure don't want really small stuff. Yours looks pretty good to me.