New wood stove not heating house, need advice

[David Tackett]

Update, I got some dry wood and the stove is working great, been going an hour and temp in basement is climbing.

Rdust, what is an ideal chimney, just curious as to how bad mine is off

Same diameter as your stove is ideal.

 

[begreen]

Focus on the wood. Your chimney is not perfect, but it's within spec. If you find that the stove continues to work much better with this new wood, see how it does with a good load of say 6 splits.

PS: do you have a thermometer on the stove top? That will give you more info on how it's burning.

 

[yooperdave]

Like everyone else, the wood is the primary suspect. If possible, get some dry wood (2-3 years css) from a neighbor or??? Just an armload for one full firebox would do the trick to tell you how important dry wood is. Good luck.

 

[simple.serf]

If you have to limp with wet wood, mix some Ash in (stuff can burn green), and make sure you are checking the chimney regularly. I was checking mine every 2 weeks when burning wet stuff. Cleaned it once a month.

 

[rijim]

We all had the same problem first year burning; do you have access to any pallets? Mixing the dry pallet wood in with 3-4 of your splits every time you load may be enough to get you through. Also stack as many of your splits a safe distance from the stove with a fan blowing towards the stove to move air around this will help dry it out quicker. The key to getting the max heat circulation is to blow cooler air towards the stove at floor level.

 

[Mr. Jacob 24]

The boards that are on top of the burn tubes need to be on the burn tubes, flat and square. The concrete will absorb much energy. And get some thermometers to see what temp you are running. Also use a fan to push the cold dense air down to the basement, sounds crazy but works well.

yah Iv done all that and have the fan and stuff also.im wondering why does it take hours and hours and hours for my 20 by 20 foot cabin take sooo long to just heat up,??? It literally takes 'atleast' 4 hours before it's actually nice n warm. Why,?? And helpful tips or ideas at all ??

 

[begreen]

It takes a lot of energy to warm up the mass of a cold space. The stove is not just trying to heat the air, but the walls, ceiling, floor, furniture etc.. This is why an oversized stove is frequently recommended for a small cabin. If the cabin is uninsulated and/or has a concrete slab floor it can take even more heat.
Also, the wood must be dry. Poorly seasoned and damp wood put out a lot less heat.

What stove is in the cabin?