hey guys i have a vogelzang ponderosa stove i just bought and installed in the existing chimney of our house. im not getting a decent burn unless i leave door open then shut it. itll do a secondary burn after shutting the door for 30 secs then stop. glass is black after couple hours of a burn. the chimney setup is about 25 ft from the stove. its on 1st floor so theres about 15 ft below it thats sealed. clay lined square. dampeners seem to do nothing. wide open or closed. any advice would be great thanks in advance guys!
no secondary burn
- Thread starter cbates1994
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
What moisture content is your wood at and what are the outside temps when your trying to burn? What pipe temps are you reaching?
wood is high...i checked end grain because i thought it was going to be good(sat outside for 2 years) but its 30% when i split and checked the middle just now. pipe temps im not sure. im using double walled duravent. what temps should they be getting to? ill check with the next burn. temp outside was 63 degrees.
Last edited:
Wet wood and high outside temps are going to make it not work well at all
thank you for the reply. couldnt resist to try it out since i just installed it. i was afraid the chimney setup wasnt going to work
yooperdave
Minister of Fire
Hope I'm misinterpreted what you printed but.....sure makes me wonder how long of a horizontal run you have to the masonry chimney.
At 63, outdoor temps are a bit warm to obtain a good draft. Sounds like your wood may be a bit damp yet but at 2 years, depending on what species wood and how/where it was stacked, it may be ready to burn.
bholler is right with what info you provided.
At 63, outdoor temps are a bit warm to obtain a good draft. Sounds like your wood may be a bit damp yet but at 2 years, depending on what species wood and how/where it was stacked, it may be ready to burn.
bholler is right with what info you provided.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
That will make for a really long and frustrating winter if you have no wood better than that...under 20% in the middle is where it needs to be (at least)
I would be creating a plastic kiln for that wood and getting it dry while there’s still some summer sun and heat to help you get it dry.
Do a search here. I’m sure some have created a drying kiln of plastic sheeting. A search will show you how they cover the wood to get it dry in much faster time.
Makes sure your wood pile is out in the sun and make certain it is cut, stacked up off of the ground on skids, and top covered with the plastic sheeting to form a drying kiln.
As late fall becomes winter you’ll be ahead if you take a few days to a week supply inside the house to further dry out near the stove.
You’ve got to get that wood dried more now and time is of the essence.
Do a search here. I’m sure some have created a drying kiln of plastic sheeting. A search will show you how they cover the wood to get it dry in much faster time.
Makes sure your wood pile is out in the sun and make certain it is cut, stacked up off of the ground on skids, and top covered with the plastic sheeting to form a drying kiln.
As late fall becomes winter you’ll be ahead if you take a few days to a week supply inside the house to further dry out near the stove.
You’ve got to get that wood dried more now and time is of the essence.
so the run to the chimney is about 20 inches. i do see what you are talking about lol. yeah its about 15 ft from the base of the chimney. the gases dump out and have 25 ft to travel up. the horizontal is just 20 inches going into my wall and through to the chimney
ive been stacking in the basement with dehumidifier on and a fan. i plan on cutting some dead elm thats been standing...hopefully thats dry enough but im probably going to be buying a couple cords to have good firewood for sure
so i went ahead and lit another one. this time i split the oak that was the same face cord and its 15% or so. I think i grabbed logs that were from the bottom of the stack and thats why they were so wet. tonight im having a great "light show" no draft issues. little colder than last night. thanks so much for the input im fairly confident in my install.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
There’s also another alternative for you and the wood you’ve already stacked in the basement.
Get yourself some bio-blocks, or similar, from TCS, Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Just make sure you do NOT buy any wood products containing wax or any other substance.
Obviously, the higher the outdoor temperatures the less likely for a good draft with dry or wet wood. Doesn’t matter if wood is wet or dry. Another obvious consideration should be that dry or dryer wood will still draft better than wet wood with higher outdoor temperatures. Neither burn optimally during high temps…all the more that dryer is better.
The best kind of sawdust blocks are those with zero additives and are compressed under great pressure into bricks or logs.
If your wood is still too wet to burn clean by the time 24/7 burning rolls around, you can use this type of fuel in your stove for lots of heat, clean burns, and they will greatly and quickly help you dry out your existing stacks of wet wood in your basement provided you keep some floor fans in use to maximize air flow and heat distribution around your wood supply in your basement.
Still, it’s best to dry wood mostly outside, then you can still employ the method above to further dry the wood.
Remember…it takes heat to boil water out of wood, which is a waste of energy and therefore you burn more wood also. Dry wood takes less energy to burn, burns hotter giving of more heat using less wood, and a result of all that is cleaner burning. A win, win, all the way around.
Get yourself some bio-blocks, or similar, from TCS, Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Just make sure you do NOT buy any wood products containing wax or any other substance.
Obviously, the higher the outdoor temperatures the less likely for a good draft with dry or wet wood. Doesn’t matter if wood is wet or dry. Another obvious consideration should be that dry or dryer wood will still draft better than wet wood with higher outdoor temperatures. Neither burn optimally during high temps…all the more that dryer is better.
The best kind of sawdust blocks are those with zero additives and are compressed under great pressure into bricks or logs.
If your wood is still too wet to burn clean by the time 24/7 burning rolls around, you can use this type of fuel in your stove for lots of heat, clean burns, and they will greatly and quickly help you dry out your existing stacks of wet wood in your basement provided you keep some floor fans in use to maximize air flow and heat distribution around your wood supply in your basement.
Still, it’s best to dry wood mostly outside, then you can still employ the method above to further dry the wood.
Remember…it takes heat to boil water out of wood, which is a waste of energy and therefore you burn more wood also. Dry wood takes less energy to burn, burns hotter giving of more heat using less wood, and a result of all that is cleaner burning. A win, win, all the way around.
Similar threads
