Building a fire in a wood stove

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

I've had this stove for years and it has always behaved like this regardless of the wood. When I posted last April I was burning 4-year-old wood. I had another stove prior to this one and had no difficulty with it even as a beginner. How about you post a video so I can see how you do it?

You want a 4-hour video?

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[Slickcraft]

The Englander that we have on Welch is smaller but will hold a fire longer than yours. Once it is up to secondary burn temp, the air inlet can be closed most or all the way to get a lazy hot fire. The built in air control can really shut it down if closed all the way.

Wondering if there is a secondary path for combustion air to get into your stove. Does it have an ash drawer? If so, does that have a good gasket seal? Does the stove door have a tight gasket seal? With the stove off and cold, close the door on a dollar bill. You should just be able to pull it out. If it pulls out easy, see if the closure tightness is adjustable.

Alan

[John Mercier]

What is the flue made out of?

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

What is the flue made out of?

The chimney is made of bricks lined with . . . a liner.

[John Mercier]

The chimney needs to heat up to help the draft.
It has a lot of mass pulling heat from the exhaust gases.

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

The Englander that we have on Welch is smaller but will hold a fire longer than yours. Once it is up to secondary burn temp, the air inlet can be closed most or all the way to get a lazy hot fire. The built in air control can really shut it down if closed all the way.

Wondering if there is a secondary path for combustion air to get into your stove. Does it have an ash drawer? If so, does that have a good gasket seal? Does the stove door have a tight gasket seal? With the stove off and cold, close the door on a dollar bill. You should just be able to pull it out. If it pulls out easy, see if the closure tightness is adjustable.

Alan

You raise some good questions, thank you. Yes, there's an ash drawer, and I asked above why there are no ashes in it.

The door does NOT have a tight gasket seal. Some mice took a liking to the gasket. I thought this wasn't a problem because maybe the crack is letting helpful air into the stove. Am I wrong about that?

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

You raise some good questions, thank you. Yes, there's an ash drawer, and I asked above why there are no ashes in it.

The door does NOT have a tight gasket seal. Some mice took a liking to the gasket. I thought this wasn't a problem because maybe the crack is letting helpful air into the stove. Am I wrong about that?

It is a problem as you can't slow down the burn rate once the stove gets up to temp. Also the stove's designed air flow has some air directed to the secondary burn ports. Air flow from the door may hinder the efficiency of the secondary burn.

Alan

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

You raise some good questions, thank you. Yes, there's an ash drawer, and I asked above why there are no ashes in it.

The door does NOT have a tight gasket seal. Some mice took a liking to the gasket. I thought this wasn't a problem because maybe the crack is letting helpful air into the stove. Am I wrong about that?

Ummm...for real? We've been talking about how shutting the air down increases burn time...but that only works when you can actually shut the air down. Obviously, having a leaking front door will negate that. Replace that gasket ASAP.

In terms of the ash draw: there's an opening on the floor of the box that ash can be shoveled through and into the ash pan below the air control lever. Don't use it. The ash pans on these things are not sealed well, so you're better off cramming it with ash so you don't have an (another) air leak.


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[SailinAway]

Got it, Thinkxingu. Thanks for the clarifications!

[ApS]

Local hardware stores should have those fiberglass gaskets. My stove's original gaskets appeared like woven rope. You'll need some kind of securing substance, but the gaskets (alone) provided by Bradley's Hardware (Wolfeboro) fit tightly enough.

To get a longer burn, use large chunks of "unsuitable" rotting wood--or large unseasoned hemlock. Twelve-inch (by 18-inch) rounds will fit through the front door; however, ashes and embers can leak out so I use the side door--which will clear 7-inch rounds.

Rotting wood used to be called "punk", and would smolder indefinitely. Indigenous-people worldwide had names for those individuals responsible for "keeping the fire".

My woodstove is perhaps twice as big, and a "round" of unseasoned 7-inch hemlock takes all night to dry out and burn--with the air shut down, of course. Plus, it leaves hot coals to ignite the next day's seasoned birch--which quickly pre-heats the seasoned maple to follow.

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

You want a 4-hour video?

Two things would be helpful to see: (1) Building and lighting the fire and refueling when the kindling has burned down, and (2) refueling after 4 hours. Not trying to be a pest. I honestly don't know how you achieve the results you report. I'd love to learn. Free me from stove slavery!