What causes smoke dragons

[sepulvd]

I been barely burning wood for a little over a year and i always see in this forum about crazy amont of smoke coming out of chimney is no good. What causes all the smoke. I am using a fisher insert which is from the 80's but i barely get any smoke. Just trying to learn more

 

[begreen]

Wet or poorly seasoned wood, poor operator control (smoldering a fire), inefficient stove design, and/or a weak drafting flue system all can contribute.

 

[sepulvd]

What moisture % should it be at. My averages 20% except my pine it all below 18%

 

[begreen]

20% or less is good.

 

[mellow]

You must be burning it pretty hot if you are getting no smoke in that insert, I am quite sure you have smoke on the tail end of the burn unless you are constantly stoking the fire. You have what we consider a smoke dragon, it does not reburn the smoke that is coming off the wood, sending a lot of energy up the flue.

 

[Jags]

The cause of smoke is as BG stated above. The actual term "smoke dragon" usually refers to a stove built before the use of reburn technology.

 

[begreen]

If I burn the 602 hot I can get a pretty clean burn, but it's not smoke-free even though it has a baffle and a simple secondary air supply. EPA phase 2 stoves are much cleaner burning.

 

[mass_burner]

If I burn the 602 hot I can get a pretty clean burn, but it's not smoke-free even though it has a baffle and a simple secondary air supply. EPA phase 2 stoves are much cleaner burning.

Do you have a 602 cb?