Advice Please

OK, more information please. I thought the dry poplar splits would just burn down faster than the denser hardwoods. Now I also know that different woods have different properties; so are you saying that burning poplar leads to more buildup of soot and tar and I should only do denser hardwoods for all night burns? I asked about this on a thread where a new member was asking questions and figured it would do me and the new member good but no one answered. I am still new to burning wood and these EPA stoves.

 

Yes, I still think the chimney needs to be taller. I have a couple of tall poplars beside the house that I can not drop; I don't have the skill; they lean somewhat towards the house; that I think influence the draft as well. When I can afford it, I am going to hire someone to take the trees down.

 

Do you think that is why I see so much smoke spillage from the stove when fueling? I usually crack the door and wait a few seconds, then add wood but at times it can smoke a bit before I get the stove loaded.

 

Since I work from home, fueling the stove is not a problem. I usually put just two or three depending on size and have the damper fully open.

 

I also turn the damper all the way down when overnight is that I am afraid the stove would "run away" and get too hot. Maybe I should not worry about all night burns and just build a new fire each morning. The last few nights have been really cold; so surprise to see almost spring weather outside as far as temperatures. Even on the really cold nights, temps in the bathroom on the other side of the bedroom was only 59F; a bit chilly for getting ready in the mornings so the first chore of the day is to get the fire going.

 

For an overnight burn I usually load the stove as full as it can be leaving a little room at the top for the secondaries to burn. It should take about a half hour to slowly adjust the stove air down to just about closed as far as it will go. You want to leave it open just a bit more than you did. I always close it tight and lift it up a smidge for the final setting at night.

 

I do this as well, shut it down completely then bump it open a smidge...

 

Higher draft settings result in: hotter burns, cleaner glass, shorter burns.
Lower draft settings result in: cooler burns, dirtier glass, longer burns.
Higher btu woods result in hotter and or longer burns.
Find the sweet spot (draft setting) for your install. It will vary with the weather and wood species.
I haven't noticed species affecting glass cleanliness but I rarely burn anything other than oak. Slightly higher draft settings for the first hour or two of the burn (during max off gassing) keep my glass cleaner.

 

Yes, N-S. E-W I find it harder to put enough wood in the stove; pieces want to roll forward.

 

Yep.

 

I cut most of the wood for the E-W size of the stove. Now I am wondering about that decision as I use the stove it is harder to fill without having wood wanting to roll forward. Most of the poplar was cut short because my friend was cutting it and he was use to cutting for his stove. I find it easier to load the stove N-S although I don't know how that affects the stove. With just a couple of splits E-W there is no real problem and they burn fine. However, to load the stove full, N-S is easier as the wood can just roll to the sides of the stove without any issues.

 

I bet with your chimney setup you will need to leave the damper cracked open a bit. The easiest way I've found is to close it all the way when you are ready, and then pull it back out just a smidge. For my setup I close mine the whole way and then wish I could close it more, especially when its real cold...I need to put a key damper in the stove pipe...

 

It's definitely easier to load that way. I found a picture of what my stove will do when the ends of the wood is too close to the glass & the primary air was shut off. It burned off on the next load.

 

So I don't really need to worry about the deposits on the glass. I had the stove off today it was so warm and took the time to give the glass a good cleaning.

 

Yes, there are a few small one that I think I can take out before they get to the size of the others. I will take a photo tomorrow.

 

If you know why it's dirty then you know if it's worth worrying about. The glass will be the coolest part of the firebox. So it will be the first place for creosote to accumulate.

Now what would cause this?
1: A cool fire from wet wood or not getting the firebox hot enough before closing the air down.
2: Poor draft not pulling enough for the airwash to work properly.
3: Wood split ends off gassing next to the glass and blocking the airwash.
4: Shutting the airwash off completely.

What do you think caused your dirty glass? If #1 then you have to worry about gunking up the chimney. The others not so much of an issue.

 

If you know why it's dirty then you know if it's worth worrying about. The glass will be the coolest part of the firebox. So it will be the first place for creosote to accumulate.
The firebox was fairly clean, one corner had some deposits.

Now what would cause this?
1: A cool fire from wet wood or not getting the firebox hot enough before closing the air down.
Don't think this is the cause. Wood is dry and covered. Firebox was hot, flue was hot; stove was at 550F.
2: Poor draft not pulling enough for the airwash to work properly.
Possibly, I still have the 90 elbow in the flue; see smoke spillage at times.
3: Wood split ends off gassing next to the glass and blocking the airwash.
I don't think the wood was that close to the glass. However, it was stacked N-S so the ends were facing the glass.
4: Shutting the airwash off completely.
That I don't know; I don't know how the air travels in this stove. The damper is in the top of this stove instead of the bottom like on the 30-NC. I think I need to see if England Stove Works will answer some questions on the stove.

What do you think caused your dirty glass? If #1 then you have to worry about gunking up the chimney. The others not so much of an issue.
Wish I had inspected the chimney today; it was so warm that I did not start the stove again until I came home this evening.

 

Turning that air down as much as you do is not good and the results show not only on your glass, but also the inside walls of your vent.

Turn the air up overnight; maybe you'll have to throw in a chunk or two during the overnight like so many others here.

Learning a stove is part of the process of being a burner also. Once everything is dialed in, you'll know.

Just about that time, you'll decide a a new stove and have to learn all over of just how that stove would react!