Wood Stove Doesn't Seem to Heat Well Enough

[bholler]

surface of a double wall.

Surface of doublewall??? You are lucky you havnt melted the stove down yet. Shut it back you will get much longer burns and way more heat in the house

 

[Jazzcrazy]

Is that a measurment on the surface of singlewall pipe or an internal temp?

surface

 

[begreen]

surface of a double wall.

Are you serious? That would be crazy hot for double wall pipe. How far down are you closing the air once the fire is burning well?

 

[Jazzcrazy]

Are you serious? That would be crazy hot for double wall pipe. How far down are you closing the air once the fire is burning well?

about halfway

 

[bholler]

about halfway

Close it way more. On my regency i got the most heat out of the stove with it 3/4 closed. You setup will be different but at those temps you have it open way to far

 

[begreen]

OK. So turn down the air as far as it can go without smothering the fire. Take the thermometer off the stove pipe and put it on the stove top about 6" away from the flue collar. Keep the stove top no higher than 750º. . You need a probe thermometer for double-wall stove pipe.
http://www.condar.com/Probe_Thermometers.html

 

[Jazzcrazy]

If there isn’t a hole for a probe in the pipe, how do I go about installing that?


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[begreen]

What is happening now is the fire is getting too much air. This is causing it to burn faster than the secondary combustion in the firebox can keep up with so the fire is burning at exceptional temps in the stove pipe. That is not only wasteful it is dangerous and may have compromised the flue system by overheating it. By closing down the air as far as possible the stove top will actually get hotter because now the combustion is occuring in the stove firebox where it should be.

 

[bholler]

If there isn’t a hole for a probe in the pipe, how do I go about installing that?


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You will need to drill a hole following the instructions that come with the thermometer

 

[begreen]

If there isn’t a hole for a probe in the pipe, how do I go about installing that?

The hole needs to be drilled. There are directions for this with the thermometer. A 3/16" hole is drilled through the pipe, then a 1/4" is drilled in the outer jacket of the pipe.
http://www.condar.com/Probe-Instructions-EN.html

 

[Jazzcrazy]

That’s our set up.

 

[bholler]

View attachment 234195


That’s our set up.


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You are also limiting the heatoutput by stuffing it inside the firebox. Any radiant heat given off will be sucked up by that masonry. Do you have a fan on it?

 

[Jazzcrazy]

Yep. There’s a pretty strong blower behind it forcing the hot air forward. Unfortunately, the way the chimneys are set up is very stupid. So the only option was to stick it in there.


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[wooduser]

Did you buy your stove from a stove shop, and if so did they suggest or approve the installation of the stove in a basement fireplace when the aim was to heat 4,000 feet of space? Or was this something you designed? Who installed the stove and what advice did you get about the installation?

 

[Jazzcrazy]

Ahhh... the first technical question on how the stove is operating. And the reply suggests that the operator, a critical factor in the operation of a stove, might be a part of the problem ---- at least meriting additional questions.


What's needed here is as much of the information on the combustion of the stove as can be obtained without actually observing what's happening.

Could be issues with excessive draft ---or too little draft. Green wood. Stove not being operated properly. Defect in the stove. Properly operating stove that's undersized. Very cold weather conditions.

Many possible problems ---- how to identify which one or ones might be the actual problem?

I look forward to reading an interesting thread!

The wood is 12+ years old. The farmer behind me unfortunately had a bunch of mini strokes and can’t use his wood stove anymore. They installed a pellet stove for ease. But he has 2 large barns full of wood that he and his kids and grandkids stored. It’s old and dry as can be.

The stove is supposed to heat 2200 sq ft and our basement itself is 2000. I feel the basement should at least be a little uncomfortably warm with it burning on full shouldn’t it?

As I stated in the original post, I’m new to all of this. That’s why I’m turning to this forum for help. The snark comments are not necessary.

Thanks for any advice you may have to offer.


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[nola mike]

Where were the snark comments? Good advice from @begreen and @bholler , take their suggestions and report back. Don't know how big your firebox is, but if I'm reloading my 602 less often than you, you're running too much air.

 

[Jazzcrazy]

Did you buy your stove from a stove shop, and if so did they suggest or approve the installation of the stove in a basement fireplace when the aim was to heat 4,000 feet of space? Or was this something you designed? Who installed the stove and what advice did you get about the installation?

We bought the house already standing. But the idiots that flipped it put the return for the heat pump in the attic. So heating our house was costing us $800/month just for one floor.

We bought the wood stove to help lessen the bill. The guys that installed it didn’t say a friggin word about it not being efficient being in the fireplace as it isn’t an insert.

The wood was free for this season. I just hate that it’s looking like I’m going to go through 5-6 cords. It’s not even that cold yet! I’m only in central PA!


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[weatherguy]

You didn't have anywhere to put it on the main floor?

 

[Jazzcrazy]

You didn't have anywhere to put it on the main floor?

No. When they flipped the house they covered up the fireplace on the first floor. We haven’t gotten to ripping the drywall out and installing up here yet. We wanted to finish the basement so that we could move down there while doing the upstairs demo.


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[begreen]

View attachment 234195

That’s our set up.

Wait. How are you reading the temp again? That stove should be connected to a stainless liner, not double wall stove pipe. Where is the thermometer on the pipe? It looks like it's on the stove top in which case 600F is not too hot and you don't need a probe thermometer.

 

[Jazzcrazy]

Wait. How are you reading the temp again? That stove should be connected to a stainless liner, not double wall stove pipe. Where is the thermometer on the pipe? It looks like it's on the stove top in which case 600F is not too hot and you don't need a probe thermometer.

Just moved it there thanks to a suggestion from here.


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[begreen]

Is there a block-off plate above the stove in the damper area?

 

[jetsam]

Even when you get this thing running right, it is going to struggle because it is enclosed by a giant heat sink on 3 sides. Normally I'd advise you to go stove shopping for a rear vent stove, but in your case, you have a temporary need for a basement stove?

If you want a stove down there long term, my advice is to pick a rear venting model that can sit outside of the fireplace, and move the old one upstairs to go on your new hearth, if it is still in good condition. You could get the new basement stove before the remodel so the basement is warmer, and build it a cheap temporary insulated hearth pad to live on in front of the fireplace.

Any basement stove will benefit greatly from floor and wall insulation. If it's heating masonry that is in contact with the earth, that heat is just gone.

In the short term, can you get some pictures of the flue pipe where it connects to the stove and where it goes up the old chimney? I think we have some confusion as to what is going on there. Photos will let us ID the venting system.

Is the inside of the fireplace insulated?

 

[jetsam]

Is there a block-off plate above the stove in the damper area?

He said that it was blocked off and poured full of vermiculite on the last page somewhere.

 

[blacktail]

also a brand new SS liner that is surrounded by the vermiculite insulation.

surface of a double wall.

There's some confusion about this setup and where you're taking temps.