Uneven stove burns

[Grenage]

Hi guys,

We had our wood stove installed last winter and we love it. I do have a question regarding use, if I may.

I can get it up to temperature burning nicely - secondary burn with not too much of a primary flame. That said, eventually that ends and it slowly burns away without flames.

The glass always blackens a bit at the bottom-right. This doesn't happen if I open the vents a bit more to get the embers red and a bit of flame.

Is it normal to get things going at a low steady burn and then increase airflow later?

 

[begreen]

What stove is this? Was it new when installed?

 

[Grenage]

Hi there, it's a it Stovax County 5 Wide eco. It was new when it went in, aye.

 

[Todd]

Check your glass gasket in that corner with a piece of paper. The paper should not slide out easily.

 

[Grenage]

Thanks for the suggestion. I can't get paper in from the inside due to the angle, I tried pushing it in from the outside but the paper won't go through the rope seal.

Would a gap not cause the fire in that area to burn hotter?

 

[stoveliker]

pushing paper in is not useful. If you can't put it in place (with a piece of tape on the outside, i.e. accessible when the door is closed?) and then close the door, then you can't do the test on that part of the gasket. If using tape: you of course don't want to tape it on the inside of the stove, as it'd add to the force you need to pull out the paper. And the goal is to judge the force with which the gasket clamps the paper.

If you have a leak, cold air comes in, and this often leads to condensation of creosote at/near that location.

 

[Grenage]

Thank you for the reply. I might be being a bit simple so please forgive me.

I could do such with the door seal, but I assume to do the test on the glass I will need to remove the glass and put it back when the paper is in place?

 

[stoveliker]

Ah, no you're not simple.

The glass can be tested by putting a flat hand on each side and see if you can move the pane in the door frame. Be sure not to lift off the door from its hinges, if possible (they can be heavy).

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the suggestion. I can't get paper in from the inside due to the angle, I tried pushing it in from the outside but the paper won't go through the rope seal.

Would a gap not cause the fire in that area to burn hotter?

Check the door gasket in that area with the paper or pound note or euro. The glass gasket is often too hard to test that way.

 

[Todd]

Sorry, I meant the dollar bill test for the door gasket.

 

[Grenage]

Thanks guys. I checked the door seals and tried to move the glass. It all seems very snug

I guess I must just be using it incorrectly!