This winter our typical use of the wood stove has been up and down. Basically we have nice hot fire then fall a sleep without a reload and wake up to a cold house. Even have the furnace come on occasionally. At about 4am I woke up in my recliner to a cold stove and the furnace running. Oh well. There were just enough hot coals to start a new fire. I got the stove rolling again and turned on a movie with the plan of a reload and slipping off to bed for a couple of hours. Well the stove got rolling pretty good and I added fresh wood and it took off. Near nuclear. I had the air turned down all the way and it didn't matter. Being a hearthstone phoenix, I checked the soapstone panels with a ir gun and they read 450 or more. It was hot enough to smell the paint on the drywall behind the stove. I wasn't to the point of opening the door to let it burn out but close. I opened the door and rearranged the splits a bit and 20 min later we were back to rolling. While the stove was hot hot I checked the chimney a couple of times to see what might be going on. There was a light black smoke coming from the chimney with the heat. I have not cleaned the chimney this burning season. I wonder if the higher heat burned off some creosote without a chimney fire? I typically get a coffee cup of debris from a cleanout but I have had the screen plug up on the chimney cap. Anyways I had a anxious half hour to 45 minutes. We are now back to our regularly scheduled up and down burning season.
That sure does get the adrenalin going, doesn't it? Haven't had an episode like that in quite a few years and try like hell not to but sometimes stuff just happens.
How old is the stove? 450 shouldn't hurt anything. I've had the overfull firebox spill out when trying to rearrange a split laying on the glass and not being able to close it back due to coals on the lip - got me scared pretty good as well.
I think the stove is 6 or 7 years old. Believe me I was prepared when I opened the door. lol 450 might not be to bad but when I can smell the paint on the wall behind the stove, I pucker a little. lol
so you've been into this for a while then. what's the story with plugging the upper screen? My screen and upper 1' of chimney is where I find the most creosote as well, normal burns on 2-3yr seasoned wood. Maybe a picture of your setup would help, but burning wall paint can't be good
I'm not an expert but I have had my soapstone stove up to 550 degrees (checked with an IR gun) several times with no ill effects. At least to my knowledge. Of course I've never had the walls so hot I could smell the paint either. Be careful.
Runaway, would that be more like orange glowing cast or steel and flames making there way up the flue?
If I'm not mistaken, doesn't Hearthstone say 600 degrees as the top temperature it should reach? So 550 should be no problem. On our Woodstock stove, we many times have had it to 700 degrees with no ill effects. I've also heard of much higher temperatures with no bad effects.
I believe you may be right in that some creosote was burning off. I've read this is actually fairly common in chimneys and most people never realize it's happening. I also would second the statement that most creosote will be right at the top of the chimney, where the temps would be the coolest. I don't know about your type of stove but agree that smelling the paint probably is not a good thing.
I run my Mansfield at 550 all the time - that seems the be the temp is likes to cruise at with a full load. I've had it to 625 or so, but don't like getting that high - it rarely happens - perhaps once/year. I'm surprised that 450 temps were causing paint smells behind the stove - perhaps a super hot stove pipe was causing this? Cheers!
I thought our hearthstone literature suggested that 500 on the stone was max temp. I might be wrong. Sorry I didn't get exact temps. I have been burning long enough I have confidence in our setup and my methods. That said I'm still lighting a 500 degree fire in my living room. Gotta respect that. The paint on the wall is intact and clean. It just got hot enough I could smell it.
We have different models - yours might have a lower max temp - not sure. When I bought my Mansfield, the salesman at the shop told me not to burn my stove at over 350!! Ha! Glad all is well! Cheers!
Not a soapstone, but my little Hampton likes to get hot before it will settle in with good secondaries. I used to worry about it but don't anymore.
OP indicated stove is 6-7 years old - perhaps a new stove pipe and reaching higher first temps? If the entire setup is that old, I don't think the stove should be burning any more paint at this point, but possible. Cheers!
Stove pipe paint will stink about every time it gets real hot. He could have had it hotter than it has been in a while. If the wall paint got hot enough to stink it would likely be discolored.
I haven't had any stove pipe smell after the first month or so of burning the stove with the new pipe I put in last in October of 2013, and I get that pipe pretty hot (single wall pipe). I'm sure I'd smell something if I got the pipe hotter than it has ever been, but, barring a chimney fire, I don't think I'll get there. Cheers!
Well maybe it isn't the wall paint maybe it is something else to do with the stove I'm smelling. I don't know. The stove pipe is double wall insulated pipe. By all manufacturers specs the stove is as close to the drywall I can have it. That way the stove pipe fit between the trusses. This is the third season we have owned this stove and it is our primary heat source. I bought it off craigslist for $500.
1st year burning stove got away from me once. Super dry load of oak went nuclear as I was busy in the other room. Could hear what sounded like a monster breathing. Looked into a dark room and saw a dull red glow starting around the pipe collar. I could smell something but after the fuel rods cooled and I could relax I realized it was my shorts I was smelling.
