# US Stove magnolia problem



## angus1 (Nov 16, 2009)

I have a US Stove Magnolia 2015 and have burned approximately 6 fires now. I can get a good fire burning with the stove door cracked open but as soon as I close the door, the fire immediately dies down and appears to be oxygen starved, even with the damper fully open. With the door closed, moving the damper seems to make no difference at all. I called the company and they told me to remove one of the bricks in the upper corner of the stove to help improve air flow. Is this a safe thing to do and shouldn't the stove operate properly without having to remove items that the engineers included for a reason.

ps. I have tried opening doors and windows near the stove to improve airflow but this made no difference.


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## Pagey (Nov 16, 2009)

angus1 said:
			
		

> I have a US Stove Magnolia 2015 and have burned approximately 6 fires now. I can get a good fire burning with the stove door cracked open but as soon as I close the door, the fire immediately dies down and appears to be oxygen starved, even with the damper fully open. With the door closed, moving the damper seems to make no difference at all. I called the company and they told me to remove one of the bricks in the upper corner of the stove to help improve air flow. Is this a safe thing to do and shouldn't the stove operate properly without having to remove items that the engineers included for a reason.
> 
> ps. I have tried opening doors and windows near the stove to improve airflow but this made no difference.



How dry is the wood you are burning (has it been cut, split, and stacked in the dry for a year)?  How large are the splits you are placing in the stove?  Are you placing the splits on an established coal bed, or are you starting a cold stove?  Do you have any elbows or offsets in your chimney/flue?


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## angus1 (Nov 16, 2009)

I would say the wood is "semi dry"  and has been cut for a year but split for only a few weeks. The splits I've been using are about 17 inches long and I am starting a cold stove. I have 1 elbow that makes a 90 degree angle from the stove pipe into the chimney. FYI- My problem with airflow has perisited even after having the stove burning for many hours. After I had established a good hot fire burning with the door slightly open for hours, I closed the door with the damper wide open and immediately the fire died down and looked like it was starving for air. I then closed the damper and there appeared to be no difference.


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## Pagey (Nov 16, 2009)

With the wood split for a few weeks, I'd say at least part of your problem is wet wood.  Today's EPA certified stoves are meant to burn wood that is ideally around 22% moisture content or less.  Wood simply does not season well when left "in the round".  Since so much of the fuel's energy is used up boiling out the moisture, there's little energy left to kick off the secondary combustion that makes these newer stoves so clean burning.  In fact, if you have wet enough wood, the moisture released can basically snuff out any secondary combustion.  I would try to immediately split my wood so that it's even smaller, exposing as much surface area as possible.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 16, 2009)

angus1 said:
			
		

> I would say the wood is "semi dry"  and has *been cut for a year but split for only a few weeks*. The splits I've been using are about 17 inches long and I am starting a cold stove. I have 1 elbow that makes a 90 degree angle from the stove pipe into the chimney. FYI- My problem with airflow has perisited even after having the stove burning for many hours. After I had established a good hot fire burning with the door slightly open for hours, I closed the door with the damper wide open and immediately the fire died down and looked like it was starving for air. I then closed the damper and there appeared to be no difference.



I would think this is the major issue . . . I would guess that your wood is still unseasoned. I would suspect that attempting to burn wood that has only been split for a few weeks means you're burning wood that is pretty green and it would take a long time for the wood's moisture to cook out. Do you hear or see much hissing or spitting of moisture coming out of the ends of the splits?

That said, usually you would see a difference when the stove's air control is moved one way or the other . . . realizing that it would not be noticeable immediately . . . typically a shift in the air control for me results in a change within 5-10 minutes . . . sometimes quicker, sometimes later depending on the quality of the wood, temp in the firebox, etc.


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## Pagey (Nov 16, 2009)

Here's any easy way to test your air control's response.  Build a kindling fire out of several pieces of knotted up black and white newspaper and some very dry kindling.  Shut your door and then close the air control.  You should see the fire die down as it becomes starved for primary air.


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## carinya (Nov 16, 2009)

I have a new stove.

More than once (will not reveal the number of times....) I have got a good fire started with the door cracked & then closed the door only to see the fire die.

The air inlet control is below the door & pulls in & out.  On my old stove it was above the door & slid side to side.

Because old habits die hard, or I'm getting too old,  I seem to forget to pull out the air control for full airflow........

When it twigs what is going on... Presto !  great fire !

I think you have an air inlet obstruction when you say "After I had established a good hot fire burning with the door slightly open for hours, I closed the door with the damper wide open and immediately the fire died down and looked like it was starving for air"

I would go looking at the air inlet point, even if you have to use small mirrors like I did......maybe you have a rag stuffed in somewhere or there is a mechanical break in the linkage between your control and inlet point....


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## negative1 (Nov 25, 2009)

angus1,

I also have a Magnolia and have been through all the same problems.  I finally took the brick out as instructed by U.S. Stoves.  I can get great fires going now.  I still feel that these stoves are a bit starved because when I get a nice hot burn going the door will have a vacuum seal that makes it not so easy to open.   

But this thing can put out some heat!


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## roller (Nov 26, 2009)

I have the same problem tonight this is the 5th time i used this thing and i can not get the pipe temp above 270 and it does not put out much heat what brick did you remove i tryed calling us stove and was put on hold they never got back to me is it save to burn it with out that brick. yes my wood is dry


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## pen (Nov 26, 2009)

no offense guys but most of the people who have these problems are new to wood burning.  I'd do a good self eval before blaming the stove.   While the problem is about 95% related to unseased wood or poor fire building practices, the problem may even be something like dumping into a larger than 6in diam chimney, chimney too short, neg air pressure prob, etc.

Point is, even if you've burned lots of fires in an old stove, epa stoves are different.  Just don't be surprised.

pen


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## EatenByLimestone (Nov 26, 2009)

Go to the local supermarket and pick up a bag of kiln dried firewood.  It'll run around $6 and will tell you if your wood is the problem.

Matt


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## cableguyfromhell (Dec 7, 2009)

same stove same problem, even tried kiln dried birch. it goes out when i shut the door, dampener wide open. gonna add another 3 feet of chimney, see if it helps. stove worked great for the first 3 weeks then nothing. i'm stumped


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## roller (Dec 8, 2009)

cableguyfromhell said:
			
		

> same stove same problem, even tried kiln dried birch. it goes out when i shut the door, dampener wide open. gonna add another 3 feet of chimney, see if it helps. stove worked great for the first 3 weeks then nothing. i'm stumped


 i had the same problem as one person said on here i also called us stove co they told me to take out one of the 2 bricks on top of the inside of stove i took out the one on the right and she is burning great iam glad i looked on here and called us stove because i was at my wits end with the stove not burning right.


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## balsabones (Jan 6, 2011)

Same problem here also. Same stove, 3 weeks old, with OAK about 10" long 5" DIA. Fire goes out and coals seem to stop glowing when door is shut and damper wide open. Thought about drilling out the holes in the tubes to 1/4" from approx 1/8" they are now or adding a blower to the OAK with dimmer or ajustable fan.
Any thoughts or ideas? BTW, great forum and lots of information.


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## pen (Jan 6, 2011)

balsabones said:
			
		

> Same problem here also. Same stove, 3 weeks old, with OAK about 10" long 5" DIA. Fire goes out and coals seem to stop glowing when door is shut and damper wide open. Thought about drilling out the holes in the tubes to 1/4" from approx 1/8" they are now or adding a blower to the OAK with dimmer or ajustable fan.
> Any thoughts or ideas? BTW, great forum and lots of information.



This thread was made for you.  It will answer many of your questions.  https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/65174/

pen


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## North of 60 (Jan 6, 2011)

Do your guys chimneys have a liner if they are masonry? How are they connected to the flue?


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## EKLawton (Jan 7, 2011)

the biggest problem with the stove is the wood!!  MY mother has the same trouble until i give her wood. that make s the heat roll out.  If you dont got seasoned wood then split it small and add a little at a time.


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## corey21 (Jan 7, 2011)

My stove takes a while to good fire going then it will cruise at 450 with 3 splits. well 30 mins from cold to cruising and thats with the bricks in place. But i added 4 feet of chimney.


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## balsabones (Jan 7, 2011)

north of 60 said:
			
		

> Do your guys chimneys have a liner if they are masonry? How are they connected to the flue?



Mine is the regular black 6" stove pipe, (2, 24" pieces), connected to the stove with stove cement. I used the supplied gasket under the flue collar. Then I used the stainless double wall pipe, (2 pieces 36" each), to go through the ceiling and out the roof. I then added another 36" piece of the stainless double wall pipe to see if that was my problem. I have a total of 13' of pipe. The instructions call for a minimum of 12'. This is my first EPA stove, so I wasn't sure if that measurement meant from, the firebox or top of stove. My first stove, (20 or so years ago), was a buck. It had the damper in the front with a sliding piece of metal. That would seem to me, to be just the thing for the stove I have now.
Also, I have seen other people reference the secondary air intake on the Magnolia. Does anyone know where it is? I cant find the intake. The only one I know of is the one on the bottom in back. I live in a double-wide MH, so I installed the OAK, per code.


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## balsabones (Jan 7, 2011)

roller said:
			
		

> cableguyfromhell said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I am going to order 2 replacement bricks that go in the top and then, carefully, drill 1/8" holes in the ones already in the stove. I will probably drill 10 to 15 holes in each one. I will start with 5 then go up as needed to improve airflow.


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