US STOVE MAGNOLIA(PROBLEMS)

[CTseth]

Hope everyone had a great hoidays. Ive been holding off posting my question until I went through and tried everything i could from other posts with similar problems, but now I'm completely stumped. So here it is...I bought a US STOVE CO Magnolia 2015 this off season to heat our poorly insultated house here in CT. For the last 3 years we have been burning full time with a smaller, older stove and it wasnt doing the job. So with excitement of getting a really good deal on this stove we broke our backs getting it in the house, hooked it up and started burning in it in mid OCT. And, smoke....every time we crack the door open to load more wood, smoke pours out. Now fast forward to now, we have installed a chimney liner(15 ft total) with cap, tried opening a near bye window, opened damper then door a bit and let sit for a couple minutes and vice versa and still SMOKE. The smoke just billows out until the door is shut to within one of inch of sealed. Oh yeah and the wood is seasoned 2 years and top covered. Any thoughts would be MUCH appreciated.
Thank you for your time, seth

 

[firefighterjake]

Sounds as thought the smoke issue isn't just at start up . . . which would have indicated a reversed stack effect.

Instead, it sounds as though you've got a fire going and open the door to reload and smoke comes out . . . even though you've opened the air control all the way and have even resorted to opening a nearby window. To me this indicates a problem with the flue/chimney -- it either being partially blocked or it not being tall enough to maintain a strong draft. I might suggest temporarily attaching another 2-4 foot section on top and seeing if this would improve the situation.

Incidentally, while a properly drafting stove should never really allow much to any smoke into the living space when the fire door is opened, most folks here recommend burning in cycles . . . which would mean adding wood when the fire has gone to coals . . . at which point there should be little to no smoke anyways. That said, your stove should draft properly, and dealing with smoke in the living space every time you open the fire box is something that should be remedied for both safety sake and just because dealing with a house that smells like smoke is not always the most pleasant thing.

 

[CTseth]

Thanks firefighterjake for your reply. Your correct, it smokes throughout the whole burning time. I will give the addition a try. i know its not a block since it started happening with the first burn with the new flu insert attached, and i completely cleaned out the stove including stove exhaust in the firebox. I sure hope this works because this stove heats soooo welll.. thaks again for your time, seth

 

[jatoxico]

So the new stove was smoking with both chimney setups but the old stove did not using the original chimney? How tall and what stove was in the orig setup?

 

[CTseth]

Yup. The old stove was very similar looking to an older garrison 3. it was a great stove just to small. the old stove was piped right into the masonary chimney with 2 feet of piping then a fabricated metal piece to close the fireplace damper opening to stop draft and heat escape. When i first put the new stove in i used the same set up knowing i would eventually put an insert in for safety reasons. well, it started the smoking problem right away so i ordered 15ft of liner and put it in and still have he issue.

 

[jatoxico]

So do you have a 90 degree before entering the new chimney? What was the old chimney, 8" clay tile, now a 6" liner? And I think FF Jake's suggestion is a good one. You could add a few feet of cheap dryer vent as a test first, but w/o looking at the manual 15' sounds close.

Pics often help BTW, inside and out. Other structures like a second story roof or obstructions like nearby trees make a difference.

 

[CTseth]

Jatoxico, the old chimney was an 8" clay and now has the 6" liner. i have a 45 then the liner starts. I added 2ft of pipe this afternoon and waited for a little wth no benefit. Smoke is still escaping when door is opened.

 

[firefighterjake]

Probably a dumb question . . . but how well insulated is the home?

Another dumb question on my part . . . are any fans, vents, etc. running in the home?

Hang in there . . . more folks will likely chime in this evening . . . we'll get you through this so you have a smoke free home.

 

[CTseth]

Not dumb at all. The house was built in the 50's, so not the best insulation but overall decent. We have 2 huge single pane bay windows on both sides of living room that can be a bit drafty BUT, never affected our old stove. The onlytime a vent/fan would be running is during showers. Thanks again for you time

 

[firefighterjake]

OK, sounds like the issue is not a vent issue within the home in terms of shower vents, oven vent, etc. . .. and the home isn't super insulated.

I'm just a simple firefighter though . . . as mentioned . . . hopefully some folks a helluva lot smarter than me will be on later this afternoon or evening who might have some suggestions. Hang in there.

 

[begreen]

I don't know this stove and the docs are a little weak, but here are some generic tips. Check the baffle. Make sure it is properly in place. Is there a blanket on top of the baffle? If so, check and make sure it laying perfectly flat and not bunched up. If the chimney has been cleaned make sure there is no pipe of sote blocking the flue collar.

 

[laynes69]

Is that a galvanized adjustible elbow? If so I would replace it with stove pipe. It also looks like both sides of the elbows are awfully deep in the collar and liner. I would replace with a black pipe elbow and put a few screws to anchor the elbow to the stove. From the looks of it, there may be some leakage at the stove connection. I've never seen an elbow so deep apast it's crimps on a stove.

 

[begreen]

Good observation. If the elbow is too deep it may be protruding into the smoke path above the baffle. It shouldn't be deeper than the flue collar.

 

[jatoxico]

Good points above about mechanical blockages. Does not look like you ovalized to get the liner through but if you did that can be the cause of pinch point. One other question does the situation improve at all when the system has been run for several hours (ie fully hot) or same, hot and cold? Any better when it's cold outside, like it's getting this a' way?

If there is no improvement when the chimney is hot it may point towards a block like mentioned above. If yes it may take a bit more pipe. You would not be the first member who saw a difference with 4' of pipe added but no (or little) difference with just 2'.

 

[kennyp2339]

It also appears that the connection from elbow to flex liner is backwards, the liner should be going into the elbow to allow and liquid creosote to drip back into the stove and burn off.

 

[CTseth]

wow, thank you all for your input. Makes me realize i still have soooo much to learn. Jatoxico, the situation doesnt improve even when stove has been running for hours. Begreen and laynes69, the elbow is quite deep. Im very curious as to why that would matter, but will def replace that elbow. And kennyp69, your suggestion makes a lot of sence, i will change that as well when i replace the elbow. Thanks again everyone for your time, i will be changing some things around on my days off and let everyone know if it worked. Have a great weekend, seth

 

[begreen]

The elbow should only sit in the flue collar an inch or so. If the end of the elbow is protruding into the stove it could be blocking smoke flow. That will lead to smoke spillage when the door is opened and poor burning.

 

[jatoxico]

Well if it don't get better after warming up that could speak to an obstruction. I think what layne69 is suggesting is that if you push a section of pipe too deep into the elbow it begins to close the opening by covering the hole from the inside curve in the elbow.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

 

[weatherguy]

Just curious when your burning and in cruising mode where is your air setting? Is it totally closed with secondaries or do you have to burn with it open 1/4 or so?

 

[weatherguy]

You might be better off with a liner connector at the end of the flex pipe so you can connect it to your elbow correctly

 

[SteveG518]

sounds like the House Stack Effect to me. Is your chimney top shorter than any other point of the home? If so then the "draft" inside the home is greater than that going out of the stove, causing your blow back problems.

 

[Woody Stover]

I've never seen an elbow so deep apast it's crimps on a stove.

Nice get, my money is on this being the problem.

The elbow should only sit in the flue collar an inch or so

Yeah, there should be some tabs inside the flue collar to stop the elbow from going in too far. That elbow is probably getting past the tabs.

You might be better off with a liner connector at the end of the flex pipe so you can connect it to your elbow correctly

Agreed, you need the elbow that is made to fit that liner by the mfgr. of the liner. I prefer the one-piece welded-seam stainless elbow, but there may be cheaper ones made by the company. The one with the crimped end should fit right into the collar and hit the tabs. Hurry up and get that thing on there; We're anxious to hear you rave about how great your stove is running.