HELLO, I BOUGHT A NEW HEARTHSTONE PHOENIX WOOD STOVE ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO, WHICH OPERATES LIKE A PIECE OF @*#!! THIS STOVE WILL ONLY BURN WOOD THAT IS CHOPPED INTO KINDLING, ANYTHING BIGGER THAN THAT FOR GET IT, IN ORDER TO GET THE STOVE TO LIGHT (IF IM LUCKY ENOUGH) YOU HAVE TO OPEN THE DOOR FULLY, OPEN THE DRAFT ALL THE WAY AN OPEN THE ASH PAN DOOR, IN ORDER TO KEEP IT GOING, TO KEEP THE WOOD BURNING ALL THIS HAS TO BE LEFT OPEN FOR ABOUT HALF HOUR TO 45 MINUTES, AFTER THIS PROCESS I CAN CLOSE THE DOOR AND THE ASH PAN DOOR, HOWEVER THE DRAFT HAS TO BE LEFT OPEN ALL THE WAY AT ALL TIMES OR THE FIRE WILL GO OUT, I CANNOT DAMPER THE STOVE DOWN AT ALL TO GET A LONG BURN OR IT WILL GO OUT, MY WOOD IS AT A MOISTURE LEVEL OF ABOUT 16-18 %, I TRIED ECO-LOG THINKING MY WOOD WAS THE PROBLEM, IN ORDER TO GET THE ECO WOOD TO BURN THE AFORMENTIONED PROCESS HAS TO BE FOLLOWED TO. WHEN THE FIRE IS FINALLY GOING ALL THE WOOD HAS TO BE PULLED TO THE FRONT OF THE AIR INLET IN ORDER TO KEEP IT BURNING, IF THE WOOD IS AT THE BACK OF THE STOVE OR IN THE CORNERS IT WILL NOT BURN OR STAY GOING, I HAVE TO LOAD THE STOVE ABOUT EVERY HOUR DUE TO HAVING TO CHOP IT ALL INTO KINDLING SO IT WILL BUREN, CONSTANTLY HAVE TO FIDDLE WITH THE DOORS, DRAFT, ASH PAN DOOR, ETC TO KEEP THE FIRE GOING, AND THE GLASS ON THE DOOR IS FILTHY AFTER 3 WEEKS, THE MANUAL STATES THAT THE GLASS IS SELF CLEANING AND A HOT BURN WILL CLEAN IT, WHICH IS B.S !! ANY IDEAS ON FIXING OR ADDRESSING THIS PROBLEM WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THANK YOU
BRAND NEW HEARTHSTONE PHOENIX 3 WEEKS AGO WITH MANY MANY PROBLEMS !!!!!!!!
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Draft problem.
Tell us about the chimney and how the stove is hooked to it..any elbows and such...height.
Tell us about the chimney and how the stove is hooked to it..any elbows and such...height.
Welcome Mohawk. Could you turn off the caps lock? It's very hard to read. No need to SHOUT here. We hear you and are curious about the stove connection and chimney.
MY STOVE IS IN THE BASEMENT OF THE HOUSE, AND THE CHIMNEY IS ALSO INSIDE THE HOUSE, THEIR IS ONE 45 OFF THE BACK OF THE STOVE INTO THE CHIMNEY AN THE REST IS A STRAIGHT SHOT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE ROOF, IT RUNS LIKE THEIR IS 8 90"S AND THE CHIMNEY IS OUTSIDE, THANK YOU
sorry about the caps not shouting just really frustrated, i should of went with my first pick which was the jotul f500,
Hi Mohawk, welcome to the forum, and JE VOUS EN PRIE UNLOCK YOUR CAP LOCKS KEY MERCI BOUCOUPS! That is considered the equivalent of shouting, but more to the point, it's really hard to read your post that way.
I don't have a Phoenix, but I have a Heritage, which is very similar. It's working like a champ for me, and has kept my house warm in a northern clime. I'm inclined to speculate that it's not the stove that is the problem (unless something went awry inside), and I am guessing from what I read above that it's not a firewood issue.
As you are probably aware, it's not just the stove, but a whole heating system that includes layout and design of house, stovepipe system, firewood, climate, stove, all working in tandem. When it works, it's a beautiful thing and makes stove owners happy. This is what all of us want for you and there are some fine minds with a lot of experience on here that would be happy to share their expertise.
So if you could give more details (a little more quietly, please) about your house size, location of stove, location of other vents, stovepipe set-up, your familiarity with burning wood, etc., you would help us to come up with some suggestions and ideas.
“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake,†and the forum is here to help.
I don't have a Phoenix, but I have a Heritage, which is very similar. It's working like a champ for me, and has kept my house warm in a northern clime. I'm inclined to speculate that it's not the stove that is the problem (unless something went awry inside), and I am guessing from what I read above that it's not a firewood issue.
As you are probably aware, it's not just the stove, but a whole heating system that includes layout and design of house, stovepipe system, firewood, climate, stove, all working in tandem. When it works, it's a beautiful thing and makes stove owners happy. This is what all of us want for you and there are some fine minds with a lot of experience on here that would be happy to share their expertise.
So if you could give more details (a little more quietly, please) about your house size, location of stove, location of other vents, stovepipe set-up, your familiarity with burning wood, etc., you would help us to come up with some suggestions and ideas.
“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake,†and the forum is here to help.
my stove is located in the basement of my house, the house itself is 5000 square feet of poured ICF concrete walls with 3 floors, the basement is finished, and the stove is on the west side of the house, the chimney is all doubble walled pipe, it has a chimney cap on top, when the stove is burning around 375-400 which is a fight to get it that high it heats the whole 5000 square feet to about 76f on the top floor of the house, even at -20c, my house calls for 60-70 thousand btu's to heat it, which the phoenx does fine when i win the fight an get the stove up to 375-400, i thought at first it might be due to how efficient and tight the house is, i tried opening a window and a door but has no effect what so ever on the stove thank you
MOHAWK1 said:
umm . . . this is still not very clear. Are you saying there are 8 90-degree elbows in the chimney?
Have you had a stove in this spot before? If so, which one, how big was the stovepipe connector, and how did it work for you?
Has the chimney been cleaned? What are its dimensions? Of what is it constructed? How old? Do you have a liner, and if so, how big is it?
Have you had any advice from the stove dealer about where to install it? (Basement installs are not recomended by manufacturer.)
Do you have any open windows or vents upstairs creating a `chimney effect'?
ETA:
I think we were typing at the same time, as you addressed some of these issues. Is the basement a typical buried one, or is it a `walkout' (hillside) basement with doors that open at ground level with the stove?
sorry about the confusion, there is just one 45 off the back of the stove that connects to the rest of the chimney, which is a straight shot through the rest of the house and the roof, the stove and chimney are all brand new which was installed 3 weeks ago, it performs like their is 8 90's in the pipe and an outside chimney,
Well, for sure it is either a wood or a draft problem. You have told about the 45 into the chimney and a straight shot through the rest of the house. Can you describe further? What size is the chimney? Liner? etc.
Could there be other things, such as exhaust fans running? Fan in bathrooms, clothes driers, exhaust fan over stove, etc.
Could there be other things, such as exhaust fans running? Fan in bathrooms, clothes driers, exhaust fan over stove, etc.
the house is on the flat rock with walk out doors on the east an west side of the house, and is back filled on the sides and road front to make it look right, the walk out doors are facing the water front of the property
MOHAWK1 said:
Got it. That makes sense now. What are the internal dimensions of the chimney, and of what is it made? Have you talked to the installer about the problem?
Especially since you've explained what it can do when it is working properly, I'm pretty convinced that it's not because something is wrong with the stove, but rather that it is not working well in tandem with these other factors.
I'm not familiar with the abreviations "ICC" and "HRV"...perhaps others are.
The first thing that occurs to me is that there is some sort of blockage inside the stove, causing poor draft. Is it possible that there was some packing material (to keep parts from banging around in shipment) that was left inside the stove and is blocking airflow? Did a dealer do the install?
The first thing that occurs to me is that there is some sort of blockage inside the stove, causing poor draft. Is it possible that there was some packing material (to keep parts from banging around in shipment) that was left inside the stove and is blocking airflow? Did a dealer do the install?
MOHAWK1 said:
My first thought on reading this was `Bingo!' Maybe not, but maybe. Have you tried building a fire with the HRV system turned off?
So it's 6" pipe? What is the length from stove to chimney cap? I know there's a maximum recommended height, but I don't know what it is. If you've got a 30' chimney and are trying to run an HRV at the same time, these combined factors may be creating a problem. Was the HRV installed with the foreknowledge of a wood stove on the bottom floor in mind?
the dealer did the install, the kind of chimeny is ICC not sure what kind that is or who makes it, the HRV is the system in the house that brings fresh air into the house and takes out the old stuff,
HRVs supply fresh air and usually run a positive pressure. (Thats good for the stove.) Especially on a two fan system. OA Supply/exhaust
ive tried different combinations, building a fire with the HRV off, on low med and high setting, door open window open, door closed window closed, window open, door open etc, cold air return off, cold air return on, nothing seems to effect the stove, i check the stove over to see if anything was obstructing the flue or chimey or air intake and found nothing, the only other thing is, when the draft is fully open i can hear air being sucked into it, the dealer is just scratching his head about the whole ordeal
Found this on an HRV website:
"The HRV is designed to be balanced so that it takes in as much air as it exhausts, maintaining close to neutral pressure. Consequently, it is important to note that it is not meant to be a means of supplying air to combustion appliances."
"One other feature worth mentioning is that with the right controls, an HRV can be made to operate in a recirculation mode. A humidity sensor in the unit insures that it meets the house’s air exchange needs, after that it can be programmed to default into recirculation. This would be an excellent feature for people who are using a woodstove as a major source of heat and need a means to distribute that heat to hard to reach areas in the house."
If it is neutral, you'd need an outside air kit. If it is in recirculate mode, ditto.
P.S. Link to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center website:
(broken link removed)
"The HRV is designed to be balanced so that it takes in as much air as it exhausts, maintaining close to neutral pressure. Consequently, it is important to note that it is not meant to be a means of supplying air to combustion appliances."
"One other feature worth mentioning is that with the right controls, an HRV can be made to operate in a recirculation mode. A humidity sensor in the unit insures that it meets the house’s air exchange needs, after that it can be programmed to default into recirculation. This would be an excellent feature for people who are using a woodstove as a major source of heat and need a means to distribute that heat to hard to reach areas in the house."
If it is neutral, you'd need an outside air kit. If it is in recirculate mode, ditto.
P.S. Link to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center website:
(broken link removed)
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