run away fire

[whcarr]

I have a new avalon arbor, that I am unable to control once I have a the stove over half loaded. details, 25 feet of stainless double wall three years old, used with a small avalon wood stove for two years trouble free, bought new stove installed three weeks ago, checked chimney at that time for creosote, found none. burnt first fire to burn off oders, every thing seemed fine, kept fire going next day loader her up two thirds fuel, and away she went, external temps exceeded 550 degrees (thats as high as my infra red thermometer reads) baby sat for three hours till she burned her self down, contacted dealer they contacted avalon, they sent me a new combustion pack and gaskets, which I had to install, I also installed a chimney dampner at this time, started another fire got every thing warmed up loaded up to two thirds again, closed everything down included the chimney dampner and the fire went wild again, this time I even plugged the air intake vent but could still hear the stove sucking air external stove temps exceeded 550 degrees again, but not to as much of the areas as the first time, thanks the dampner and plugging the vent. any thoughts. any one know what are considered safe unsafe operqting temps. I will be calling my dealer again today, so far they have been helpful but have seemed to expect me to do all the repair work myself. I particulary like the fact that the avalon factory has no way to contact them directly and will not call me to answer questions, I have to call the dealer, he calls them, they call him, he calls me, I call you get the pictures. thnks for any input

 

[ccwhite]

I'm not familiar with this unit. My thinking is that air has to be getting in there somehow. You said you could hear it sucking air ... can you find where it was getting in. I would be thinking about returning it and buying something else if you can't get it under control. It isn't worth losing you house.

Just my$.02

 

[Nonprophet]

I have a new avalon arbor, that I am unable to control once I have a the stove over half loaded. details, 25 feet of stainless double wall three years old, used with a small avalon wood stove for two years trouble free, bought new stove installed three weeks ago, checked chimney at that time for creosote, found none. burnt first fire to burn off oders, every thing seemed fine, kept fire going next day loader her up two thirds fuel, and away she went, external temps exceeded 550 degrees (thats as high as my infra red thermometer reads) baby sat for three hours till she burned her self down, contacted dealer they contacted avalon, they sent me a new combustion pack and gaskets, which I had to install, I also installed a chimney dampner at this time, started another fire got every thing warmed up loaded up to two thirds again, closed everything down included the chimney dampner and the fire went wild again, this time I even plugged the air intake vent but could still hear the stove sucking air external stove temps exceeded 550 degrees again, but not to as much of the areas as the first time, thanks the dampner and plugging the vent. any thoughts. any one know what are considered safe unsafe operqting temps. I will be calling my dealer again today, so far they have been helpful but have seemed to expect me to do all the repair work myself. I particulary like the fact that the avalon factory has no way to contact them directly and will not call me to answer questions, I have to call the dealer, he calls them, they call him, he calls me, I call you get the pictures. thnks for any input

I'm not familiar with your stove model, but I don't think that 550 degree surface temps are anything to be too worried about. That being said, you NEED a thermometer (infrared or otherwise) that's going to give you accurate readings in the temp range that you need. You can get a magnetic one for $10, certainly well worth the money especially if you think you have a run away stove....

As far as the air leak goes, it sure sounds like you have one. I'd suggest getting a moderate fire burning inside and then take an incense stick and work your way around the stove surfaces with it. Any air leaks will suck in the smoke from the incense (keep the burning tip of the incense stick about 2-3" inches from the stove surface) and then you'll know where air is getting sucked in and you can repair as needed.

Good luck!


NP

 

[branchburner]

I'm just guessing, but your stove is a top-loader with by-pass damper so I'm suspecting it is a downdraft stove like mine. Secondary air supply cannot be adjusted, so you may hear that air flow. It is a built-in leak.

I don't know anything about the way you are measuring temps - I have a stove top thermometer, and as already suggested, you should get one. 550 is by no means hot. I don't even think about closing my bypass til 600. Then the stove will cruise at 400-500 for hours.

You may be fine, and just need to adjust to a new stove that likes to burn hot. What kind of wood are you using, and when do you close the bypass?

 

[struggle]

A 25' chimney needs to have a dampener in place!

 

[whcarr]

good info, I am using a infra red thermotmeter, but it only reads to 550, I have a chimney dampner and use it, good info on operating temps, I am use to an smaller stove that ran at about 320 degrees, you are correct that the stove does use a rear mounted reburner chamber that sucks air all the time, I just felt that extented 500 degree temps was excessive with the stove shut down tight, I am going to go to the dealers monday they heat there store with the same unit and I will measure there temps, will post that info. thanks Bill

 

[branchburner]

I think you will be fine once you get used to the new stove. Not much on the forum about your stove, but if you search you will find more (much more) than you'd ever want to know about similar downdraft afterburn stoves: Harman "FireDome", VC "Everburn", and whatever Lopi calls theirs on the Leyden.
Nice of Avalon to send you a new part - hang onto it, you'll need it in a few years. These stoves can crank out the heat, but the refractory pieces don't last forever.
The best way to get a feel for if your stove is burning smoke is go out and look at your chimney: no smoke is good. And of course keep a close eye on stovetop temps: for me 400-500 is pretty normal, 600 is ok to start up, 700 is too hot.

 

[BroadCove]

The key is to find out from the manufacturer what "too hot" is. 550 isn't too hot for most stoves. And, I don't think that anyone can say that, for a given length of chimney, a damper (not "dampener") is necessary. I have a 3 story house with a 35' chimney inside the house, and I can control my fire just fine with the stove - no chimney damper necessary.

Bottom line: talk to the manufacturer. I'm guessing you'll find out that 550 degrees is perfectly fine.

 

[Slow1]

Where exactly were you measuring that 550? When I had my VC (it was a downdraft "everburn" style stove) burning, I kept track of the flue temp approx 18" up from the stove exit. At this point the stove would cruise at 450-500 once it was in it's stable burn. The stove also had a distinctive sound that I would call a rumble, my wife called a roar whenever it was in the peak outgas stage of the burn which of course is where it would cruise until coaling stage where flue temps would then fall.

I never liked these high flue temps as it seemed like wasted heat up the chimney, but I sure had a clean pipe at the end of the season when I had it swept!

 

[whcarr]

temp readings where taken in several areas top center 550 plus when half full of wood or more, flue exit 550 plus, I have triple wall pipe 8 inches above stove so can not read temp there, I have seen the stove excend 550 degrees on the side half way up the stove, my therometer only reads to 550 so can only imagine what the rest of the stove is reading, the floor of my house 18 inches in front of the stove hit 140 degrees, the stove will burn 30lbs of wood in 3 hours with the stove fully shut down. bill

 

[branchburner]

It does sound like the wood is burning through a little too fast, but I'm starting to think that may be how these stoves go sometimes. Double check all your gaskets.
Since your max possible reading is 550, it's hard to say what the true max is - I would find that out asap.

 

[Slow1]

You may well have an air leak somewhere... or it may be working as designed. I was unable to find a leak anywhere in my stove - passed $ bill test on all gaskets etc. (after a bit of adjustment). However it still would eat wood just about as fast as I was willing to feed it. It sure put out heat though! I always felt the most heat came from the back of the stove and from the stove pipe though - as I mentioned it really was hot on the pipe. However, it also was a VC Encore and had the 'glowing back' issue which some are known to have (not all for some reason unknown to me).

Have any parts of your stove glowed that you know of? In particular if you are checking, look around the back of the stove where the exhaust exits. I know it is a different stove but if it does have a similar design I would expect the peak heat to be in the same areas. IF you are glowing anywhere then you definitely have a problem. Best time to check is when it is totally dark in the room as even a dull glow counts as too much so let your eyes adjust to the dark first.

 

[Scrounger]

Are you sure the damper in the stove is hooked up properly? Not the damper in your vent but the damper in the stove. When you have a small fire going do you notice a change in the fire with opening and closing the damper in the stove?

 

[Highbeam]

550 is child's play. My last stove was a Lopi (an avalon) but not a downdraft and the overfire temp was over 800. There is no built in way to shut down these modern stoves so you can expect a fresh load of wood on a good coal bed to runaway a bit. If it only goes to 550 then that's pretty cool really. If nothing is glowing then you are fine. Note that your owner's manual addresses the overfire issue and will tell you what to look for. A plain rutland stovetop meter is like 12$ from a hardware store and reads way up to 900 or so.

 

[offroadaudio]

I love it when my stoves climb quickly to 550 and stay there. It's cozy.
Doesn't sound like an issue to me