Secondary Burn Issues

[Hogwildz]

Make sure the baffle board & blanket are pushed all the way back against the rear of the stove.
The baffle should be a ceramic board that lays on top of the burn tubes. The burn tubes are the tubes with the holes, and the insulation lays on top of the ceramic baffle board. Make sure of the following:
As BG said, make sure no debris from cleaning fell onto the top of the insulation &/or baffle board, and are now blocking the stove flue outlet.
Make sure the baffle board & the insulation are snug against the back of the firebox inside.
Is this thing stubbed in vertically, or horizontally? Make sure where it stubs in is not blocked or partially blocked.
Just out of curiosity, how much ash is in the bottom of the stove? Make sure it is not deep and blocking any air port(s) or anything like that. Usually just inside the front of the stove inside at the bottom under the door. Not sure about your brand or model,but something to check if it does have these.

 

[webby3650]

The baffle on the Oslo has a big "bump" that runs the entire width of the baffle, that "bump" hangs in behind the back burn tube. It should slide back and kinda fall into place with the bump being behind the back tube.
The blanket sits on top of the baffle, it should be flush with the front of the baffle. Have you had the top off of the stove? It can get a lot of ash on top of the baffle. If not, this could be the problem.
It is possible that your Oslo doesn't have a blanket or it could also have a 2 piece cast iron baffle, it most likely has a "board" and blanket though.

 

[browell33]

Definitely board and blanket, or what I thought was fire brick and blanket. I have not had the top of the stove off but maybe I need to do that as well. Thanks!

 

[webby3650]

I bet you will find alot of ash up there! The Last Castine I cleaned had a pretty clean flue, but was nearly clooged with ash above the baffle.

You can reach up through the front to access the bolts that hold on the middle plate, there are two, one right in the middle of each side. Remove those using a 10mm ratchet. You can clean the baffle off from there.
Let us know what you find.

 

[Bub381]

The blanket i don't know but the tubes should be pointing forward and slightly downward i believe.Towards the door.

 

[flyingpig]

Either wood issue, or you loose the suction from flue somehow. With less than ideal wood, normally it'll be OK after you crack open the door and let it heat the extra moisture out. But if you can't get the temp up that long, you may want to look at any leakage in the flue.

 

[webby3650]

you may want to look at any leakage in the flue.

It's very unlikely that this is the problem, since it just started happening. With a masonry flue, a very quick inspection should rule this out.

 

[flyingpig]

It's very unlikely that this is the problem, since it just started happening. With a masonry flue, a very quick inspection should rule this out.

Sorry for confusion. I was thinking about the possibility that air leaking into the chimney from the clean out.

 

[webby3650]

Sorry for confusion. I was thinking about the possibility that air leaking into the chimney from the clean out.

Ya, that is a good thought also, sorry. I forgot about that.

 

[begreen]

That's why the suggestion to tape it up.

 

[webby3650]

That's why the suggestion to tape it up.

I re-call, I just simply wasn't thinking of that at the time.

 

[browell33]

So I have been having issues with my Jotul. Here is the previous thread:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/secondary-burn-issues.105856/#post-1378065

I have not yet tried dried wood from the store yet, sorry. I have, however, discovered something inside the stove that seems like it should not be that way. There are two plates that sit on top of the tubes (sorry for the bad description), and one of them seems to be warped somehow. The left plate (upper left corner) seems like it just does not want to sit right on top of the tubes. Maybe you can see it from the picture. I have tried to see if something is stopping it from sitting properly but there is nothing, it just seems bent somehow. Could this be my problem? Someone mentioned the baffles sitting properly. Are these baffles? Could this have gotten bent somehow by heat? Thanks for the help.

 

[savageactor7]

I'm not a stove expert, but from my experience it looks OK to me.

It can get ugly in there after years of burning...that's the nature of the beast. If your burning seasoned wood without smoke chugging out of the chimney that epa stove/tubes are doing its job.

I briefly checked out the other link you posted and imo if the stove wont do a dampered down burn like it use to...then it's always the wood that's the blame.

Besides that it's your parents stove...they just wouldn't have given you junk.

If it were me in you shoes determined to burn I would split what had into smaller splits and burn hotter.

 

[begreen]

The plates are the baffle. I think this is the old style. It's important that the flame path wrap around the front of the baffle and not leak past the baffle. The plates should lay flat so this is worth looking into. You can pull the top off the stove by removing the few shipping bolts that hold it down.

PS: I'm going to merge this with the other post to avoid redundant questions and keep context.

 

[webby3650]

You can pull the top off the stove by removing the few shipping bolts that hold it down.

The last few Olso's I installed, no longer called these bolts "shipping" bolts. They used to call the bolts that hold down the cookplate "shipping bolts" and were to be removed after installation. They are no longer saying this on the most current models, at least the last few I installed didn't say it in the manual.
I thought this might be helpful to know.

 

[SlyFerret]

I don't know about your stove, but on mine, the burn tubes have to be in a specific order from front to back. If the stove was taken apart for cleaning, I agree with the suggestion to check the baffle board positioning. Also make sure the tubes were reinstalled in the right order.

I've hit a couple spots in my stack this year that caused me less than optimal burns. Even with a mostly good supply, you might still get few clunkers here and there.

Did anything else change in the house recently? Window insulation or kits? Exhaust fans? Clothes dryer?

Has your weather or wind direction changed?

-SF

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

I am sorry if this has been covered before but I am new to the forum and am very frustrated with my wood stove. Just over a year ago my parents gave me their old Jotul 500. That had it refurbished, great stove for them, just wanted to give it to me to have a great stove in my home. Has been a great stove up until a month ago, when I now have just not been able to get the burn it used to get, especially when it comes to the secondary burn. I used to (just a month ago) be able to get the stove going and completely shut the dampener down and the flames would roll in the top over the wood and would burn for hours. Now I get the stove going and shut it down and the fire dies.

I have cleaned out the stove completely. I have had the chimney cleaned (chimney and flue are new to the house, about three years old). I have tried to contact dealers and ask them questions and have done everything they have told me to do or try with no luck. Now a dealer is saying to try the dollar bill trick. Does that make sense? Wouldn't I have an out of control fire if that were the case, not one that would completely die off?

Well any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I have loved this stove up until now, but very frustrating to not be able to get it to do what it has done in the past. Thanks.

Ben

Sounds like somethings changed with the wood, not the stove. Different wood with more moisture content, denser type of wood like going from a soft wood to a hard wood and larger pieces can all effect how the stove burns with the air control shut all the way. The simple answer is just experiment and open it up a little more when you want a low burn and see if that brings the slow, secondary burn back. To get a secondary burn, you not only need heat but enough oxygen to mix in with it.

 

[rideau]

The initial post states that the problem had been occurring for a month, while a later post said the chimney sweep was two days ago. So, I don't think it is something that the chimney sweep did, like leaving debris, or not sealing the clean out door, that is causing the problem. More likely to be something he didn't do, like get up on the roof and check the top of the flue. That is the first thing I would do.

Not familiar with this stove, but if there re any parts that would not be cleaned by the clean the sweep did, check them. Clog could be ebtween stove and flue, or at top of flue.

Sort of doubt its the wood, since you've had it for two years, and been burning it successfully until suddenly , about 5 or 6 weeks ago, and have had a persistent problem since then...unless you are down to the bottom of your stack and it is punky or wet from sitting in snow? But presumably you've gone through a lot of wood in five or six weeks. Do you have another stack you can pull some splits off?

REALLY sounds to me like something is clogged. If it were a cat stove, I'd say check the cat. So check the secondary tubes as advised, and the entire air path of the stove, and the cap. ANd check that the levers that regulate the air supply are functioning properly.

Surely a mouse or spider would not choose to move into the secondary air opening during burning season when the stove is going 24/7???

 

[eyefish2]

I have burned a Joltul 500 for a couple years now. To get good secondaries, I need to have the stove top at 400-500 degrees F (500 better). If I cut off the air at 300-400, I lose the secondaies pretty quick. I would question the wood as others have pointed out. You questioned doing the dollar bill test to check the gaskets. In my mind, a bad gasket allowing more air in will not necessarily result in a runaway stove or too hot of a fire. It could result in no secendaries due to too much air. Another thought is the ash pan door seal. I have heard that ash can build up behind the ash pan and when you close the ash pan door, the ash behind the pan keeps it from getting a good seal. Make sure you do not have a bunch of ash behind the pan when you slide the pan in. Good luck on solving your issue.

 

[Redlegs]

You may have just hit a pocket of less than optimal wood. Twice this season I've hit some questionable stuff from the same stack.​

It happens sometimes.