We were scared to close the flue pipe after an incident we had happen twice to us. I started a fire one night while my husband was gone. I went to bed then was woken by the sound of my alarm saying "carbon monoxide detected". At the end of the hall you could see smoke coming up the stairs. The entire downstairs was full of smoke. This happened a second time while we were out of the house and came home to the burn on the face of the fire place. We have been hesitant to mess with it since.
How to run masonry soapstone heater?
- Thread starter Daylansmama
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The user manual is the link that begreen posted. Scroll down to pg 12 to get English. I would suggest reading the pdf carefully and if the controls are as described, then that's you model.
The link is here: (broken link removed to http://www.tulikivi.com/julkaisut/pr/pdf/2012/KO1140_User_Manual_Group2_Flatgrate_042012_WEB.pdf)
These are very common in Europe and not so common here. They work very well but I think yours might be undersized for what you need. Note in the manual that they are requiring dry wood >20% moisture. Suspect that is a contributing factor.
The link is here: (broken link removed to http://www.tulikivi.com/julkaisut/pr/pdf/2012/KO1140_User_Manual_Group2_Flatgrate_042012_WEB.pdf)
These are very common in Europe and not so common here. They work very well but I think yours might be undersized for what you need. Note in the manual that they are requiring dry wood >20% moisture. Suspect that is a contributing factor.
We were scared to close the flue pipe after an incident we had happen twice to us. I started a fire one night while my husband was gone. I went to bed then was woken by the sound of my alarm saying "carbon monoxide detected". At the end of the hall you could see smoke coming up the stairs. The entire downstairs was full of smoke. This happened a second time while we were out of the house and came home to the burn on the face of the fire place. We have been hesitant to mess with it since.
That doesn't seem to be the model I have. mine doesn't have a fan or damper.
I am going to try and close the flue pipe after my fire has burned down to coals for the next few fires and see if that helps.
Well what in the world do I do then. I don''t know how to use these nobs or the vent on the bottom.
Are you looking at the link I posted? The one I posted does not have a fan, at least that I can see. The damper is the control that you have at the top.
As begreen posted, do not close the damper - control at the top for the chimney. You may need to close it a bit to keep the heat in the chambers but it should only be fully closed when the fire is completely out and cold. I would allow at least 24 hrs for that to happen. Even a slight warmth in the coals can generate enough CO to be a problem.
Getting the knack of running any wood burning appliance does take time. Even for long time users, going to a new stove takes a few weeks to understand how to get the best performance. You have a very expensive wood stove and it will be wonderful once you understand it. Don't get frustrated.
Smoked
Feeling the Heat
Here is something I found that has some cutaway pictures that may help. http://www.woodlandstoves.com/TlikiviContraFlo.html You need to get the manual for that model so you know for sure what lever does what but the idea is get the fire going with everything open, divert the exhaust through the mass of the stove with the appropriate lever and continuing with a very hot fire until it burns out and when it is out, then you can close the intake side down. Looking at the cutaways may help you understand what is happening. If you look inside the firebox, you may be able to see how it exhausts to the flue and then what lever diverts the flow to the body of the stove. Good luck!
You need to get the installer out to tell you how to work it. I am sure you spent allot of money on it i know they are not cheap. And you obviously have no idea how to use it. It is a waste of a very good heater.
I know nothing about the stove but your wood should be good if it was cut dead. Which if your getting it off of FS or BLM usually is. Most of the wood we have in our climate if cut, split, and stacked by end of June is good by end of October. (FYI for folks, we normally can't cut green wood on public lands, so it has to have no green leaves what-so-ever so it's already been dead for awhile when we get to it). Don't expect long burn times with lodgepole. At best I get 5-6 hours. With D-fir I can get 7-8. White fir is good for shoulder season and a temper wood for mixing with lodgepole (which burns HOT).
I have put a message into the installer and the company to call me and walk through this with me. In the meantime, I am posting the instructions I have. Also, my husband is convinced the contra-flow system was installed incorrectly. He took a couple of videos from the inside that i am posting as well.
![[Hearth.com] How to run masonry soapstone heater?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/169/169525-bdbdfce699b2019ae43d067dc8eadb5c.jpg?hash=NP04vbTeZk "[Hearth.com] How to run masonry soapstone heater?")
![[Hearth.com] How to run masonry soapstone heater?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/169/169526-14bf714a4d2f6c43773ff53642cb8d00.jpg?hash=iqBt9AqL_L "[Hearth.com] How to run masonry soapstone heater?")
![[Hearth.com] How to run masonry soapstone heater?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/169/169527-898353b9b2ee6156df8679d3404215f0.jpg?hash=NMzs2qQXTl "[Hearth.com] How to run masonry soapstone heater?")
![[Hearth.com] How to run masonry soapstone heater?](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/169/169528-94716c10f9cd2b03570bd82a4e121e16.jpg?hash=6eXkN4tfxD "[Hearth.com] How to run masonry soapstone heater?")
I finally spoke with the installer and have solved the mystery. I sent him a video of the inside operating when pulling the contra flow in and out and it was installed backwards! So this whole time we thought it was closed, it was actually open so we were loosing all the heat straight up the chimney. Also, the air intake vent at the bottom, and the two located on the door should be closed once the fire dies. We were keeping those open the whole time too. He said DO NOT ever close the flue unless the coals are completely died out and I don't plan on burning a fire again. Also, the previous owners that had it installed couldn't afford the proper size for the home so the unit is too small for this home. Therefore, he recommended burning 4 fires a day during the cold months. I will keep you all updated to see if it works. Thank you so much for everyone's input
Smoked
Feeling the Heat
Good news! If I ever looked a house that had one of those things, I would be afraid I would not be very objective about the rest of the house. I have always liked the idea of that kind of heater. Enjoy!
The instructions are a big help. So glad you got in touch with the installer and are making progress. I'm also glad you came here and that you have a good working CO detector. FYI Large videos can be posted to youtube and then the link posted here.
Keeps us posted on your progress and heating success.
Update: just sitting in my home enjoying the warmth. It's the hottest it's ever been at a toasty 75.7! We will receive our tool tomorrow that will measure the moisture content of our wood. We are assuming that our wood has more moisture than it should.
Excellent news. Thanks for the update. I think you'll love this heater as you get more experienced.
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