Too much smoke from door.

[Trevor M]

Hey guys.. Last winter we installed an...Ashley 2500 stove NIB in our new home.

Ashley 2500 sq-ft Black Pedestal Wood Stove

Help provide your home with warmth and comfort with the Ashley Hearth Products AW2520E-P 2500 sq. ft. large size plate steel wood stove. The AW2520E...

www.rona.ca

Ive operated wood stoves for 10+ years but have never had a problem with the smoke billowing out the door no matter how careful you are. On our last stove you gently open the door, wait for the pressure to equelize and then you could leave the door open all day long and no smoke would come out. On this new one.. you open the door and the smoke just continues to pour into the room. The stack is straight up thew the ceiling and 15' high and the fresh air supply is vented in from outside. Today I decided to clean the stack, so I wanted to remove the ceramic matt. Apon doing this, I noticed a triangle welded on the top of the stove diverting the smoke to either side and almost going to the back wall where the smoke would finally make its way into the pipe. The thing is that the ceramic matt at the front of the stove just inside of the door has an opening 2"x 20" so 40sqr inch...but the back area I mention could only be a combined 6-8sqr inches of opening to allow the smoke out. How can this possible work. I do understand High and Low pressure venting but this seams far to small. Is this why im getting so much smoke? Can or should I cut the back of the triangle area to allow more out?

I will include photos soon.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

What’s the moisture content of your wood?

 

[stoveliker]

Also, 15' may be on the short side, especially if it's not very cold yet.
I don't know about the V and the things you describe, but if you have consistent smoke roll out (and others with the same stove do not), I suggest to add a 3 ft section of class A on top. It might solve you problems.
To test that you can temporarily add cheap single wall stove pipe outside. Of course this won't survive long term, but it'll give you similar improvement in draft.

 

[Trevor M]

The wood moisture is not the problem. 2 years seasoned in a covered and well ventilated storage shed.

Others "have" reported the same problem. I naturally did not read the reviews till after I installed it.. and sure enough they say the same thing.

My last stove did not have that diverter and the stack was only 12' high with zero issues.
Adding another 3' for 18' would be impractical. I would have 15' above the roof on a very low pitch roof.

I'm think the diverter is the problem. It might be solved by a zip-cut soon enough. lol

I also may try to split the difference with the ceramic matt. Move the matt closer to the door which will create a 1" opening at the back that will allow a more direct exit for the smoke.

 

[stoveliker]

So you have only 2.5 ft inside, 1/2 ft thru the roof and 12 ft above the roof now? That would be strange (a stove very high in the room).
However, if that is correct, it would indeed look strange.

Some stoves are easier breathers than others. So a previous stove working on 12' or 15' does not mean another stove would do so too.

Be careful modifying a stove - its UL listing will be void, which your insurance may not like. That's no problem if nothing happens, but IF something happens, that's the time you would want them to pay... I'd add stack outside before voiding my UL listing.

Then again, I'd never by a US Stove Company stove.

 

[Trevor M]

I'm sorry.. To be clear..There is 9' of Duravent double wall pipe from the ceiling up. There is also 6' of double wall pipe inside the house. Total length is 15' as is. So there is 6' of stack above the roof as is.

The old home was 12' from the stove to cap.

Cant see why it wouldn't be the same as the last house because they are very similar. 4-12 roof pitch. The only thing different is the stove. I don't recall what was in the old home but I sure do miss it.

 

[stoveliker]

Understood.
You'd for sure need a second brace on the roof if you add 3' (you should already have one brace as it's taller than 5' above the roof now - at least to US code) - I'd still do that before starting to cut into things.
At least give it a try with cheap single wall stove pipe (even without a brace, just look at the weather (wind) first...).

 

[begreen]

It could be a weak design. A flame shield is not uncommon, though this is a fairly large and stout one. They may have done this to help the stove pass testing b slowing down the flue gas flow so that they spend more time resident in the firebox and combust more completely. That's a good thing. It means more heat with less smoke coming out of the chimney. Older woodstoves had less restriction and often let a lot of unburnt wood gases up the flue.

Would it be possible to add 2-3' of chimney pipe? Often that can make a nice difference in draft increase. To test this, get a 3' length of cheap warm air duct and use it as a test extender for the chimney. If that solves the issue, then make it permanent using matching chimney pipe.