Since our pitch is not that steep on the back of our house with a full shed dormer we don’t need to be above our ridge.
Both of these brands require at least a 16' flue system and prefer a stronger draft than some others like Osburn, Regency, or PE stoves.Ah, I misunderstood earlier when you said breather I thought that was the chimney cap. Are Hearthstones, or the Castleton specifically tight on air? Would a Vermont Castings have been better in this respect? We considered one but ultimately chose the Hearthstone obviously.
Oh, heat gun! I hadn’t thought of that! I might try that next cold startGood question. I don't need to preheat, but if I did I would probably use my Harbor Freight heat gun above the baffle. That should keep ash stirring to a minimum.
I don’t have ashes blowing in either when I use hairdryer to preheat my flue…but my access is a cleanout outside.No never hairdryer pointed to the inside middle front toward flue for 2 min. Works every time and no ash blowing back at me. Just did it actually since I’m late starting a fire.
Need to buy a torch since hairdryer won’t work if I lose power.
No…Do you guys have problems with ash blowing back into the room while you're preheating the flue?
Yeah, probably... I've heard 5' and I've heard 8'. I realized during this thread that in addition to being too short, the installer also didn't correctly support the chimney. I'd wonder how that company is still in business, but I guess it's ignorant folks like us who don't know what to watch out for.Should there be a wall strap just below the roof? I’m not sure if 8’ is a solid rule, but I’d feel better if it didn’t look like 10.5’ between supports.
I don't know about others, but every load burns differently for me. Also, the very back of my stove doesn't get a lot of air, so sometimes I'll pull that last log forward with the coals to prep for a reload. Granted, we've established in this thread my chimney isn't tall enough, but I think it's reasonable to occasionally adjust the load while burning. If nothing else, it's a good learning experience to see what structures work better than others for your stove.Do not open again till burned down to coals again... This means pay attention to your load so that it doesn't need any adjustment while burning.
With weak draft it's even more important to keep the door closed. I have a somewhat light draft too and learned that is the way to go to keep smoke and ash to a bare minimum. To get air to the back of your stove put sleepers or spacers between splits to lift them a bit allowing more air flow thru the whole load.Yeah, probably... I've heard 5' and I've heard 8'. I realized during this thread that in addition to being too short, the installer also didn't correctly support the chimney. I'd wonder how that company is still in business, but I guess it's ignorant folks like us who don't know what to watch out for.
I don't know about others, but every load burns differently for me. Also, the very back of my stove doesn't get a lot of air, so sometimes I'll pull that last log forward with the coals to prep for a reload. Granted, we've established in this thread my chimney isn't tall enough, but I think it's reasonable to occasionally adjust the load while burning. If nothing else, it's a good learning experience to see what structures work better than others for your stove.
Yeah you can use sticks or wood scraps, something like 3/4" thick to 1 1/2" or 2" thick or so.That's a good idea, I'll try that out sometime. You just use some smaller diameter wood to get everything off the floor?
If I have enough coals, I'll rake them left & right with an air tunnel down the middle (heard it from someone on this forum). The wood sits up on the coals. It takes a little longer to catch, but puts out nice even heat once it does.
I always turn fan off before i open the door, otherwise it will blow smoke and ash out the door.I think I get some smoke in the house when I have a floor fan pointed at the stove, and not when it’s not on.
Did you find a solution? I have the Mansfeld and have exactly the same problem.You know what... I forgot about the 3/2/10 rule. I don't think our chimney follows that!
I think we have a 12/12 roof (45 degree angle). So 10' horizontal clearance needs 10' vertical, plus the 2' means we need 12' from the drip edge.
Our install only has two 4' sections of chimney above the drip edge. You can just see the seams in the phot
Does anyone think it would help to add another 4' section to the chimney? The cold starts are just one symptom, and I'd really wish to fix this wholesale and be done with it, but don't want to go chasing changes that won't help.
oh, I didn't see this until nowOk there's your problem. Don't open the door when flames are rolling down it.
Light a top down, let it burn till coals, then reload onto coals.
Do not open again till burned down to coals again.
Repeat.
This means pay attention to your load so that it doesn't need any adjustment while burning.
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