Just moved into a new home with a Cabello 1700 wood stove insert. Have used it twice so far and smoked out the room once on my second startup. I have never had a fireplace and am enjoying it so far and learning. Are there any tips about maintenance on the stove or just some general tips for beginners. I have purchase all new smoke/carbon detectors for the house being we just moved here. Have a fresh cord of seasoned hardwood getting delivered. I am all ears please give any info thought to be helpful. Thanks
Welcome! Many people have gotten the short end of the stick buying "seasoned" hardwood. It may be advertised as such, but more often than not the internal moisture content is less than ideal. What you're looking for is DRY WOOD, meaning 20% moisture or less if you check a freshly split face with a moisture meter. Speaking of moisture meter, they're readily available at the big box stores like Home Depot or Lowe's, or any online outfit if that's your preference. There are a lot of basic burning tips and good practices that will easily help you avoid a few pitfalls. This is good place to start: Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage Here's the manual for your insert. Page 6 details how to get it going without having smoke pour back into the room. https://enviro.com/custom_content/docs/manuals/C-14580 Instruction Cabello Insert Owners Manual.pdf Glad to have you here; there is a lot of collective knowledge on this forum and people are more than willing to help.
Jose, on the smoke issue, I'm guessing you had a downdraft when starting the stove. If you find this happening at startups, you can always crack a window before lighting. That should help get the air going in the right direction. On the wood, I agree with the guys above. Seasoned isn't always what they say it is. But based on your other post, you'll have plenty of seasoned wood going forward after some time in the stacks. I'm not sure of the species you were splitting, but there is a great chart that gives drying time guidelines here on the forums. Click "resources" at the top of the page and it will take you where you need to go...
Make sure your chimney pipe is not clogged or partially blocked. First fire of the season, I always light some newspapers to make sure I don't get smoked out. One time I had some birds completely block the pipe by building a nest in it! If that newspaper smoke flows properly, I know I'm good to go. Starting with something like that will get the hot air rising in a fashion that will pull the smoke up and out. If your home is insulated "tight", cracking a window like mentioned will help.
