New to wood stoves - lots of smoke in the house on first burn - Pleasant Hearth 2200

[clancey]

Go Cowboys but they lost-ugh..Just trying to think of things not much experience here...Could the wood area of the stove be more humid then usual from the atmosphere because that would cause smoke in the box and be hard to start burning as well...On my third load here and my load looked just like yours and I use the fat sticks as well I started the fire in the middle so that the flue or chimney warmed up first for it was about 34 degrees or so and my wood was loaded like yours because of the size of the box and it smoked too--disappointing burn and kept going out and gave it plenty of air to start it with and my moisture reading on this batch of wood was about 17% and had to drill into the wood to check this--mixed wood...It was like the air got wet in the fire box or something over a few days of humidity...My very first fire was wonderful ( 10% kilned dried oak 18 inches long ) and I started it on the left side and it took over from there..But the second and third had a lot to be desired and hard to keep burning as well as to start with plenty of smoke..CO is one of the driest states but on this particular day it had drizzle and half flaked wet snow...little bit of snow .I have lost count on how many fires I had in total thinking about four or five and that's all the experience that I have and only got the wood stove in case of a emergency for what happened in your state awhile back...Just trying to think out of the box here not much knowledge about all of this...old mrs clancey
Just a after thought here---do you think that if you start your fire on the left side it might do better rather than in the middle--maybe its drier there? Just thinking overtime here...lol lol

 

[john26]

So the damper in the chimney is enough? Good news. These cheaper stoves seem to have similar designs. It is also interesting that you are saying that the more expensive stoved actually DO have controls on the secondary air intakes....HMMMMM>

For me yes but I should mention I have a T on the back of the stove 4' vertical rise a 90 18" horizontal run then another T at the the concrete ceiling hooked to the liner so essentially three 90's also this is a 3.5 cuft furnace with the triple pipe heat exchanger front to back. I am sure this setup would act different with a 2 cuft stove. I have not hooked a manometer up but I will in due time. I do have a thermocouple at the top of the chimney strapped to the outside of the liner under the band clamp it reads 100-150 F when the stove is burning.

 

[MR. GLO]

Can you explain the thermocouple at top of chimney setup...interesting. any photos of the setup at the cap area? What do you think your top cap flue temp is?

 

[john26]

Its just a K type shielded thermo couple wire twisted together then strapped under the band clamp holding the cap on. Not sure how accurate it is I thought about drilling a small hole then and sticking the junction on the inside but don't want the soot eater getting it.

 

[MR. GLO]

Maybe on a new thread you could post different stt and 18 inch flue and chimney temps...and height of chimney... surprised duravent or auber hasn't sold this product. When I run the pipe damper I see the temp drop at the adapter area but runs good at the 18 inch flue area...

 

[john26]

I don't have 18" or STT yet that will come as well. Anyone know where the best place install the port for the manometer?

 

[stoveliker]

I don't have 18" or STT yet that will come as well. Anyone know where the best place install the port for the manometer?

Between stove and flue damper.

 

[patriot07]

Ok so lots of responses but I'm lost as to what people want...more data?

My AC thermostat measures humidity. It's been 25%-35% for the most part.

The wood is a couple years old (bought last winter as "one year seasoned" wood).

For temps, I can't seem to find a condar temp gauge for the pipe. Do I only need one for the pipe or one for the stove itself as well? I can use my temp gun for the stove top I suppose. What is a good gauge for the pipe? Can someone post a link or model number please?

 

[patriot07]

Maybe I missed something,, I'm still confused when you are actually getting smoke? On starting the fire, reloads, and burn?


To start you need the tools - probe, stt guage, gloves, moisture meter, metal bucket with lid, good wood and kindling.

First burn I got smoke the whole time. Second burn I didn't get any. Dunno why...

What is an STT gauge, why a moisture meter, and why metal bucket? What kind of probe?

 

[stoveliker]

STT gauge is a magnetic thermometer for on top of your stove (its usefulness is debatable); why a moisture meter: because you want to burn dry wood. The only way to *know* it's dry is to use one. Metal bucket: for ashes, to bring outside (they release CO, and can start a fire if you leave them inside).
A probe:

Condar stovepipe probe thermometers

stovepipe probe thermometers

www.condar.com

 

[moresnow]

A STT is a stove top temp gauge. You really should purchase a moisture meter from a hardware, box store or on Ebay or Amazon. They range in price $15 roughly and on up. My Fleabay $15 cheapy seems to work fine. Locally the meter will likely be higher.
Firewood moisture content will help determine operational issues. Purchasing "seasoned wood" means zero in many cases. Most purchased wood is wet, wet and causes all sorts of issues. Get a tester and confirm what moisture content your wood has. Good luck.

 

[patriot07]

A STT is a stove top temp gauge. You really should purchase a moisture meter from a hardware, box store or on Ebay or Amazon. They range in price $15 roughly and on up. My Fleabay $15 cheapy seems to work fine. Locally the meter will likely be higher.
Firewood moisture content will help determine operational issues. Purchasing "seasoned wood" means zero in many cases. Most purchased wood is wet, wet and causes all sorts of issues. Get a tester and confirm what moisture content your wood has. Good luck.

Sure, but I am 100% sure it's been sitting in the Texas heat for the last 14 months (minus snow-maggeddon last February). We haven't had a decent rain here in months - the wood is definitely dry as a bone.

 

[patriot07]

I'll try to grab a moisture meter today though.

 

[patriot07]

Measured 3 pieces of wood. All less than 7% moisture content. Not sure what's high or low, but that's what they registered.

 

[bholler]

Measured 3 pieces of wood. All less than 7% moisture content. Not sure what's high or low, but that's what they registered.

Do you have any pipe or stove temps yet?

 

[patriot07]

Do you have any pipe or stove temps yet?

No, I haven't run it again yet. Just based on the massive flames, I'd say it was running very hot. It feels like it's getting way too much air. I don't think it's from the ash pan or the front door and I don't see any other potential openings.

I was going to use my temp gun for the STT but don't have a pipe thermometer on order yet.

 

[patriot07]

To clarify, I looked at the Condar, but it wasn't going to be here for a month and I couldn't find a stove pipe thermometer on amazon with decent reviews that could be here quickly. They just don't sell a lot of this stuff down here in the south, so I don't think a local option is available.

 

[bholler]

No, I haven't run it again yet. Just based on the massive flames, I'd say it was running very hot. It feels like it's getting way too much air. I don't think it's from the ash pan or the front door and I don't see any other potential openings.

I was going to use my temp gun for the STT but don't have a pipe thermometer on order yet.

You can have massive flames but not be up to temp. It is also very likely the smoke was from the paint

 

[patriot07]

You can have massive flames but not be up to temp. It is also very likely the smoke was from the paint

That's fine - I'm not as worried about the smoke after the 2nd burn. Still don't know how to make the burn slow down and not eat all my fuel in 2 hours. This is supposed to be the new, high-efficiency stove...

 

[bholler]

View attachment 290082View attachment 290083
I've been putting 2 of these in the middle of the wood as kindling.

If this is your load of wood it's no wonder it burns up fast. That is maybe 1/4 load of wood.

 

[patriot07]

I put that in to get it started and then load up full when it gets running good.

 

[bholler]

I put that in to get it started and then load up full when it gets running good.

How full is full? It also won't work as it should untill you get a layer of ash on the floor.

Have you checked the door seal as well?

 

[stoveliker]

7 pct is almost impossible to get. Granted I don't know Texas summers, but did you measure on a piece that has been laying in the home forn24 hrs to get up to room temperature, then split it in half, and measured on the fresh surface along the grain?

 

[patriot07]

How full is full? It also won't work as it should untill you get a layer of ash on the floor.

Have you checked the door seal as well?

Layer of ash makes sense. I'll just have some patience there.

Door seal looks ok but not perfect. I have thought about calling Pleasant Hearth to see if they could send me a new one with some glue because it sticks to the body/housing every time I open it during/after a burn. But it looks like it seals fine otherwise. Does it truly need to "seal" really well?

As for "how full is full", I'll go ahead and run it again either tonight or tomorrow night and take a pic when I load it up. I'd say it's 2x-3x that pic

 

[patriot07]

7 pct is almost impossible to get. Granted I don't know Texas summers, but did you measure on a piece that has been laying in the home forn24 hrs to get up to room temperature, then split it in half, and measured on the fresh surface along the grain?

No. I just measured the outside on every side.

We have runs of 1-2 months sometimes where the high every day is over 100. Texas summers can be brutal, and this has definitely been through 1 and supposedly been through 2.

Sometimes we have "cold" fronts come through that don't break our 100 degree streak. Good news is we can golf all year. Supposed to be 60 on Sunday so I'm going out with the kids in the afternoon

Really appreciate all the help from you guys!