I recently bought a house that has an Earth Stove 1000C installed in the living room. It’s a great wood stove but I could use some input on how to get it to burn more efficiently. Because there isn’t an insert that covers the glass viewing window, the stove runs in the Non-Catalytic mode. I don’t have the insert and don’t plan to get one. There is a thermostat on the stove, but I’m not sure which direction is high or low - up for hi, down for low? There is some smoke leaking from somewhere. I’ve tried to find it by turning off all the lights and looking at the door, the exhaust pipe and I can’t see any smoke, but I can smell it. I’m thinking that the leak is coming from around the door somewhere - the gasket probably needs to be replaced - the stove is about 30 years old and I don’t know when the gasket was last replaced. I read about testing the seal with a piece of paper, but I don’t know how to position the paper or how far in to put the paper to test the seal. Also, both handles on the door are a bit loose and I don’t know how to tighten them up. Next - the exhaust pipe from the stove to the chimney has a damper in it. Do I need to adjust the damper with this stove? I know I did with my old stove back in the day, but this Earth Stove is a totally different design so I don’t know if adjusting the exhaust pipe damper improves stove performance. Finally, because the stove is in the living room, the kitchen and bathroom stays pretty cool. It’s and old house - built in 1872 so there are 2 small rooms and walls between the living room and kitchen. I’m using a small fan to push warm air from living room through to the kitchen, but it’s still pretty cool in there. I read that if I open a window a little bit in the room furthest from the wood stove, the cool air will draw the warm air through the rooms. I opened the bathroom window a bit, but I think there are too many walls and corners blocking the air flow. Any suggestions on any of these queries would be appreciated.
First off, Welcome. You’ll get plenty of help here soon. I have a different earth stove but all I’d say is to try and blow air from where you want to warm and convection should do the rest. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Found this after a quick search, it may/may not help. EARTH STOVE 1003C INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL Pdf Download. Daughter had an earth stove in their rental house but decided not to use it even though they had landlord's permission and chimney inspected. That would be as close as I get to having any experience with the earth stoves. Maybe the manual will show info about the thermostat and door handles. Just close the door against a piece of paper (dollar bill) and then try sliding it out. You may notice different areas of the repeated test where the paper (dollar bill) slides out easier that other spots. This could be due to over-compressed gasket or even a warped door. You mention that the flue pipe to chimney has a damper in it, make sure that it is fully opened....that could also be the source of the smoke... In order to get heat distributed throughout the house, you may find it best to direct cold air back to the stove instead of trying to move warm air to the cooler spots. A slowly operating fan at floor level should be enough for you to feel a difference. I would not open a window of the house to try to improve circulation of the heat. Do you have ceiling fans? If so, use 'em. Now then. the house is almost 150 years old. Before I do anything with a wood stove in a house of that age, I would have to take a long look at the chimney. Chances are, there is probably only a clay flue liner the last few feet of the chimney and the rest of it is just brick. Which could also be a source of the smoke smell. Probably won't pass for homeowners insurance policy. But, who knows? Maybe it's been updated with a SS liner? Now that all of that is out of the way, welcome aboard! Pics would help. Do you have your wood for the next few years all set to go? Hope so! Did you just move here?
Thank you both for the welcome. Yooperdave, I’m a Yooper - lived here most of my life. Burned wood for 20 years but have not for about 14 years. This house only had a wood stove - no other heating available right now. There is a fuel oil burner in the kitchen, but I won’t use it. The chimney is fairly new; previous owner had it built before she sold the house- the old one is still there but I don’t use it. I do keep the damper open. Also using the ceiling fan. I’ll move the small fan to the back of the stove. I read the manual that came with the stove - it isn’t much help. The one you posted looks like it has more info. I’ll give it a good read. I do believe I’ll replace the door gasket as soon as possible. It’s pretty cold up in our neck of the woods now, but I can tough it out long enough to replace gasket.
