Sooty burn on lowest setting

[Mom2Czars]

I started to ask a couple questions about this in the Dirty Window thread but I wanted to ask it to a wider audience.

On the lowest setting, our Osburn 45mf creates a great deal of brownish soot on the upper third of the glass. The flame is generally QUITE low but doesn't appear smoldery in the burn pot. There is also a wood-smoky smell to the heat as it comes out of the blower. It's not overpowering, but noticeable as compared to even the next highest setting.

On the 2nd setting, the sootiness decreases dramatically and the smell disappears completely.

Is this a damper setting situation? I'm going to the stove shop to talk to them about this and other issues but I figured I'd ask here too, as you folks are a tremendous source of knowledge.

 

[rap69ri]

I don't have the Osburn, but I had to adjust my air supply on low burn for cleaner burns.

 

[mkmh]

Sounds like you are on the right track with your damper hypothesis. It isn't uncommon for stoves to need a little tweak (typically more air) when burning on low. How old is the stove? The burning smell is concerning, and I might suspect a bad gasket on the stove door. This may only be noticeable at lower burn levels where there is more smoke inside the stove.
Another question would be, does your stove have an outside air kit? I've heard about cases where OAKs were installed too close to the exhaust which can cause problems.

 

[pellet0708]

We have the osburn 45 also. On the lowest setting it is hard to keep the flame going. On 2 it runs very well. Might just be a bit too low but put your damper all the way over to MIN and mostly over the min for the next 2 settings. Most of the soot deposited is during the start up. For some reason our flames have adjusted over time to more consistant height. But it also could be the colder weather creating a better draft.

Took a couple of weeks to lose that wood smell but is gone now a few minutes after start up. The owners manual states that a slight smell is normal We did have to really hit the appl. adapter with silicone because it was quite a loose fit.

We are not using an OAK with ours and have found it burning quite nicely with no unusual flames.

Fans are very loud (we have nothing to compare it to) but no auger noise at all. It isnt as loud as our air cond. in the summer but loud enough.

 

[orangecrushcj7]

I don't have the Osburn, but I had to adjust my air supply on low burn for cleaner burns.

what worked best for you when turning down the LFF? Did you turn up the LBA, or down?

 

[Mom2Czars]

The stove is brand new. We do not have an OAK (we allowed ourselves to be talked out of it by the installer, btw).

The knob that controls the damper has a white line indicator but no gauge on the stove itself to let me know what is what. I've decided from playing with it that turning it to the extreme left (around 9 o'clock) closes the damper fully, as the flame gets a bit bigger but less agitated looking. If I turn it the extreme opposite way, it appears to be practically blowing out.

So, more air would reduce the sootiness?

 

[pellet0708]

Yes you are correct. Our Osburn has the knob but also a sticker under it which says MIN. to the left and MAX. on the right. Works as you inidicated.

I'll be interested to see what your dealer has to say since we purchased ours online.

 

[rap69ri]

I don't have the Osburn, but I had to adjust my air supply on low burn for cleaner burns.

what worked best for you when turning down the LFF? Did you turn up the LBA, or down?

I'll look tonight and let you know.

 

[Mom2Czars]

Yes you are correct. Our Osburn has the knob but also a sticker under it which says MIN. to the left and MAX. on the right. Works as you inidicated.

I'll be interested to see what your dealer has to say since we purchased ours online.

Aha! We have no sticker. Someone else recently posted that they got the same model and it had a bum heat sensor which was causing the exhaust fan to run high all the time. I'm suspicious we may have this issue as well, but I don't have another one of these stoves lying around to compare with. Going to see the one at the store again to see/hear it.

 

[pellet0708]

The exhaust fan only has one speed. Stoves with variable speed fans have controls to change them.
The faulty head sensor can only shut the stove down completely. Ours shut down once while on high and control panel indicated it overheated.
The factory sent us instructions as how to put insulation up under the augor casing near the switch and that did the trick.