Need some help

[Free diver]

. This site is a wealth of knowledge and I'm hoping to get some direction. I bought a new home in mass and it has an older energy harvester wood stove in the lower level. It was made in New Hampshire and is rated at 35,000 btu. I painted it, replaced the gaskets and sealed the seams. The duct is five inch and connected to a 5 in stainless liner that exits the 24 ft Chimmney. The draft is ok, not great. I have a ton of red oak from my land that I'm burning with is a mix of dry and green stuff. The problem I'm having is low heat. With the damper fully open stove gets up to 400 ish degrees but eats a full load in about 3 hours. If I choke it down it will only burn at around 250 degrees which is too low. Any ideas to improve this situation?

Thanks matt

 

[webbie]

Great stove.
I think your problem is partially related to the mix - of green wood! Green or even unseasoned (partially seasoned) or wet wood uses a lot of the energy to burn off the water. So the wood burns, but most of the energy is used in creating steam which goes out the chimney.

My guess is that your draft is adequate or you would not even be able to make the unseasoned wood burn.

The real test would be to get some of the best pieces you have - hopefully nice and grey with the bark having fell off, and firing it up with 100% of the driest wood you have. Every wood burner should have a moisture meter to check their stock....

Also, make sure you are using the stove in the correct front to back burning fashion.
See:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/what-is-a-cigar-burn.81057/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/tending_a_wood_fire
(type 2)

 

[Free diver]

I have quite a few large dead red oaks still standing in my yard. Probably have been dead 5 years or so. The outside inch or so is kinda punky, but the inside is perfect. I cut them down and split them about a month ago and stacked and covered about 5 cords. I guess I have to break down and buy some dryer wood. Thanks for the cigar burn info. Such a simple technique I never would have thought of doing. I'll order a moister meter too. Thanks for the reply!

 

[begreen]

Definitely sounds like the wood. Stop at the local store an pick up a bundle of dry wood and try it out.

I'm concerned about this installation. It looks like the stove is right up against the brick and does not have adequate hearth protection. This is a serious safety issue, especially if there is wood studding on the backside of that brick. I believe it is required to be at least 24" from the brick unless there is a label on the stove showing closer clearances.

PS: I rotated your picture so that the stove is upright.

 

[Free diver]

I live on Martha's Vineyard and codes are overlooked to say the least. The back of the door indicates 36in clearance to combustibles. I'll extend the elbow and pull it out away from the wall. I have a jotul 606 upstairs and that installation is really scary! I struck out on a web search for a manual for the energy harvester. It has an upper and lower damper on the door and I was wondering if there was any technique for better burn. A cord of wood out here is 350 bucks, but its jan already and I haven't turned the boiler on once! Can't describe how satisfying that is! Thanks for turning the pic, my computer was about to take a ride into the woods.

 

[gzecc]

Its your fuel. Red oak takes 2 yrs after its stacked and split small to get to good moisture levels (<25%).

 

[remkel]

Its your fuel. Red oak takes 2 yrs after its stacked and split small to get to good moisture levels (<25%).

+1

 

[begreen]

Your stove requires 36" from combustibles, but the full brick wall behind it reduces that requirement by a third to 24". Pay attention to these requirements. Ignoring them can have dire consequences that may not show up for a year or 5, but when they do they can be disastrous. Here are a couple shots illustrating what happens with inadequate hearth protection. The home owners thought everything was fine until their inadequate protector was removed to reveal what was underneath. Get the 606 taken care of too. The life you save may be your own.



PS, don't forget to replace your avatar image. The stove is still snoozing on its side.