Lopi Leyden problems - low burn time, house smells like smoke, back puffs, etc.

[Kevin Weis]

Your collecting too much off gasses which ignite in the stove causing positive pressure. Positive pressure will push smoke out any unsealed or weakly sealed areas. Draft not enough to pull the gasses through before they ignite in the stove. Fixes are increasing draft and using bigger splits of the right MC to reduce the off gassing. If you don't do this you will not fix the problem. Kevin

 

[branchburner]

Your collecting too much off gasses which ignite in the stove causing positive pressure. Draft not enough to pull the gasses through before they ignite in the stove.

Well, he does want the gasses to ignite in the stove, but in the process of a continuous and efficient secondary burn (rather than in the process of unburned gasses accumulating and then exploding). So the problem could be not just with draft or fuel, but with a flaw in the re-burn mechanism, such as a clogged combustor or damage from over-firing (which is quite likely with this particular stove).

 

[Fennesseyb]

MisterFixIt, spoken like a true Leyden owner! This will be my last season with the stove. Sell it for very cheap, with a full disclosure, or just give it away to someone.

Last night I put the cement in the area the smoke was escaping from, tonight I'll fire it up and see if that solved it for at least this season.

A couple have mentioned some change in the house (tighter, or different appliance) that may be causing different pressure. There have been no changes, we have an old leaky Victorian home, I've never had to open a window or anything like that.

 

[Fennesseyb]

Can you finger tool some stove cement in there for this season?

The stove cement worked great for that area! Now the smoke is escaping from under the top piece (not the lid). Same scenario, during secondary combustion. I think I'm just going to have to go around the stove and cement every seam. I know this will make it difficult for future repairs / maintenance, but this stove belongs in the landfill anyway.

 

[begreen]

The stove cement worked great for that area! Now the smoke is escaping from under the top piece (not the lid). Same scenario, during secondary combustion. I think I'm just going to have to go around the stove and cement every seam. I know this will make it difficult for future repairs / maintenance, but this stove belongs in the landfill anyway.

Scrap yard is much better. That way it can be recycled.

 

[Fennesseyb]

Sealed up most of the joints, need to take off the rear collar to get back there. It's the only spot still left. Still smoke smell. Weird thing is I'm getting secondary burns longer than I've ever had before and the stove is holding high temps better than ever before.

Time to just get the Jotul Firelight I've had my eye on ever since I got this Leyden.

 

[Fennesseyb]

Scrap yard is much better. That way it can be recycled.

Good point, and I can get a couple bucks that way too

 

[Biker B]

Did the 2x4 burn this morning and kept a close eye on the stove. Lots of secondary combustion going on inside the stove. Almost every time you would see secondary combustion flames, a small little puff of smoke would come out the back. Back right corner out of the seam. I've attached a photo of the seam where smoke is coming out.

Once the secondary combustion flames slowed way down, the smoke stopped coming out. Smoke was coming out probably every 30-60 seconds at its worst.

The first and second year I owned the stove were probably the greenest wood I burned. This year is the driest wood yet. That could explain why it's so bad this year. The dry wood is creating more secondary burn than ever before. The secondary burn must create added pressure that forces smoke out the back?

The last paragraph tells much more about your stove than you think. The Leyden stove has a fiber combuster block behind the rear refractory. Once the combuster is clogged, the stove will puff smoke out of every crack and crevice it can find. Even if the combuster appears to be solid, it can still be clogged and using green wood will clog it up really fast. More than likely, that green wood that you burned for 2 years has clogged the combuster. I would suggest a new combuster. Do you even know how old it was when you bought the stove?

The other thing is draft. Check your manual, because this stove is engineered for a maximum 33" chimney. I would recommend that you get a high wind cap because your chimney is beyond what this stove supports. Just because you have a long draft (chimney) does not mean you have enough draft. When a chimney is taller than recommended for the stove a high wind cap can help.

Any stove with a combuster can be fussy and a stove with a fiber combuster can be a bit harder to diagnose.

 

[webby3650]

The last paragraph tells much more about your stove than you think. The Leyden stove has a fiber combuster block behind the rear refractory. Once the combuster is clogged, the stove will puff smoke out of every crack and crevice it can find. Even if the combuster appears to be solid, it can still be clogged and using green wood will clog it up really fast. More than likely, that green wood that you burned for 2 years has clogged the combuster. I would suggest a new combuster. Do you even know how old it was when you bought the stove?

The other thing is draft. Check your manual, because this stove is engineered for a maximum 33" chimney. I would recommend that you get a high wind cap because your chimney is beyond what this stove supports. Just because you have a long draft (chimney) does not mean you have enough draft. When a chimney is taller than recommended for the stove a high wind cap can help.

Any stove with a combuster can be fussy and a stove with a fiber combuster can be a bit harder to diagnose.

Let’s not confuse a non-cat down draft combustion system for catalytic combustion system. Combuster isn’t an appropriate description for a non-cat system.

 

[begreen]

Yeah, that got me too, but it's what Lopi calls it in their parts listing.

 

[branchburner]

Let’s not confuse a non-cat down draft combustion system for catalytic combustion system. Combuster isn’t an appropriate description for a non-cat system.

Harman refers to it as a "combustion package" and others commonly call it the"combustion chamber"or "afterburner." I, too, think the term "combustor" should refer to a catalytic combustor when discussing wood stoves. But technically speaking, "combustor" actually IS an appropriate term as used by BikerB, in reference to a place where combustion occurs.

 

[webby3650]

Harman refers to it as a "combustion package" and others commonly call it the"combustion chamber"or "afterburner." I, too, think the term "combustor" should refer to a catalytic combustor when discussing wood stoves. But technically speaking, "combustor" actually IS an appropriate term as used by BikerB, in reference to a place where combustion occurs.

Combustion package is what it’s commonly called. Lopi can call it whatever they want. How’d they finish again? Dead last!

 

[Keith-T]

Curious what you settled on as a replacement, and your overall satisfaction with it?