Draft issue?

[stoveliker]

See here

Blaze King Uphoria

I will assume in PA you are mostly burning hardwoods. Rake your coals to the front. The air into the firebox enters top front. If you want the coals to burn down, to make room for more fuel, turn up the burn rate and lay a few pieces of softwood (pine) east/west on top of the coals. I have...

www.hearth.com

 

[begreen]

Thst depends on how cold it is. I think from 35 to 70 F can change the reading by 3 pct, if my memory is correct.

Is that 3% points difference, ie reading 18% instead of 21%? Or is it an error of 3% of the 18 % reading?

I tested yesterday at 55º, the difference from testing a week earlier with a room temp split was negligible, but of course there is the variation from split to split too.

Nevermind, we posted at the same time. That is a huge swing. I am not seeing that, but will test again.

 

[stoveliker]

I read that table as being a difference in reading. I.e. 18 to 21 pct and not 18+0.54 =18.5 pct.

Moisture meters should not be read with decimals anyway, given their precision.

I.e. from the table, if the meter reads 20 at 5 degrees, it is actually 24 pct.

 

[begreen]

Agreed. If our wood is 2-3 % below 20 I'm happy. With our wet winters, it seems to stabilize at 17%.

 

[TonyE]

Good to know thanks. Not very convenient. I put a couple of splits in the house today. I'll compare with some from outside tomorrow. Then I'll know approximately how much to compensate.

 

[BKVP]

If I missed it sorry, but does your stove leak smoke back into the room when you open the loading door? If so spillage would indicate that your home is a better chimney than your chimney is. Does the wood burn to completion? Or can you leave it alone and the next day there are large coals or chucks of charred wood? My guess is the house may be too tight or the wood to too wet for the burn rate you are using.

As another posted, try some BioBricks. If they burn, then more than likely, your wood is the problem, if not, more likely insufficient draft. If you wind up adding pipe and do not like the appearance, you can build a box around the chimney pipe and cover it with faux stone or something to make it look nicer. Personally, my chimney is pretty tall outside, but I don't care as it allows the stove to perform.

Once you get this licked, you see much improved performance from your investment!

 

[TonyE]

No smoke when I open the door if I open it slowly. Green heat bricks burn well. The wood is definitely part of the problem. I don't like the fact that I have to keep the door open that long to get the fire going. Even using the bricks and dry wood I can't turn it down much until it is almost at the coaling stage. Everything is burned up in the end. I wonder how much difference 2' of chimney would make. 20%, 50% ? I imagine there must be a calculation to estimate how much increase in draft per additional ft of chimney.

 

[begreen]

I wonder how much difference 2' of chimney would make. 20%, 50% ? I imagine there must be a calculation to estimate how much increase in draft per additional ft of chimney.

Yes, in some cases the additional 2-3' can make a very significant improvement in burning performance, particularly for a flue system that is right on the cusp. If your chimney has easy access, on a calm day you could try removing the cap and inserting a 3' length of cheap 6" warm air duct to test with before committing.

If the additional chimney pipe is added, note that there needs to be a brace on the chimney at 5' above the roof exit point.

 

[TonyE]

Today is the first day in a while in the 30s .I started a top down fire with 6 Gren Heat blocks on the bottom n/s and some drier wood. I was able to close the door after 5 min and turn it down half way after 20 min when I could smell the stove paint. 2hrs later it's burning nice and slow. Getting some air in to the fire by using the blocks for a platform or n/s splits and some dry wood makes a world of difference. 🙂

 

[begreen]

That's good news. Things will continue to get better as the temps stay colder and your experience grows. If you can bring some wood into the house for a week or two, that will accelerate drying.