Just want to say that I'm am new at this wood burning and this site has been of some great help. I just purchased a Pleasant Hearth 1800 sqft wood stove for my home. Built the hearth this last weekend and figured I would do a test run on the stove outside tonight to burn off the new paint smell and get adjusted to it since the chimney will not be installed till this Friday. I have some seasoned hackberry (1 year or so) got a good bed of coals stuck two logs one and couldnt get the temp over 180. Is this normal? Is it because I don't have a chimney on the stove? Also everytime I closed the damper or the door all the way the fire would die out. Do I need a damper in the chimney itself? I would appreciate any help I could get.
